Cultivating Tomorrow's Artists

by Kayleigh Robertson, Theatre Ontario Youth Advisory Committee Member

On Saturday May 16, 2015, as part of the 2015 Theatre Ontario Festival, Theatre Ontario’s own Youth Advisory Committee hosted Cultivating Tomorrow’s Artists–a conversation between community theatre artists, encouraging youth engagement in theatre programming. This panel was held in Oshawa–the location of this year’s festival–and was moderated by Wayne Burns. Panelists included Stephanie Andrews, Paula Brancati, Liam Lynch, Joseph Recinos and myself.

As a member of the Youth Advisory Committee, to create and be a part of a panel to get youth involved in theatre was truly amazing. There was incredible feedback and interaction from the audience as to how important this is. Theatre truly is one big community, and it was made very clear that although we all have different careers within the industry, we all live, work, and breathe the theatre community; the foundation of which is community theatre.

Cultivating Tomorrow's Artists - a conversation between
community theatre artists, encouraging youth engagement
in theatre programming.

The entire panel spoke passionately about the idea of drama programs being implemented in schools. Not just as a mandatory drama class–but showing the students taking this class that a career in the arts is possible. That being said, negative attitudes must be taken out. As a grade 10 student myself, I feel, find, and see myself being put into a box that I do not fit in. If I miss a class for an audition or a show I am part of, it is not "great job!”, it's either "how long will you be gone?" or silence. Though if I was away for a professional sports meet, how would my teachers react?

On the topic of sports, a Sports-Theatre analogy was created. In elementary and high school there are a variety of sports extracurricular activities. Students usually try a few until they find a couple that they like. We should develop theatre programing at the elementary and high school level that allows students to access knowledge and experience in the various areas of the performing arts e.g. performing, producing, set design, stage managing, tech and lighting, etc.

Rather than looking at the "performing arts", one audience member brought up the idea of this being the "arts and sciences." There are so many different parts of theatre than just acting and performing. Whether it be lighting, costume design, or even stage managing, as a panel we all felt very strongly about the importance of mentorship, and the role that community theatres play to bring the new “up and comers” in the theatre industry "in", and show them the ropes. It was also nice to hear from some Community Theatres in the audience that they are embracing this role and are beginning to start up Youth Theatre Programs.

Joe Recinos was stuck on a GO train on his way to
Oshawa.  He telephoned in, but without proper
speakers on hand, Rebecca Ballarin and Ray
Jacildo got creative in amplifying his voice.

At the end of our panel, we spoke of the idea that the arts world is not just about becoming famous. It takes a lot of hard work to get there, and if you happen to - great. But, passion is what all artists hold onto. On the community theatre side, youth programs are being created to help foster the next generation of theatre artists. If we all commit to work on eliminating the "poor-actor" stereotype–that you'll never make it and it is a "bad job to have"–and recognizing that theatre is more than just putting on show–it is about helping and loving each other–2015 will be an amazing year for the theatre community, resulting in more ways for youth to prosper in community theatre.

Find out more about Theatre Ontario's Youth Advisory Committee

Theatre Sarnia Awarded the Elsie for Outstanding Production at Festival

Congratulations to Theatre Sarnia, whose production of The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl was awarded the Elsie as Outstanding Production at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 in Oshawa.

The production received three awards and ten nominations from adjudicator Ron Cameron-Lewis.

Theatre Sarnia last won the Elsie in 1995 for their production of The Melville Boys by Norm Foster. This was their fifth time participating at Theatre Ontario Festival, representing the Western Ontario Drama League.

Peterborough Theatre Guild represented the Eastern Ontario Drama League at Festival, presenting Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin, and received four awards and nine nominations.

Oshawa Little Theatre represented the Association of Community Theatres--Central Ontario, presenting Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, and received four awards and six nominations.

Gore Bay Theatre represented QUONTA (the northeastern Ontario community theatre association), presenting Agnes of God by John Pielmeier. They received three awards.

The annual Theatre Ontario Festival is a showcase of outstanding community theatre productions, a classroom for passionate, dedicated community theatre artists, a celebration of excellence in community theatre, and a destination bringing together theatre lovers from across the province.

Read the full list of Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 Award Winners and Nominees on the Theatre Ontario website and check out the transcript of the Theatre Ontario Festival Awards Brunch Live-Blog

UPDATED May 25, 2015: For those of you who attended the Awards Brunch, you had the opportunity to enjoy the fine work of Johnny Soln, our emcee.  The highlight for me was his musings on the Meisner Technique of acting:

In my humble opinion, a buffet represents the ultimate exercise in the Meisner Technique of acting.

You see, as you approach the buffet, all movements and actions are 100% driven by internal motivation of hunger – you are genuinely in the moment.

To gain the most from this exercise, I recommend following an individual who just cleared the food item you are most excited to eat.  For our purposes, let's say that item is bacon.

Excited as you were when you approached the buffet, you must now react truthfully to the new circumstances ahead of you – an empty bacon pan.

Your excitement turns to sadness, disappointment, and silent rage at the person ahead of you. In your head, you repeatedly direct angry, behavioral statements at the person ahead of you.

Yet, all that changes when a server arrives with a new, freshly prepared, fully stocked pan of bacon. Your anger turns to joy; your jealousy directed to the person ahead of you is now pride, as you know your bacon is fresher – defeat turns to victory!

Now you are taunting that person over and over again in your head. At this point you are living truthfully in the moment – plus you have bacon!

Thus, as you can see, a buffet (with bacon) is the most honest realization of the Meisner Technique.

Sarah Ruhl’s Poetry in Three Dimensions: Adjudication of The Clean House at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Ron Cameron-Lewis of Theatre Sarnia’s production of The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl.

