Browsing The Bulletin Board

Training from Theatre Ontario

• Do you want to expand your skills as an actor or director, flex your creative muscle, and spend time with people who share your passion for theatre?  If this is your idea of a thrilling week away, then this is your last chance to register for our Summer Theatre Intensive, starting August 11 in Waterloo.

Workshops for Emerging Playwrights and Emerging Plays

• Playwriting: Idea to First Draft, with Lindsay Price on September 14 in Toronto – Sometimes the hardest step in the playwriting process is the first. Where do I find inspiration? How do I develop an idea? What if my idea fizzles out halfway through?
• Playwriting: How to Self-Edit and Critique, with Lindsay Price on September 15 in Toronto – Plays are not written in the first draft. Plays come to life in rewrites. But re-write how? What if we don't know how to move our work forward? What if we don't know how to critique our own work? What if we aren't sure how to process feedback from others? This workshop offers tools and techniques for playwrights who have a play “under construction.”

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including proposal writing and marketing.

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

• Upcoming Ontario Arts Council deadlines: Theatre Projects (August 1)
• Next in the Young Associates Summer Seminar series—Organizational Cashflow is today, Managing Your Data: Making It Work For You And Your Organization is August 7
• Jumblies Theatre’s The Art Of Community starts on August 8 in Sudbury, for participants from any arts discipline, tradition or related field with an interest and/or background in community-engaged arts

Jumblies Theatre's The Art of Community
Photo by Katherine Fleitas

New on The Bulletin Board

• Buddies In Bad Times is inviting submissions for Strange Sisters: The Redux.  They are seeking new, not previously produced performances (10 minutes or less), durational pieces, and multidisciplinary art work. Submissions are encouraged from both established and emerging artists working in the areas of theatre, drag, performance art, dance (including aerial, pole dancing and twerking) and movement, sonic art and music, interdisciplinary, and hybrid forms. Of particular interest are projects engaged in acts of self-worship and celebration no matter how fraught with complications and contradictions they are. We want to see the ways that you adore your ugly, how you spoil yourself and sin in order to resist, cope or revolt.  The submission deadline is August 19.
• The 2013 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre will be awarded to professional directors who, in the preceding 10 years, have made a significant creative contribution to no fewer than three noteworthy theatre projects in Canada.  The nomination deadline is September 16.
• Buddies is also inviting applications for their Young Creators Unit for queer-identified artists 25 and under.  Submission deadline is September 20.

Check out these items, and other postings from our members of workshops, calls for submission, funding opportunities, awards, and more—on Theatre Ontario’s Bulletin Board on our website

The Revival of the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre

By Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

At first, it sounded too good to be true.

When a brand new Twitter account started reaching out to members of the theatre sector in May with the news that the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre was returning, there was good reason for skepticism.  The media reports in 2012 seemed quite definitive that the Prize was ending.

Elinore and Lou Siminovitch

A nagging voice in the back of my head said that this was a social media prank: a theatre community always desperate for good news was being punked by someone with too much time on their hands and a fake social media account.  I was delighted to chat with Katherine Siminovitch—daughter of Lou and Elinore Siminovitch, the Prize’s namesakes—who confirmed that it was indeed true.  Canada’s largest theatre Prize will be awarded on October 21, 2013.

“The initial funding lasted for twelve years,” Kathy explained.  “We were amazed by the feedback from the community, the incredible difference the Prize has made to people’s lives.  Many people, particularly the past prize winners and other supporters of theatre in Canada, wanted to find a way to keep it going.”

Supporters of the Prize worked to secure new partnerships with the University of Toronto and the RBC Foundation.  The $25,000 Protegée Prize is supported this year by the RBC Emerging Artist Project.  The supporters are also exploring ways to expand the Prize’s impact beyond the recipients themselves.  “We intend to get more involved in the theatre community,” Kathy said.  “We’re planning things like workshops by the prize recipients, and the University of Toronto and Hart House Theatre will be having a more active role.”

“We are confident about the future of the Prize,” she said, “with the support of several donors, the history and significance of the Prize, and the two encouraging partnerships with the University of Toronto and RBC Financial.”  The priority now is an enthusiastic campaign to the theatre community to get the word out about the September 16 nomination deadline.

“We also want to get more media interest,” Kathy said, articulating a challenge that all Prize-givers (including Theatre Ontario) have encountered.

Read more about the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre

ONstage Openings for the week of July 29

In South Central Ontario
Aug. 2, The Melville Boys at Rose Theatre (Brampton)

Too Many Cooks - Drayton Entertainment:
Huron County Playhouse
David Silvestri, Keith Savage, and Sam Rosenthal

In Southwestern Ontario
Jul. 30, Taking Shakespeare at Stratford Festival, currently in previews
Jul. 30, The Merchant Of Venice at Stratford Festival, in previews
Jul. 31, Legends Of Harmony at Drayton Entertainment: Schoolhouse Theatre (St. Jacobs)
Jul. 31, Too Many Cooks at Drayton Entertainment: Huron County Playhouse (Grand Bend)
Aug. 1, Mini Putt at Port Stanley Festival Theatre, with previews from Jul. 31
Aug. 2, Garrison's Garage at Blyth Festival, with previews from Jul. 31
Aug. 4, Othello at Stratford Festival, in previews

