Ontario Off Stage

Conversations

• Do you know about the 100?  If you’re interested in theatre entrepreneurship, you should get to know them better

From The Wire

• Yesterday, we announced that Dave Carley was the recipient of our 2012 Maggie Bassett Award; Well, two years ago, Don Fleckser received the award and at his presentation in London, a challenge was issued…
• And good news for SummerWorks who had their funding from Heritage Canada reinstated

TO Toasts
(Pour yourself a big glass this week...)

• Congratulations to Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, awarded the Arts Organization Award at this year’s Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts
• And more congratulations to Richard Rose, Tarragon’s Artistic Director who received the Barbara Hamilton Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA)
• Congrats also to Ruth Howard, founding Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, who received the George Luscombe Award for Mentorship from TAPA
• And last but not least, congratulations to Leslie Lester, Executive Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, recipients of TAPA’s Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Arts Administrators
• Oh yeah, TAPA also nominated a whole bunch of people for Dora Mavor Moore Awards, too
• And more Toronto theatre honours from the Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards
• Don’t forget to raise your glass also to Dáirine Ní Mheadhra, Artistic Director of Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, winner of the Molson Prize from the Canada Council for developing new Canadian voices
• And the final toast is to all of the nominees for the 2012 Canadian Comedy Awards

Assembled by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Theatre Ontario Festival Day 4

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator


The rain kept things a little quiet on Saturday. People were trying to stay out of the weather, so it was a smaller crowd that gathered for the Detailed Adjudication of Waiting for Godot.

Following the adjudication was Theatre Ontario's Annual General Meeting. Again, probably due to the weather, the numbers were small. But we had almost all members of the board present, several staff members, representatives from all the community theatre regions, and several of both individual and group members represented. The President's Report touched on some of the exciting new developments that had oocured over the course of 2009, and there were a lot of highlights. Things took a slightly more serious tone when the Treasurer's Report revealed that Theatre Ontario is experiencing declining funds and declining membership - not an unusual development for any non-profit in the current economy, but a concern nonetheless. Staff and Board were encouraged to hear members talk about ways in which they could help with Theatre Ontario's current situation, and become excited about helping us find new ways of becoming more relevant, appealing, and useful to the theatre sector and community.

Several exciting new things were unveiled at the AGM, the biggest being the new website! While it is not yet ready to launch, it will be soon. We were able to share the design with the members in attendance, and well as explain in some detail how the new website will increase accessibility to our information and resources, allow for networking between members, provide searchable information, and better integrate social media.

We were also able to announce our newest partnership. RONA building supply stores will now offering our Group Members rebates between 3% - 5% on all of their purchases! We know that this can mean a lot of savings for many of the companies out there, and best of all it can also be used as a fundraising tool - groups can share their RONA account number with their audiences and supporters for them to use, and the purchases will count towards the year-end rebate for the group So everytime your audience shops at RONA, that cash in the groups pocket!

The rain cleared up in the evening so we had a nice full house for the Festival's last show, courtesy of EODL. John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, presented by Domino Theatre follows a nun on her crusade to prove a priest has been molesting young boys at their school. In their public adjudication, Sears & Switzers, big fans of the playwirght's work, praised the production for working well with the subtly of the text. They gave special mention to the individual performances and were incredibly enthusiastic about the lighting design, which they deemed to be of professional caliber.

So now that we've seen all the shows, there is much talk about who will win what at the awards tomorrow. What do readers think? Anyone favour a particular script, or performer, they would like to see awarded?

Day 3 at the Theatre Ontario Festival

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator

Reflecting the enthusiasm of the previous night's audience, there was big crowd gathered to see the Detailed Adjudication for Whitby Courthouse Theatre's The Long Weekend. Sears And Switzer's adjudication had several of the show's performers on their feet, and true to the nature of the show itself, there were a lot of laughs all morning long.