• Sarah Ruhl describes theatre as poetry in three dimensions.
• Set design: Loved the look of the set… we didn’t see a balcony so what a wonderful surprise when we returned for Act Two.
• Costume choices created a great visual picture: Matilde in black, Lane in white, Virginia in gray, and then Charles and Ana bring colour.
• Similarly, the revelation when the cupboards opened and we saw all the cleaning products (and the vodka.)
• The unusual angle of the coffee table (legs pitched at 45-degree balanced by a flat base.)
• Some lighting areas had problems: U.S.R. of the bar, D.S.R., S.L. on the balcony in Act Two; at a Festival, actors need an hour under the lights to learn where the hot spots are so they can find the adjustments they need to make.
• “Stunning” musical choices: just the right mood, transition, and the volume was excellent.
• Similarly the projects were effective, a particular highlight was the “primal moment” between Lane and Virginia.
• The opening joke is told in Portuguese, but you didn’t need to understand the language because of the actor’s commitment and her vocal inflection, physicality, fun.
• Each of the opening monologues were simple, with no movement, and driven by the power of voice.
• Good accent work by Matilde and Ana.
• The red blotch that appeared on the painting on the set in Act Two was unclear. It read like a crown: what did that mean? The goal was simply to add the colour and show the increasing messiness of their lives. In that case, it needed to be blotchier so it didn’t read as anything.
• A wonderful example of the changes in vocal pitch that has been a theme this week: Lane’s line “I don’t know what to say except… you’re fired.” Her pitch dropped to a lower tone on the final two words.
• A general observation to live longer in the final moments, the “buttons” of the scenes. They’re beautiful so let us take them in, don’t rush us out to the next scene.
• “Magical realism”: The best illustration of what this category of theatre means was how the apples would be dropped from Ana’s balcony, and somehow land in Lane’s living room.
• Lane’s wig hid her eyes. She would have benefited from something that pulled back the hair.
• Strong character statements were made through physicality.
• The parents dirty jokes was a fun sight gag, but it ended on a moment of unexpected poignancy. Many of the scenes had that impact.
• Virginia and Matilde: There was great evolution in their relationship throughout the play.
• Lane and Virginia: Wonderful use of pace in their vocal rhythms to convey their long shared history together as sisters.
• Blocking had Lane was in profile for a long-time; we needed to see her full face earlier in the play.
• Matilde’s floor work while she was stretching was excellent. The floor is the most overlooked part of the stage and thought should be given of how to use it more generously. In this case, it spoke of her character and her Brazilian heritage.
• Virginia’s inner monologue while folding and caressing Charles’ underwear was quite clear.
• Excellent comic timing on Virginia and Matilde changing places at the ironing board (and the moment of discovery that they needed to change places.)
• Terrific split-second timing from Lane: “I have poise” as she unwittingly spills her drink.
• Fun moment when Matilde tilted the picture, but it wasn’t straightened properly. Virginia needed to fixed that, but she did not notice it.
• A well-executed emotional roller-coaster ride for all the characters when Charles leaves Lane.
• More magical realism: Charles and Ana dancing, and Matilde asking Lane: “Who are they?” / “Just my imagination.”
• Lane’s transition from laughter to tears was well-executed: we believed it.
• Ana’s accent work was excellent, but it needed to be stronger from her first line as we didn’t hear the accent right away. If the text doesn’t provide the words you need, exaggerate the words that do carry the accent.
• Charles and Ana’s transition from clinical doctor/patient relationship to falling in love (with musical and lighting accompaniment) demonstrated visual comedy galore
• Clarity in Ana and Matilde’s exchange in Portuguese, and we could even hear the difference in their accents.
• Superb holding of the moment by Lane before delivering the line “You’re not Jewish.”
• Ana’s hair and the ringlets read so well for her character.
• Charles was clearly in love with Ana, sitting as close to her as possible on the arm of a chair.
• Virginia referred to her and Matilde as sisters, and then tying her hair.  This was one of those unexpected discoveries beyond the script.
• Virginia almost touching Charles’ knee, showed how much she is suffering.
• Wonderful shift in tone when everyone went to pick apples and the sisters were left alone and how they related to each other.
• Wonderful visual impact when the balcony doors opened and all this colour appeared.
• Imaginative solution to the need for throwing “yellow spices” – threw yellow confetti.
• The mind-reading scene between Charles and Ana could have benefitted from more “Houdini” behavior by Charles, more theatricality, and separating the lines and an action. The funnier this scene is, the sadder this scene is.
• Charles stripping to his underwear: courageous by the actor.
• The moment when Lane discovers Charles’ sweater was lost by the audience in the split focus between the two scenes. The balcony scene drew our attention because it had colour and action.
• Good use of non-verbal conflict over the vacuum.
• Music throughout Ana’s illness was quite beautiful.
• Virginia’s breakdown and trashing the set was excellent. When she threw the flowers, she changed her rhythm and intention. There is an exercise Ron uses: “25 ways to use a chair” to make those kinds of discoveries of variety. She found 25 ways to throw flowers.
• Lane and Ana on the balcony: the blocking needed tweaking as this is Lane’s scene, and she was U.S.L. By the end of the scene, she was D.S.R. and the blocking fell into place. Needed it that way from the top.
• The telephone call between Lane and Virginia was split with a scene on the balcony.  This was well-executed because the balcony scene moved slowly.  If there must be unimportant movement in a scene, do it at half-speed.
• The sequence where they were eating ice cream on the couch was a charming sequence.
• Lane watching Ana like a guard dog: this was an example of a moment that could have been sustained for 10 to 15 seconds before ending the scene.
• It’s Victoria Day weekend, and fireworks were audible outside the theatre.  Good job by the company in not being distracted.
• The final joke, Ana’s death and Lane holding the wash basin was a wonderful frozen moment of time.
• The only prop that didn’t work was the yew tree that Charles brought from Alaska: everything in the story has become so extreme that the tree needed to be 20x larger. It didn’t need to come onto the stage, it could have been too big to fit through the door. The yew tree we saw was a safe tree.
• Technical challenges were presented by the enormous jars of olives: the juices, the spills, the smell, the mould.
• Magical realism did confuse some audience members. Some audiences fought the play. They weren’t sure how to feel about it. Some loved it, but they had no idea what it was. It’s important that the company accept the conventions of the play—which they did.
• Thank you to Theatre Sarnia for bringin Sarah Ruhl to Festival.

(This is the final version of this post, edited post-Festival.)

ONstage Today at Festival: Awards Brunch

The Elsie Award

Sunday at 11:30am, join Brandon Moore on our online Festival Awards Live-Blog as adjudicator Ron Cameron-Lewis presents the awards for Theatre Ontario Festival 2015, including the Elsie for Outstanding Production in Festival.

