Browsing Our Bulletin Board

Upcoming opportunities from Theatre Ontario, from our members, and from other arts service organizations.

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

Theatre Ontario's "Intimacy for the Stage for
Directors" workshop with Siobhan Richardson. 

• Have questions related to filing your tax return? Join us at our “Taxes for Theatre Artists” workshop with Sam Marinucci on February 21 in Toronto.
• Learn the techniques and the language to stage human sexuality in a way that is professional, dynamic and focused on storytelling at our “Intimacy for the Stage for Directors” workshop with Siobhan Richardson on February 24 in Toronto.
• Want to know the secrets of a successful voice acting career? Join us at our “Voice Over” workshop with Elley-Ray on February 24 in Toronto.
• Calming the Actor Mind! In this one-on-one 60-minute coaching session you will be taught from a mindfulness counselling perspective how to cultivate our own artistic growth. “Mindful Therapy for Performing Artists” with Jorie Morrow is on February 26 in Toronto.
• Thinking of producing a show or starting a theatre company? Join us at our “Ready, Set, Show! Foundations of Indie Producing” workshop with Rachel Kennedy and special guest Izad Etemadi on February 28 in Toronto.
• Are you an artist seeking financial support for professional development or a "change of direction" in your career? The deadline for applications for our Professional Theatre Training Program grants is March 1.
• Preparing an OAC application? Get the inside scoop at our “Grant Writing Information Session” free pre-recorded webinar with Pat Bradley of the Ontario Arts Council available on March 6.
• Answers to your FAQ’s about the business of acting! Join us at our “Launching Your Career” workshop with Rachel Kennedy and special guest Andre Newell on March 14 in Toronto.

Check out all of our upcoming Career Stream and Creator Stream workshops.

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

• Deadline for applications for Ontario Arts Council’s Ontario Arts Presenters Projects grants is February 15.
• Deadline for application for Toronto Irish Players’ call for a director of their upcoming production of Dancing at Lughnasa has been extended to February 15.
• Deadline for applications for Great Canadian Theatre Company’s Shannon Reynolds Memorial Endowment Fund Internship (for Canadian artists in the National Capital Region who self-represents as female seeking an internship in any area of design) is February 16.
• Deadline for proposals for Super Crawl 2018 in Hamilton is February 16.
• Deadline for applications for Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Seed Grants is February 21.
• Deadline for application for Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Artists in Communities and Schools Projects is February 22.

New on The Bulletin Board

• Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay invites submissions from playwrights 13 to 19 for their Young Playwright’s Challenge. The deadline is February 28.

Check out these items, and other postings from our members.

• Grants
• Calls for Submission and Nominations
• Workshops at Ontario Theatres and Other Arts Service Organizations
• Adult Continuing Education and Training Studio Programs
• Youth Training Programs
• Volunteer and Non-Paying Positions
• Community Events and Conferences

Theatre Ontario individual members can also access Auditions, Job Postings and Discount Ticket Offers on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

Ontario Off Stage

Nancy Webster

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

• Nancy Webster, the Executive Director of Young People’s Theatre in Toronto, was interviewed by the Metcalf Foundation about “the value of internships, mentors, and female leadership in the performing arts.”

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The next stop for your Ontario Fringe Theatre tour is North Bay for the ON THE EDGE fringe festival opening on August 9.
• Season announcements for 16/17 from Soulpepper (including their touring "Soulpepper on 42nd Street: Canada Crosses the Border" initiative) and Guelph Little Theatre.
• Check out the Play Map of Canada for August and find a Canadian play on a stage in your community.

Congratulations to the 2015 Shaw Festival Intern Directors

Congratulations to Esther Jun and Peter Pasyk, who were chosen as the two Intern Directors for the 2015 season at the Shaw Festival.

