Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Stephanie Jung

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Stephanie Jung will train in artistic producing with Marjorie Chan and Kate Ann Vandermeer at Cahoots Theatre

(February 28, 2016) I’m excited and nervous. It’s as if it’s the first day of school, but better because I know exactly who my teachers will be. And my teachers are generous and talented female theatre artists/administrators. I cannot wait to explore an aspect of theatre creation that I am not well-versed in: Artistic Producing. I want to expand my skill set with the goal of eventually producing my own work and the work of other diverse artists.

I approached Marjorie Chan (Artistic Director) and Kate Ann Vandermeer (General Manager) at Cahoots Theatre Company, and they agreed to share their vast wealth of knowledge and experience with me. I first worked with Marjorie and Cahoots as an actor in her play, The Madness of the Square. I have always admired Marjorie’s ability to move fluidly between the administration and creative worlds of theatre. Under Kate Ann’s steady guidance, Cahoots has successfully grown its footprint.

My mentorship will centre around two major Cahoots projects this season: Ultrasound, a show that explores the physical diversity of our population and Lift Off!, a series of new play readings. I am especially looking forward to working on Ultrasound, a play featuring a deaf character and will be performed in English and American Sign Language (ASL). I have never worked on a production of this scope before and am looking forward to it.

My goal for this mentorship is to learn the administration and production process from concept to completion: from budgeting and contracts (show versus festival) , to the finer points of social media marketing, to scheduling. As an actor, I am rarely involved in these areas so I relish the opportunity to learn these skills–to create art with impact in a financially efficient manner.

I hope that towards the end of the internship, I will have a more organizational hand in Lift Off!, applying what I’ve learned from Ultrasound. My goal at the end of this process is to be well-versed enough to take on the role of Artistic Producer on a production and guide the show to success.  

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 1, 2016.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.