Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• The early-bird registration deadline for the discount rate on our Summer Theatre Intensive week-long residential courses in Waterloo for performers and directors is May 1
• Our Provincial Youth Forum “Developing our Network” – an afternoon of free workshops for youth – is on May 5 in Toronto
• The Theatre Ontario Annual Meeting and Celebration is on May 5 at 7pm and our Silent Auction is now open
• Audition Talk Back: How to Get It Right workshop with Grace Lynn Kung, Sera-Lys McArthur, and Joanne Williams is on May 6 in Toronto
• Our next Getting Started for Actors workshop with Mairin Smit and guest actor Claire Acott, answering your FAQs about the business of acting, is May 12 in Toronto
• Theatre Ontario Festival 2014 in Sarnia runs from May 14 to 18
• Theatre Ontario invites applications for the position of Executive Director; the deadline is May 16
• Financial Basics for Artists free workshop with Vernal Banton of JVS Toronto is May 27
• Crazy Canucks! Building Good Character weekend intensive in Toronto is May 31 to June 1
• Playwriting: Idea to First Draft workshop in Toronto is on May 31
• Playwriting: How to Self-Edit and Critique workshop in Toronto is on June 1

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including Self-Producing and our Culture Days Information Session webinar

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

The High School Project at The Grand Theatre in London
Photo by Emily Clark

• Upcoming interview and audition dates for The Grand Theatre’s Fall 2014 High School Project 2014 in London is May 1 (Orchestra) and May 5 (Dance)
• Deadline for nominations for the Buddies In Bad Times’ Queer Emerging Artist Award is today
• Deadline for nominations for the Patrick Conner Award honouring theatre and sustainable living has been extended to today
• Deadline for nominations for the Edmund C. Bovey Award from Business for the Arts, honouring a business professional who has demonstrated a lifetime of significant philanthropy or leadership in arts and culture in Canada is today
• Upcoming Ontario Arts Council grant deadline for Access and Career Development is May 1
• Upcoming Canada Council grant deadlines for Theatre International and Theatre Touring and Special Initiatives Program is May 1
• Deadline to register for Humber College’s Puppetry Intensive is May 1
• Deadline for applications to the SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program has been extended to May 1
• Shaw Festival’s Teachers Day of professional development is May 2
• Deadline to apply for Nightwood Theatre’s Write from the Hip for emerging female playwrights is May 2
• Deadline for applications for the Neighbourhood Arts Network BMO Seeds Fund for artists developing, creating, and/or disseminating community-engaged arts projects is May 2
• Shaw Festival’s Voice and Movement workshop for teens is May 3 in Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Ottawa Little Theatre’s next Scenic Design Workshop: Sketch Up (3D CAD) for Set Designers is May 3
• ArtsBuild Ontario’s Dollars to $ense Energy Conservation Training workshop for arts facilities is May 7, in Toronto and available via live-stream
• PACT’s Smashing the Status Quo—PACTCON14 Conference and AGM begins May 7 in Fredericton, New Brunswick
• Deadline to apply to The Grand Theatre’s PlayWrights Cabaret 2015 for local and regional writers in London is May 9

New on The Bulletin Board

• The Toronto Fringe Festival is inviting emerging artists to apply for T.E.N.T., the Theatre Entrepreneurs’ Network & Training), a free immersive summer program for artists 19 to 24 taking their first steps into the professional arts world; deadline is May 14
• The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas are hosting a free mini-conference on June 9 in Toronto, for anyone and everyone interested in dramaturgy, new play development, creation, and theatre both in Toronto and beyond
• As part of the celebrations of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, the Stratford Festival Firyn has unveiled “Shakespeare 450: A Celebration of the Bard”, a week of workshops and speakers running August 16 to 20

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

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access auditions, job postings, and volunteer opportunities on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

Inviting Applications for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

Applications are now open for the 2015 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.

Andrew Bunker and Sanjay Talwar in The Bear
Directed by Rose Plotek at the
2013 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project.
Photo by Mark Callan.

The Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is one of the most prestigious and vigorously sought-after director development and showcase opportunities for emerging directors in Canada. Each year, two intern directors are selected to participate in the program. Successful candidates are promising professionals who have not had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of the Shaw Festival and who are at a point in their careers where an extended residency with a company like The Shaw is of benefit to their professional development.

Now in its 27th year, the Directors Project holds a legacy of igniting the careers of directors who have gone on to shape the culture of theatre within this country. Over 55 individuals have participated in the project, immersing themselves in the unique environment of the Shaw Festival where they hone their craft with the support of the leading minds in theatre from across the country and around the world.

The application deadline is Friday, June 20.

Read more about applying for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on our website

ONstage Openings for the week of April 28

In Toronto
Apr. 29, Vitals at Theatre Passe Muraille – world premiere*
Apr. 29, Paper Song at Young People's Theatre
Apr. 30, The Road to Mecca at Soulpepper Theatre, in previews
May 1, Sultans of the Street at Young People's Theatre, with previews from Apr. 28 – world premiere
May 1, Hackerlove at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, with a preview on Apr. 30 – world premiere
May 1, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Scarborough Music Theatre
May 2, The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Alexander Showcase Theatre
May 3, Bingo! at Factory Theatre, in previews*

In Central Ontario
May 2, Oliver! at Peterborough Theatre Guild

In Eastern Ontario
Apr. 29, Mauritius at Ottawa Little Theatre
Apr. 30, Things My Mother Taught Me at The Rural Root Theatre Company (Ottawa)
May 1, Huff at National Arts Centre—English Theatre (Ottawa), with previews from Apr. 29
May 2, Moon Over Buffalo at Seaway Valley Theatre Company (Cornwall)
May 2, Deathtrap at Prince Edward Community Theatre (Picton)

In Northeastern Ontario
May 1, Agnes of God at Take Two Theatre (Timmins)

In South Central Ontario
May 2, Anne of Green Gables at Beaverton Town Hall Players

In Southwestern Ontario
Apr. 30, Alice Through the Looking-Glass at Stratford Festival, in previews
May 1, Plaza Suite at Theatre Tillsonburg
May 2, Narnia at Elora Community Theatre (Fergus)
May 2, Wait Until Dark at Goderich Little Theatre