Esther Jun originally trained as an actor in NYC and completed her directing degree at Drama Centre London in 2006. Since returning to Canada she has worked with a diverse range of companies across Toronto such as fu-GEN, Cahoots, Obsidian, Nightwood and Soulpepper.  Esther’s work has been seen at Rhubarb, SummerWorks and Next Stage Festivals, plus Toronto, Montreal and the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. She has helped facilitate programs for Crossing Gibraltar and the Paprika Festival and is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director of Directors Lab North, the first international offshoot of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, of which she was a 2010 member. She is also a founding member of The World Wide Lab, where most recently she co-created/co-directed a workshop of Imperium, at Teatro Due in Rome. She has been featured in NOW magazine’s Top Ten Artists to Watch (Fringe 2013) and was nominated for 2012 Pauline McGibbon Award and 2011 John Hirsch Directing Award. Esther continues to act and originated the role of Janet in Ins Choi’s Kim’s Convenience.  Selected Credits - Director: And Now, The End (Ante Up); Bremen Rock City (Song Trolley); Cowboy Mouth (Heart In Hand); Yellow Face (Hart House), Trout Stanley (Heart in Hand) Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (DeusXM), First Hand Woman (Fire Up Productions); workshops of Imperium (World Wide Lab/Kit Italia); Calpurnia (Nightwood); Abigail’s Mirror (World Wide Lab/Irondale Brooklyn), Intent City (Eventual Ashes), La Commune (Heart in Hand) and Sex Tape Project (fu-GEN). Co-director: Hiding Words (for you) (Eventual Ashes), Strange Mary Strange (Theatre on the Verge).

Peter Pasyk is a Toronto-based director of theatre and film, and the Artistic Director of surface/underground theatre for which he directed the Dora-nominated productions of Dying City, When the World Was Green, and The Jones Boy. Peter directed the world premieres of Rosa Laborde’s Like Wolves at the GCTC in Ottawa, and Jordan Tannahill’s Late Company at SummerWorks 2013, which received the Best Production and NOW Audience Choice awards.  Peter directing work has been nominated for the Pauline McGibbon Award, the John Hirsch Prize (Canada Council for the Arts), the John Hirsch Award (Ontario Arts Council), and the Dora Award for Outstanding Direction in Independent Theatre. Last season Peter was the Urjo Kareda Artist-in-Residence at Tarragon Theatre where he Assistant Directed Lungs, and the world premiere of Sean Dixon’s Governor General Award-nominated play A God in Need of Help. After his internship at the Shaw Festival, Peter will be returning to Toronto to direct the much-anticipated remount of Late Company.

This announcement also marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Neil Munro Intern Director’s Project at the Shaw Festival, wherein The Shaw will now be solely responsible for its administration. Theatre Ontario was one of the founders of the program in 1988 and has been enormously proud to work together throughout the past twenty-seven years with Neil Munro, Christopher Newton, Jackie Maxwell, and the creative teams at The Shaw. The program has had over 55 participants, a venerable who’s who of Canadian Theatre, including Eda Holmes-who runs the program today. Read the full list of past intern directors.

The Directors Project has been both a unique and profound experience for Intern Directors, as is made evident by the many testimonials received throughout the years. No other director training program in Canada offers the same level of immersion for participants in a company of the scope and scale of the Shaw Festival. The Directors Project has sought to provide the space, time and resources for emerging directors to delve into their craft, discover the type of artist they wish to become and how they see themselves shaping the Canadian theatre industry. Interns have left the program with a changed perspective on the actor-director dialogue and a deep understanding of how to fashion compelling stories.

The collective work of past Intern Directors has also played a significant role in fostering appreciation and accessibility of the arts across the country. The impact of their contribution to Canadian culture is evident in the communities that have come alive through their projects and the organizations which have benefitted from their influence. Intern Directors have gone on to work in regional communities providing training and work opportunities in the arts that had not previously existed. Other Intern Directors have taken on roles that encourage other artists to grow in their practice and present their work across the country.

The impact has been far-reaching, with Theatre Ontario being extremely pleased to have borne witness to Canada’s premiere mentoring program and quite thrilled that the program will continue to develop Canadian directorial talent in the many years ahead. For further information on the next round of applications, please see www.shawfest.com.

Directors Day at The Shaw

by Roxanne Joseph, Fundraising Coordinator

On Friday September 19th, five of us from Theatre Ontario set off for Niagara-on-the-Lake to attend the 2014 Directors Day performances of the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival. Our first stop was for lunch at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club, the oldest golf course in North America. While there, we raised a toast to our Community Theatre Coordinator, Anne Mooney’s birthday and Mairin Smit, our Program Coordinator, who ended her tenure at Theatre Ontario September 26th and launched the next chapter of her theatre career a few days later in Bangkok, Thailand.