In the afternoon, Theatre Ontario presented "Playwright-In-Person" Maja Ardal. The Iceland-born, Scotland-raised Canadian has had an expansive career in the Canadian theatre. Formerly the artistic director of Young People's Theatre, she is currently the playwright-in-residence at Nightwood Theatre. Her most recent play, You Fancy Yourself, has been garnering rave reviews for the last several years and was most recently produced at Theatre Passe Muraille. We were treated to an intimated talk by Ms. Ardal, and many of the people gathered had great questions about writing as both a passion and a profession. We were also lucky enough to hear her read several selections from the work she is currently writing, The Cure For Everything - a sequel to You Fancy Yourself.

The evening's performance, Waiting For Godot, came courtesy of QUONTA.  Samuel Beckett's infamous play, about the unending wait for the man who never comes, is challenging production for any cast... and sometimes a challenge for the audience as well.  But Gateway Theatre Guild's presentation kept the audience close and produced many a laugh, and the audience's appreciation was clear.  Sears And Switzer gave the company kudos for their bold script selection and commended the choice to give the show a Canadian context.  There was much praise for the performances, and a particular mention for the role of Boy played by the young Mackenzie Willis. I'm sure many in the audience are eager for the morning's adjudication to hear both the company and Sears And Switzer talk more about the show.

Theatre Ontario Festival: Day Two

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator

Thursday of the Theatre Ontario Festival got off to an early start with the Detailed Adjudication with Sears And Switzer.  The room was packed, with a big number of the previous night's audience turning out to hear the adjudicators speak.  AND... an informal poll showed that over half of the folks who came to the adjudication weren't members of other participating groups, but were simply interested audience members!  So great to see an audience so enthusiastic.  Way to go, London!

The afternoon workshop "Wake it up, Shake it up!" with Sears And Switzer was a hot ticket this today.  This free class filled up FAST the day before as soon as the sign-up was posted!  The high-energy workshop got directors and actors on their feet, exploring fresh ways to liven up a scene.

The Association of Community Theatres--Central Ontario's contribution to this year's Festival was Norm Foster's comedy The Long Weekend.  Whitby Courthouse Theatre's production of this popular comedic look at married life drew a big audience, and big laughs. The quick and funny show was invigorating for the crowd, and was the perfect follow-up to last night's serious drama.  The public adjudication was quick, and focused on how the great script was brought to life with four very strong performances.  Kudos went out for the use of projection in the set, and special mention was made of the costume and hair design choices.

Friday will be a full day, with Playwright-In-Person Maja Ardal joining us.  And the "Introduction to Adjudication" course continues through the weekend, with our crew of eager new adjudicators being put through their paces with instructor Ron Cameron-Lewis.

Opening Night At Theatre Ontario Festival 2010

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator

London's historic Aeolian Hall was buzzing with excitement as the Theatre Ontario Festival's first guests started to fill up the room. The Festival Committee had gone all out: the room was beautiful, the food was tasty and plentiful, and everyone felt more than welcome.  There was a great turnout for the Opening Reception, and the whole province was well represented... and ready to celebrate!

Before rushing off to the theatre to put on her "Producer's hat" for the opening night show, Breaking the Code, Western Ontario Drama League President Michelle Spanik gave the evening's first speech and welcomed the crowd.  The Festival Chairs Sue Perkins and Bill Meaden shared their welcoming words before Theatre Ontario's Vice-President of the Board Anne Mooney introduced the Mayor's Representative - Comptroller Gina Barber - who spoke passionately about the City of London's commitment to the arts. John Goddard, Executive Director of Theatre Ontario, took the stage next to remind everyone that we are to have fun!  And then the London Community Players' President welcomed us into their home, The Palace Theatre, before the festival chairs declared the Festival officially begun!

The crowd moved over to the theatre, where WODL's entry kicked off the Festival with Theatre Burlington's production of Hugh Whitemore's Breaking The Code. Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, Breaking The Code follows British mathematician Alan Turing's life through his work as a codebreaker during WWII to his prosecution for homosexual activity. This was a dramatic start to what promises to be a great lineup of shows this week.

Festival Adjudicators Theresa Sears and David Switzer gave a public adjudication that echoed the audience's enthusiasm for the production, and they gave special mention to Graham Clements' performance in the lead role, Tom Mackan's direction, and the show's brave lighting choices. Afterwards, the Encore Party at the Palace Theatre kept the crowd celebrating into the night!

For more information about the Festival, please visit the Theatre Ontario website.