Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Today we feature three stories:

• Claire Burns trained in administration and managing direction with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto
• Logan Raju Cracknell trained in lighting design with David DeGrow at Cahoots in Toronto and on tour
• Brendan McMurtry-Howlett trained in artistic direction with Jillian Keiley at the National Arts Centre of Canada in Ottawa

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Brendan McMurtry-Howlett

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Brendan McMurtry-Howlett trained in artistic direction with Jillian Keiley at the National Arts Centre of Canada in Ottawa

(January 30, 2019)

My time at the NAC has come to an end and I am feeling very grateful for the opportunity that I was granted over the past month. The experience was rich in artistic conversations, practical skill development, and fostering wonderful relationships. In such a short time, I and my co-intern, Kate Smith, were able to accomplish a lot, in large part because of the generosity of the entire NAC English Theatre team. With Jill, we discussed the issues that theatre communities across the country are facing—how to increase audiences, raise the quality and profile of work in every region, while ensuring that artists are supported in a real way. Kate and I took on research projects to help assess programming options for next season, and developed a few larger projects including a pilot episode for a new podcast series that will be produced by NAC English Theatre in the near future. We also helped develop communications around some upcoming programs.

Some of the big lessons during my time at the NAC were:

• Having a written set of values is an important piece of leadership in your organization. It helps communicate the core ideals to all staff and enables everyone to take ownership of the organization’s work. It also plays a crucial role in keeping yourself on track within the ever-changing theatre industry.
• A sense of humour is key to building a cohesive team and ensuring people are quickly welcomed into the work. It is an important part of self-care in an industry that doesn’t afford much time for self-care.
• Strong systems and organizational tools will allow you to stay on top of the huge amounts of information you must process as an AD, and help you to treat collaborators and artists with respect.

My time in the bowels of the NAC gave me the opportunity to develop the practical tools of artistic leadership and team management. It helped me develop a more rigorous approach to developing a vision for a theatre company. I also gained a deeper understanding of the value of transparent and early communication in all of one’s professional interactions to build trust, respect, and to ensure that everyone is able to do their best work.

It was clear that Jill doesn’t take her role as a mentor lightly. She’s offered ongoing support and advice. In fact, she threatened to come after me if I don’t seek her advice on anything to do with artistic direction. Everyone at the NAC extended themselves with such generosity that I would feel comfortable reaching out to anyone in that building for advice and expertise. The other important relationship to arise from this experience was with my co-intern, Kate Smith. We have arranged to have monthly meetings to catch up on each other’s lives and to be a mini support network for all things relating to our careers. This will be a great way to maintain the learnings we both received while at the NAC English Theatre.

This experience confirmed, without a doubt, that I love this kind of work. I love the visioning, the team building, the leadership work, and the constant opportunity (and responsibility) to learn in this kind of position. I have the passion and temperament for artistic leadership position and I know that when the time is right, I’m ready to take on another leadership role in a large organization.

At the end of this month, I am filled with deep gratitude for the people that made this possible, everyone at the NAC, friends and family in Ottawa, my co-intern, and especially Theatre Ontario who provided the funding to make this opportunity a reality. Thank you!

Related Reading:

• Brendan’s first update
• Brendan’s second update

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Claire Burns

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Claire Burns trained in administration and managing direction with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto

(February 19, 2019) So my training program is almost done. Which saddens me because I have really enjoyed going to Buddies and working in the building among the fine and talented staff members. Over the last two months it has been interesting attending Buddies’ weekly management meetings. I’ve been able to directly report on my HR findings and how they affect Communications and Building departments. I’ve also been privy to bar reporting and future event planning—and have even hopped on some party planning committees for Buddies’ 40th Anniversary celebration at the end of May.

Dyke Night went really well. The older crowd from the reading stayed and danced with the younger groups that showed up for the DJ portion of the night and I got a lot of feedback about how much Toronto needs Queer Women’s spaces. As such I’ve been able to parlay that feedback into potential women’s programming for 2019-2020. Being able to be in the building to talk briefly with the Artistic Director and Managing Director about my ideas has been really helpful—just being around and in the room provides opportunity I wouldn’t normally have. As a result I’m working with Buddies to apply for some community initiatives that would highlight women in the space—they would be performance based nights with the purpose of bringing intergenerational women together. Keep your eyes peeled for those nights September to June, 2019-2020.

Working on the Human Resource Manual has really opened my eyes to the importance of the AODA. Now wherever I’m working I’m thinking—how can we make this more accessible? How can we bring people with different needs together to celebrate, party, experience theatre? Aside from that, updating the manual was challenging. I don’t often have to write in HR speak (lol) so was intimidated by that task—the manual is under review right now so fingers crossed I did alright.

My mentor mentioned last week that there was a possibility that I could attend the PACT conference with him in Saskatoon this year. This would be an incredible opportunity for me to connect on the national level with other theatre administrators, widening my network and creating valuable learning possibilities. Due to the schedules of various individuals in the caucus, Shawn was unable to get me on a PACT conference call—but I’m keeping my schedule flexible to ensure that this could indeed happen despite the period of the PTTP being technically over at the end of February.

Altogether a very valuable learning experience. It’s one thing to see a company from the outside, all the perceptions we have around what that looks like- but to work on the inside I learned so much about the inter-dynamics of Buddies and how it operates on an annual scale. Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Related Reading:

• Claire’s first and second reports

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Logan Raju Cracknell

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Logan Raju Cracknell trained in lighting design with David DeGrow at Cahoots in Toronto and on tour

(February 14, 2019) Time for the final blog post! It’s been a really fun time getting to be a part of this show and team. I think some of the things that were really new for me as an assistant were the moments David couldn’t be in rehearsal and I would go in to take any important notes for him, or of things he may want to know. It was a good learning experience because sometimes things that I would in a normal setting just remember, I had to take note of knowing these needed to be given to someone else. One of the tasks I did was translating plots from one venue into another and then the show plot from our first venue into the next two using the gear that those venues had.