At the golf course, I spotted a man sporting a Tilly Hat in the Tee-off area who clearly appeared to be in the zone.  A little while later, he purposefully sent his ball in flight.  As any golf player knows, misalignment while setting up your shot can have unfavourable results. Full engagement on the green as well—as while directing actors on the stage—is key to performing either endeavour with focused intention.

Rough for Theatre I from Three Short Plays by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Alistair Newton at the 2014 Shaw Directors Project
Benedict Campbell and Patrick Galligan
Photo by Mark Callan

It was apparent that Rachel Peake and Alistair Newton, this year’s Directors Day Interns, challenged themselves with their contrasting play selections. Alistair Newton directed Three Short Plays; Catastrophe, Rough for Theatre I and Rockaby by Samuel Beckett. To me, Alistair’s take on Beckett’s pieces lent comic relief to the potentially disturbing threads in Beckett’s work. After all, “Life ain’t worth living when you’re dead.”  Alistair’s direction illuminated the character’s obscure psychological underpinnings, and evidentially charted his own course within the rigour of Beckett’s theatrical framework.

Rachel Peake’s direction of Rosalind, by J.M. Barrie, allowed the audience to witness a clever and witty century-old story with contemporary overtones about ageism in society.  Afterwards, during a chat with Rachel, I mentioned that I know a man who has been “a long 29.” Traditionally, it is usually women who’re preoccupied with their age and appearance. As the play unfolds, an intricate tale is revealed about Rosalind’s relationship with herself.

Rosalind by J.M. Barrie
Directed by Rachel Peake at the 2014 Shaw Directors Project
Claire Julien and Ben Sanders
Photo by Mark Callan

From the perspective of a first-time Niagara-on-the-Lake visitor, I was captivated by the awe-inspiring, picturesque old-world charm of the town.  Obviously, it’s warmth and welcoming atmosphere is the perfect setting to house the Shaw complex and thusly the Directors Project.

Knowing that such a magically stunning place exists, right here in Ontario is quite affirming!  And, what’s even more exciting is the opportunity for anyone interested in applying to become an Intern in Shaw’s collaborative director’s program.  The long-standing partnership between Theatre Ontario and the Shaw Festival offers a magnificent learning experience for intern directors to hone their craft under the tutelage of world-class professionals. Jackie Maxwell, Shaw’s Artistic Director, not only provides exceptional leadership and access to mentors, she’s also known for her nurturing nature within the Festival’s community. Eda Holmes, Shaw’s Associate Director is one of the Director’s Project illustrious participants who has literally “had their day” showcasing their productions. This event is held in high regard and no matinees are scheduled during the afternoon of the Director’s Project performances.

That evening, I had the privilege to see more of Alistair’s handiwork as the Assistant Director for Shaw’s rendition of Cabaret. The story takes place in pre-Nazi Germany, chronicles the shift in democratic freedoms and presents us with an integral plot message that asks “what would you do?”  In the words of the protagonist Cliff Bradshaw, “If you’re not against all this, you’re for it.”

What a superb way to end our day!  And, my 34-year wait to see such a stupendous production of Cabaret was worth it!

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Conversation Starters

• One Play at a Time invites professors to commit to teaching one class period per semester on historic women playwrights.  Right now, there are no Ontario professors on the list.
• Writing about the UK (but just as applicable here), does the “intern culture” mean that working-class talent is being priced out of acting?
• Also from across the pond: Lyn Gardner writes on The Guardian blog about the ethics of using animals on stage

Thomas A Stewart School Integrated Arts
Program at Peterborough Theatre Guild

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• Peterborough Theatre Guild is building relationships with student theatre practitioners through a partnership with the local Thomas A Stewart School Integrated Arts Program
• Alison Smyth, one of the actors in the Festival Players of Prince Edward County’s production of Test Drive shared a few moments on her Backstage Blog—including one that will resonate with all of this summer’s outdoor venue performers

From the Wire

• Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood headline an improv comedy event on September 22 in Stratford in support of the 2016 World Festival of Children’s Theatre

Migrations

• Elaine Calder will be retiring as Executive Director of the Shaw Festival in September 2015

