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.

Congratulations to the Professional Theatre Training Program Fall 2018 Grant Recipients

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

Over $25,900 was awarded in total among the following 9 recipients:

• C.J Astronomo training in production management with Simon Marsden at the Stratford Festival
• Claire Burns training in administration and managing direction with Shawn Daudlin at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto
• Rhiannon Collett training in artistic producing with Tom Arthur Davis and Jivesh Parasram at Pandemic Theatre in Toronto
• Allie Marshall training in video design and new media skills with Nick Bottomley at Outside the March in Toronto
• Laura McCallum training in general management with Laura Pomeroy at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto
• Hanlon McGregor training in playwriting with Diane Flacks
• Holly Meyer-Dymny training in projection design with Cameron Davis at Studio 180 Theatre in Toronto
• Keshia Palm training in dramaturgy with Marjorie Chan at Cahoots Theatre in Toronto
• Naomi Wright training in directing with Robin Witt at Writers Theatre in Chicago, USA

Over $131,000 was requested during this application round. The next application deadline for this program will be in early 2019. Prospective applicants should Stay Connected with Theatre Ontario for more information about that deadline.

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

Learn more about the Professional Theatre Training Program

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

(Updated November 13 at 1:30pm to include an omitted recipient.)

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Norah Paton

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

Norah Paton trained in production management with Kevin Waghorn at Arts Court in Ottawa

(June 7, 2017) After three months at Arts Court, my time came to an end in mid-May. The final push of my mentorship there was TACTICS, a theatre series which this year took the form of a three-week-long festival, featuring a wide variety of performances. Two main stage shows required a full hang and focus each; one of the shows found the audience sitting in the area usually used for the stage, using scaffolding as set and with audience on three sides. In addition to the two main performances, we worked with a full band for their album release, a DJ, two parties and a multi-course meal served in the kitchen-less Studio.

For TACTICS, I was tasked with running the workshop series, including four readings, one of which used live accompaniment, one work-in-progress contemporary dance and spoken word piece and one theatrical book club meeting. Each of these performances had very little rehearsal time in the space to set up any technical requirements. Working with this wide variety of groups and needs over the course of two weeks gave me a crash course of what I had learned and how capable I am. It also gave me a chance to try some simple design; performers typically did not come in with a plan. Groups instead explained what they would be doing and I made something up. From there, we worked to make any necessary adjustments.

Over the course of the last three weeks of my mentorship, I was given more and more responsibility. Working with clients to whom I was their point of contact gave me a sense of ownership over my work. It also confirmed for me that I can do this. I know that may sound a little simple—but I cannot stress enough the value of this confidence. 

At the beginning of this mentorship I had a couple metrics of success. The first was to acquire skills to find gainful employment afterwards, in a field which is more closely related to my work as an artist. The day after my mentorship was completed I was working in a theatre in the same building, doing the hang and focus for a dance show. Since then, I’ve worked in a couple of other theatres and at some concerts and live events. With the Canada 150 celebrations continuing throughout the summer, I am optimistic about my abilities to continue finding work. 

The other metric of success I had set was about acquiring new skills and knowledge to benefit my own art making. While this is a little more difficult to measure, I am pretty confident this has also been a success. This summer I’m working with an animator on a piece which may require some projection mapping. Prior to this mentorship, I wouldn’t have had any idea where to start with this kind of technology and probably would have avoided it altogether. 

When I first applied to the PTTP program, I was very unsure that my application would be approved. The location of my mentorship was not as prestigious as many of the other previous recipients I saw while perusing the Theatre Ontario blogs. I am very glad that I did persist, however, because the nature of what I learned would not have been able to be accommodated so well by a larger theatre. Working at a theatre like Arts Court also gave me more useful skills, in that I can use them immediately. Certainly there would have been advantages to learning in another theatre here like the NAC or GCTC, but I would not have been able to work as hands on as I did. Further, at the end of my mentorship I would have been left with skills relating to instruments and technology I no longer had access to. Even the connections I was able to make at Arts Court will continue to serve me. I’m not sure I can say the same about working at another space.