ONstage Now Playing in Southwestern Ontario
Too Many Cooks at Elmira Theatre Company

Check out last week’s openings

For more information on all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Theatre Ontario individual members can access discount ticket offers for shows marked with an * asterisk

Read more about our discount tickets program

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Conversation Starters

• “There is just too much evidence that we are not living in a time of scarcity” – David Dower argues on HowlRound on the need for more abundance thinking in the theatre ecosystem
• #CdnCult Times focused on the changing nature of theatre criticism: Carly Maga wrote about dragging criticism into the 21st century; Michael Wheeler reflected on the increasingly impermeable divide between artists and critics; and Nikki Shaffeeullah observed that “if the most-read reviewers are serving to maintain the status quo of theatre, then they are serving its inaccessibility”
• Meanwhile Lyn Gardner in the Guardian wonders “are theatre critics covering the right shows?”
• Annie Baker’s The Flick won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and Ken Davenport argued on The Producer's Perspective that this is an example of “artistic producing at its best”
• An American perspective on the logistics of producing Canadian work in the U.S., from TCG Circle

Behind The Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The Prix Rideau Awards in Ottawa will be presented this Sunday, April 27
• Meanwhile, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Dora Mavor Moore Awards have announced their 2014 schedule: nominations will be on June 2, with the awards on June 23

From The Wire

• CCI – Ontario Presenting Network is now “Ontario Presents”
• Richard Ouzounian reports in the Star that Sheridan College, Outside the March and Convergence Theatre are teaming up for an immersive production called Brantwood in 2015
• Sterling Studio Theatre reported on Facebook that they are closing their performance space, but will be re-launching in a new venture with Unit 102 Theatre

Migrations

• Simon Brault is the new Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts

In Case You Missed It

• Searching for a Master: Miriam Fernandes writes about her anticipation for her upcoming training at SITI Company, through Theatre Ontario and Why Not Theatre’s Independent Theatre Creators International Training Scholarship
• Anne Mooney promises that there is exceptional theatre to be had at Festival 2014
• Mairin Smit participated in Mnemonic Theatre’s Theatre Is For Suckers podcast on “cattle-call auditions” providing tips on auditions from experts who know

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

Searching for a Master

By Miriam Fernandes

In 25 days I will be on a bus on my way to upstate New York—Saratoga Springs to be exact—to spend a month training with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company.  I feel a flutter in my stomach just writing that.  In less than a month I will be arriving on campus at Skidmore College, along with artists from around the world who have left their countries to come on this pilgrimage for the opportunity to study with these Master teachers.

Miriam Fernandes performing in
the Toronto Festival of Clowns
in 2011

I have been thinking about my next level of training for some time now.  I am a Toronto-based actor and a graduate of York University’s acting conservatory, but am now searching for training in devising—specifically in physically-based creation.  I have always been attracted to the work of Lecoq graduates like Ravi Jain and Adam Paolozza; work that is physically engaged, and demands an energy and rigour from the performer that makes it impossible for the audience not to be engaged.  The SITI Company’s training in Suzuki and Viewpoints demands exactly this kind of rigour from the performer in the belief that the whole body is vital to the act of storytelling.  A theatrical experience is more than the spoken word—it is image and poetry and the in-the-moment liveness that theatre is by definition.

But this training is more than just a physical way into creation.  It is a way of looking at the world and a series of principles that are malleable and can be applied in countless different ways.  For example, there are three shows happening at The Theatre Centre right now:  ZOU Theatre Company’s Business As Usual, Ahuri Theatre’s Ralph + Lina, and Play it Again Productions’ Death Married My Daughter.  All of these artists were trained at Lecoq or Gaulier, but each show is bound to be drastically different.  Just as Lecoq-trained Ravi Jain has created shows like SPENT, A Brimful of Asha, and directed Nicolas Billon’s Iceland, the shows are completely different, but the artist is using the same principles, just applying them differently.

In the same way, artists who study with the SITI Company will not be bound to create work with a similar aesthetic.  I think SITI offers artists a way into the creative process, tools, and ways of thinking about the work.  In her blog, Anne Bogart quotes Michelle Kokosowski, a French promoter of global theatre initiatives, who talks about the difference between a teacher and a master.  “A teacher,” she said, “teaches you how to do something. A master lays out everything he or she knows and then asks you to make something new out of it.”  I am constantly questioning the work that I am seeing and making, and asking myself, What is theatre?  Where is the line?  Does there need to be a line?  What is the relationship between performer and audience, and how can it evolve?  I think this training will help me examine these questions and challenge me to see how far I can stretch the answers.

I have taken workshops in Suzuki and Viewpoints in Toronto but now I am going to the source of the training.  I know we will be working on a whole different level.  During the intensive, students train in Suzuki and Viewpoints, but also take classes in Composition, Movement, Design, Dramaturgy, and Playwrighting.  I’m really curious to see how the company carries the principles of Suzuki and Viewpoints into the creation of new work.  In our composition class, we’ll be studying Aeschylus’ Persians, as the SITI Company is currently working on an adaptation of the play, which will premiere this September in California.  I think it’ll be an incredible opportunity to look at the traditions of Ancient Greek Theatre and figure out how to find the contemporary in the ancient. 

I admire a lot about how the SITI Company operates: the fact that they are ensemble-based, that training together and creating together go hand-in-hand, that teaching is still at the heart of what they do, and that their training is never static, but constantly evolving. I am particularly drawn to their commitment to international cultural exchange as the company was formed as collaboration between American director Anne Bogart and Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki.  The fusion of Eastern and Western artistic practice is thrilling to me.  

I think what I am most looking forward to in this month is that it will mark the next big step in my training.  I’ve been cobbling together a series of workshops and classes in Toronto, but a four-day class can only take you so deep into the work.  I am ready now for a longer, more intense and focused training, away from my city, away from all of the distractions of everyday life.  For one whole month, all my focus will go into my artistic practice. 