TO Toasts

• ...to the recipients of the 2014 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Lee Maracle, Cheri Dimaline, and Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario
• ...to the finalists for the 2014 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre: playwrights Michel Marc Bouchard, Olivier Choinière, Hannah Moscovitch, and Colleen Murphy
• ...to the Ontario theatres recognized by the International Centre for Women Playwrights in the 2014 50/50 Applause Awards for producing female playwrights at least 50% of the time: Factory Theatre, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Obsidian Theatre Company, and Theatre Passe Muraille (with a video that features Andy McKim and our suite-mates at Playwrights Guild of Canada)
• ... and to Sunny Drake, and all of the finalists for the TELUS Newcomer Artist Award in Toronto

In Case You Missed It

• Professional Theatre Training Program Project Profiles featuring Tim Welham, Madeleine Donohue and Joseph Recinos

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

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Conversation Starters

• “Your success as an independent artist isn’t about you. Or rather, it isn’t only about you. It is about you and other people in a relationship. Your success is reliant on the strength of that relationship.”  Scott Walters writes about True Fans in “More Like Friends Than Strangers” on Creative Insubordination
• The “Battle of Artistic Acknowledgment” and intellectual property is an ongoing education, from Amanda Friou on HowlRound
• Culture Days has been described to me as “ParticipACTION for the arts.”  Not sure how to be a part of it?  Culture Days has provided some webinars and tip sheets—and we contributed a few ideas for theatres and theatre artists

Test Drive at Festival Players of Prince Edward County
Douglas E. Hughes and Alison Smyth
Photo by Michael Grills

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The Ontario Summer Theatre blogger visited Festival Players of Prince Edward County for Test Drive, and The Rose Theatre in Brampton for Sleuth

From the Wire

• The Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced the new Accessibility Amendments to Ontario’s Building Code that take effect on January 1, 2015 for new construction and extensive renovations
• The Shaw Festival announced their 2015 playbill, which includes The Twelve-Pound Look, which was part of the 2011 Intern Directors’ Day (directed by Craig Hall), and which will be directed this time by 2007 Intern Director Lezlie Wade

The Ensemble Mystique

By Rachel Peake

Ensemble is a word we often use in the theatre with varying degrees of depth attached to it.  Truly committed Ensemble is a defining feature of the Shaw Festival, and learning its application has been one of my greatest lessons as a part of the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project this season.  There is, of course, the ensemble of actors, which goes beyond the actors performing in the current season. However the Ensemble of the Shaw Festival extends far beyond its actors. It includes electricians, assistant designers, changeover crew, voice instructors, accountants, wardrobe builders… the list goes on. The festival has a reputation as “Camp Shaw”—a place where people not only work together but also do yoga, play board games, devise Saturday-night cabarets, meet at the local pub on Thursday nights. There are people celebrating thirty years of working and living at Shaw, and the mystique of that ensemble existence is inextricably linked to the festival’s success.

Alana Hibbert and Kevin Hanchard in The Mountaintop
Photo by David Cooper

Coming to the Directors Project as a freelance director, I saw the internship as an opportunity to expand my knowledge of directing classical text, working with artists who had been focusing on this period of theatre for many years. However, what I hadn’t realized was that a large part of my lesson would be the art of creating within the Ensemble, along with the art of creating ensemble. Within the larger context of the Ensemble of the festival is the need for individual ensemble-building on each production. Over the last four months I have assistant directed on three projects: The Mountaintop with Toronto’s Philip Akin, The Philanderer with American director Lisa Peterson, and The Philadelphia Story with Calgary-based Dennis Garnhum.  These were three wildly different pieces and each director had a different approach to working with the ensemble. More importantly, the ensemble reacted differently inside each of these unique containers, and that experience has been fascinating to watch and to learn from.

I am writing this entry during the bridge time between assistant-directing the main stage shows and beginning to direct Rosalind by J.M. Barrie for my Director’s Project. I am pondering these lessons both in terms of how they pertain to shifting over to my own directing work within the context of the Festival, and to how I can take what I have learned here on to my work in other arenas. Acting in the Directors’ Project is on a volunteer basis, and the actors who agree to it do so on top of their already full show schedule, classes, auditions, and personal commitments.  Yet somehow every year some of the best actors in Canada undertake this additional work.  Part of the reason for choosing to do so is because actors are creators: hungry to invent and explore.  Yet additionally this willingness seems to come from belonging to something they believe in; from knowing that the Ensemble works best when they buy in, give what they can, say yes, play, commit.