We will also be presenting the Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre to John Storey of Markham.

Follow our Theatre Ontario Festival Awards Live-Blog

Timeliness, and The Politics of a Period: Adjudication of Born Yesterday at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

Born Yesterday
Peterborough Theatre Guild
David Adams and Kellie McKenty.

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Ron Cameron-Lewis of Peterborough Theatre Guild’s production of Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin.

• This script opens with a dense scene with a lot of information conveyed in it.  Members of audience were not hearing key information. Some delivery was too fast. Previous adjudicator had told them to speed up. But there is a happy medium. Pace is the rhythm of the show, rate is the speed of delivery: don’t confuse them.
• The dark room exercise (which has come up in both previous adjudications) was referenced again. 60% of information for audience is conveyed visually, 30% via subtext, 10% via text.  That exercise helps you to rediscover the rhythms of the show by taking out the visual component.
• Live in the moment that is happening on stage.
• First-time directors who took on ambitious, large cast show.
• The set was visually impressive, and well-designed to provide playing areas. Physically massive: “We have no right to expect such a set at Festival.”
• Sound levels were too low: we needed to hear and enjoy the lyrics of the opening music.
• Visually-paced opening. Paul nosing around was so appropriate in defining his character.
• In comedy, always sustain energy to the end of the line and avoid what Ron calls “the great Canadian drop-off” in our vocal patterns—especially in comedy, where the final word of the line is the punchline.
• The play settled down in the scene between Brock and Devery when they were left alone. In general, it was the two-hander scenes of the play that had the most believable quality.
• Show us inner monologues: When Brock hands Paul the cigar, this is something expensive and valuable and needs to be examined before “I’ll give it to someone…”
• Brock’s speech about 1937 and how he got started: this is an opportunity to slow down and explore the text, being in that past time, living in the reminiscence.
• Terrace was a wonderful playing area for giving us an opportunity to see characters while they were impacted by the view.
• Good rehearsal exercise to find subtext in lines is to say only the key words from the lines.
• Brock’s bellowing hurt our ear drums and was thus appropriate.
• Billie and Devery signing papers: another case of a strong, two-person scene with rhythm that was clearer and well-paced.
• Lovely costuming work. Especially noteworthy was Mrs. Hedges’ hat. Eddie wore his hat well, and it said a lot about his character. One pair of shoes seemed too contemporary for the period.
• Blocking could have benefited from more cheating of dialogue out to the front. There must be moments of connection where characters lock eyes, but then try the “water sprinkler” effect of moving your head through the lines bringing it back to the moment of connection.
• Fun example of character detail work in Billie: the bored chorus girl mouthing the words to a song.
• Use the power of vowels to carry emotions. Ron led an exercise where the characters sung their lines from the Senator Hedges’ meeting scene. Find a ballad tempo and let the voice do whatever it wants.
• Billie’s wiggle up the stairs was a highly effective visual moment.
• Ron led an exercise where Brock delivered a monologue, and Devery, Senator, Mrs Hedges verbalized their reactions out loud at the same time. This helps to create inner monologue. The next step is to find non-verbal ways to express it.
• Furnishing: The D.S.R. table was really too small for the papers (although it was effective for the card game.) The telephone was a wonderful discovery by set dressing.
• One of the dangers of a rushed vocal rate is that syllables elide together. “Verrall” sounds like a single syllable.
• Lighting problem: The wall sconces were too bright. Unfortunately, they were non-dimmable fluorescents. (They flicked into and out of blackouts.) Lights are the most effective way to draw the eye on stage.
• Paul’s bow to Billie was a missed opportunity for a reaction in establishing their relationship.
• Good job at finding the comedy in the Paul / Billie scene.
• Billie’s voice served the character well. Explore varying the pitch during the seduction scene (specifically dropping it.)
• Excellent choice to drop the smoking. It’s not integral to the action, there is no dialogue about it, and it is challenging to execute effectively. Also, there are municipal rules about smoking in publicly-funded facilities/schools.
• The gin game was a wonderfully executed sequence of inner monologues. The way Brock and Billie treat each other is appalling. This is an opportunity to see what they are like when they are together and alone.
• That scene is another opportunity to dim the lighting around the rest of the set (just 10%) while bumping the level on the card game (up 10%)—just slight enough to direct the audience’s eye.
• Scene change for Act One to Act Two: music level needed to be bumped up so we could hear the lyrics to Anything Goes.
• Since Act Two opens with no dialogue, just Billie alone, reading and marking up the newspaper, the music did not need to stop—just drop the level so that it fades out when someone else comes in.
• Glasses are challenging costume as they obstruct eyes, our “windows” to the character’s soul.  When they are fundamental to the text, find opportunities to take them off.
• Billie: “What makes you think I’m 30?” An opportunity to say the line to him, but then react to us.
• Tears: Show us the progression to that moment, get upset in the earlier lines.
• “What is a peninsula?” “It’s that new medicine.” This is a moment for discovery: Billie is triumphant, and in that moment the other characters figure it out.
• Billie and Devery talking about the cartel: this scene had an effective and clear reaction/response sequence. Again, Billie could drop her vocal pitch to convey her seriousness about the business. (Save the higher pitch for when she is putting on “the bimbo.”)
• Be careful about key moments of blocking being hidden by furniture, e.g. Brock grabbing at Billie.
• Holding the fight between Brock and Billie while Helen the maid enters and leaves with the sheets: This is a moment for silent inner monologue while they wait for Helen to leave.
• The moment of domestic violence reminds us of when this play was written.
• Fill your blackouts with music; start it before the house lights come down and keep it going until the stage lights come up.
• Act Three lighting: The time of day did not read like it was 1:30am in the morning. It needed more table lamps and consideration of the light sources, etc.
• Brock found really meaningful delivery in Act Three.
• Actions can be louder than words, and can distract an audience’s eye. Be careful of physical movements that are not intended to draw focus.
• Senator Hedges Act Three costume: Did he really have time to get into a suit? The costume could have conveyed the character’s urgency to be there when woken up and summoned by Brock.
• Paul: “My wife wouldn’t like it.” / Billie: “She certainly wouldn’t.” This is the marriage proposal and acceptance, a shared moment between the two characters while the other characters are oblivious. Make the most of the moment.
• Lovely final moment for Billie and Eddie’s reaction.
• Devery’s final lines are the denouement of the play. Many were delivered up stage. The moment needed a “re-grouping” to re-block characters so that the line could be delivered down stage.
• Would Paul’s glasses have been better without lenses. Avoids reflecting light. Good design choice to match the frames between Paul and Billie.
• In their own theatre, they had decorated the lobby as the hotel, with the hustle and bustle of the Assistant Manager, bellhops, etc.
• Billie’s challenge was keeping as big (or bigger) than Brock. She created a nice emotional arc as she grew up and fell in love.
• Billie was a brunette. They considered dyeing her hair blonde, but all agreed that it would have been unnecessary and would have added nothing to it.
• Sibelius Op. 47 is a tricky piece of music to use during a scene without lulling the audience.  Effectively handled by establishing the music and then bringing the volume down.
• Harry’s challenge was the nastiness. Live and enjoy these types of characters. “I don’t own anything that’s cheap. Except you.” is a wonderful, awful line.
• Did the play need a trigger warning in the program for the audience about the scene of domestic violence?  Since the audience expectation was a comedy, it would have been appropriate.