It was interesting seeing how some venues are more lenient or less lenient with what can be changed and done in them. With the second venue the show is going to, there are a lot more restrictions and the space is greatly different from the other ones, so a lot of what needed to be done was figuring out what could and couldn’t be compromised with and adapted from the existing system.

One important task was making sure to update the paperwork as we went along through the process to make sure changes were recorded somewhere, so we could avoid having to change them again at the later locations. Especially once we got into the space and David had to focus on creating the design, it became important for me to update things like the plot and cue lists.

I think personally this project helped me grow in terms of learning a new aspect of design in theatre—what you need to do for a show that is touring—and now I can take this knowledge going forward in my career. I was lucky to get to work with a mentor who was very easy to get along with, and who trusted me to take on tasks (as opposed to just having me sit and watch) which for me was incredibly valuable.

Related Reading:

• Logan’s first and second reports

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Today we feature four stories:

• C.J. Astronomo begins training in production management with Simon Marsden at the Stratford Festival
• Taryn Jorgenson trained in directing with Richard Rose at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto 
• Holly Meyer-Dymny trained in projection design with Cameron Davis at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto
• Tijiki Morris trained in directing with Erin Brubacher at Aga Khan Museum in Toronto

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Taryn Jorgenson

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Taryn Jorgenson trained in directing with Richard Rose at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto 

(December 23, 2018)

This journey of working on The Message was nothing short of inspiring. Not only did I learn skills of creation and execution, but that of building and experiencing relationships within the community.

When I first stepped into the rehearsal room, I felt a joyous understanding, immense history and trust among the fellow artists.  I was one of two people in the room that were new in working together—every one of them had known the other from another show, a friend, the community, the business etc. And although every first day on a new show is like the first day of school, it was more like I had entered into high school in the very last year where everyone had already established relationships, already knew each other's processes and had connections.

But after I have stepped away from the room for some time now, I feel like it was these friendships, and this knowledge of how everyone works that attributed to the show’s success. I saw right away Richard’s ability to put on the brake or step on the gas with an idea or approach based on years of experience working with these artists. He knew the angle to use to approach a perspective on a character with an actor or the playwright. Even if they didn’t respond right away.

A great example of this was when I was asking some questions about a few specific notes he was giving one of the actors, and he stated that the actor approaches things differently. Usually actors of great experience memorize the lines and the rest comes after, but they have to feel it first, understand the thought process, connect with the character’s emotional journey before the lines come. Therefore, Richard approached the work for him through that lens. Sometimes the actor didn't get it right away. The actor kept pushing for a clearer emotional through line, but as the run progressed you could see that work settling in. That approach from Richard allowed this progression of the character through time to get deeper and deeper within the actor.

This makes me think about the past work I have done, and who I have worked with—who I connect with as an artist. Not only that but who do I see out in the community working together: strong artistic bonds that take the word 'job' out of context. I'm starting to see this more and more, not only in theatre, but also in cross disciplines. People knowing their purpose for art and sharing that same purpose, crossing boundaries and stepping into the unknown together. Isn’t this the joy of this work? Coming together so we can express? Even the lonely author in his study has an editor.

Even though it felt odd at first to be the newbie in the room, I am thankful for this realization. Sometimes I believe I have forgotten it. That we can create and express alone. But in truth, the best part of this work is doing it together. The best ideas come out when they are questioned. Although I don't think I established a relationship with my mentor in such a way as I am expressing now, I do think that his teaching was full of heart, urging to pass on the torch. I think I learned lessons beyond the specific skills of direction and dramaturgy, ones that would take me through any position in the future. And it helps to take the sting out of the business when you create an environment around you that supports and appreciates your sense of artistry.

Not only have I realized this sense of community within the work we do, but this mentorship also made me analyze the work I’d like to do. What is at the core of what I want to express? Where could it take me as I explore it. What are the plays that I’d like to put on? Why do I connect with them and why do I feel I should bring them to an audience? What audience am I looking for? These questions were all discussed as Richard poignantly brought it up, looking for me to dig deep in where I come from and what I connect to. He always stated, ‘how are you going to do that?’ And ‘what are you going to do?’ I think now is the next step. To find what drives me, and why I want to bring it to audiences, as well as immerse myself with other artists and create a community around the work that can be celebrated as well as dissected. Thank you, Theatre Ontario, for providing me this opportunity.

Related Reading:

• Taryn’s first update
• Taryn’s second update

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Tijiki Morris

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Tijiki Morris trained in directing with Erin Brubacher at Aga Khan in Toronto

Part 1: June 27, 2018

We are about to begin our two week workshop for Noor. Prior to this process I was not acquainted with the director, Erin Brubacher. In February I was able to be with part of the team for a few rehearsal and read the stage directions for a reading at Rhubarb. Leading up to the beginning of the process, Erin and I had a number of talks over the past few months and I helped with the casting of one of the actors.

I am looking forward to being immersed into the kind of process and environment she will cultivate in the room as well as understand the kind of tools and framework she instills as a director throughout this process. As someone keen on developing my own directing skills and interest in pursuing this type of role, I look forward to gaining more insight into how different people organize their processes in relation to the specific project at hand.