Moya O’Connell in The Philadelphia Story
Photo by David Cooper

I have felt extremely welcome this season at the Shaw Festival.  I have felt a part of this Ensemble and I have worked hard for it. I have witnessed what comes of everyone diving in to play the same game at the same time. I am not referring to feel-good productions where everyone involved loves it but onstage it falls flat. I am referring to the value of creating a shared goal and crafting a team that is pursuing that goal with their diverse and complimentary strengths. The lesson of the larger Ensemble of the Shaw Festival may only be applicable in certain specific settings, but the lesson of belonging to a community is relevant everywhere.  Ultimately, the ability of a director to create an ensemble feels to me to be the lynchpin of a successful execution of directorial concept.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”

- George Bernard Shaw

http://www.rachelpeake.com

Find out more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

81 Applicants for the 2015 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

We are thrilled to announce yet another highly successful year of applications for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival. In June we received an overwhelming response to our call for applications resulting in a total of 81 received from across the country and beyond, including Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New York.

Deborah Hay in Cabaret at The Shaw Festival
Photo by Emily Cooper

Since 1988, 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 fifty-five 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 announcement of the two candidates selected for the 2015 season will be in the Fall.

Be sure to check out the work of this year’s Intern Directors, Rachel Peake and Alistair Newton, at The Shaw this summer. Alistair wrote about his experience working on Cabaret with Peter Hinton on our blog.

Read more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

Theatre Ontario's Summer Theatre Intensive

• Deadline to apply for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is June 20
• Summer Theatre Intensive featuring residential courses for performers and directors of all skill levels is August 10 to 16 in Waterloo; registration deadline is June 27

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including our Adjudicators Symposium

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

• New Talent Bank member John Beale is holding a workshop on Le Jeu and Clown on June 21 to 22

New on The Bulletin Board

• Driftwood Theatre invites applications for the Creative Roots Theatre Training Intensive in Toronto for youth 14 to 19; the program starts June 30
• The Grand Theatre is holding a pre-professional musical theatre intensive for teens on August 18 to 22; registration deadline is July 18
• Canadian Stage and York University’s Faculty of Fine Arts announce the next intake into their collaborative program in theatre directing specialized MFA; the application deadline is September 3

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

Browse for summer training opportunities for youth from our members

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Deadline to apply for our Education Assistant position, a Summer Experience position for youth is June 16
• Culture Days Information Session free webinar for theatres, performing arts troupes, and theatre artists is June 16 at 7:30pm
• Deadline to apply for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is June 20
• Summer Theatre Intensive featuring residential courses for performers and directors of all skill levels is August 10 to 16 in Waterloo; registration deadline is June 27

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including our Adjudicators Symposium

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

Shadowland Theatre stilt-walking
workshop in Kingston

• Shadowland Theatre is holding a Sir John A 2015 Salon Production workshop on puppet, mask-building, stilt-walking, and parade techniques starting June 13 in Kingston
• The Accessing the Arts Symposium is on June 13 in Whitby
• Shaw Festival is holding a Let’s Create Theatre workshop for teens on June 14 in Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Ottawa Little Theatre is holding a Props Building and Design workshop on June 14
• Deadline to apply for the Ontario Arts Council’s Chalmers Arts Fellowships is June 16

New on The Bulletin Board

• Alumnae Theatre Company in Toronto is invited submissions of scripts for the 27th annual New Ideas Festival in March 2015; deadline for submissions is September 5

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

Browse for summer training opportunities for youth from our members

Browsing The Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Self-Producing: The Basics workshop with Mairin Smit and guest producer Scott Dermody is on June 9 at 3pm in Toronto
• Deadline to apply for our Education Assistant position, a Summer Experience position for youth is June 16
• Culture Days Information Session free webinar for theatres, performing arts troupes, and theatre artists is June 16 at 7:30pm
• Deadline to apply for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is June 20
• Summer Theatre Intensive featuring residential courses for performers and directors of all skill levels is August 10 to 16 in Waterloo; registration deadline is June 27.  We thrilled to welcome Dave Carley and Marcia Johnson as our Playwrights-in-Person at our Summer Theatre Intensive.