Yoshi Oida, Theatre des Loges, Paris.
January 2014

I spent some time in Paris this winter and while I was there a friend told me about a performance that Yoshi Oida was doing in this little theatre in the northeast of the city.  So that evening we hopped on the metro and found our way to the Theatre des Loges—which had the same feel as the old Theatre Centre in Toronto.  The space was an old warehouse converted into a little theatre—concrete walls and wooden beams across the ceilings.  There were about two hundred people packed into this place: on chairs, leaning against walls, and sitting on the floor.  It was a mix of artists and theatre students, all coming to see this amazing man perform and speak.  Yoshi performed a 30-minute excerpt of his piece, Interrogations, wherein he asks questions of the audience (based on Zen Buddhist writings), and creates a relationship between performer and audience similar to that between Zen Master and his student.  At the end of the performance Yoshi took questions from the audience, and the one that remained with me was when someone asked, “What do you think of the notion of Master?  Do you think everyone needs to study with a Master?”  Yoshi thought for a moment and then responded:  “I am someone who needs a Master.  I am lucky my Master, Peter Brook, is still alive.  But some people don’t need a Master to find their way—some people can do that on their own.  However, if you are someone like me, who needs a Master, rather than spending three years with a mediocre Master, it is better to spend three years searching for your true Master.”

There are many factors that draw me to the SITI Company’s training, but I think at the forefront for me, is that I am in search of a Master.  Anne Bogart and her company have dedicated their lives to the development of this training and creation, and they are truly Master teachers.  I sense that I am on the cusp of something big. I can’t wait to see what June brings! 

Miriam Fernandes is one of two recipients of Theatre Ontario and Why Not Theatre’s Independent Theatre Creators International Training Scholarship.  The scholarship  was sponsored by Nekison Engineering and Contractors Ltd. with funds matched by artsVest Toronto, run by Business For The Arts with the support of Canadian Heritage and the Toronto Arts Council.

Miriam is currently in Soliciting Temptation at Tarragon Theatre until May 4.

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Our next Community Theatre Discussion Forum is in Peterborough on April 26
• We want you…now sign! Contract Law for Actors workshop with Derrick Chua for self-employed actors is April 28 in Toronto
• The early-bird registration deadline for the discount rate on our Summer Theatre Intensive week-long residential courses in Waterloo for performers and directors is May 1
• Our Provincial Youth Forum “Developing our Network” – an afternoon of free workshops for youth – is on May 5 in Toronto
• The Theatre Ontario Annual Meeting and Celebration is on May 5 at 7pm and our Silent Auction is now open
• Audition Talk Back: How to Get It Right workshop with Grace Lynn Kung, Sera-Lys McArthur, and Joanne Williams is on May 6 in Toronto
• Our next Getting Started for Actors workshop with Mairin Smit and guest actor Claire Acott, answering your FAQs about the business of acting, is May 12 in Toronto
• Theatre Ontario Festival 2014 in Sarnia runs from May 14 to 18

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including Self-Producing, Playwriting: Idea to First Draft, Playwriting: How to Self-Edit and Critique, and our weekend intensive Crazy Canucks! Building Good Character

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

• SPARC – the Symposium on Performing Arts in Rural Communities – in Haliburton Highlands starts April 24
• Upcoming interview and audition dates for The Grand Theatre’s Fall 2014 High School Project 2014 in London is April 28 (Backstage) April 29 (Vocal and Acting) May 1 (Orchestra) and May 5 (Dance)
• Acting Up Stage Company, Theatre 20, and Angelwalk Theatre is presenting “And 5,6,7,8… A Musical Theatre Dance Party” a free event on April 29 in Toronto
• Deadline for nominations for the Buddies In Bad Times’ Queer Emerging Artist Award is April 30
• Toronto Fringe’s next free Tent Talk In The Lab is “How to Create Your Dream Show with $7” on April 30

  

  Toronto Fringe Festival's Tent Talks in the Lab
  "How to Create Your Dream Show with $7" on April 30

• Culture Days early-bird registration date is April 30
• Deadline for nominations for the Patrick Conner Award honouring theatre and sustainable living has been extended to April 30
• Deadline for nominations for the Edmund C. Bovey Award from Business for the Arts, honouring a business professional who has demonstrated a lifetime of significant philanthropy or leadership in arts and culture in Canada is April 30
• Upcoming Ontario Arts Council grant deadline for Access and Career Development is May 1
• Upcoming Canada Council grant deadlines for Theatre International and Theatre Touring and Special Initiatives Program is May 1
• Deadline to register for Humber College’s Puppetry Intensive is May 1
• Shaw Festival’s Teachers Day of professional development is May 2
• Deadline to apply for Nightwood Theatre’s Write from the Hip for emerging female playwrights is May 2
• Deadline for applications for the Neighbourhood Arts Network BMO Seeds Fund for artists developing, creating, and/or disseminating community-engaged arts projects is May 2

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

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access auditions, job postings, and volunteer opportunities on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

ONstage Openings for the week of April 22

ONstage Opening in London
Oil and Water at The Grand Theatre
Jeremiah Sparks, Starr Dominique, Neema Bickersteth,
Anderson Ryan Allen, Petrina Bromley
Photo courtesy of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland

In Southwestern Ontario
Apr. 21, Crazy For You at Stratford Festival, in previews
Apr. 22, Oil and Water at The Grand Theatre (London)
Apr. 23, Legally Blonde at Drayton Entertainment: St. Jacobs Country Playhouse
Apr. 24, The Artist at Registry Theatre (Kitchener)
Apr. 25, Too Many Cooks at Elmira Theatre Company
Apr. 25, The Charity that Began at Home: A Comedy for Philanthropists at Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake) in previews*
Apr. 26, Paper Song at Carousel Players (St. Catharines)

In Toronto
Apr. 23, A God In Need of Help at Tarragon Theatre, currently in previews
Apr. 24, Of Human Bondage at Soulpepper Theatre, currently in previews
Apr. 25, Blithe Spirit at Bloor West Village Players
Apr. 27, The Company We Keep Cabaret at Theatre 20

In Central Ontario
Apr. 24, Shrek the Musical at VOS Theatre (Cobourg)
Apr. 24, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands at Port Hope Festival Theatre

In Eastern Ontario
Apr. 22, Memories of the Summer of Love at Upper Canada Playhouse (Morrisburg)
Apr. 25, Three Musketeers at Smiths Falls Community Theatre