(This is the final version of this post, edited post-Festival.)

ONstage Tonight at Festival: Theatre Sarnia

Our festival opened with a presentation from the Festival hosts; tonight's closing performance is a presentation by last year’s Festival hosts as Theatre Sarnia presents Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, representing the Western Ontario Drama League (WODL).  The last theatre to serve double-duty as Festival host and their regional representative?  Theatre Sarnia in 2006.

The Clean House
Theatre Sarnia
Megan Hadley, Henri Canino, Ashley Carlisle

Theatre Sarnia is one of the oldest, continuously operating community theatres in Canada.  The Drama Club of Sarnia was created in 1927, and among its founders was WODL founder D. Park Jameson.  Later known for many years as Sarnia Little Theatre, Theatre Sarnia performs out of the Imperial Theatre which opened December 31, 1996.  Theatre Sarnia has hosted our Festival three times—in 2002, 2006, and most recently in 2014.  Five times they have represented WODL, most recently in Kanata in 2009 when they presented Night Sky by Susan Yankowitz. At Theatre Ontario Festival 1995 in North York, Sarnia’s production of The Melville Boys (by our honourary Festival Chair Norm Foster) won the Elsie for Outstanding Production.

The Clean House is a whimsical, romantic play centred on Matilde, a Brazilian cleaning woman who would rather be a comedian. This comic drama mixes fantasy and reality as it tells the story of five distinctive characters. Sarah Ruhl’s extraordinary play, embracing “the mess of love and life”, is theatrical, funny and philosophical.

At the 2015 WODL Festival in Owen Sound, Theatre Sarnia won the D. Park Jameson Award for Best Production, as well as Performance by a Female in a Leading Role (Henri Canino as Virginia), an Adjudicator’s Award for a particularly humourous performance (Ashley Carlisle as Mathilde) and Best Coordinated Production, with additional nominations for Outstanding Technical Production and Outstanding Ensemble Work.

Read more about Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 on our website

Explorations of Faithfulness: Adjudication of Agnes of God at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Ron Cameron-Lewis of Gore Bay Theatre’s production of Agnes of God by John Pielmeier.

