Sears & Switzer Leading High-Energy Workshop At Theatre Ontario Festival

The Theatre Ontario Festival provides many different educational opportunities for the attendees.  One of the most popular is the Adjudicator's Workshop.  This year's adjudicators, Theresa Sears & David Switzer, will be leading a workshop called “Wake it up, shake it up!” on Thursday, May 20 at 2pm in London.

This class features fresh ways to wake up performances and shake up our interpretation of scenes. A high energy workshop for directors and actors of all levels, it will focus on the process-driven skills demanded of the theatre artist.  Looking for inspiration? Want to push your performance to new levels? Join the workshop!

To register for the workshop, you must sign-up in person in the Festival Hospitality Suite at the Delta Armouries Hotel.  Space is limited so only registered participants will be allowed.

Visit the Theatre Ontario website for more information about the 2010 Theatre Ontario Festival.

The Bulletin Board

New this week...

Call for Directors at Amicus Productions.  Deadline is April 5.

Acting for the Mature Theatre Lover workshop at Ottawa Little Theatre on April 8.

Physical Theatre Masterclass with Denise Clark at Factory Theatre on April 23.

Call for Directors at Alumnae Theatre Company.  Deadline is May 1.

Children's Puppetry Workshops at Puppetmongers Theatre on May 8, 15, 29.

Introduction to the Alexander Technique in Performance and Presentation at Stratford Shakespeare Festival on July 10.

For more information about these opportunities, and more listings, please visit The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Next "Getting Started Session" Scheduled For May 5

Theatre Ontario's next "Getting Started" for Actors workshop has been scheduled for May 5, from 2pm to 4pm.

Getting Started sessions are for actors beginning their professional careers. In this two-hour workshop, Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre Coordinator answers the most frequently asked questions about the business of acting. Find out about:

• The realities of showbiz
• Pictures and resumes
• Equity and ACTRA
• Agents and casting directors
• Auditioning do's and don'ts
• Maintaining and improving your acting skills

Getting Started is a free workshop, available to members of Theatre Ontario only.  For more information, and to register, please visit the Theatre Ontario website.

ONstage Openings

Here are some of the shows opening across Ontario in the next week.

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
On Apr. 1, Red Letter Day at Domino Theatre (Kingston)

In South Central Ontario:
On Mar. 26, Unity (1918) at Durham Shoestring Performers (Oshawa)
On Apr. 1, Enchanted April at Mississauga Players
On Apr. 2, Remember Me at Theatre Aurora

In Southwestern Ontario:
On Mar. 27, There's A Mouse In My House at Carousel Players (St. Catharines)
On Apr. 1, Pearl Gidley at Lost & Found Theatre (Kitchener)
On Apr. 1, Harvey at the Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

In Toronto:
On Mar. 30, Pride And Prejudice at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts
On Apr. 1, Titanic, The Musical at Curtain Call Players
On Apr. 2, 9 to 5 at Bad Dog Theatre Company

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario or to add/update your listing, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

Coming up this week...

Jumblies Theatre is holding two workshops with Heather Young, "Excel Basics and Brush-Ups" on March 24, and "Budget Skills and Systems" on March 31.

Deadline for PACT's Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award is March 26.

Lorraine Kimsa Theatre For Young People's Drama Schools begin on March 27.

Ottawa Little Theatre's Costume Design Workshop with Julia Tribe on March 27-28.

Stratford Shakespeare Festival's Directing Workshop with Lee Wilson on March 28.

New this week...

Ottawa Little Theatre is holding a workshop "An Introduction to Dramaturgy in New Play Development", with Andrea Romaldi, on April 25.

Tarragon Theatre is conducting its national Under 30 Playwriting Competition.  Deadline is April 30.

Toronto Fringe Festival is accepting applications for the Next Stage Theatre Festival.  Deadline is May 24.

Siminovich Prize in Theatre: 2010 is for professional directors.  Deadline is June 4.

Rapier Wit (Toronto) is conducting a Stage Combat Intensive: Basic Certification Workshop from June 21 to July 3.

Bottletree Productions is holding it's annual One-Act Play Competition.  Deadline is November 30.

Read all about these events on the The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Festival 2010 Entries From WODL And QUONTA

We're pleased to announce the first two of the four entries that will be part of the 2010 Theatre Ontario Festival in London.

On opening night, Wednesday, May 19, Theatre Burlington will represent the Western Ontario Drama League (WODL) with their presentation of Breaking The Code by Hugh Whitemore.

On Friday, May 19, Gateway Theatre Guild of North Bay presents Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot.  They are representing the QUONTA Drama Region of northeastern Ontario.

The closing night production from the Eastern Ontario Drama League (EODL) will be announced on Monday.  Thursday's entry from the Association of Community Theatres of Central Ontario will be revealed April 12.

For more information, visit the Festival 2010 page on the Theatre Ontario website.

Recommended Reading

I recently stumbled onto http://www.2amtheatre.com/ who, among many other awesome things, do a really good job of this type of "referred reading."  Here is their latest Follow Friday.

And a few other items that caught my notice this week.

Monica Reida describes three different approaches to intermissions and how theatre procedures impact on that experience.  For me, intermission is a time to check-in with my fellow guests about the show that we're seeing, so anything that encourages that (you know, that elusive "engagement" thing) is worthwhile.