In Northeastern Ontario
Apr. 23, Soldier's Heart at Sault Theatre Workshop
Apr. 24, Avenue Q at Sudbury Theatre Centre

In South Central Ontario
Apr. 23, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at Driftwood Theatre Company (Ajax)
Apr. 25, Play On at Ovation Performing Arts Academy (Markham)

ONstage Now Playing in Toronto
Beatrice and Virgil at Factory Theatre
Damien Atkins and Pierre Brault
Photo by Joanna Akyol

Check out last week’s openings

For more information on all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Theatre Ontario individual members can access discount ticket offers for shows marked with an * asterisk

Read more about our discount tickets program

Exceptional Theatre to be Had at Festival 2014

By Anne Mooney, Community Theatre Coordinator

Theatre Ontario Festival is one of the most unique theatrical experiences in which you can participate – as an actor, crew, host or audience member.  Over four nights the audience gets to see the cream of Ontario’s regional community theatre.   The participating groups travel, set up, perform and strike their sets in a single day.  The shows can run the range from full-on comedy to serious drama.  The groups can be completely new to theatre or experienced veterans, but all come together to share the best of their performance work.

Doubt, A Parable
Presented by Theatre Kent
Tracy Schillemore-Morton and Audrey Hummelen
Photo by Cheshire Media

This year’s Festival opens with the Western Ontario Drama League’s presentation of Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, performed by Theatre Kent of Chatham.  This is the first time that Theatre Kent has represented the region at the provincial level.  The group started in 1978 and performs out of the beautiful Kiwanis Theatre in the Chatham Cultural Centre.

Cast member Audrey Hummelen (Sister Aloysius) and Set Designer Tom Coatsworth have been with the group since its inception.  Two members of the cast are new to Theatre Kent.  Neil Wood (Father Flynn) is new to community theatre.  He received the WODL Newcomer award presented by Festival preliminary adjudicators Dennis Johnson and Sandy MacDonald.  At the regional Festival in Windsor, Neil won the Best Actor award.  Zoe Burbank (Mrs. Muller) is a very busy girl—not only is she working with Theatre Kent, she is a performer in her high school’s Sears Ontario Drama Festival show and participated at the Regional Festival in Hamilton in early April.  This student-written show is called Phoenix.   In a final community theatre twist, Stage Manager Gina Paradis accepted the Best Production Award at the WODL Festival from WODL President Gina Paradis.

Lenin's Embalmers
Presented by The Curtain Club
Mark Hayward and Phil Dionne
Photo by Davis Strong

The Curtain Club in Richmond Hill is a veteran of the Festival circuit.  They were in Sarnia on the Imperial Theatre stage with Proof in the 2006 Festival.  This year, the group presents our only Canadian play, Lenin’s Embalmers by Vern Thiessen.  Director Joan Burrows is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and her play, Staff Room, won the 2004 Theatre Ontario Festival.

Joan describes Lenin’s Embalmers as a black comedy.  The play is based on actual events that occurred in the mid-1920’s when Stalin ordered two scientists to find a way to preserve Lenin’s body for all eternity or be sent to Siberia.  While doing research for the production, Joan realized that the 1920’s was the end of the vaudeville era and she uses the death of vaudeville as a metaphor for the play.  (I don’t want to give anymore away—you’ll just have to come see it.)  Joan feels the play is extremely timely and found many parallels between Putin’s (modern) Russia and Stalin’s Russia.  Putin spared no expense to put on the Sochi Olympics for the glory of his Russia, and Stalin spared no expense on Lenin’s embalming as a symbol of the glorious Russia of his day.  The Curtain Club even began rehearsals on the opening weekend of the Sochi Olympics.

Glengarry Glen Ross
Presented by Gateway Theatre Guild
Verlyn Plowman and Rod Carley
Photo by Ed Regan Photography

Gateway Theatre Guild from North Bay is representing the QUONTA region with their production of Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet.  Gateway Theatre Guild has a long tradition at Theatre Ontario Festival.  The group hosted the 2008 Festival in North Bay and their 2010 production of Waiting for Godot was the Best Production winner at that Festival in London.   They even have experience on the Imperial Theatre stage—the group traveled to Sarnia in 2002 with the play High Life.

According to first-time Producer Anna Iati, this is the play “men die to do.”  Not only is this Anna’s first time producing, this is her first theatrical experience – a true newcomer.   She has volunteered on various Boards in North Bay and it was during a conversation after one of these meetings that the idea was broached to do Glengarry Glen Ross and she was asked to produce the show.   Anna has been nicknamed “Mrs. Glengarry” by the all-male cast and the almost-all-male crew.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Presented by Peterborough Theatre Guild
Patricia Young and Alex Saul
Photo by Theresa James

Peterborough Theatre Guild is also very experienced bringing shows to Theatre Ontario Festival.   The Guild won the Festival in 2008 hosted by Gateway Theatre Guild.  They have also travelled to Sarnia, winning the 2006 Festival with Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me.  This year, they’re bringing The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh.  Peterborough has also hosted the Festival, most recently in 1993 and 2001.  At the 2001 Festival, the QUONTA entry was Family Life Theatre’s production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane.  The circle just keeps growing.

Jerry Allen, director, describes Beauty Queen of Lennane as a dark comedy.  It has lots of laughs and many people have told him that they are still talking about the play the next day.  He said the play “emotionally whiplashes the audience around.”   Jerry is a retired drama teacher and has spent most of his career working in theatre in the schools, and now is using his talents with the community theatre.  He has experience at the Theatre Ontario level having been an actor Peterborough’s production of The Donnellys written by Peter Colley and presented at the Festival in 1982!  Also in that cast was Patricia Young who will be on stage in this year’s  Peterborough Theatre Guild production.

This year’s Festival will have casts, crews and theatre companies run the gamut from complete newcomers to hearty veterans.  This will be a true community theatre experience and I hope to see you there!

