Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

The audience at Hamilton's Frost Bites festival.
Photo by Dave Pijuan-Nomura from Intermission

• Intermission expanded its gaze down the QEW to look at the evolving maker community in Hamilton in Michael Kras’ “The Rise of Hamilton (the City, not the Musical.”)
• Alex Colle, a theatre student at York University, explores the question “What In the World Is Devised Theatre?” on the school’s student-perspective “Get Amp(e)d” blog.
• The latest from Michael O’Brien’s “Spiderwire” column (part of his Professional Theatre Training Program project) on Being There and “new tech/media throwing new light on our humanity.”

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The Grand Theatre has launched “London Proud”, a community engagement initiative that brings professional theatre to elementary schools, provides donated seats to first-time theatre-goers, and partners with Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Program to connect Sheridan’s professors, mentors, and actors-in-training to The Grand’s High School Project.

TO Toasts

• ... to Diana Belshaw, on her retirement from Humber Theatre. We honoured Diana’s contribution to Ontario theatre in 2011 with our Maggie Bassett Award.

In Case You Missed It

• Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program, featuring training projects in digital media creation and directing, artistic direction, directing classical theatre, and lighting design.
• Stories from Next Generation Showcase: “Welcome to the Community”, from Rachel Kennedy and “We Are the Next Generation” from Haley Dwolinsky.
• Browsing Our Bulletin Board, featuring workshops for actors and creators on launching your career, bringing your show to schools, grant writing, dramaturgy; weekend intensives on auditioning and stage managing; a directing opportunity in Toronto, a directing internship for women in the National Capital Region, grant deadlines, and more.
• ONstage Openings this week in Oakville, Mississauga, Richmond Hill, Waterloo, Hamilton, Cambridge, Guelph, Sarnia, St. Catharines, Toronto, and Ottawa.