Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

401 Richmond Update

The Province of Ontario announced this week that they will work with the City of Toronto to create a new property tax category for non-profit arts and culture properties, like our home in 401 Richmond.

• The announcement from the site of Han Dong, MPP for Trinity-Spadina.
• Joe Cressy, City Councillor for Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina, responded to the province’s news.
• CBC Toronto News featured the story in their Tuesday evening broadcast, including an interview with Bruce Pitkin, our Executive Director. (Story at the 10:40 mark; autoplay video.)
• Joe Cressy was interviewed on CBC Metro Morning. 
• Media coverage from the CBC online.
• Media coverage from the Toronto Star (includes an auto-play video.)

Thank you to all of our supporters who helped make this possible!

Bruce Hunter and Jani Lauzon in The Breathing Hole
at The Stratford Festival. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Conversation Starters

• Colleen Murphy shared her experience in Inuit Cultural Dramaturgy in the development of The Breathing Hole at the Stratford Festival.

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• Applications are now available for all three funding programs under the Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Culture Fund (ICF). The ICF programs for individuals and organizations have been established to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, culture and way of life.
• Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque unveiled their 2018 season.
• Thinking Rock Community Arts’ youth training program “The River Speaks” (funded by our Youth Theatre Training Program) led to a performance in Mississaugi First Nation.

Migrations

• Betsy Chaly is stepping down from our Board of Directors, having been appointed to the board of the National Film Board of Canada.
• Peter Herrndorf to step down as President and CEO of the National Arts Centre in 2018.

TO Toasts

• ... to the shortlisted playwright for this year's Siminovitch Prize in Theatre: Evelyne de la Chenelière, Hannah Moscovitch, Marcus Youssef—and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, our Summer Theatre 2017 Playwriting Instructor and Theatre Ontario Festival 2016 Playwright-in-Person
• ... to Izad Etemadi, recipient of the Buddies in Bad Times Queer Emerging Artist Award.

In Case You Missed It

• Stories from the Summer Theatre Intensive: Linda Pagnotta on Creating “Character” with Liza Balkan
• Welcome Maja Ardal as Adjudicator for Theatre Ontario Festival 2018 in London.
• ONstage Openings this week in Oakville, Waterloo, Toronto, Perth, and Sudbury.