Join us at Theatre Ontario Festival 2014

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Overcoming the “Starving Artist” Syndrome workshop with Lisa Phillips and The Artistic Edge on learning how to create the life you deserve is April 23 in Toronto
• Our next Community Theatre Discussion Forum is on April 26 in Peterborough
• We want you…now sign! Contract Law for Actors workshop with Derrick Chua for self-employed actors is April 28 in Toronto
• The early-bird registration deadline for the discount rate on our Summer Theatre Intensive week-long residential courses for performers and directors is May 1
• Our Provincial Youth Forum “Developing our Network”, an afternoon of free workshops for youth, is on May 5 in Toronto
• The Theatre Ontario Annual Meeting and Celebration is on May 5 at 7pm, and our Silent Auction is now open
• Audition Talk Back: How to Get It Right workshop with Grace Lynn Kung, Sera-Lys McArthur, and Joanne Williams is on May 6 in Toronto
• Our next Getting Started for Actors workshop with Mairin Smit and guest actor Claire Acott, answering your FAQs about the business of acting, is May 12 in Toronto
• Theatre Ontario Festival 2014 runs from May 14 to 18 in Sarnia

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including Playwriting: Idea to First Draft, Playwriting: How to Self-Edit and Critique, and our weekend intensive Crazy Canucks! Building Good Character

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

The SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program

• Deadline for three Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Dora Ancillary Awards (Silver Ticket Award, Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration, and the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award) is April 17
• Deadline to apply to the SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program for emerging artists and arts workers is April 21
• SPARC – the Symposium on Performing Arts in Rural Communities – in Haliburton Highlands starts April 24

New on The Bulletin Board

• The Grand Theatre invites short scripts from writers from London and the surrounding area for the 2015 PlayWrights Cabaret.  The submission deadline is May 9
• The Toronto Fringe is now accepting applications for the 2015 Next Stage Theatre Festival.  Next Stage is a platform for past Fringe artists to take ground-breaking work to the next level.  The application deadline is May 16

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

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access auditions, job postings, and volunteer opportunities on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

Congratulations to the Spring 2014 Professional Theatre Training Program Recipients

We are pleased to announce the latest recipients of training grants through Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP).  We thank all those who applied to the program.

$29,000 was awarded in total among the following recipients:

• Shane Carty to train in Directing with Douglas Beattie at Pie in the Sky Theatre (Stratford)
• Madeleine Donohue to train in Producing and General Management with Monica Esteves and Eric Goldstein at Crow’s Theatre (Toronto)
• Kat Horzempa to train in General Management and Tour Coordination with Natalie Ackers at Roseneath Theatre (Toronto)
• Rob Kempson to train in Directing with Ashlie Corcoran at Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque)
• Pam Patel to train in Artistic Direction with Majdi Bou-Matar at MT Space (Kitchener)
• Rachel Penny to train in Producing with Aislinn Rose (Toronto)
• Joseph Recinos to train in Producing with Marilo Nunez at Alameda Theatre Company (Toronto)
• Tim Welham to train in Actor Training and Coaching with Ian Watson at Ryerson University and the National Theatre School (Toronto and Montreal)

The next application deadline for this program is October 1, 2014.

Read more about Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program on our website

This program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

ONstage Openings for the week of April 14

In South Central Ontario
Apr. 17, On Golden Pond at Whitby Courthouse Theatre
Apr. 18, Who's in Bed with the Butler? at Georgetown Little Theatre

ONstage Opening in St. Catharines
Spelling 2-5-5 at Carousel Players
Ryan Bondy and Kerry Ann Doherty
Photo by Claus Andersen

In Southwestern Ontario
Apr. 16, Run For Your Wife at Drayton Entertainment: Dunfield Theatre Cambridge
Apr. 19, Spelling 2-5-5 at Carousel Players (St. Catharines)

In Toronto
Apr. 15, Of Human Bondage at Soulpepper Theatre, in previews
Apr. 16, A God In Need of Help at Tarragon Theatre, in previews
Apr. 16, Mother at Humber Theatre
Apr. 17, Beatrice and Virgil at Factory Theatre, currently in previews*

In Northwestern Ontario
Apr. 17, Same Time, Next Year at Magnus Theatre (Thunder Bay)

ONstage Now Playing in Toronto
Soliciting Temptation at Tarragon Theatre
Miriam Fernandes and Derek Boyes
Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Check out last week’s openings

For more information on all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Theatre Ontario individual members can access discount ticket offers for shows marked with an * asterisk

Read more about our discount tickets program

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Behind The Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Floyd Collins at Talk Is Free Theatre
Krystin Pellerin, Kevin McNulty, Daren A. Herbert,
Michael Torontow, Katey Wright
Photo by David Cooper

• Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie was facing a challenging opening for Floyd Collins: their shipping company failed to deliver the sets, costumes and props.  But the show is opening tonight with slight modifications.
• The Ottawa Fringe will host a winter festival at Arts Court as “undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream” crosses town from Hintonburg to Downtown Rideau.  undercurrent is Ottawa’s winter festival of independent theatre showcasing the best indie theatre from Ottawa and across the country.
• With much sadness, we share the news of the death of Anne Wilson of Woodstock.  Anne was "a card-carrying member" of Theatre Ontario from the beginning, a former chair of our Board of Directors, and a past recipient of the Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre.  I had the pleasure of meeting Anne back in 1999 - I was Theatre Ontario Festival Stage Manager that year, she was the Stage Manager of Woodstock Little Theatre's acclaimed production of Orphans.  She and her team received an Adjudicator's Award for a memorable intermission transformation of the set that garnered tremendous applause when the curtains opened for the second act of the show.  She was one-of-a-kind.

Conversation Starters

• I lost count of the number of people who shared this post with me from Fannina Waubert de Puiseau, but in case it’s new to you: How Canadian Theatre Is Killing Itself, or how to REALLY love our audiences
• Creating ensemble-based theatre starts with creating the ensemble—Jeffrey Mosser explores the question of how to model one on HowlRound
• Laura Zabel on Reciprocity challenges some “bored assumptions about Boards and fundraising”

We’re off next Friday for the Easter long weekend—but this column returns on April 25

Thank You to Our Volunteers

In honour of National Volunteer Week, Theatre Ontario would like to thank all of our volunteers for their contribution and dedication to helping us support theatre practitioners across the province.