• Livingstone’s black costume with a touch of red: Had they considered gray or brown? Black gave her balance and symmetry with Mother Superior, adding a hint of red gave a suggestion of blood. A distinctive colour would have given a sense of Livingstone living in the outside world.
• Also, the use of black legs meant that Livingstone and Mother Superior disappeared into them.
• Colours and moods of the lighting shifts were effective.
• Livingstone’s opening direct address to the audience: Accomplished connection with audience through stillness and storytelling.
• The prop powder cigarettes were not effective—the smoke did not read, we couldn’t see Livingstone blowing smoke into Mother Superior’s face. They chose not to use herbal cigarettes because of the scent sensitivity.
• Livingstone’s first interrogation of Mother Superior: When blocking patterns are static, vocal dynamics and nuance are good tools. Ron again references his black room exercise, which one of the co-directors has used in the past (but not on this production.)
• This is a text where the characters say things that really have impact on each other. Rehearsal exercise: When characters say a trigger word, the character repeats the trigger word as a question and then says their own line. This goes back-and-forth between the characters.
• Text also has marked overlapping interruptions. As an exercise, trying doing more of the play that way—it increases the conflict, adds to the tension.
• This is a play that is desperate for the releases in the author’s moment of humour. Some of Livingstone’s monologues are an opportunity to bring in theatricality, e.g. tell the story to two people over drinks.
• Directors debated staging choices for monologues: Isolation in spots vs. movement.  Going with the isolation choice, lighting each monologue differently can be effective.
• It is difficult for actors in nun costumes to express themselves with physicality. It was a wonderful choice for Agnes and Mother Superior’s scene about "love" for her face to be up and out.
• Ron lead the entire group in a difficult-to-describe exercise to explore vocal ranges and find optimum pitches. People in other conference rooms would have wondered why they were hearing strange variations of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
• Pathos was well-developed around the stigmata.
• In moments of conflict, explore more blocking for Livingstone. Again, she is from the outside world and is not confined by the nun’s rules for subsuming passion.
• Actors were given some physical exercise to engage their diaphragms and then played the “sending to prison/asylum sequence”. It makes the fights bigger. The strongest emotions come from our guts, but actors automatic tendency is to act from heads and chests. Agnes had done diaphragm work for her singing.
• Livingstone’s French fiancé monologue—another opportunity for fun and humour.
• Actors can get caught up in each other’s vocal tempos. One exercise is to force one character to “rev up” while the other character “revs down”. Each keeps their own rhythm by snapping their fingers.
• Agnes’ emotional defense of her mother came quickly, as per the stage direction. Seemed to be a fast discovery for the character. Always difficulty to interpret stage directions in acting editions: Are they from the author, or stage manager notes from the first production?
• Agnes sobbing: Tears have origin and duration. Audiences don’t need to see tears, they need to see physical wracking, hear labored breathing. We need to see the journey to the tears.
• Livingstone: Can you check the date? Another sequence which was emotionally dynamic but physically static. This is a good scene to run as an exercise by taking away the characters' words so they must express the essence of the scene exclusively through body language.
• Mother Superior effectively claimed status through vocal power.
• Some tripping over lines. This was their 5th performance, two pre-QUONTA Festival in March, performance at QUONTA, and one more last Friday. Things happen. Don’t try to re-start the lines. Bluff your way through it.
• Another opportunity for movement by Livingstone: the molestation revelation. Directors wanted to give Mother Superior a strong, grounded presence. They tried blocking it as a boxing match but they felt it was “stagey.” One exercise is to “play tag” while speaking the lines in the scene. You may have to pull back and 'mark' the physicality if the space is small. Ron has done it in tiny classrooms, comparable in size to the Gore Bay stage.
• “Bullshit” earned a good laugh from the audience. It didn’t play that way in Gore Bay.
• Livingstone’s loss of faith starting in childhood: this was good truthful storytelling.
• The jokes about the saints smoking could have been revved up. The pace was off in this sequence during last night’s performance. An unusual accidental substitution of one of the lines also caused a problem.
• We believed the hypnotism, but Agnes’ legs were a bit clenched for the delivery of the baby.  This is a difficult sequence to block depending on the physical location of the audience in relationship to the stage. If she is giving birth facing upstage, we don’t see her face. Last night, Agnes had audience members right in front of her.
• Agnes screaming “bitch, whore, liar” about her mother took the actress (15 years old) significantly out of her comfort zone. (ED – This is a tricky one. My own thoughts and discovery as an actor in trying things outside of my own personal comfort zone is to think about how you’re giving voice to people to have had none. There will be people in audiences who had horrible, painful relationships with their mothers, and are unable to say these things. This is a gift that you as an actor are giving to them.)
• Mother Superior’s confession scene. Her face was down and to the right, which is a natural human instinct to take personal, private moments to the floor. Resist that urge and play these moments up and out.
• Livingstone’s final monologue needed more volume. In rehearsal, it definitely seemed okay.
• The final lighting effect clearly illuminating the cross was an enjoyable effect. It also read differently depending on where you were sitting in the auditorium: The cross was made of cardboard (light and easy to transport) and then layered with paper, giving it different colours.  From Ron’s perspective, it looked like religious imagery.
• Choice was made to perform the play with no intermission. According to the playwright, it has never been done without one. His concern was actor fatigue and audience fatigue.  One hour, forty-five minutes felt like the maximum. But if you let the audience out, how do you get that tension back? It accomplished the goal of sustaining momentum. It worked for Ron, but he recognized that it wouldn’t work for everyone in the audience. He cut back on his public adjudication to compensate.
• Intermissions are challenging. Two of the four plays this week are three act plays; the first ran with only one intermission and we don’t yet know what we will see tonight.
• We're fans of Ron's book Acting Skills for Life and many of its exercises.  It's now available as an e-book through Dundurn Press in Toronto.

(This is the final version of this post, edited post-Festival.)

ONstage Tonight at Festival: Peterborough Theatre Guild

Our Friday night performance features the return of last year’s Festival winners for Outstanding Production as Peterborough Theatre Guild presents Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin, representing the Eastern Ontario Drama League (EODL).

Born Yesterday
Peterborough Theatre Guild
David Adams, Mark Paton, Kellie McKenty

Peterborough Theatre Guild began in 1965, purchasing and renovating an old church that had been gutted by a fire.  They have hosted our Theatre Ontario Festival three times, in 1980, 1993, and 2001. Peterborough Theatre Guild has represented EODL many times at Festival—most recently a year ago in Sarnia with their presentation of Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, which won Peterborough their fourth Elsie Award for Outstanding Production (following wins in 2006 in Sarnia for Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, in 2008 in North Bay for Proof, and in 2012 in Sault Ste. Marie for The Mouse House.)

In Born Yesterday, belligerent junk tycoon, Harry Brock, brings his entourage to Washington to make some crooked deals, but when advised that his beautiful but unrefined girlfriend could be a liability, Brock hires a tutor to give her a crash course in culture.

At the 2015 EODL Festival, Peterborough Theatre Guild won the Leslie M. Frost Award for Best Production, as well as Actress in a Major Role (Kellie McKenty as Billie Dawn), Acting Excellence (Wyatt Lamoureux as Ed Devery), and Best Visual Presentation, with honourable mentions for Directing (Pat Maitland and Ian Burns), Actor in a Major Role (Dave Adams as Harry Brock), Acting Excellence (Mark Paton as Paul Verrall), Set Design, Costuming, Contribution by a Student (Anita Spasov and Glennis Desrochers as Bellhops, Blackboots, Waiters, and Manicurists), Cameo Performance (Chuck Vollmar as Eddy), and Adjudicator’s Awards for Production Crew, Ensemble Work, Risk Taking (first-time directors Pat and Ian.)

Read more about Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 on our website

Taking Apart the Human Mind with Neil Simon: Adjudication of The Odd Couple at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

The Odd Couple
Presented by Oshawa Little Theatre
James Burrell, Steve Maddiss, Tom Lynch

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Ron Cameron-Lewis of Oshawa Little Theatre's production of The Odd Couple by Neil Simon.