I am very grateful for the time spent at Arts Court and the patience of Kevin and over the last four months. I am thankful to Theatre Ontario for giving me this opportunity. I would strongly encourage anyone considering applying to the PTTP program to do so, as even the exercise of finding an appropriate mentor is a useful one in determining what you want to learn and do.

Related Reading:

• Norah Paton’s second update
• Norah Paton’s first update

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 2, 2017.

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: Norah Paton

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

Norah Paton is training in production management with Kevin Waghorn at the Ottawa Fringe Festival

(May 2 2017)

Bullet Point Edition

• As I’m writing this, it’s been a week where I spend less time at Arts Court than others. This week it is the calm before the storm of TACTICS, a 3 week long theatre festival taking place in the Theatre and Studio here, which will be the final ‘push’ of my time.
• Over three weeks we will have two main-stage shows with their own specific lighting plot and hang and audience configurations.
• Additionally, we are preparing for the five pieces in the workshop series - a mix of dance and theatre performance and script readings with minimal tech time and time in between.
• Finally, TACTICS will also be hosting an album release show, panel discussions and a pre-show dinner served in the studio.
• Lots to get ready for.
• The schedule and hours are irregular - intense activity and then relative calm.
• Some of the rentals we’ve worked with so far (not an exhaustive list): film festivals, improv, stand-up comedy, cabaret, professional dancers, young and youth dancers, hundreds of children, rehearsals, conferences, meetings, auditions, art battles, plays, full bands, duo’s, and lots of performances in the intersections between these genres.
• The goal is pretty much always the same - make it work: whatever the purpose of the day/evening, whatever the client's goal is.
• In between there’s maintenance and scheduling. Pretty much everyone’s job involves sending a bunch of emails. I don’t think everyone’s job involves electrical wiring.
• It feels pretty great to learn things. Even better when those things are applicable not just within the confines of the theatre or more generally, the arts, but when those things are useful in ‘real’ life.
• Creating lighting on the fly for groups or running sound for a full band has seriously upped my technical understanding and confidence.
• Confidence is a big part of it - being calm and knowing that you will figure out what the problem is/how to do this task/ how to fix it. Thinking it through, following the wire (or google) will usually yield the answer.
• I’ve benefitted from asking questions. Lots of questions.
• Finding the best way to balance the two bullets above is a delicate balance I definitely haven’t mastered.
• I’m a young woman and so depending on the person, I need to work against people's expectations of my competency.
• I need to work against my tendency to undercut myself and my competencies. Why is it a comfortable default for me to feign or lean into my ignorance or lack of certainty? (I hesitate to relate this to my sex, but I wonder if there’s at least some effect of sex-specific socialization/culture here)
• Ladders - I used to think I was okay with heights. In reality, am probably more on the nervous end of okay. Or just plainly in the nervous category.
• Ladder placement - I think it’s a fine art.
• Give yourself room to make mistakes.
• Sometimes the mistake is just not doing things efficiently. Not a mistake but not right, either.
• Less light usually looks better.
• Lighting dance is sort of way more fun than lighting theatre. How important is an actor’s face really? (okay yes pretty important)
• It can be physically uncomfortable to watch actors unable to find their light.
• You can learn a lot about how to work with technicians and designers as a maker from sitting in those meeting rooms and theatres as a technician. What to do and not do.
• It is a treat to drop into the last week of a production - to help in the final steps then sit in the booth operating the show without the same emotional baggage and anxiety I get from presenting my own work.
• Maybe that makes it sound less exciting; certainly more sustainable though - in many ways.
• There is something satisfying about tasks at which you either succeed or fail.
• There is something satisfying about tasks which yield tangible immediate results.
• That’s all for now!

Related Reading:

• Norah Paton’s first report

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 2, 2017.
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: Norah Paton

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

Norah Paton will train in production management with Kevin Waghorn at the Ottawa Fringe Festival

(March 2, 2017) Over 12 weeks from February to May, I am excited to be working at Arts Court Theatre here in Ottawa, learning some new skills in production management and technical direction. 