National Volunteer Week (April 6-12, 2014), now in it’s 11th year, is a time to recognize, celebrate and thank Canada’s many volunteers, hosted by Volunteer Canada.

Theatre Ontario is looking for volunteers to help out at our Annual General Meeting and Celebration May 5th, 7:00pm to 10:00pm.

This will be a great networking opportunity for individuals interested in theatre and/or the performing arts and volunteers will receive a gift card at the end of their shift.

If you would like to be apart this event or any of our other upcoming events at Theatre Ontario please contact Ashleigh at outreach@theatreontario.org or visit our website.

Learn more about National Volunteer Week

We value your commitment and we couldn’t do it without you!

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Our next Community Theatre Discussion Forums are in North Bay on April 12 and in Peterborough on April 26
• Our next Grant Writing Information Session with Pat Bradley of the Ontario Arts Council will be in Ottawa on April 14
• Building Your Brand as an Artist workshop with Edward Power: Would you love for your acting career to pay for your desired lifestyle? Would you love for industry professionals to trust your work and appreciate the service you provide? Would you love your craft to inspire people? Join us on April 14 in Toronto
• Transitioning from Stage to Set workshop with Edward Power and special guests: Thinking of taking your theatre career to the big screen? Looking to inspire people through different mediums? Join us on April 14 in Toronto
• Self-Producing: The Basics workshop with Mairin Smit and Guest Producer Scott Dermody: Thinking of producing a show or starting a theatre company? Join us on April 16 in Toronto
• Overcoming the “Starving Artist” Syndrome workshop with Lisa Phillips and The Artistic Edge on learning how to create the life you deserve is April 23 in Toronto
• We want you…now sign! Contract Law for Actors workshop with Derrick Chua for self-employed actors is April 28 in Toronto
• The early-bird registration deadline for the discount rate on our Summer Theatre Intensive week-long residential courses in Waterloo for performers and directors is May 1
• Our Provincial Youth Forum “Developing our Network” – an afternoon of free workshops for youth – is on May 5 in Toronto
• Audition Talk Back: How to Get It Right workshop with Grace Lynn Kung and Joanne Williams is on May 6 in Toronto
• Theatre Ontario Festival 2014 in Sarnia runs from May 14 to 18—we’re pleased to welcome our final two productions: The Curtain Club’s presentation of Lenin’s Embalmers by Vern Thiessen and Peterborough Theatre Guild’s presentation of The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including Getting Started for Actors, Playwriting: Idea to First Draft, and Playwriting: How to Self-Edit and Critique

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

Patrick Conner.
Deadline for nominations for the Patrick Conner Award
honouring individuals for integrity in the arts
and environment is April 15

• Ottawa Little Theatre Workshop on “Building a Character – Inside and Out” with Andy Massingham is April 12
• Deadline for the City of Toronto’s Culture Build Investment Program, funding state-of-good repair capital projects and feasibility studies is April 14
• Deadline for Canada Council grant programs “Grants to Theatre Artists: Individual Creation, Artists-in-Residency, Playwriting Residency and Professional Development” and “Theatre International” is April 15
• Deadline to apply for Ontario Contact’s 2014 Showcase of touring performing arts is April 15
• Deadline for nominations for the Patrick Conner Award, honouring individuals for integrity in the arts and environment, is April 15
• Deadline for the Arts and Letters Club’s 2014 New Playwrights Award (for full-time secondary or post-secondary students) is April 15
• Deadline for three Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Dora Ancillary Awards (Silver Ticket Award, Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration, and the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award) is April 17

New on The Bulletin Board

• Theatre Passe Muraille is accepting applications from artists of all disciplines and backgrounds to "Pitch Andy"; application deadline is April 18
• The Toronto Fringe Festival’s next Tent Talk in the Lab is “How to Create Your Own Dream Show with $7” on April 30.  The Tent Talk is free so it should fit into that defined budget

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

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access auditions, job postings, and volunteer opportunities on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

Staging Our Future at Our Annual Meeting and Celebration

Join us on the evening of Monday, May 5 at 7pm at the Urbanspace Gallery at 401 Richmond Street West in Toronto as we celebrate theatre in Ontario.  We’re honouring outstanding contributions, bringing together youth from across the province for an interactive and creative dialogue, and launching our new website and brand—all part of Theatre Ontario’s work in #StagingOurFuture.

The celebration kicks off at 7pm with our Annual Meeting, sharing updates on our activities from the past year.  We’ll be electing our Board of Directors for the coming year, and approving our new by-law, in accordance with the new Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.

At 8pm, we are hosting “Face to Face: Meeting the Theatre of Tomorrow”, an interactive and creative dialogue led by our Youth Advisory Committee, with support from Maureen McKenna of Innovation Works.  The Youth Advisory Committee is a new youth-led, run, and facilitated committee of Theatre Ontario, concerned with fostering the next generation of theatre artists, practitioners, professionals, and patrons across the province.  For several months the Committee has been reaching out to the theatre community across the GTA and the province in order to identify service gaps and barriers to access to youth engagement in theatre.  At “Face to Face”, you will have the opportunity to engage in a collaborative discussion with youth from across the province and contribute your ideas and imaginings on what youth involvement in theatre in Ontario looks like now and in the future.

Following the dialogue, a who’s who of the provincial theatre community will provide a glimpse of what theatre means to them in our new “Why Theatre” video.  We are also launching both a splashy new logo and our new website, featuring improved navigation, expanded sponsorship opportunities, and a searchable database of our Talent Bank of theatre instructors.

Gary Hall

The climax of the evening is our 2014 awards honours.  Our first award presentation is to Gary Hall, who is receiving the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture, in recognition of thirty-four years of leadership on behalf of artist-run culture, and practical initiatives that include Gallery TPW, Artist-Run Centres and Collectives of Ontario, the CARFAC Copyright Collective, and ArtsBuild Ontario.

Our second and final presentation is to Vrenia Ivonoffski, who is receiving the Maggie Bassett Award for her significant and sustained contribution to theatre in Ontario.  Vrenia is the founding artistic director of ACT II STUDIO (now the Estelle Craig ACT II STUDIO), a theatre program and creative drama centre under the Programs for 50+, Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University. Since 1991, the Studio has offered older adults a home to learn, experiment, hone skills and create a unique kind of theatre informed by a long-life perspective. The Studio provides programs in acting, directing and playwriting led by cutting-edge theatre professionals.