In searching for one of the actors for this play, we discussed the importance about finding a queer POC actor to play the character of Aubrey. Casting queer actors for queer roles is something that I feel strongly about. Although I think that it is possible for straight/cis actors to play queer characters, there are still so few roles available for queer people, and queers actors are able to bring an authenticity to a role that reflects the experience that is out of the straight dominant world.

One of my primary motivations for joining this project was the cultural and linguistic content of this play. The piece itself revolves around a storyline that features a queer relationship, a South Asian family, and the use of Urdu. This is the second play this year that I will be involved with where I am able to support and use my background and knowledge of Urdu (particularly in service to projects that encompass a queer South Asian lens.)

In theatre school, a teacher once said to me that “you can either walk through the door, or be a door that other people can walk through.” I have thought about this sentiment repeatedly over time and am invested in how I can apply that for the type of artist and person I personally want to emanate. I’m interested in how I can support and help others prosper. As part of the directing team, I want to continue to learn and seek new ways of being a facilitator that creates space for all artists to grow and share their own ideas to the collaborative development of the project. 

Another aspect of the process that I am very curious about discovering is working with collaborators from various disciplines, each coming with different styles of artistic practices. Being in a room of such diverse ideas and people will be interesting to witness and be part of. I am curious how it will affect the process of our way of working together and the development of the piece.

Part 2: October 8, 2018

We are currently in rehearsals for Noor at the Aga Khan Museum. It is quite an experience to be making a show in a yurt in the inner courtyard of the museum. More so, much of the entire rehearsal process is open to the public for museum visitors to come and go and observe us as we work.

This type of process has created an environment that is incredibly beautiful and magical to witness, while also being frustrating to deal with. Being an assistant director involves taking on multiple roles. One of those tasks has been helping museum and public visitors in and out of the space. This can sometimes be quite distracting as I might be heavily invested in taking notes or watching a scene and then be immediately interrupted by a group of visitors entering the yurt and needing assistance. However, I am also grateful and amazed by what the open rehearsals have done to impact the process. Having the opportunity to interact and observe the audience/public very closely has allowed me (as well as the other collaborators) to gain a variety of insights as to how people are responding to the piece as it is being made. The open rehearsals also became a type of performance/ performances where the act of watching us perform became a mode of engaging with the work. I am curious to learn how this will impact the development of the piece and the way in which we all work together as the process continues.

Part 3: November 5, 2018

The yurt was a magical place to be. For 21 days, we were in a secluded space inside of the museum. It was remarkable to witness such a unique way of making a piece together where actual forms of diversity were being implemented in so many ways. Making a piece of theatre in a museum space, collaborating with artists from different disciplines, and the diverse audiences that interacted with the piece meant that the piece was opened up to a larger number of people that it would have been had it been in a theatre space in downtown Toronto. It also created an accountability to the audience that sometimes is taken for granted in traditional theatre spaces.

Creating with a team of collaborators from different practices also forced us to rethink and reshape how we would work together. It involved taking our own commonly held ideas of how things ought to be done because of the way we are accustomed to doing so, and reorienting them such that they intersected with each other and thus created an entirely new way of working together. It helped me recognize how vital it is to approach work with an awareness of how context, space, and people shape how projects are made and developed.

I am grateful for the space I was given in this process to make it what I wanted it to be. Erin and I met up to debrief about the project the other day. Neither of us knew how it would be. She has never had an assistant director previously and although I have worked as an assistant director, each experience has been vastly different. Erin was very receptive to sharing her process and choices whether on the ride to rehearsal, or over lunch. It was a gift to be able to share my thoughts and ideas in the room and to feel that the actors trusted me as well.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: C.J. Astronomo

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

C.J Astronomo begins training in production management with Simon Marsden at the Stratford Festival

(January 06, 2019)

It’s been scientifically proven that our bodies and minds change every seven years. This rings true to me with the beginning of a new year and the beginning of a new season at the Stratford Festival. I am fortunate that I will be returning to a company where I’ve worked for the last seven seasons as an Assistant Lighting Designer. But this time, returning in a specifically created role, where I can further develop my skills as a production manager. 

This opportunity has been two years in the making. Towards the end of my fifth season, I booked a meeting with Simon Marsden and surprised him with my candid request to learn more about production management. I realized that I wanted to make this transition after working as a Corporate Event Producer during the off-season, and I believed that the Stratford Festival would be a perfect training ground. Fortunately, Simon eagerly agreed and has been fully supportive of making my dream a reality.

Over the next several months, we researched grants, submitted applications, and waited for news. Once news finally came, we decided to start the internship this upcoming season rather than trying to squeeze it in during my final season as an ALD. Although we decided to delay, Simon invited me to sit in on any management meetings that my schedule would allow. This gave me an early opportunity to listen in while key decisions were being made throughout last season and during preparations for this upcoming season. I’m grateful that I was able to join those meetings, not only because it gave me a jump start in learning about what was to come this season, but also because I got to observe how Simon worked with the Technical Directors and Heads of Departments that are crucial to ensuring that the overall Production Department succeeds at delivering state-of-the-art productions year after year. 

Now that I’m about to officially embark on a new path at the Stratford Festival with Simon as my guide, I look forward to exploring parts of the company that I would have never had the opportunity to experience as an ALD. I’m excited to learn more about the intricacies of the other production departments, and how all the departments need to correlate together in order to have a smooth tech process. I’m excited to work with Simon in managing budgets and schedules for 12 shows in 3 unique theatres. I’m excited to learn from Simon how to calmly resolve conflicts, figure out solutions to technical challenges, and how to approach upper management (such as the Artistic Director, Executive Director, Producer) when necessary. I’m also excited to continue building on relationships that I’ve developed with various people throughout the years and create new ones with those I haven’t had the chance to work with yet.  