In the weeks leading up to the beginning of my training, I’ve been working in the Arts Court Theatre as a performer at the undercurrents festival. As a result, I’ve been spending loads of time in the theatre, and working already with my future mentor. Walking in to start my mentorship next week means walking into a familiar space in an unfamiliar role. 

From theatre and dance to music and film, the spaces at Arts Court accommodate all kinds of shows. It’s also used for corporate events, meetings and even dance parties. It’s a huge variety of clients and needs, with a couple festivals peppered throughout—so I’ll also have the chance to see a couple larger operations from beginning to end. 

As a performer, I’ve worked with production managers from the other side of the table. As a theatre maker, I’ve picked up ‘ad hoc’ (read: very basic) skills in some technical disciplines. As person who needs to buy food and pay rent, I’ve spent lots of time in administrative roles, most recently for the federal government. This mentorship promises to be a chance to combine all of these experiences and build some real, marketable, tangible skills. 

My motivation going into this mentorship is undoubtedly varied. On the one hand, I’m hoping to learn skills that will make me (more) employable in the future. Arts Court Theatre works with rentals of all sorts of art forms, as well as conferences and meetings etc. Working in production management opens you up to opportunities far outside the theatre. It’s also a way to put the administrative, organizational, quasi-controlling parts of myself to work where my passion lies - in the arts. 

After working in theatres, or bars set up as theatres, or converted galleries, or, etc. I’m used to figuring out on the fly how to wire that PA, change that monitor mix, focus lights and program lighting boards. I’m particularly excited over the coming months to actually learn what I’m doing in these situations. Even more, to have the time to learn a bit of the theory of why and how these things work. It’s a really different feeling to be able to say “I know how to do that”, rather than “oh, I’ve done that once.”

As a theatre creator, I think it’s essential for me to learn these technical, or behind-the-scenes parts of my work in order to be able to do my job well. It’s honestly mystifying to me that more people don’t see it this way. I don’t mean you need to be an expert at everything; that’s not realistic, nor would it be efficient. We will always have our specializations.

You do, however, generally need to speak the same language as your co-workers, if you’re hoping to work together well. We don’t all need to be perfectly bilingual, but enough to understand each other and collaborate. Just like bilingualism, skills both on and off stage make you a more indispensable employee, gives you more tools to work with, and I’m pretty sure it’s also been proven to make you smarter.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 1, 2017.

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.

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

• CdnTimes at Spiderwebshow and HowlRound in the United States have been exchanging letters across our border, and what the new American government means for our artists and our relationships. Canadian contributors were Yvette Nolan, Majdi Bou-Matar, and Aislinn Rose.
• Richard Ouzounian wrote for Intermission about actors making the transition into directing, profiling the experiences of Jonathan Goad, Martha Henry, Nigel Shawn Williams, and Keira Loughran.

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• QUONTA, the northeastern Ontario community theatre association, has an all-Canadian-written line-up for their annual festival coming up in Timmins opening March 16: Norm Foster’s The Melville Boys presented by Take Two Theatre from Timmins, Rex Deverell’s Boiler Room Suite presented by Gore Bay Theatre from Manitoulin, and Damien Atkins’ Lucy presented by Sault Theatre Workshop from Sault Ste. Marie.
• The Hart House Theatre production of 7 Stories, opening today, marks the professional directing debut of our former Professional Theatre and Education Manager, Rebecca Ballarin.
• The Ministry of Labour has published revised safety guidelines for the live performance industry, covering raked stages and platforms in “Rakes”, and hazards of “Hand Props, Costumes and Makeup.”

In Case You Missed It

• Browsing Our Bulletin Board, featuring upcoming recorded webinars, grant deadlines, workshops, weekend intensives, Indigenous theatre residencies, rural performing arts symposium hosts, community theatre directing and more.
• ONstage Openings this week in Aurora, Cambridge, Toronto, Ottawa, and Kingston.