Check out all of our upcoming courses and workshops, including our Adjudicators Symposium

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

Ottawa Little Theatre's Scenic Design
workshop series continues June 7

• Ottawa Little Theatre’s next workshop in Scenic Design, focusing on designing at OLT, is June 7
• Deadline to request an application package for ArtReach Toronto’s Youth Arts Projects grant is June 8 for the June 12 grant deadline
• The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Mini-Conference on Dramaturgy is June 9 in Toronto
• Shadowland Theatre is holding a Sir John A 2015 Salon Production workshop on puppet, mask-building, stilt-walking, and parade techniques starting June 13 in Kingston
• The Accessing the Arts Symposium is on June 13 in Whitby

New on The Bulletin Board

• The Siminovitch Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Theatre is now accepting nominations for the 2014 prize for playwrights; the nomination deadline is July 15

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

Browse for summer training opportunities for youth from our members

Discovering Great Truths: Intern Directing at The Shaw

by Alistair Newton

As I write this, spring has—at last!—come to Niagara-on-the-Lake and summer feels not terribly far behind.  Never having been an especially summery person—nor an especially large fan of airborne allergens—I greet this news nonetheless with a great sense of relief and joy; this past season’s endless cold-and-grey was worthy of Camus; his line, “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer” sprang to mind when it snowed in April...three times...

Peter Hinton’s magnificent production of Cabaret that I had the great fortune to work on as assistant director is up and running, and I am deep into rehearsals with Jackie Maxwell on O’Casey’s Irish Civil War era family drama Juno and the Paycock—a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to two directors at the height of their powers with divergent aesthetics, sensibilities, and approaches.  One of the many unique gifts that working at The Shaw rewards one with, is the chance to work on (and patronize) many productions set in a similar time period.  As such, I’ve sometimes imagined O’Casey’s tenement-dwelling Boyle family fleeing impoverished Dublin for Weimar Berlin and a night at the Kit Kat Klub...

Aside from assisting on Cabaret and Juno, I have also just begun a scene study exploring Tom Waits and Robert Wilson’s musical version of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck with members of the ensemble.  The experience of delving into one of my very favourite pieces of theatre—one I’ve directed twice before—with actors of the intelligence and generosity of spirit of the Shaw ensemble is proving as enriching as I’d hoped.  At our next session, Tara Litvack (our fabulous Metcalf Foundation music intern) will be leading the company through the vocal score.  These scene studies are part of the great work of the Shaw Festival Academy which offers the ensemble classes in dialect, singing, and many other aspects of the mandate.  My fellow intern director Rachel Peake will be exploring how translation can inform the building of character through an exploration of the work of Ibsen next month.

As I prepare to select my top three choices for the Directors Project presentations which will complete my internship at Shaw, my time is being filled with reading plays and copious ancillary research on the the socio-cultural milieu that informs The Shaw’s mandate.  I remember first being sold on the importance of the Festival’s period by Associate Director Eda Holmes who explained to me that the mandate (1856 - 1950) covers both the birth of the Modernist imagination and engages with the fuel that ignited the political catastrophes of the Twentieth Century. 

My other primary activity this past two months has been speaking about the world of Cabaret with the many student groups that visit The Shaw; I have had many moments enriched by a feeling of wonderful perspective upon receiving the reminder that an institution is paying me to spend hours and hours speaking about the Weimar Republic...something I would gladly do for free.  I must admit that my first interactions with the students were ever-so-slightly intimidating, but after I quickly realized that no one was going to attack me for a half-hour chat involving statistics on sex work, the history of the birth of Sexology, or the fact that a young Christopher Isherwood came to Berlin to meet boys, the experience has become a joy...and I feel all of my thirty years whenever I stop to marvel at how attitudes towards queerness have changed since I was a high school student; shall I just say that Campbell River BC in the late nineties was no Weimar Berlin?

As I move forward into the second half of my time at Shaw, I keep the words of the Festival’s namesake which appeared on the season poster of Jackie Maxwell’s inaugural season as Artistic Director in the front of my mind: “All great truths begin as blasphemies.”  Onwards and upwards and I hope to see you in Niagara-on-the-Lake...

a handshake of thought,
Alistair Newton
May, 20, 2014

Apply for the 2015 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival. The deadline is June 20.