When I recently told someone that I was transitioning out of lighting design to further develop as a production manager, they jokingly asked me if it was because I didn’t want to be creative any more. I told them that this couldn’t be further than the truth; because for me, production management is creatively looking at the big picture by developing schedules, budgets, and procedures that will allow a production and the people who work on them to succeed. This is what inspires me to move forward as I begin a new work-life cycle. I can’t wait to see what the first step in my next seven years will bring!

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Holly Meyer-Dymny

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Holly Meyer-Dymny trained in projection design with Cameron Davis at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto

Part 1: December 26, 2018

I want to make my paintings dance. This is the thought that I come back to time and time again when asked, “Why projection design?” I’m a set, lighting, and projection designer with a background in fine arts and painting. With projection design, I see a way to create dynamic images in a new integrated way.

For the past two years or so I’ve been futzing around with the design programs that I know; Photoshop, ProCreate, FinalCutPro, QLab, etc. I created some animations in Photoshop and learned some basic video editing and I love the designs that I have created, but I also know that there are easier and more responsive ways of creating this work. QLab is great, but there’s this really cool, almost mythical sounding program called Isadora and I want to know its secrets.

With this in mind I looked into the Professional Theatre Training Program and reached out to Cameron Davis as a mentor. It turned out that he has a show in January/February of 2019 that would be the perfect opportunity, the Studio 180 production of Oslo. With this mentorship, I will be working through the design process for the show as well as learning the technology that Cameron uses to create his designs. I’ll be learning new programs for creating content, but also more about system design (how to choose, set-up, focus projectors, all that fun stuff.)

I’m excited to work with Cameron and learn from him. I love his designs because they always work seamlessly with the rest of the production. He has worked with companies across Canada and the States, including the Shaw Festival and has a background in teaching Projection Design at the National Theatre School. The team on Oslo is incredible and I have the added benefit of working with them while learning from such a cool projection designer.

I have no idea what the next six weeks have in store for me, but I am so excited work with Cameron. There is so much to learn in so little time.  I look forward to developing new skills, strengthening and broadening my practice, and to diving even further into the world that is projection design.

Part 2: January 23, 2019

In the first stage of this apprenticeship I have been observing rehearsals, attending production meetings, and working through the nitty gritty of learning new software.

Oslo is an incredible project to be able to learn on. The script, cast, and creative team are phenomenal which makes rehearsals really wonderful to watch. Each rehearsal reveals how as designers we can support the work on stage; what images (still, video, or texture) are necessary and how they will integrate into the show during tech. However, at this point, it is mostly observing and preparing all of the elements that will come together during tech and previews.

In preparation for tech, I have been learning new software so that I can work within Cameron’s work-flow and assist during tech. As I work through learning the basics of Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Isadora I can see why they are such effective tools. Premiere Pro and After Effects are part of the same Adobe family as Photoshop and get along really well together within the same universe. Wonderful tools for creating content and I look forward to exploring them even further. I am also learning why Isadora is considered such a powerhouse software. It allows for on-the-fly editing and has many tools for creating simple objects and motion, it is not just a playback software.

I have also been assisting in some content research. Oslo calls for some news footage from 1992/1993 which actually proves somewhat difficult to find. We are so used to the internet being able to provide most content these days, and most news programs have public archives, but they really only go back as far as 2005. It is truly amazing to be reminded that the internet is so new and we have already become so reliant and accustomed to its convenience. I was able to go through library archives and find numerous newspaper clippings from 1992 and 1993 but the video content may require more creativity.

I’m truly enjoying building new skills and look forward to seeing how it all comes together. The cast is running all three acts, the final production meeting approaches, and tech week looms large ahead.

Part 3: February 20, 2019

Oslo is open and I learned so much. The greatest thing about learning is realizing that there is so much more of it to do.

Being able to shadow Cameron through this process and ask an incessant amount of questions has been such an honor and privilege.  Watching this beautiful design unfold was a very informative experience and I know that I will be taking those skills and techniques I learned forward into my next wave of work. Cam was incredibly patient as I asked a million questions about every piece of programming he did, why he did it, why he did it that way.

Although I did not learn every detail of Isadora programming (which will take years of practice and experimentation) I did fall in love with it and its beautiful responsive nature in the design process. I cannot wait to continue to play and discover my own style within this new programming language. 

I can also say that this opportunity to shadow a senior designer and learn more about projection design came together at a perfect time, I have just booked my largest projection design yet and can’t wait to put these new skills to the test. Always more to learn!

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Today we feature five stories:

• Claire Burns training in administration and managing direction with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto
• Rhiannon Collett begins training in artistic producing with Tom Arthur Davis and Jivesh Parasram at Pandemic Theatre in Toronto
• Logan Raju Cracknell training in lighting design with David DeGrow at Cahoots in Toronto and on tour
• Laura McCallum training in general management with Laura Pomeroy at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto
• Keshia Palm training in dramaturgy with Marjorie Chan at Cahoots Theatre in Toronto

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Logan Raju Cracknell

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Logan Raju Cracknell training in lighting design with David DeGrow at Cahoots in Toronto and on tour

Part 1: November 20, 2018

One of the skills I have not developed in the past through my technician and design work has been my writing skills, so for everyone reading this blog post get ready for some less-than-eloquent stuff. I am really excited to get to work with David DeGrow on Good Morning, Viet Mom. As someone who started my theatre career doing a lot more technician work than design, it was great to find a mentor who had a similar beginning to their career and I’m hoping that this mentorship helps me to further move along towards my career as a designer. One of the big things I’ve taken away from just the start of this, or pre-start I should say, is that theatre is flexible and ever changing. When I had submitted my grant originally, the production schedule—which was in, like, pre-prelim—was very loose and was looking to fall more into the period of February-March. This was getting to be a worry for me as I ended up getting a contract from February-June and was worried about the potential conflict, or how I could balance them both.