Congratulations to the Professional Theatre Training Program Fall 2016 Grant Recipients

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

$36,094 was awarded in total among the following 9 recipients:

• Heather Davies will train in artistic direction with Gil Garratt at Blyth Festival
• Erin Gerofsky will train in set and costume design with Judith Bowden
• Valerie Hawkins will train in direction with Jillian Keiley at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa
• Michael O’Brien will train in digital media creation and directing with Sarah Garton Stanley at SpiderWebShow
• Norah Paton will train in production management with Kevin Waghorn at the Ottawa Fringe Festival
• Michela Sisti will train in artistic direction with Ross Manson at Volcano Theatre in Toronto
• Jennifer Stewart will train in directing classical theatre with Jeannette Lambermont-Morey at Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie
• Lisa Van Oorschot will train in lighting design with Kimberly Purtell
• Kevin Wong will train in artistic direction with Marjorie Chan at Cahoots Theatre in Toronto

Over $147,780 was requested during this application round. The next application deadline for this program is March 1, 2017.

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

Learn more about the Professional Theatre Training Program

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

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Deborah Lim

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

Deborah Lim trained in production management with sandra Henderson at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

(August 9, 2016) I have been thinking about this last blog post for a while now because I knew it was coming and that it would be inevitable, but I have also been dreading it because it means that things are really over. I have had such a good time that I am sad to let it go.

I believe I made a difference in supporting sandra and a few of the other departments get the Festival up on its feet. I was surprised to discover when the festival came around how our job as the production manager slowed down; as long as all the venues and shows were running smoothly, there was not that much to do. I ended up spending a good amount of the Festival proper with the operations manager to help with the Fringe Club and updating old paperwork. While I picked up and improved on some necessary skills (I am so much better at using Excel now), I was surprised to discover how much soft skills are involved in navigating through various interactions and negotiations.

There was one day during the festival when we lost power at one of our main venues. There were so many people we had to talk to ranging from the public to the companies to Toronto Hydro, and there was a lot of stress in the air and we ended up canceling all the shows in that venue for the day. The Festival had been running so smoothly up until that point so it was a real curve ball, but a really educational day for me to deal with some of those interactions and see when those soft skills really count.

I also did not expect to improve upon my public speaking skills, but I got plenty of time to practice that during our venue walkthrough speeches and providing accessibility training to our technicians.
I am so grateful for the experience because I am already implementing the skills I have picked up on my upcoming projects and sandra is still open to answering my questions and providing support to my career even after the training period is over. sandra and I did not really know each other before this mentorship so I am glad she took this chance on me because one the most valuable things I have come out of this experience with is getting to know her.

Related Reading:

• Deborah Lim’s first report
• Deborah Lim’s second report

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 3, 2016.

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: Deborah Lim

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

Deborah Lim is training in production management with sandra Henderson at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

(June 6, 2016) This is the end of week seven for me in my fourteen-week training at the Toronto Fringe. My experience has been really positive thus far. As soon as I joined the Fringe team, I was quickly made acquainted with the main venue and site-specific productions in this year’s Fringe Festival. I have proofed schedules, attended meetings, sat in on interviews, led a stage management seminar, been in conversation with production companies about safety concerns and their technical requirements, and gone on venue walk-throughs to familiarize myself and the production companies with Fringe policies and their spaces. I have met and talked to so many people in the past few weeks about their shows and ideas.

The training plan my mentor, sandra, and I originally created together was based around the Fringe schedule and what can be learned from the day-to-day events and tasks that need to be accomplished in order for the festival to run smoothly. We have this plan sitting on our desk and we refer to it occasionally, but we have also adjusted to address the needs of the festival and production companies as they come up.

I really enjoy working with sandra and the rest of the Fringe staff in the office. While the Fringe festival spans across a very large part of the city, our home base is located at the Fringe office. It is an open-concept office with an environment that promotes collaboration. In this office, we are able to easily have conversations across the room to help each other solve problems and feed off each others’ energy and ideas. sandra has been a great mentor in supporting me and showing me the ropes but has also allowed me to take the lead on many projects and opportunities. With the festival only a few weeks away, things are getting busier and the excitement grows.