• Neil Simon on playwriting: Like a mechanic takes apart a car, a playwright takes apart a human mind.
• From the public adjudication: the set as Oscar's home could have benefited from more of his presence.
• Concessions were made to remount the show, originally produced in October and they thought they were done with it.
• Originally they did have a desk for the typewriter (the china cabinet they used felt more like the ex-wife than Oscar.)
• Also the messier the set, the trickier the logistics of the clean-up between Act 1 and Act 2 (when there was no intermission.)
• Lighting was also difficult; they had problems in the original production lighting the S.L. area around the window, caused problems with a dark area around S.L. of the sofa.
• The closet was a late reveal during the performance; it was under-used during the blocking of the show and could have been used earlier in the play.
• The apartment floor-plan seemed implausible.
• The opening moment was glorious with the generous amounts of “cigar smoke” haze: a stunning way to start the play.
• The actor who had been cast as Vinnie in the first production had to withdraw due to an injury; the remount gave him an opportunity to perform.
• Roy had also been recast; actor had only three rehearsals in the role.
• Well-executed visual comedy: the beer opening and spraying everywhere had authenticity, seemed to catch everyone by surprise.
• Lighting enhancements can be a useful tactic to draw the audience’s eye and focus attention on a moment: Just enhancing the area in question 5-10% more while taking the rest of the set 5-10% less.
• Eyes are the window intoa character’s soul – make sure the audience can see the actor's eyes.
• The windows of the set could have benefited from more of the grime of New York City.
• Oscar had some excellent timing on many lines.
• Toilet flushes were well-executed sound effects: timing, sense of direction.
• Vocal variety is a useful tool for performers; In Act One and Two, Felix tended to hold a single note through his lines, as opposed to finding different notes to reflect his emotional turmoil; variance in rhythm is another useful tool for actors.
• The problem is the tone becomes self-pitying; a character can feel sorry for themselves, but character must be trying to fight that.
• One exercise Ron recommends (ED: Me too!) is doing scenes in a black room, no blocking, just vocal work on the text.
• Wonderfully executed sight gags such as the cards flying everywhere on one of Felix’s entrances.
• The four card players had strong differentiation among their characters; this made for an effective climax when they leave and then each return one by one.
• When people leaves the room, there is always a change in the dynamic among the people who are left on stage. Explore these moments. It can simply be a moment of relief that needs to be lived in. But we interact differently in front of an audience (of other characters.)
• Felix’s spasms: Physical moments can benefit from greater specificity—rather than generalized spasms, try more specific spasms.
• Great trust between Oscar and Felix as they climb onto each other, etc.
• Wonderful moment for Felix clearing his sinuses: effective because there was not a shred of dignity in it.
• Explore all of the beats in significant moments of realization for a character e.g. Felix realizing that his marriage is over.
• Scene change from Act One to Act Two was confusing for the audience. Some thought there was going to be an intermission and got up our of our seats. Felt like the house lights cue had been missed. Find ways to keep the action moving. Ron suggested bringing in a couple of stage crew sweeping downstage of the house curtain while the set was being cleaned upstage of the house curtain. As long as there is action happening, we remain engaged and there's no sense of "intermission."
• Top of Act Two: A lovely example of change in dynamics of a relationship by the ensemble.
• Oscar and the pickle: another wonderful visual moment.
• Roy’s emotional build of outrage was excellent.
• D.S. moment between Felix and Murray talking about the Playboy Club: This was an example of the effective use of comic stillness, beat by beat, “moments of repose.”
• Comedy can thrive in moments where things are used in a way that you don’t expect: the potato chips, the ladle, and the apron was an effective sight gag.
• The Pigeon Sisters are tricky characters: giggly, silly, charming, just a bit obnoxious; also trying to match their British dialects.
• More great moments of physical comedy: Felix and the Sisters, turning 360 degrees in the chair, timing of lines: (“Where do you get your ideas?” / “From the news.”)
• When the Pigeon Sisters start crying, vocally they were caught in their upper register, this make it hard on the ears, and sound becomes generalized.
• The power of details within a moment: Oscar unplugging the vacuum cord (this moment almost didn’t happen as the vacuum handle broke during the afternoon run.)
• An example of a wonderfully executed moment of repose: Oscar “It was signed F.U. ... It took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Unger.” Sequence: The actor moved, froze, delivered the set up-the line, moved, froze, and delivered the punchline.
• Another example of the dynamic of a room changing on an entrance/exit: The card players reactions to the arrival of the Pigeon Sisters.
• The period of play is not specified. While it is not contemporary, the company chose to place it in the 1970s.
• Simon’s comedy is well-crafted.  He had a tragic childhood and he writes this pain into his plays; these experiences are heartbreaking for his characters.

(This is the final version of this post, edited post-Festival.)

ONstage Tonight at Festival: Gore Bay Theatre

There is a familiar face in one of the directing chairs at tonight’s performance.  Andrea Emmerton, who was Theatre Ontario’s Community Theatre Coordinator from 2000 to 2007, is co-director of tonight’s performance of Agnes of God by John Pielmeier, presented by Gore Bay Theatre representing QUONTA, the northeastern Ontario community theatre association.

The company of Agnes of God
Gore Bay Theatre
Kayla Greenman, Tara Bernatchez,
Shannon McMullan

Gore Bay Theatre is a community group located on Manitoulin Island in a small town of 850.  They are busiest during the summer season, catering to a tourist audience and presenting two to three plays in repertory.  This is their fourth appearance at Festival—most recently they opened our 2012 Festival in Sault Ste. Marie with The Attic, The Pearls & Three Fine Girls by Jennifer Brewin, Leah Cherniak, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Alisa Palmer and Martha Ross.

Summoned to a covent, Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court-appointed psychiatrist, is charged with assessing the sanity of a novice accused of murdering her newborn. Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior, determindly keeps young Agnes from the doctor, arousing Livingstone's suspicions further. Who killed the infant and who fathered the tiny victim? Livingstone's questions force all three women to re-examine the meaning of faith and the power of love leading to a dramatic, compelling climax.

At the 2015 QUONTA Festival in Sault Ste. Marie, Gore Bay Theatre won Outstanding Production, Outstanding Supporting Actress (Shannon McMullan as Mother Miriam Ruth), Outstanding Visual Production, and Adjudicator’s Awards for performance (Kayla Greenman as Agnes) and original music (Shannon McMullan, Bob Sproule, and Jean Lavalle).

Read more about Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 on our website

ONstage Tonight at Festival: Oshawa Little Theatre

For the first time since 2006, the host theatre will also be a presenter as Oshawa Little Theatre takes the stage tonight with their production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, representing the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario (ACT-CO).