First, always talk to folks right away because then they are more likely to be flexible with things, and in this case David and I talked about how much of the mentorship could be done while I was out of the city for another Assistant Lighting Design gig. The second thing is that sometimes things work out in strange ways and a lot of the stuff we had in my original grant application was actually happening earlier than we had originally thought—so I am actually going to be around for a large amount of it.

David and I had a meeting recently to just talk about starting up with things and what I wanted from him and what he thought he could use me for. The big thing I wanted was for this experience to be treated primarily as a job, as I learn way better getting hands-on experience. I’m excited to get to do a lot of the Assistant Lighting Designer responsibilities with this show and then have David guide and suggest ways of improving on it or how to approach it, as opposed to just being shown how these things are done.

The biggest thing I’m hoping to learn from this is the work that goes into prepping a show for touring as I have had very little experience with it. It is a different beast of organization especially in situations where the designer cannot go with the show.

Part 2: December 20, 2018

Blog round two! At this point my mentorship has just started a little bit and won’t really be picking up until January. David and I met recently to talk about how we wanted to proceed with this, and I was super-thankful that he agreed to kinda throw tasks my way as if this was a typical assistantship job and then let me do those and we can talk about it after/that I could ask questions along the way. I think for myself getting the ability to learn through a work-like environment helps a lot in how I retain information and grow as an artist.

Right now the work I have done with David has been some prep work. The show I am mentoring him on is touring so we are having to work with paperwork from different venues. The prep that he had me helping with was re-drawing and cleaning up some files from one of the theatres we will be at. It was an interesting experience to see a large theatre that had files which didn’t follow industry standards and how something like that can really slow down the prep work of a designer since you cannot instantly know well what is what.

David has been a great mentor so far, has been willing to answer any questions I’ve had, and has been flexible with accommodating things such as the fact that we had to work around some changes in my own personal life with a move coming up near to when the show opens, as I’m leaving the city for a work contract.

I’m excited going forward to see more of the stuff we need to do in terms of prepping the touring aspects of the show. January is looking to be exciting as we get into the rehearsal period for the show.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Keshia Palm

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Keshia Palm training in dramaturgy with Marjorie Chan at Cahoots Theatre in Toronto

(December 12, 2018)

This blog post is about hope.

Why do I say that? Well I was asked to describe “what I hope to accomplish”, “what I hope to learn”, and “how I see myself being able to contribute.”  Which all seems very aspirational and hopeful and positive. Which is good—because I do feel hopeful. I am super excited. But I also feel nervous and unsure. I mostly feel open. Which is a good thing I think. 

I have some small ideas and questions about the role of “the dramaturge” that have been percolating. They feel like baby ideas, and elementary questions—little hands reaching up from plastic coloured chairs kind of questions. I hope that by working with Marjorie Chan and Cahoots Theatre, those questions will unfurl and grow into bigger, more complicated questions. I hope I can graduate university and sit around batting questions back and forth with Marjorie sipping theoretical scotch by the end of this. I hope to be well-read in all manner of plays, which will help. I’m really excited about being paid to read and not squeeze minutes out on a bus from here to there—though I suspect there will be some of that too. I hope that all that reading combined with working and talking with Marjorie will help me develop a robust dramaturgical vocabulary, and I hope to use that vocabulary to help support the works in progress of the resident companies and artists at Cahoots.

I feel really humbled to have the opportunity to work with Marjorie Chan. In addition to being an incredible playwright, dramaturge, librettist, and artistic leader, she is also a lovely, lovely human. She is gentle, she is kind, and she listens to the artists she’s working with. I could use more of all those things I think. We all could. I think it’s so incredibly important for people to be heard. I hope to learn from Marjorie how I can be a better leader, facilitator and ally for our community at large. I hope to have a clear image of how I can support artists developing new work from a dramaturgical perspective by the end of the year. I hope I fail at a few things. I hope I succeed wildly at most things. 

I’m having a hard time articulating how I see myself being able to contribute to Cahoots, which says a lot about me and where I am with my artistic practice right now. I feel like a master of none, a jill of all trades. But I am passionate about new work development. I am an advocate for safe creative spaces. And I’m interested in challenging and changing the systems we have in place that prevent art from being sustainable and inclusive. So, I hope that my presence and input and questions will help propel the works of the artists I will be intersecting with at Cahoots forward. I hope I can be a resource for playwrights of differing and diverse perspectives during and after this process. I hope to support Marjorie, Kat, Indrit and Sabah as they create and produce programming that does question and challenge those systems. 

I hope I stay open. I hope I stay hope full.

Hopefully.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Claire Burns

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Claire Burns training in administration and managing direction with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto

Part 1: December 2018

Since I moved to Toronto in 2001 I have been a wildly enthusiastic fan of Buddies and, like many in our community, I’ve enjoyed so many different aspects of its programming over the years. I first started coming for the dance parties and club nights as a university student, and as I became more immersed in Canada’s independent theatre scene, Buddies became my go-to for dynamic, experimental, alternative performances. I worked at it’s call centre in 2009, delivering frontline support for the development team as an enthusiastic sales person, and I’ve been connected to the organization in various ways ever since: either on stage as a performer, at events as a volunteer, behind the coat check as an employee, or in the theatre seats as an an avid fan of the programming, mandate, and aesthetic. In Toronto, we are lucky to have a space dedicated to queer performance and queer culture. I’m excited to mobilize my existing networks and to grow and develop new relationships that will continue to support such a unique organization.