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

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Behind The Scenes At Ontario Theatre

• We were sorry to hear about the passing of Sharon Dyer, actor / singer / playwright and one of our former Professional Theatre Coordinators here at Theatre Ontario.  Scott White is performing in Smile Theatre's current production of Sweet Marie, one of Sharon’s shows, and remembered her in Goodnight, Sweet Sharon

Conversation Starters

• Canadian theatre has a youth problem, argues Holger Syme on Dispositio

From The Wire

• Kelly Nestruck reports in the Globe and Mail on the Stratford Festival’s plans for filming productions for worldwide theatre distribution

TO Toasts

• Congratulations to Nicolas Billon who won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in English for his collection Fault Lines: Greenland – Iceland – Faroe Islands; his collaboration with Praxis Theatre on an adaptation of Brecht’s Senora Carrar’s Rifles is coming up at the Next Stage Festival in Toronto, a production with roots in the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

Governor General's Literary Award recipient Nicolas Billon
with Ravi Jain, who directed all three Fault Lines premieres

Directors Day at the Shaw Festival

By Mairin Smit, Program Coordinator

A highlight of our year at Theatre Ontario is travelling to Niagara-on-the-Lake to see the Directors Day performances of the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival. Each year in September, two emerging professional directors are chosen to join the Shaw Festival for a season, assistant directing at least two productions, and then working to develop their own one-act play to be presented at the end of their tenure. The 2013 intern directors, Rose Plotek and Paul Van Dyck, are a dynamic pair with careful insight and attention-to-detail that brought their productions to life.

Andrew Bunker and Sanjay Talwar in The Bear
Directed by Rose Plotek. Photo by Mark Callan.

Rose's version of Chekhov's The Bear was a fast-paced, high-energy comedy that had everyone in the audience cracking up with the antics of the actors. Her direction showed an excellent sense of comedic timing and a developed skill at walking that fine line of grandiose. Paul's production of Gwen Pharis Ringwood’s Still Stands the House was quiet drama that built to an unexpectedly dark and macabre climax. This piece was new to me and many of my fellow audience members, but Paul quickly brought us into the world of the stormy winter's night on the Canadian prairies with a strong command of how to create tension on the stage. As the play unfolded, Paul's guidance of the actors painted a clear portrait of real people struggling with loss and desperate isolation. It made for lively discussion following the performance. As they leave the Shaw Festival, we will all be watching closely to see where Rose and Paul's careers take them next.

Melanie Phillipson in Still Stands The House
Directed by Paul Van Dyck. Photo by Mark Callan.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Shaw Directors Project though, is the incredible learning opportunity it provides for the interns. Directing is a challenging profession to start out in as there is no one path to take to a successful career. The best way to get a sense of the possibilities is often working with or being mentored by professionals in the field. The experience at the Shaw Festival allows the interns to work in large-scale theatre on productions of high calibre; a rare opportunity for many at this stage in their career. The outstanding guidance and care they receive under Jackie Maxwell and Eda Holmes also ensures that they are set up for the best possible success after their time at the Shaw Festival. Many past intern directors have gone on to very successful professional careers, even right at The Shaw itself! In fact, this year saw past intern director Craig Hall directing a highly successful production of Faith Healer by Brian Friel at the Royal George Theatre. We can only be very excited at what's in store for our incoming 2014 intern directors, Alistair Newton and Rachel Peake.

As always, we offer many thanks to the Shaw Festival and Sun Life Financial for making this program possible. Congratulations to Rose and Paul and we are grateful for another excellent year at the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.

Congratulations to the 2014 Shaw Festival Intern Directors

Congratulations to Alistair Newton of Toronto and Rachel Peake of Vancouver who have been chosen as the Intern Directors for the 2014 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.  Each season, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors.  They look for promising professional directors at a point in their career where an extended residency with a company like the Shaw Festival will be of benefit to their professional development.  The interns have a good amount of professional experience, but will not have had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of The Shaw.