In Toronto
Jul. 31, Angels In America - Part One: Millennium Approaches at Soulpepper Theatre, currently in previews
Aug. 1, Angels In America - Part Two: Perestroika at Soulpepper Theatre, currently in previews

On A First Name Basis - Theatre Collingwood
Patricia Vanstone and Norm Foster

In Central Ontario
Jul. 30, On A First Name Basis at Theatre Collingwood
Aug. 1, Tales Of Whoa at New Actors' Colony Theatre (Bala)
Aug. 1, Hollywood Sings at Port Hope Festival Theatre
Aug. 5, The Real McCoy at 4th Line Theatre (Millbrook) in previews

In Eastern Ontario
Aug. 3, No Sex, Please, We're British at Upper Canada Playhouse (Morrisburg) with previews from Aug. 1
Aug. 3, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque), with a preview on Aug. 2

For more information on these shows and other theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Behind The Scenes At Ontario’s Theatres

• It really seemed too-good-to-be-true: the Siminovitch Prize is back.  The prize—which is dedicated to distinguished scientist Lou Siminovitch and his late wife Elinore, a playwright—awards $100,000 to a mid-career artist in directing, playwriting, and design; $25,000 of which is given to a protégée of the recipient’s choice.  The award is now presented in partnership with the University of Toronto and the RBC Foundation.  The deadline for nominations is September 16, and the award will be presented on October 21
• The 2013 Ontario Fringe season comes to a close this weekend as the Hamilton Fringe, under the new leadership of Claire Calnan, wraps up.  2014’s Fringe season will kick off a little earlier with the newest stop in mid-May: the Durham Fringe Festival (FB page)
• And speaking of Fringe, I had the pleasure of meeting Ken Harrower a year ago in the Toronto Fringe Club—as I recall, he was a member of that year’s Fringe 100.  His story is remarkable, as CBC Toronto shared in a recent broadcast

Conversations

• Playwrights Guild of Canada caught up with Hamilton playwright Stephen Near and, among other topics, talked about opportunities for playwrights to work with community theatres.  As you know this is a popular topic with us—for over fifteen years we’ve been connecting Canadian playwrights and communities through “Playwright-in-Person” at Theatre Ontario Festival and Summer Courses (with the support of PGC and the Canada Council) and the recognition of successful original works in our partnership with Playwrights Canada Press to publish Grassroots: Original Plays From Ontario Community Theatres
• The July 11th weekly Howl from HowlRound posed the question “Technology is transforming the practice of theatre. How can we invite technological change and not lose our way?”  Moderated by playwright Gwydion Suilebhan, it was fun to engage with colleagues both local and abroad on a challenging topic with many diverging discussions threads

From The Wire

• Theatres’ Facebook page administrators lucky enough to have the new Facebook Insights should check out this information from Erin Richards-Kunkel on the Best New Features of Insights—Facebook has really upped their game in this area
• The full set of Ontario Ministry of Labour health and safety guidelines for live performance are now available online—with recent heat alerts, the Outdoor Venues guideline is a must-read
• The Australia Council for the Arts is no longer funding through specific channels, but exploring a more inter-disciplinary approach to all government arts funding

Migrations

• Shelly Glover is our new Federal Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
• Nancy Morgan is the new Executive Director of Theatre Nova Scotia

In Case You Missed It

• Honouring Ontario’s arts innovators and the legacy of Sandra Tulloch
• Ontario’s theatres adapt to the new marketing reality
• Welcome to Mairin Smit, our new Program Coordinator
• And we say a fond farewell to Tim Chapman

You can also receive news from Theatre Ontario every month by email.  Our archives are online and the July issue is now available.

Honouring Ontario’s Arts Innovators and the Legacy of Sandy Tulloch

By Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Sandra Tulloch was Executive Director of Theatre Ontario for nearly twenty years.  During that time, she was renowned not just for her innovation within the theatre sector, but across arts and cultural disciplines.

When she retired, her legacy was honoured with the creation of the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture.  The award is presented to individuals and collectives whose leadership, initiative, and service have contributed to the development and strengthening of arts and culture in Ontario through innovative and practical initiatives.  While Theatre Ontario administers this award, it recognizes achievements in all artistic and cultural disciplines.  Theatre Ontario is thrilled to announce that the award will be sustained through the sponsorship of Marinucci & Company, Chartered Accountants.

“We are delighted to have Marinucci & Company sponsor the Sandra Tulloch Award,” said Carol Beauchamp, Executive Director of Theatre Ontario.  “This award honours Sandy’s amazing legacy.  The list of past recipients recognizes many unsung heroes in arts and culture across sectors.  There are so many hard working innovators worthy of recognition, and I’m thrilled to have passionate arts supporter like Sam champion this award.”

Past recipients of the award are Tim Jones & Susan Serran, Angela Rebeiro, Jane Marsland, Myles Warren, Jini Stolk, Claire Hopkinson, Peter Honeywell, Janis Barlow, Winston Morgan, Judy Harquail, and Heather Young.

“Working with a variety of arts organizations, I’m always impressed by people like Sandy and the award’s recipients who show initiative and leadership across sectors,” said Sam Marinucci.  “I’m proud that we can honour Sandy’s legacy with this sponsorship.”

Theatre Ontario encourages you to put your thinking caps on—we will be accepting nominations for the 2014 Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture beginning September 1.  The deadline for nominations is November 30.

Read more about the Sandra Tulloch Award, including the full award guidelines, on the Theatre Ontario website