In the past several years I have gained significant hands-on experience running an independent space and producing theatre performances within a range of budgets, however I am now ready to develop my skill set as an arts administrator in an established institution. I have a particular interest in arts management as it serves as the backbone of company operations. I submitted three major goals to learn from Buddies Managing Director, Shawn Daudlin: Human Resources, PACT and Financial Reporting. As someone who is passionate about my work and keen to translate that passion into long-lasting relationships, I am hungry to improve my skills in development administration, and to create new opportunities for supporters and party-goers alike to join me in investing in the bright future of Buddies in Bad Times.

Part 2: January 8, 2019

My PTTP has begun! Thank you to Theatre Ontario for this opportunity! I’ve started my work with Shawn Daudlin, the Managing Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and I couldn’t be more inspired.

First off, we entered ALL the financial finals into CADAC (Canadian Arts Data/Donnees sur les Arts au Canada.) It’s a web based application dedicated to the collection of financial and statistical data of Canadian Arts Organizations. You can check out the website at www.thecadac.ca. The CADAC is the platform where you report financials for Operating Funding through the OAC and CCA. I wanted to learn how to do this: i.e. how to input the numbers literally, but I also wanted to glean how Buddies separates their financial categories and what the back-end of their bookkeeping looks like. At Storefront, I’m the one primarily dealing with the financials and really have no training on this save for what I’ve learned myself. I was able to use the information that I received through this at Buddies to create a more cohesive budget and financial report for Storefront.

My second task with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies is updating the Human Resource Manual. Theatre had a big year re Human Resources, what with the Soulpepper situation, and clarity around HR reporting and workplace behavioural expectations have become more rigorous. I’ve taken a multitude of HR Supervisor training modules online and am in the process of drafting an updated manual. This is hard work and frankly intimidates me because HR involves a lot of legislative language which I always find a little thick to read and understand.

My third task is my favourite! I get to help book and plan more women’s late nights at Buddies. Buddies has done an incredible job at diversifying their theatre programming to reflect their inclusive mandate. However, the late club nights are still predominantly filled with cis-males. I’m in a unique position because I work late nights behind the bar and have a real interest in event/party planning, I have had experience running parties through Storefront and Inside Out Film Festival, and am a queer lady who wants her peers to take up more space! In November I attended an event hosted by Daily Xtra about how to get more Queer Women’s Spaces in Toronto. There are currently no lesbian bars or women-only bars on Church or ANYWHERE in the city and it’s obvious that this community wants more opportunity to come together. Buddies is holding a reading of Dyke City, the seminal ‘90s lez serial written by Sonny Mills, on Friday January 18th as a part of their 40th Anniversary Season Series, and I’m planning the after party! Come on out! All Ages, Free Event! Check out the event on Facebook here and come party in your best 90s dyke attire!

Dyke City After Party

Dj LL Cool Wei

Host Ashton Cootcher

Burlesque performances by

Ferrera Rose & Zyra Fresh Prince & Dainty Smith of Les Femmes Fatales

No Cover

Doors at 10pm

Best Jean Jacket contest at Midnight

10pm come and party with the lesbians, bi girls and anyone in between. All welcome. 

Strap on your hottest retro lezzie look and go down on Dyke Night like a bush on fire!

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Laura McCallum

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Laura McCallum is training in general management with Laura Pomeroy at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto

Part 1: November 19, 2018

I’m excited to begin my Professional Theatre Training Program with Laura Pomeroy at Studio 180.

I have been working with Studio 180 since 2016 when I began note-taking for their board meetings. Board meetings are a great opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a company and I came to better understand the minutia of general management. After each meeting I would ask Laura P. for clarification about certain points to expand on my own learning and often asked her for advice regarding my position as General Manager at Theatre of the Beat, a small touring company. In this more formal training opportunity I’m glad to have the time to discuss at length the day-to-day operations of the company. In this current political climate, it was important to me to find a female mentor; despite arts managers being predominately female I have almost exclusively had male supervisors or mentors over the years.  

Laura P and Laura M

Beyond the knowledge-sharing of how to general manage a small-to-mid-sized non-venued company, I’m observing Laura P.’s soft skills as well. Laura P. exudes confidence, especially around finance, as she worked with Young and Associates for several years. Through the little I’ve seen of Laura P. when I visit the office or at board meetings I’ve concluded that she is the kind of manager I’d like to be someday, so the opportunity to observe her interactions with her mostly part-time staff and how she manages tough situations will be invaluable. 

Last year I graduated from the Arts Administration and Cultural Management post-graduate program at Humber and began officially working in theatre management. Though I’ve taken a financial management class and applied to numerous foundation grants, I still lack confidence and experience with finances and government grants. In this internship I will gain confidence in working with operating budgets over $150,000 and working with external granting bodies by assisting Laura P. with the 2019/2020 operating budget, the Oslo production budget, and beginning the 2019 granting cycle on all three levels of government grants. 

Studio 180 Board and Staff

Our training schedule is fairly regimented: I will observe Laura P. and be present in the office for meetings and events, followed by practicing a given task on my own, and finally I will have the chance to execute the task on my own with supervision. Over the course of the next eight weeks I will have a chance to practice skills I have already acquired a new setting. For example, I’m quite familiar with CAEA documentation after a previous internship in planning at the Shaw Festival but doing the CAEA documentation for the workshop of Apple by Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks will be much different considering I have never worked with the ITA agreement before. I’m looking forward to contributing to the office in a meaningful manner and already feel very welcomed by the Studio 180 board and staff. Studio 180 is committed to the training of emerging artists, evidenced through their In Development series and hiring of an RBC emerging playwright each year, and I am happy to be a part of their commitment to training emerging administrators as well. 