Alexis Soloski writes about really long plays and how we immerse ourselves in that type of theatrical experience.

ONstage Openings

Here are some of the shows opening across Ontario in the next week.

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
On Mar. 19, Death Of A Doornail at Mississippi Mudds of Carleton Place
On Mar. 23, Postmortem at Kanata Theatre (Ottawa)
On Mar. 23, Where The Blood Mixes at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa)
On Mar. 23, Enchanted April at Ottawa Little Theatre
On Mar. 25, Flying Solo Monologue Night at Algonquin College Theatre Arts (Ottawa)

In Northeastern Ontario:
On Mar. 18, West Side Story at Theatre Cambrian (Sudbury)
On Mar. 25, The Flying Bandit at Sudbury Theatre Centre

In South Central Ontario:
On Mar. 18, Grease at Oshawa Little Theatre
On Mar. 19, Titanic: The Musical at City Centre Musical Productions (Mississauga)
On Mar. 24, Rehearsal For Murder at Newmarket Stage Company
On Mar. 26, Unity (1918) at Durham Shoestring Performers (Oshawa)

In Southwestern Ontario:
On Mar. 20, The Legend In Black at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
On Mar. 25, Saving Lonesome George at The Grand Theatre (London)
On Mar. 25, The Trojan Women at Lost & Found Theatre (Kitchener)
On Mar. 27, There's A Mouse In My House at Carousel Players (St. Catharines)

In Toronto:
On Mar. 15, 'Art' at Canadian Stage
On Mar. 15, Five at Theatre Direct Canada
On Mar. 16, Dr. Faustus at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts
On Mar. 16, Big Bad Wolf Vs. Lord Underwearface Von Schtinker at The Second City
On Mar. 17, Breakfast at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
On Mar. 18, who knew grannie: a dub aria at Factory Theatre
On Mar. 18, Birnam Wood at Theatre Rusticle
On Mar. 21, Marat/Sade at Theatre @ York
On Mar. 22, New Voices at Ryerson Theatre School
On Mar. 28, Teen Macro Neato at Bag Dog Theatre Company

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

Space Still Remaining In Self-Start Workshop On March 24

There are still a few spaces remaining in next week's workshop on Self-Start: The Basics of Producing.  If you want to do a show but have never produced before, and if you want to know what questions to ask first, this session is for you!

Read about Self-Start on the Theatre Ontario website

The Bulletin Board

New this week...

Millbrook: 4th Line Theatre's New Play Competition - for playwrights who have had at least one full-length piece professionally produced.

Toronto: b current is hiring an Operations Director.

Visit The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Recommended Reading

Andrew Taylor profiles some interesting research about how new technology complements and supplements our real-world interactions.  What's most valuable for theatres is that Internet and mobile phone users are more likely to visit public place-based arts organizations (which sounds like a theatre to me...) than non-users.

Alison Broverman writes about a play that changed her life.  The most embarrassing one.  She says it's "not cool."  She's wrong.

And finally, from Praxis Theatre, tech day in two minutes or less.

Festivals & Fate

by Dennis Johnson, Community Theatre Coordinator


Festival season is upon us. During the March Break, community theatres from the west gather in Owen Sound (WODL Festival March 15-20) and from the north in North Bay (QUONTA Festival March 17-21), to hold their annual feast of theatre. A week later, the east will feast in Peterborough (EODL March 24-28). Meanwhile ACT-CO (Central Ontario) continues its traveling three-adjudicator festival which winds up on April 10. And then we will advertise the titles of the “four best plays in Ontario” which will assemble in London for the Theatre Ontario Festival May 19-23.

It all sounds a bit like “Best in Show” where one dog walks away with the coveted ribbon, but really we all know that the best dog is our dog. We love it, it loves us back. The “best” plays produced by community theatres may never even be entered in a festival - whether from lack of funds to take the play on the road, bad timing, or because of inexperience or even insecurity. Winners must always be modest about the awards we win and the recognition we receive. Some of it may be luck. Or fate.

The Bulletin Board

New this week...

Theatre Cambrian (Sudbury) is running a March Break Dramafest for youth.

TheatreBooks in Toronto is holding a workshop with Marsha Chesley on auditioning for film and television.

Northumberland Players (Cobourg) is selling set pieces from their recent production of Sweeney Todd.

Lorraine Kimsa Theatre For Young People (Toronto) is now accepting registrations for their spring drama school.

Visit the Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Recommended Reading

(Way behind on my reading, but I had flagged this one...)

Lyn Gardner writes about the opportunities in unpaid art internships.  The word "exploitation" appears.

Introduction to Adjudication

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on our ideas for an "Introduction to Adjudication" course.  (Catch up on the discussion here)

The planning for the course is now complete.  Ron Cameron-Lewis will be our instructor, and we are now accepting applications.  Read all about it on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

New this week...

In St. Catharines, March Break training for children 5 to 8 at Carousel Players beginning March 15.

In Toronto, Directing Class with Richard Rose at Tarragon Theatre beginning April 12.

Plus, in Toronto, Call for Directors deadline at Scarborough Theatre Guild extended to March 15.

Coming up this week...

Deadline for submissions to the Festival of Ideas and Creation at Canadian Stage Company is March 5.  For artists who are currently working on new projects of any length and in early phases of development which are translations or adaptations in either form or content, who would like the opportunity to publicly share their work in a festival context.

Visit the Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.