Vrenia Ivonoffski

As part of our celebration, our inaugural Silent Auction Fundraiser is underway.  We’ve got Jacuzzi room hotel passes.  We’ve got theatre tickets.  We’ve got packages to pamper you, entertain you, educate you, and more—hop on your phone and bid online!  Additional products, services and experiences are continuously being added onto the list.  We’ll also have additional items available for exclusive in-person bidding.  We think you will find something bid-ably suitable for everyone’s tastes and budgets!  Refreshments will also be available throughout the evening.

We look forward to seeing you on May 5 – as we work together to continue Staging Our Future.  Join us at our Annual Meeting and Celebration

ONstage Openings for the week of April 7

In South Central Ontario
Apr. 9, Real Estate at Burl-Oak Theatre Group (Oakville)
Apr. 9, Enchanted April at Markham Little Theatre
Apr. 10, You're Only Young Twice at Peel Panto Players (Brampton)
Apr. 10, The Wizard of Oz at Brampton Music Theatre

In Southwestern Ontario
Apr. 10, Cabaret at Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake) in previews

In Toronto
Apr. 7, The Paprika Festival
Apr. 8, Soliciting Temptation at Tarragon Theatre, currently in previews
Apr. 8, The Rose Tattoo at George Brown Theatre School
Apr. 9, Ring Round the Moon at George Brown Theatre School
Apr. 9, Dinner with Goebbels at ACT II Studio
Apr. 10, Belleville at Canadian Stage, currently in previews*
Apr. 10, Frankenstein at Echo Productions
Apr. 11, Rabbit Hole at Alumnae Theatre Company
Apr. 12, Beatrice and Virgil at Factory Theatre, in previews*

In Central Ontario
Apr. 11, Floyd Collins at Talk Is Free Theatre (Barrie) with previews from Apr. 10

ONstage Now Playing in Toronto
Maggie's Getting Married at The NAGs Players
Kristie Paillé and Rebecca Muise

Check out last week’s openings

For more information on all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Theatre Ontario individual members can access discount ticket offers for shows marked with an * asterisk

Read more about our discount tickets program

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Behind The Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Ashleigh Addison

• We’re thrilled to welcome another new face to Theatre Ontario this week: Ashleigh Addison, our new Community Outreach Coordinator

Conversation Starters

• Thank You For Coming: Christine Quintana shares some lessons learned about audiences while working at a theatre box office

From The Wire

• “Bringing the City Alive”, a Leger survey done on behalf of the Toronto Arts Foundation has found that a majority (70%) of GTA residents regularly participate in the arts by attending events, volunteering, or donating.  The full study is available on their website.
• The Ontario Ministry of Labour is consulting on the implementation of the Working at Heights Training Standards.  The Standard was released on December 19, 2013.  The goal is high quality and consistent working at heights training.

Migrations

• Roxanne Duncan, Managing Director of The Theatre Centre, has accepted a new role with Vancouver’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

In Case You Missed It

• Stories of Producing Quality Theatre in a Rural Setting

Stories of Producing Quality Theatre in a Rural Setting

By Mairin Smit, Program Coordinator

As we dive into the month of April, I am starting to get more and more excited about the upcoming "Symposium for the Performing Arts in Rural Communities" (SPARC) in Haliburton at the end of the month. I look forward to meeting and connecting with artists who are embracing their rural roots and creating dynamic and creative work in their own communities. I know I’m going to learn a lot!

I am also getting energized about the "Producing Quality Theatre in a Rural Setting" panel discussion at SPARC hosted by Theatre Ontario, on Friday, April 25 in the 3:45pm timeslot. Anne Mooney, Community Theatre Coordinator, and I have been working on the panel since the early fall and it’s shaping up to be an excellent session. With panelists from both professional and community theatres across the province, it should be a lively discussion on how to overcome obstacles, build theatre from the ground up, and grow support in small and distant communities.

From the beginning, one of the goals of this panel has been fostering a dialogue between the professional and community theatres in rural regions. The more we delve into this panel and dig up stories from the participants, the more we find the two sectors have a lot in common and can share learnings and resources to help strengthen their own work.

Many of these groups find both challenge and triumph in remoteness of their locations, using theatre to bring people together and invigorate their communities creatively and economically. Espanola Little Theatre with over 55 years of experiences draws performers and board members from over 100km away including northern community of Sudbury and Gore Bay. Festival Players of Prince Edward County embraces the diversity and beauty of “the County” and hosts their shows in a variety of venues including church halls, art galleries, and even street corners, bringing tourists to parts of the region off the beaten path.

The panelists will also explore their experiences in making connections with their local community and fostering relationships that have helped grow their reach and support. Highlands Summer Festival in Haliburton is a testament to the dedication of their community performers and volunteers, with over a decade of seasons behind them. The 600-person community of Embro, Ontario turned an annual dinner theatre fundraiser into a fully-fledged company, Thistle Theatre, selling charter memberships as seed money to get the group off the ground. And at the Blyth Festival, Deb Sholdice started out as a volunteer with the company, eventually following her passion onto the Board of Directors and to her current position as General Manager of the company.

So bring your stories and experiences of theatre from your community and join Anne Mooney, Julianne Snepsts, Jack Brezina, Lisa Gamelin, Harold Arbuckle, Deb Sholdice, and I as we share a dialogue about keeping theatre alive and thriving in your rural community, about creating theatre that touches hearts and excites the mind, and about finding ways to invigorate community through producing theatre. We hope to see you there!