Once again I am very grateful to Theatre Ontario for funding this training opportunity. Small companies value interns but often don’t have the capacity to support their training outside of a formal educational setting, such as a post-grad program, where hours are done in exchange for credit. Theatre Ontario’s investment in the training of future general managers and arts administrators will definitely have a positive and life-changing impact on my career in the next few years. I can’t wait to get started next week and see where this opportunity takes me!

Part 2: January 5, 2019

I’m just over halfway through my Professional Theatre Training Program with Laura Pomeroy at Studio 180. Through November and December we tackled a good chunk of the training that we had outlined in our application, and then took a much-needed break over the winter holidays. 

In my first few weeks I participated in departmental and staff meetings, attended the November meeting, and observed the hiring of a new marketing coordinator. With Laura P.’s guidance I prepared a preliminary draft budget for the 2019/2020 season and have worked with her for weeks to massage this first draft before it’s presented at the January board meeting. In December, there were two presentations of Studio 180 In Development and I assisted in completing the CAEA documentation and fee schedule for both projects. I have processed CAEA contracts in the past but Laura P. showed me a simpler way of managing the fee schedules that I hope to utilize in future jobs. 

Metcalf Strategic Initiatives Workshop

Due to our training starting a little later than originally planned, I missed the opportunity to observe and work on the post-production and reconciliation of The Nether, Studio 180’s co-production with Coal Mine Theatre. I’m grateful that Laura P. still took the time to go over the reconciliation with me once I arrived, though. Another change to our training schedule was attending a Metcalf Strategic Initiatives workshop. While I was always planning on attending a workshop at some point, the nature of the particular workshop I attended required me to take on more of a representational role in discussing Studio 180’s goals with other companies by myself. This gave me the opportunity to apply what I knew about the company and its strategic plan in a more formal, external setting and to have genuine conversations with other artistic directors and general managers about the problems their companies are facing. Discussing the workshop after the board meeting with our team also gave me a chance to share my feedback with the same level of importance as our full-time staff and board members.

My relationship with Laura P. has evolved into a more collegial mentorship. I admit to having a fair bit of impostor syndrome surrounding my age and abilities so Laura P. treating me as an equal and colleague, and pointing out how unnecessary my impostor syndrome is, has done wonders for my confidence in the role. As mentioned earlier, I’m very appreciative for her patience in reviewing her work with me, especially reviewing some basics of the industries to make sure that we’re on the same page. Her previous experience as a bookkeeper has resulted in me not only learning about financial management at Studio 180 but also a comparison of how the company functions in relation to other organizations. 

In my final weeks I will be attending the first rehearsal of Oslo, preparing the staff reports and financials for the January board meeting, and assisting Laura P. with cash-flow projections for the remaining six months of the fiscal year.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Rhiannon Collett

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Rhiannon Collett begins training in artistic producing with Tom Arthur Davis and Jivesh Parasram at Pandemic Theatre in Toronto

(December 17, 2018) It seems like recently everyone is talking about audience engagement. I’ll be honest: as a playwright, I’m kind of a theatre ghost. I like nothing more to slip into the back of the house, watch the show, and leave. No one knows who I am? Awesome. Engaging with the audience as a whole has always seemed like a lot. Talkbacks make me nervous. Answering questions is hard, and scary and sometimes it feels like a group dramaturgical session (“I just don’t really get what you were trying to do there…”). There are poor interpretations, miscommunications and hurt feelings (mine). I admit that “theatre ghosting” may not be the most responsible move, but fear ye not—the end of 2018 has proved overwhelmingly full of opportunities for me to grow as an artist directly engaged with their audience.

I’ve been living in Montreal for the past 5 weeks, working on the world-premiere of my show, The Kissing Game with TYA company Youtheatre. For over a month I’ve been primarily an actor (with the occasional bout of frenzied playwriting revisions.) I’ve been performing an openly queer narrative two times a day in high schools across the Greater Montreal Area. Every day we do a talkback. Sometimes I get a standing ovation. Sometimes I get heckled. Sometimes they want to know if I’m gay “in real life.” Sometimes they have nothing to say. Sometimes, like yesterday, they decide they’re going to try their very hardest to distract me for the entire 45 minute run and I had a near-perfect show quand-même. Point being—there has been lots of audience engagement, and it has turned out to be the most difficult and worthwhile part of this tour. The kids are alright, and very gay.

One thing that I’ve come to appreciate through my time on school tour is that engaging with an audience is a skill. When I think about standout audience engagement, I think about Tom and Jiv’s work at Pandemic. This is because I was the audience they engaged many, many times, even when I didn’t like their work. Even when I had something to say that was challenging. I had a strong objection to the show? Pandemic hired me to write my thoughts for their ‘zine. I had difficulty with some audience participation? Tom and I discussed it, and my thoughts were incorporated into the final production. My perspective as an audience member (and as an emerging artist) has always been heard at Pandemic, and it has profoundly changed the way that I experience their work (and the way that I think about how my own work could exist.)

