Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

A rehearsal for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at VOS Theatre.
Joel Varty is in the centre of the image, with
Bea Quarrie seated at the table on the right.

• At VOS Theatre in Cobourg, Joel Varty is co-directing for the first time with Theatre Ontario Talent Bank Directing Instructor and mentor Bea Quarrie. They share their experience working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the VOS Theatre blog.
• “Are theatre artists hardwired?” Scott T. Barsotti reported on HowlRound about an interesting research study that explores “aptitude” in artists.
• A production of The Mountaintop at Kent State University cast a white actor as Martin Luther King for half of the performances as an academic examination of “racial ownership and authenticity.” Howard Sherman explores the takeaways "when a white actor goes to The Mountaintop."
• Madeleine Dore writes about how working long hours for low pay, fighting for budgets, and the emotional exhaustion tied to creative output are a recipe for burnout in the arts.
• Scott Walters writes about “The Sinatra Imperative” in American theatre (“If I can make it there / I’ll make it anywhere / … New York, New York”) and the damaging impact of that kind of geographic cultural hierarchy. Substitute Toronto for New York, and I think you can find a similar potentially damaging mind-set here in Ontario.

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• Trevor Schwellnus was shortlisted for the Siminovitich Prize. In this profile from Inside Toronto, he mentions the impact of Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program and mentoring with Steve Lucas early in his career.
• Dramaturgy Open Office Hours is coming to Ontario, led by two recent Professional Theatre Training Program alum Catherine Ballachey (in Ottawa) and Emma Mackenzie Hillier (in Toronto).
• Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton has to re-cast their world premiere production of Jack of Diamonds after Jamie Farr was taken ill on the Sunday of their opening week. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery, and to Ian D. Clark who has stepped into the leading role.

TO Toasts

• ... to David Yee, who was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in English for carried away on the crest of a wave.

In Case You Missed It

• Stories from the Summer Theatre Intensive: Kate O’Hearn was “uncovering hidden treasures within the play” at Advanced Directing with Virginia Reh.