Ontario Off Stage

Rachel Kennedy

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

From Theatre Ontario

• We bid adieu to Rebecca Ballarin and welcome Rachel Kennedy as Professional Theatre and Education Manager. 

Conversation Starters

• This Chicago Tribute was a popular article in my Facebook feed—and the subject came up again on Monday night at our Youth Advisory Committee’s “Now What” event: What do you say to an actor who just bombed on stage?
• “Artist living the dream writing art grant proposals” – from the Beaverton.

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The North Bay Nugget previews our Festival that is coming to their community next week—including the local Gateway Theatre Guild production of Curved.
• Meanwhile, Northumberland Today profiles the Northumberland Players' production of Boeing Boeing as it prepares to travel.
• The Edge of the Woods Theatre Festival is coming to Muskoka in July, including youth programming funded by the Youth Theatre Training Program.
• Grassroots—our anthology of plays that premiered at Ontario’s community theatres, published by Playwrights Canada Press—helped Theatre Night in Merrickville find the script for their latest production.
• Jeff Ho will be the artist in conversation at Dark Nights on May 16 in Toronto.
• The Canadian Network for Arts & Learning is launching a three-year project, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, to create a comprehensive online map and database of arts education programming across Ontario.

Migrations

• Gary Hall, the recipient of the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture in 2014, has announced his retirement as Executive Director of Gallery TPW. 

TO Toasts

• ... to Andrea Scott, recipient of the Cayle Chernin Award in Theatre for her play Don’t Talk to Me Like I’m Your Wife. The awards are for emerging or transitioning female artists in their creation, development or production of a new work.
• ... to Camellia Koo, recipient of the 2016 Virgina and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design from the Ontario Arts Foundation.

In Case You Missed It

• Congratulations to the latest recipients of Youth Theatre Training Program grants.
• At our Annual General Meeting on Monday, Board President Deb Sholdice described 2015 as a challenging year, but one for laying “an excellent foundation” for the organization.

This column is off next week for Festival, but will return on May 27.