On Sunday I head back to Toronto and start my mentorship in artistic producing with Pandemic—I’ll be assisting on the world premiere of Johnnie Walker’s play Shove It Down My Throat at Buddies in Bad Times. A large part of my mentorship with Tom and Jiv will be about how to engage with audiences outside the production. Shove combines lots of topics that I am extremely interested in—it’s a true-crime gonzo docu-play that explores queerness and complicity.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Today we feature three stories:

• Christine Horne trained in directing with Eda Holmes at Canadian Stage in Toronto
• Taryn Jorgenson training in directing with Richard Rose at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto
• Naomi Wright begins training in directing with Robin Witt at Writers Theatre in Chicago, USA

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Naomi Wright

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Naomi Wright begins training in directing with Robin Witt at Writers Theatre in Chicago, USA

(November 22, 2018)  Yesterday I had my second phone meeting with my mentor Robin Witt.  Robin is a Chicago-based director and is also Associate Professor of Directing at UNC Charlotte. I will be mentoring under her and assistant directing on her production of Caryl Churchill’s A Number at Writer’s Theatre in Chicago. Robin is awesome. She is a vocal champion for women in the industry, a very accomplished director and teacher, and a hilarious human to talk to.

I’ve been thinking about directing for a while now.  I’m interested in expanding how I contribute to the industry in Canada and how I practice the theatrical art form. (That sounds so pretentious and I promise I will get less precious from here.) I have sketched out ideas for countless shows and stored them in the back of my brain because I have no idea whether I will be any good at directing. My greatest hope is that I’ll have something original to contribute and that I’ll be a kind and generous and insightful director that makes everyone feel super confidant in everything they do. My greatest fear is that despite working in the theatre for over a decade, I actually have no idea how the theatre works. That when I get into the room I’ll only rehearse the first scene over and over, and I’ll forget to cue to cue, and I’ll make everyone come on stage in one big blob in transitions, and then everyone will quit because they realize I have no idea what I’m doing.   

So, I thought I should do some homework. Under the PTTP grant I can dedicate the time to learn about directing through study and practical work. It is an invaluable learning opportunity.  It’s an amazing program and one I am already encouraging everyone I know to look into. 

I had seen Robin Witt’s name mentioned in various articles about the Chicago theatre scene. She has been nominated for several awards and her productions are often featured on Best Of the Year lists. I was in the process of seeking a mentor who best fit my hopes for the grant when I saw that Robin was announced as the director of A Doll’s House Part 2 at Steppenwolf. “Exciting,” I thought. I reached out to Robin through one of the smaller theatres she works with and within a day I heard back. We set up a phone meeting for the following week.  At the end of that hour-long conversation, Robin had offered me a place at the table on four shows she was directing. A Number fit in best with my work schedule. She floored me with her openness and generosity. That is the first lesson I have learned from Robin and one I hope I never forget. 

So now back to where this post started. Yesterday I had my second phone meeting with Robin, and it lasted almost two hours. She was so excited that I had been awarded the grant.  We talked for a long time about Caryl Churchill and A Number. Churchill is a vocal feminist and A Number is a two-hander about cloning and it features two male characters. Robin feels the absence of women is deliberate in the play. That this particular world that is like ours but not ours, is devoid of femininity. That, and the medical focal point of the drama, are the jumping off points for the design. Hard edges, tall ceilings, clinical lighting, oversized windows.

Robin went into such particular detail about how she approaches her work. From design meetings and how she speaks with designers to best communicate ideas while not contaminating their creative process, to how she runs auditions.  She told me that she is a huge fan of research and preparing. She said that especially when directing work by playwrights like Churchill, she feels it’s her job to dig as deep as possible into the text.  We spoke about some of the research she has started and how I can get help in that area. 

We also spoke about Robin’s career as an actor and director; she gave me her thoughts on various aspects of directing from being kind, to scripting your first day address; she talked about what she learned from her own mentor, Anna D. Shapiro, and how lucky she feels she was having met Ms. Shapiro before the great success of August: Osage County because Ms. Shapiro had the time back then to dedicate to mentorship.

I have a page scribbled front and back with notes from our conversation.  The next step for me is going through the design drop box so I can look at where that work sits right now.  Robin is going to put me in touch with the team at Writer’s so that I can be brought into all of the conversations surrounding the show.  She has suggested I read Anne Bogart’s book A Director Prepares and to look into Freud’s theory of dopplegangers as research for the play. I couldn’t be happier.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Christine Horne

Our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)

Christine Horne trained in directing with Eda Holmes at Canadian Stage in Toronto

(November 11, 2018) I returned home a few days ago after a week in Montreal for the transfer of The Children from Canadian Stage to the Centaur Theatre. I’ve done a little bit of touring as an actor, but never a proper transfer like this. So the experience was entirely new.

During the Toronto run, Eda was back in Montreal (where she lives and works as Artistic Director of The Centaur), so the job of checking in on the show at home fell to me. It was nice to feel useful, and trusted by the actors and stage management. Tech had been stressful, with lots of complicated bits to work out—water flowing across the floor, an apple rolling effortlessly across a table, a wig and bald pate to finesse—and by the time the show was opening, no one felt especially ready. So it was very satisfying to revisit the show a couple of times through the run to watch as things deepened and grew. 

The move to The Centaur, after a nearly two-week hiatus for the cast, went really well. Everyone was relaxed and rested, and genuinely excited to be there. There were lots of tiny adjustments to be made to the sound and lighting, just by virtue of the different equipment and the space being nearly twice as big, and the water once again had to be worked out. But in the end, everything came together beautifully, and comparatively smoothly. And though I had to leave after the first preview, by all accounts their opening night performance in Montreal was the best the show has ever been.

I learned so much through this process, and the words of support and encouragement not only from Eda, but from the cast and stage management as well, have really meant a lot to me. I’m going to keep venturing down this path, learning and practicing where I can. This has been an incredibly valuable, inspiring experience, and I’ll always be so grateful for the opportunity. Thank you, Theatre Ontario!

Related Reading:

• Christine’s first update
• Christine’s second update

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is March 1, 2019.

Learn more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.