Related Reading:

• Deborah Lim’s first report

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 3, 2016.

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.

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

• Diane Ragsdale proposes five ways that arts organizations may need to adapt their philosophies and practices in relationship to their communities if their goal is deeper, more meaningful engagement.
• Jenn Stephenson writes about the immersive theatre experience, the preparatory emails that accompany it, and wonders what we may take for granted with our “non-immersive” theatre audience.
• Gwydion Suilebhan writes about leadership transitions and a playwriting collective in Washington DC that was intentional about its transition goals, and the value of renewal in arts leadership.
• “The cultural manager’s job isn’t accepting obvious solutions. The job is crafting solutions, step by step.” – Keen insight from Andrew Taylor on The Artful Manager.

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Murray Finn receiving the Michael Spence Award for
his contribution to community theatre from Bruce Pitkin
at Theatre Ontario Festival 2016 in North Bay.

• ELATE celebrated Murray Finn, this year’s recipient of Theatre Ontario’s Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre, with a celebration at the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre in Elliot Lake.  (I will certainly confirm Murray’s description of our telephone conversation about the award—always one of my favourite tasks that I get to do each year.)
• fu-GEN Theatre Company’s “Walk the Walk: National Festival of Asian Canadian Women” introduced The 49—“plays by women of colour that you can program tomorrow.”
• Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, was profiled on AQ’s Blog & Grill—a video-based weblog about entrepreneurship—and how Alex started Drayton Theatre, which is today one of Canada’s largest employers of professional artists.
• What does a Production Manager do? Seth Gerry shares his experiences at GCTC in Ottawa.
• The Stratford Festival has announced their productions for 2017—including an all-Canadian season in the Studio Theatre—and VOS Theatre in Cobourg announced their 2016/17 season.
• 4th Line Theatre’s new production of The Hero of Hunter Street—written by Talent Bank instructor and adjudicator Maja Ardal—was profiled on CBC Fresh Air.
• The next stop in the Ontario Fringe Theatre season is Hamilton—with the Hamilton Fringe Festival opening on July 14.

TO Toasts

• to Andy McKim, Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, who was awarded the 2016 Silver Ticket Award from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.
• and to all of the winners at the 2016 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Deborah Lim

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

Deborah Lim will train in production management with sandra Henderson at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

(April 11, 2016) I’m really excited to start my work with sandra Henderson. Preparations for the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival have already begun, so I have some catching-up to do. 

When I was first looking to expand my knowledge and experience in production management, I was told to approach sandra because she is one of few independent production managers in the city, and the best at what she does. Upon discussing a possible mentorship with her, I was surprised to learn that we graduated from the same theatre program, and hopeful in seeing how far she has gotten in her career.

One thing that I am very excited about is troubleshooting and providing support to the many productions. I really enjoy problem solving and I believe this is a skill that I will be able to offer during my time with the festival.

With this mentorship, I am interested in learning what goes into scheduling, staffing, and contracting a festival with over 150 companies and 30 venues, and how the work is divided over time to make it manageable. I hope to leave this experience better equipped to serve my community and manage the independent projects and collectives that I am involved in.

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 3, 2016.

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.

Congratulations to the Professional Theatre Training Program Spring 2016 Grant Recipients

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

$36,055 was awarded in total among the following 13 recipients:

• Thom Allison will train in directing with Allen MacInnis at the Grand Theatre in London
• Donna Marie Baratta will train in artistic producing and curation with Laura Nanni at SummerWorks in Toronto
• Deanna Choi will train in sound design with Thomas Ryder Payne at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto and the Stratford Festival
• Alessandro Costantini will train in directing with Caleb Marshall at Sudbury Theatre Centre
• Dana Fradkin will train in directing with Joel Ivany at Against the Grain Theatre in Toronto
• Rose Hopkins will train in education coordination and associate producing with Claire Calnan at the Hamilton Fringe Festival
• Deborah Lim will train in production management with Sandra Henderson at the Toronto Fringe Festival
• Sebastian Marziali will train in scenography with Trevor Schwellnus at Aluna Theatre in Toronto
• Gilda Monreal will train in playwriting with Rosa Laborde at Criminal Theatre in Toronto
• Jane Spence will train in artistic direction with David Nairn at Theatre Orangeville
• Michelle Suzanne will train in choral conducting and music direction with Hilary Donaldson in Toronto
• Elizabeth Thomas will train in directing with Tanja Jacobs at Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company in Toronto
• Matthew Thomas Walker will train in directing with Kim Collier at Bard on the Beach / Electric Company in Vancouver BC