Alistair Newton is a Toronto-based playwright, director of theatre and opera, and founding Artistic Director of Ecce Homo Theatre.  Alistair’s work has been seen at the SummerWorks, Rhubarb and Next Stage Festivals, and he recently served as director/dramaturge for Bella: The Color of Love (Philadelphia Theatre Company/Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts) and writer/director for Of a Monstrous Child (Ecce Homo/Buddies in Bad Times) which received four Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations. Alistair was Apprentice Director for the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company during the 2009/10 Season where he directed Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and he recently completed a residency as Apprentice Artistic Director at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Alistair is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and holds a BFA from The University of Victoria.

Rachel Peake has directed for companies from Newfoundland to Victoria including the Belfry Theatre, Théâtre la Seizième, Alley Theatre, Pacific Opera Victoria, Studio 58, and Solo Collective Theatre, for whom she was the Artistic Director from 2008-2013.  Rachel spent two years as part of an inter-arts collective as resident director of Gros Morne Summer Music and has worked extensively in new play development.  In 2011 Rachel won the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Direction and the Ray Michal Award for Outstanding Body of Work by an Emerging Director.  Upcoming, Rachel will dramaturge and direct the opera Stickboy by Shane Koyczan for the Vancouver Opera.

The Intern Directors work under the mentorship of the Directors of the Academy—the Shaw Festival’s professional development and public education wing.  Each Intern is assigned to two or three successive shows as an Assistant Director.  The “Director’s Project” is the culmination of the Intern Director’s season, and consists of a double-bill of two one-act plays directed by the two Intern Directors, chosen from the period of The Shaw’s original mandate.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.

Read more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website

68 Applications Received for the 2014 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

Theatre Ontario is pleased to announce that we received 68 applications for the 2014 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.  Applications came in from Canadians in six provinces (Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia), the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Each season, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors.  They look for promising professional directors at a point in their career where an extended residency with a company like the Shaw Festival will be of benefit to their professional development.  Applicants should have a good amount of professional experience but will not have had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of the Shaw Festival.

The choice of the two Intern Directors for 2014 is expected to be announced by the end of September.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.

Read more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website

Gray Powell, Wendy Thatcher, Wade Bogert-O'Brien, Sharry Flett,
Jeremy Carver-James, Kelly Wong, and Ben Sanders in Senora Carrar's Rifles
Directed by Michael Wheeler at the 2012 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.
Photo by Mark Callan.

Apply to be an Intern Director at the Shaw Festival

Applications are now open for the 2014 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.

Each season, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors.  They look for promising professional directors at a point in their career where an extended residency with a company like the Shaw Festival will be of benefit to their professional development.  Applicants should have a good amount of professional experience but will not have had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of the Shaw Festival.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.

The application deadline is June 28 at 5pm.

Read full application information about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website

Congratulatations to the 2013 Shaw Intern Directors

Theatre Ontario congratulates Rose Plotek of Toronto and Paul Van Dyck of Montreal who have been chosen as the Intern Directors for the 2013 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.

Each season, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors.  They look for promising professional directors at a point in their career where an extended residency with a company like the Shaw Festival will be of benefit to their professional development.  Applicants have a good amount of professional experience but will not have had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of the Shaw Festival.  The Intern Directors work under the mentorship of the Directors of the Academy - the Shaw Festival’s professional development and public education wing.  Each Intern is assigned to two or three successive shows as an Assistant Director.  The “Director’s Project” is the culmination of the Intern Director’s season, and consists of a double-bill of two one-act plays directed by the two Intern Directors, chosen from the period of The Shaw’s original mandate.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.

Read more about Rose Plotek and Paul Van Dyck on the Theatre Ontario website

Deadline to Apply for the 2013 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival Approaching

Have you been following the adventures of the 2012 Shaw Festival apprentice directors Michael Wheeler and Krista Jacksonon on Praxis Theatre?  Eager to test out your directorial mettle with a one-act play from the Shaw mandate?  The deadline to apply for the 2013 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is approaching.

Each season, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors.  They look for promising professional directors at a point in their career where an extended residency with a company like the Shaw Festival will be of benefit to their professional development.  Applicants should have a good amount of professional experience but will not have had an opportunity to work on the scale of production that is characteristic of the Shaw Festival.  The contract can start as early as mid-February or as late as mid-March and generally runs through September, depending on the production schedule for the particular season.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.  The application deadline for the 2013 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is June 29, 2012 at 5pm.

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