Oshawa Little Theatre owes its existence to Verna Conant. In 1928, she had a vision to create a community theatre and hired a professional director to instruct local actors. In the early 1980s the membership decided to build their own theatre and obtained a Wintario grant.  This, together with some amazing contributions from businesses and individuals, set the wheels in motion to build today’s 360-seat facility adjacent to the old rehearsal room and workshop, which opened in 1983. Oshawa Little Theatre previously hosted Festivals in 1991 and 2003.  This is their first time representing ACT-CO in 35 years, last appearing at Festival in 1980 with a production of The Diary of Anne Frank adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

The Odd Couple
Oshawa Little Theatre
Will van der Zyl, James Burrell,
Tracy McCarten, Shari Thorne

This classic comedy opens as a group of the guys assembled for cards in the apartment of divorced Oscar Madison. And if the mess is any indication, it’s no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is Felix Unger who has just been separated from his wife. Fastidious, depressed and none too tense, Felix seems suicidal, but as the action unfolds Oscar becomes the one with murder on his mind when the clean-freak and the slob ultimately decide to room together with hilarious results as The Odd Couple is born.

At the 2015 ACT-CO Festival, Oshawa Little Theatre won Best Production of a Comedy and Best Performance by a Male in a Leading Role (Will van der Zyl as Felix Ungar), with nominations for Best Director, Best Performance by a Male in a Leading Role (James Burrell as Oscar Madison), and Best Set Design.

Read more about Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 on our website

Welcoming Our Final Two Productions to Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

The final two plays have been chosen for Theatre Ontario Festival 2015, completing our showcase of outstanding community theatre productions opening May 13 in Oshawa.

On Wednesday, May 13, Festival opens with Oshawa Little Theatre’s presentation of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, representing ACT-CO—the Association of Community Theatres of Central Ontario (ACT-CO).  This marks the first time since 2006 that the host theatre company has also been a presenting theatre company.

On Friday, May 15, last year’s Elsie Award recipients for Outstanding Festival Production return to Festival, as Peterborough Theatre Guild will again represent the Eastern Ontario Drama League as they present Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin.

With all four productions in place, we have plays written in the 1940s (Born Yesterday), the 1960s (The Odd Couple), the 1980s (Agnes of God) and the 2000s (The Clean House.)  This will also be the first Festival made up of four American plays since 1997.

We’re pleased to announce that our Festival Awards Live-Blog will return for the sixth year.  Festival celebrates excellence in community theatre, and the live-blog gives an opportunity for theatre-lovers across Ontario who can’t be in Oshawa to follow along with the Festival Awards presentation.  In addition to the Festival Awards, the Brunch will feature the presentation of the Michael Spence Award to John Storey of Markham for his outstanding contribution to community theatre in the ACT-CO region.

We’re also excited to introduce two more educational events at Festival.  On Thursday afternoon, Festival-goers can join us at our workshop with Playwrights Guild of Canada on “Canadian Plays in Community Theatres.”  On Saturday afternoon, immediately following our Annual General Meeting, our Youth Advisory Committee hosts “Cultivating Tomorrow’s Artists”, a conversation about engaging youth in theatre programming.  With detailed adjudications of the previous night’s performances, and our previously announced Playwright-in-Person event with Damien Atkins on Friday afternoon, Theatre Ontario Festival is the go-to educational event for the serious community theatre practitioner.

Join Us at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

Welcoming Our First Two Productions to Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

By Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 in Oshawa is taking shape as two of our four productions have been chosen from regional festivals.  We also welcome our Festival Honourary Chair, and invite you to check out some of the fun things to do in Oshawa while you’re attending Festival.

On Thursday, May 14, Gore Bay Theatre from Manitoulin Island will represent QUONTA (the northeastern Ontario community theatre region) with their presentation of John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God.  Of note, this production will feature our former Community Theatre Coordinator, Andrea Emmerton, as co-director of the production.

On Saturday, May 16, Theatre Sarnia will present Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, representing the Western Ontario Drama League.  Theatre Sarnia was our fantastic host community theatre at last year’s Festival.

Norm Foster

We’re excited to welcome Norm Foster as our Honourary Festival Chair.  Norm Foster has been called Canada’s preeminent comic playwright.  He is the most produced playwright in the history of the country and he receives, on average, an astounding one hundred and fifty productions of his plays each year.  It has been said that on any given day of the year, there is a Norm Foster play either in rehearsal or in performance somewhere in the world.

Oshawa is our host community this year, and there are many local attractions for Festival goers to check out between performances, adjudications, and workshops.  Art lovers can visit the Robert McLaughin Gallery for the latest contemporary and historical collections including abstract Canadian works; and car enthusiasts will want to visit the Canadian Automotive Museum, recognizing the city’s history as a national centre for auto manufacturing.

As previously announced, Festival will also feature a reading by Playwright-in-Person Damien Atkins, adjudications by Ron Cameron-Lewis (in his penultimate appearance as an adjudicator), and the presentation at the Awards Brunch of the Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre to John Storey of Markham.

The annual Theatre Ontario Festival is a showcase of outstanding community theatre productions; a classroom for passionate, dedicated community theatre artists; a celebration of excellence in community theatre; and a destination bringing together theatre lovers from across the province.  Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 is co-hosted with Oshawa Little Theatre and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario, and runs May 13 to 17.

Join us at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

Congratulations to John Storey, Recipient of the 2015 Michael Spence Award

John Storey

Theatre Ontario is thrilled to announce that the 2015 Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre will be presented to John Storey of Markham.  This award is presented by Theatre Ontario from the nomination by Markham Little Theatre, and on the recommendation of the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario (ACT-CO.)   The award honours individuals for sustained contribution to community theatre, generosity of spirit, involvement, and commitment to community theatre that is legendary within his/her region, helping community theatre flourish.  John will receive his award on May 17 at the Theatre Ontario Festival Awards Brunch in Oshawa.

John has been a member of Markham Little Theatre (MLT) since 1970, and continues to be a leader, mentor and inspiration to the membership.  He worked directly with Tony Roman, then-Mayor of Markham, to help build the Markham Theatre, and then led the fundraising campaign to build MLT’s “Backstage” facility for rehearsal, building, and storage.  He currently serves on MLT’s 50th Anniversary committee as they prepare for the upcoming season of celebration, and serves as liaison to the City of Markham, negotiating an interest-free mortgage on behalf of the theatre company.  He has been honoured with a Province of Ontario Volunteer Award and the Markham Arts Council’s Mackie Award.  His work as a community theatre artist at MLT has been honoured with awards for directing and acting.