Over $98,200 was requested during this application round. The next application deadline for this program is October 3, 2016.

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

Learn more about the Professional Theatre Training Program

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

Stories from the Professional Theatre Training Program: Camila Diaz-Varela

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

Camila Diaz-Varela trained in digital production management, online community engagement, and digital curation with Sarah Garton Stanley at SpiderWebShow

(February 28, 2016) Since I checked in last, the team has shifted their focus from day-to-day projects to visioning for the future. At the moment, we’re setting fundraising goals, writing grants, and planning for the next Volume, which begins in the spring/summer.

The editors hard at work during
Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance's first Edit-a-thon

As Volume 6 was beginning to wind down, I was able to assist with Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA)’s first Edit-a-thon, which I mentioned in my previous post. An Edit-a-thon is a knowledge sharing event where folks gather to create and edit articles on the PerformanceWiki, live on their computers. IPAA was looking to populate the Indigenous body of work on the PerformanceWiki and gathered a group of enthusiastic volunteers to do just that. We got together on a Friday afternoon, and I showed them the ropes of the site and facilitated the process as a rep of SWS. The event went better than I could have imagined, with lots of laughter, good talks, and of course new articles for the Wiki. Surprisingly though, I found the event to be really meaningful for me. All of the volunteers at the event happened to be women of colour, and part of the indigenous community (from Canada and farther south). It felt radical and wonderful to be a woman of colour myself, sharing empowering digital tools with other women of colour, so they could share their knowledge with even more people of the web. Using the internet to create equitable online spaces felt right. I can’t wait to continue with this.

We also recently had our Volume 6 Retreat, where all of the Makers from across the country meet for half a day. There was lots of brainstorming and talk of the future, with questions like: what should SpiderWebShow look like next Volume, next year, in 5 years? What should it do for the community, locally and nationally? How do we make our work more accessible, and more like a game? It was a so refreshing to be able to sit with the team for a few hours and focus our energies. There are so many brilliant thinkers in the group, and having the opportunity to watch them think through tough questions is a gift in itself. The retreat was certainly motivating for me.

And now Volume 6 is over! What does that mean? Well, the team takes a 2 month break, and then starts up again in the summer.

Related Reading:

• Camila Diaz-Varela’s second report
• Camila Diaz-Varela’s first report

The next application deadline for the Professional Theatre Training Program is October 1, 2016.

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.

Funding Professional Theatre Mentorships

Do you need financial support for professional development or a "change of direction" in your career? We are now inviting applications for the March 1, 2016 deadline for our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP).

PTTP offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.) You can apply for professional development in your own discipline, or a "change of direction" in a career.

During the previous application round, we introduced a few key enhancements to the program guidelines: 

• Theatre Ontario follows the Ontario Arts Council’s definition of a professional artist, as someone who “has developed skills through training or practice, is recognized by artists working in the same artistic tradition, has a history of public presentation or publication, seeks payment for her or his work, and actively practices his or her art.” This means that applicants no longer need to wait two years after graduating from a post-secondary or other training institution before applying for a PTTP grant, but should refer to this definition when gauging eligibility.
• Training programs must be completed within twelve months of the grant being awarded.

Please contact Rebecca Ballarin, Professional Theatre and Education Manager with any questions, especially if you are a first time applicant.