SPARC runs April 24 to 27 in Haliburton.  For more information on the SPARC conference, please visit www.sparcperformingarts.com

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Our next Community Theatre Discussion Forums are in North Bay on April 12 and in Peterborough on April 26
• Our next Grant Writing Information Session with Pat Bradley of the Ontario Arts Council will be in Ottawa on April 14
• Building Your Brand as an Artist workshop with Edward Power: Would you love for your acting career to pay for your desired lifestyle? Would you love for industry professionals to trust your work and appreciate the service you provide? Would you love your craft to inspire people? Join us on April 14 in Toronto
• Transitioning from Stage to Set workshop with Edward Power and special guests: Thinking of taking your theatre career to the big screen? Looking to inspire people through different mediums? Join us on April 14 in Toronto
• Self-Producing: The Basics workshop with Mairin Smit and Guest Producer Scott Dermody: Thinking of producing a show or starting a theatre company? Join us on April 16 in Toronto
• The early-bird registration deadline for the discount rate on our Summer Theatre Intensive is May 1
• Theatre Ontario Festival 2014 in Sarnia runs from May 14 to 18

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including Getting Started for Actors and our Summer Theatre Intensive

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

Canadian Stage's workshop:
"The Silent Performer" with Viktor Lukawski

• Canadian Stage's "The Silent Performer" movement and physical theatre workshop with Viktor Lukawski, free for emerging arts professionals and theatre students runs April 4 and 5
• Ottawa Little Theatre is holding a Scenic Design Workshop Series: Three workshops over three days—take all 3, take one, or mix and match.  The workshops begin with Introduction to the Art of Set Design on April 5
• Culture Days @ The Library is a program that provides free venues via the Toronto Public Library to Toronto-based artists and cultural groups wishing to be part of Culture Days on September 26 to 28.  Artists wishing to apply are encouraged to attend "The SCOOP – Creative Networking: Connecting Artists with Space & Funds" on April 9 from 5:30pm to 8:15pm at Lillian H. Smith Branch (239 College St., east of Spadina)

New on The Bulletin Board

• The deadline for the Arts and Letters Club’s 2014 New Playwrights Award (for full-time secondary or post-secondary students) has been extended to April 15
• The deadline for three Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Dora Ancillary Awards (Silver Ticket Award, Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration, and the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award) has been extended to April 17
• SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program (S.L.I.P) is a unique professional training intensive for emerging artists, placing a specific focus on the business of arts professionalism. This two-week program coinciding with the SummerWorks Performance Festival will take place August 5-17; deadline to apply is April 21
• ArtsBuild Ontario is holding a Dollars to $ense Energy Conservation Training workshop on May 7—available both in-person in Toronto and via live-stream
• Playwrights Guild of Canada invites submissions for the Tom Hendry Awards: the Carol Bolt Award for Playwrights (given annually to a member of PGC who has premiered an original play within the past year),the Stage West Pechet Family Comedy Award (for a new comedy by a PGC-member, which has not yet had a premiere production), and the Stage West Pechet Family Musical Award (for a new musical work by a PGC-member, which has not yet had a premiere production).  Each award offers a prize of $5000.  The submission deadline (including PGC membership application) is May 16

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access auditions, job postings, and volunteer opportunities on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

Congratulations to Vrenia Ivonoffski, Recipient of Theatre Ontario's Maggie Bassett Award for 2014

We are thrilled to announce that Theatre Ontario’s Maggie Bassett Award for 2014 will be presented to Vrenia Ivonoffski.  The award is for a significant and sustained contribution by an individual to the development of theatre in Ontario.  “It’s always challenging each year to select the recipient of the Maggie Bassett Award among so many compelling nominations,” said Leonard McHardy, Chair of the Jury.  “What stood out for us this year was the uniqueness of Vrenia’s contribution to theatre, and her commitment to creating training opportunities for older adults with a passion to study theatre.”  The award will be presented to Vrenia on May 5 at Theatre Ontario’s Annual General Meeting in Toronto.

Vrenia Ivonoffski

Vrenia is the founding artistic director of ACT II STUDIO (now the Estelle Craig ACT II STUDIO), a theatre program and creative drama centre under the Programs for 50+, Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University. Since 1991, the Studio has offered older adults a home to learn, experiment, hone skills and create a unique kind of theatre informed by a long-life perspective. The Studio provides programs in acting, directing and playwriting led by cutting-edge theatre professionals.

The Studio performance repertoire has ranged from Italian Comedy to Pinter and Beckett.  Her musical Leacock Live! adapted from Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town introduced the Studio’s actors to the joys of “fringing” and won “Patron’s Pick” in the Tarragon Mainspace at the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival.  In 1994 Vrenia embarked on the first of many (now annual) New Plays Festivals to encourage her students to share their unique perspectives with the wider community. The Studio’s playwriting program now boasts a very active playwriting circle and workshop program for developing playwrights.

Herself a playwright with a strong belief in the power of theatre for positive change, Vrenia has welcomed to the Studio collaborations with social science researchers from the Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens Organizations, York University, Sunnybrook’s Nursing Research Unit, and Ryerson. Since 2000, these research-based play commissions have led to over 500 touring opportunities across-Canada and in the US of plays on health and on social action issues. Videos of the shows on cancer and dementia are used worldwide to train health professionals and care givers in more compassionate care.

She is also a member of Theatre Ontario’s Talent Bank and was President of the Toronto Association of Acting Studios.

“Many of our students come to the Studio because they want to blossom and bloom ‘before it’s too late’,” said Vrenia.  “They’re ready to take risks, and hungry to be challenged.  The stereotypes about the limitations of age come crashing down very quickly.  My first Ryerson workshop with seniors bombed because I was so respectful of age we didn’t have much fun.  In my second workshop, the students wouldn’t let me kid-glove them.  By the third round, I’d realized that anything I would do in any other theatre school, I could at the Studio—and more because these students brought so much more to the table.”

The Maggie Bassett Award is a stunning bronze statuette entitled "COURAGE", designed by Rita Tuckett, and sculpted by Ronald Thom.  The award is sponsored by Alumnae Theatre.  As Theatre Ontario's first employee, the late Maggie Bassett created a solid foundation for the organization by launching the Professional Theatre Training Program, the Community Theatre Training Program, the Summer Courses, and the newsletter.  Her love for the arts held no barriers between community, professional, or educational theatre.  Maggie was also a fine director and actress and performed at Tarragon Theatre, Huron County Playhouse, and at the Alumnae Theatre.  For many years, she attended all regional festivals.  She was known for her warmth, humour, sparkle, and the sincere encouragement she bestowed on those around her.

Read more about Theatre Ontario’s Maggie Bassett Award