He served on the Board of the Central Ontario Drama League, and oversaw the constitutional transformation of the organization into ACT-CO.  He is a former President of Theatre Ontario, serving on the Board for six years, and in 1987, he served as Chair of the Theatre Ontario Festival in Markham.

“I am very excited and honoured to be the recipient of the Michael Spence Award.  I have been fortunate to know Michael for some time,” said John.  “My experiences with Markham Little Theatre have been wonderful, rewarding, and happy ones.”

The Michael Spence Award honours legendary contributions to community theatre in Ontario, and is named after Michael Spence, the founding President of Theatre Ontario.  Michael was active in community theatre at Hart House Theatre, London Little Theatre, and the University Alumnae Dramatic Club (now known as Alumnae Theatre.)  He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Dominion Drama Festival, a past President of Arts Etobicoke, and he continues to be an enthusiastic supporter of Theatre Ontario.

Find out more about Theatre Ontario's Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre

Join Us at the Award Presentation at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

Welcome Damien Atkins as Playwright-in-Person at Festival 2015

We are thrilled to welcome Damien Atkins as Playwright-in-Person at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 in Oshawa.  For nearly twenty years, Theatre Ontario has been bringing together professional playwrights and passionate community theatre artists at Festival.  Damien will be reading from his work on the afternoon of Friday, May 15.  Tickets are now on sale for the Festival.

Damien Atkins has acted on most of the major stages across the country.  Toronto credits include Angels in America, The Caretaker, King Lear, The Importance of Being Earnest (Soulpepper), Someone Else, Unidentified Human Remains..., Shopping and Fucking (Crow’s Theatre), Seussical (YPT), The Clockmaker (Tarragon), London Road, 7 Stories, Frost/Nixon, The Glass Menagerie, Amadeus, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods (Canadian Stage), and Mojo, Our Country’s Good (theatrefront). Other recent acting credits include I Am My Own Wife (Dallas Theater Center), The Way of the World (NAC/Soulpepper), The Retreat from Moscow (Neptune Theatre), Mozart in Amadeus and Henry James in Geometry in Venice (Segal Theatre, Montreal).

He spent four seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, as both actor and playwright. Their 2001 production of Good Mother, starring Seana McKenna, made Atkins the youngest playwright to have his work produced by the Festival. His other works as a playwright include Lucy (at Canadian Stage in Toronto and the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City), Miss Chatelaine (Theatre Passe Muraille/Grand Theatre) and Real Live Girl (Buddies in Bad Times/Manitoba Theatre Centre/Grand Theatre).

Film and TV credits include Take This Waltz (feature), The Listener (CTV), MVP (CBC), Slings and Arrows (TMN), Our Fathers (Showtime), The Matthew Sheppard Story (NBC), The Eleventh Hour (CTV), and This is Wonderland (CBC). Damien has been playwright in residence at Canadian Stage and Crow’s Theatre, as well as a Guest Instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada. He has received nine Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations for acting and writing, winning four.

Theatre Ontario Festival is co-hosted by Oshawa Little Theatre and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario.  Playwright-in-Person is made possible by a grant from the Playwrights Guild of Canada, funded by the Canada Council.  Join us at Theatre Ontario Festival 2015

Theatre Ontario Welcomes Ron Cameron-Lewis as Festival 2015 Adjudicator

Theatre Ontario is thrilled to welcome Ron Cameron-Lewis as adjudicator for the 2015 Theatre Ontario Festival in Oshawa.  The Festival will be Ron’s penultimate appearance as an adjudicator in Ontario, leading to his “swan song” appearance as adjudicator of the 2016 Western Ontario Drama League Festival (although he will continue with some international theatre work.)

“I am honored to be invited to adjudicate the Theatre Ontario Festival in Oshawa,” said Ron Cameron-Lewis.  “This marks the fifth time in the past 29 years that I have been asked to adjudicate the top productions from around the province. Having attended many more Theatre Ontario Festivals as well, I look forward to reconnecting with many friends from all aspects of my half century of experience in community theatre.”

Ron is well known to community groups across the province as a teacher, adjudicator and workshop leader.  He has adjudicated well over 2,000 productions throughout Ontario for community and educational theatre festivals, as well as in the USA at state, regional, national and international levels. Since 2010, he has taught the art of adjudication to 50 people, three times at Theatre Ontario Festivals and twice at AACT national festivals in Rochester, New York, and Carmel, Indiana.  In 2010, Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning appointed him Professor Emeritus, and in 2013, Ron was elected as Member-at-Large for the American Association of Community Theatres for a three-year term.

Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 will be held in Oshawa from May 13 to 17, 2015 and is co-hosted by Theatre Ontario, Oshawa Little Theatre, and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario.

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

Save the Date for Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 in Oshawa

Theatre Ontario Festival is a destination for theatre-lovers from across the province.  Mark your calendar now to join us on May 13 to 17, 2015 in Oshawa for Theatre Ontario Festival 2015, co-hosted by Theatre Ontario, Oshawa Little Theatre, and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario.

Festival 2014 lived up to its billing as a showcase of outstanding community theatre productions, and was described by one frequent attendee as “the most solid, thought-provoking, challenging, and artistic Theatre Ontario Festivals I’ve ever been to.”  Festival continues to celebrate excellence—honouring outstanding achievements in community theatre since 1973.

With thought-provoking detailed adjudications open to all attendees, workshops focusing on artistic and administrative needs at community theatres, and play readings bringing together Canadian playwrights and communities, Festival is also a classroom for passionate and dedicated community theatre artists.

Find out more about the Theatre Ontario Festival experience:

• Catch up on Festival 2014 blog posts
• Catch up on Festival 2014 tweets on Storify
• Ken Stephen, a long-time member of Theatre Ontario, and a past member of our Board of Directors, also shared his personal opinions on the Festival shows on his blog Large Stage Live!: Doubt, A Parable; Lenin's Embalmers; Glengarry Glen Ross; The Beauty Queen of Leenane; with a postscript

See you in 2015!