Read more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Read profiles of recent Professional Theatre Training Program projects

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

Congratulations to the Fall 2015 Professional Theatre Training Program Recipients

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

$37,225 was awarded in total among the following 10 recipients:

• Keith Barker will train in directing with John Van Burek at Pleiades Theatre
• Sehar Bhojani will train in directing with Robert Ross Parker at Hope and Hell Theatre
• Miranda Bouchard will train in design with Ruth Howard at Jumblies Theatre
• Krista Colosimo will train in artistic direction with Ashlie Corcoran at Thousand Islands Playhouse
• Lisa Karen Cox will train in directing with Ravi Jain
• Camila Diaz-Varela will train in digital production management, online community engagement, and digital curation with Sarah Garton Stanley at SpiderWebShow
• Jessica Lea Fleming will train in artistic producing and programming with Tanja Dixon-Warren and Margo Kane at Full Circle First Nations Performance’s Talking Stick Festival
• Stephanie Jung will train in artistic producing with Marjorie Chan and Kate Ann Vandermeer at Cahoots Theatre 
• Michela Sisti will train in directing with Ross Manson at Volcano Theatre
• Dan Watson will train in artistic direction with Franco Boni at The Theatre Centre

Over $163,300 was requested during this application round.  The next application deadline for this program is March 1, 2016.

Learn more about the Professional Theatre Training Program.

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

Speak Out on Bill 45 and the Safe Use of Vapour Devices in Performing Arts

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Let me start with an important point: I think Bill 45, the Making Healthier Choices Act, is good law.  Regulating e-smoking (including the use of electronic cigarettes, cigars, and pipes) is necessary and in the public interest.  But I also believe it’s important that we have regulations that permit their safe use in the performing arts.

Many theatres use e-cigars, pipes and cigarettes on stage when required to represent smoking. The use of prop vapour devices is healthier and safer for artists and audiences than herbal alternatives. Essentially they are mini-smoke machines that are compliant with government regulations.  As part of our "To Act In Safety" initiative, I serve on the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s Advisory Committee for Health and Safety in Live Performance, and we develop health and safety guidelines, including a guideline for the safe use of fog, smoke, and vapour in the performing arts.

Smoking on stage was a hot topic at our recent Theatre Ontario Festival in Oshawa.  Three of the plays posed interesting challenges for the theatre companies.

From the poker scene in Oshawa Little Theatre's The Odd Couple.
James Burrell, Steve Maddiss, Tom Lynch.

In Oshawa Little Theatre’s presentation of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, the curtains opened to a haze of cigar smoke around the poker players.  It immediately conveyed place, time, relationship, and what happened before the curtain opened.  It also generated a big laugh, always a good start for a comedy.  (Updated: I wasn't able to confirm it for press time, but Oshawa Little Theatre did use e-cigars for the scene.)


In the play Agnes of God, by John Pielmeier, one character smokes compulsively—it’s a defining aspect of the character.  Gore Bay Theatre recognized that many people are sensitive to herbal cigarettes, and chose to use powder cigarettes instead.

For Peterborough Theatre Guild’s production of Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday, the company decided to drop the smoking entirely.  Without any references in the dialogue, and not communicating anything unique about the characters, it was seen as unnecessary for the production.

Three shows, three challenges, three valid decisions—all possible because the artists had choices in their approaches.  Smoking can convey information about characters and setting, and sometimes it is an essential element of the artist’s vision.  other times, it’s simply a hindrance.  That freedom to make the appropriate artistic choice, under proper regulations, is what we’re advocating.

As we strive to ensure good regulations are in place to deal with the problems of smoking, we can also ensure regulations for a safe and healthy environment for artists and audiences with the proper regulations for tools like e-cigarettes.

We have reached out to the Ministry asking them to make an exemption for the performing arts. This ask has been supported by IATSE-58, CAEA, PACT, and TAPA. The Government is interested and have specifically asked to hear comments from the industry – That’s You!

Before August 14, we are asking for your help.  Learn how you can Speak Out on Bill 45 and the Safe Use of Vapour Devices in Performing Arts

Related:

• Learn more about our To Act In Safety initiative
• Catch up on blog posts from Theatre Ontario Festival 2015 in Oshawa

Funding Professional Theatre Mentorships

Do you need financial support for professional development or a "change of direction" in your career? We are now inviting applications for the October 1, 2015 deadline for Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP).

The Professional Theatre Training Program offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any non-performance theatrical discipline. One can apply for professional development in his/her own discipline, or a "change of direction" in a career.

Please note that there have been a few key enhancements to the program guidelines:

• Theatre Ontario will be following the Ontario Arts Council’s definition of a professional artist, as someone who “has developed skills through training or practice, is recognized by artists working in the same artistic tradition, has a history of public presentation or publication, seeks payment for her or his work and actively practices his or her art.” This means that applicants no longer need to wait two years after graduating from a post-secondary or other training institution before applying for a PTTP grant, but should refer to this definition when gauging eligibility.
• Training programs must be completed within twelve months of the grant being awarded.

Please contact Rebecca Ballarin, Professional Theatre and Education Manager with any questions, especially if you are a first time applicant.

Read more about Theatre Ontario's Professional Theatre Training Program

Read profiles of recent Professional Theatre Training Program projects

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

Funding Professional Theatre Mentorships

Do you need financial support for professional development or a "change of direction" in your career?  The next deadline to apply for our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) is March 2.

The Professional Theatre Training Program offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)  Applicants must have at least two years of professional experience following their formal education.

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

Read more about the Professional Theatre Training Program on our website

Read profiles of recent mentorships funded by this program

Funding Professional Theatre Mentorships

Do you need financial support for professional development or a "change of direction" in your career?  The next deadline to apply for our Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) is October 1.

The Professional Theatre Training Program offers financial support for unique and flexible training with a chosen mentor in any theatrical discipline (except performance.)  Applicants must have at least two years of professional experience following their formal education.

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

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

Read profiles of recent mentorships (Spring 2014) funded by Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training program.

Staging Sustainability: Thriving through Innovative Thinking

By Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Staging Sustainability came to Toronto on February 3 and 4, 2014.  Organized by York University’s Centre for Sustainable Staging and ArtsBuild Ontario, the conference was built on “a dream of bringing innovation from around the world to Toronto’s theatre community” through a conversation about sustainability in the performing arts.  In the opening plenary, Arlene Goldbard defined sustainability with an emphasis on “thriving”—and indeed many of the stories we heard over the two days of the conference were encouraging.

I attended a morning panel focused on how organizations can integrate and balance sustainability as a core value.  It was an ideal starting point, because it was really applicable to any organization value—including sustainability.  From my point-of-view , it was best articulated by Tim Cynova of Fractured Atlas, who described healthy organization structures with the “accidental” acronym VERDI: Vision (clear and articulate), Empowered (what can we do that makes a difference?), Recognized (specifically and frequently), Don’t Be An A--h--- (self-explanatory), and Investing In Others (again, specifically and frequently).  Whatever core value an organization may aspire towards—including sustainability—it is impossible without a healthy organization structure.

After lunch, I attended a panel focusing on how arts facilities are being built to respond to sustainability.  Case studies on consumption, such as Katie Oman’s study at Seattle Repertory Theatre, challenged conventional thinking—for example, the assumption that lighting design has an enormous impact on energy costs.  While certain effects, such as saturated cyc lighting in a pre-show cue, was shown to cause spikes in consumption, the overall impact was far less significant when compared to facility operations.  Similarly, a study of Theater Winterthur in Switzerland by Annett Baumast (who joined us via video-conferencing) analyzed the impact of presentations at that venue, including transport of materials and infrastructure.  (Unfortunately, the scope of the study didn’t include the impact of audience travel.)

This was a good set-up for the next panel: How are presenters thinking about sustainability in their programming?  Local leaders like Franco Boni of The Theatre Centre and Tina Rasmussen of World Stage at Harbourfront Centre were forthright about their place on the learning curve for these issues, but they spoke eloquently of the power of artists to affect change and the lessons in their work that can help us comprehend these issues.  Marie Zimmerman of the Hillside Festival in Guelph demonstrated how founders committed to sustainability instilled that value from day one.  Harry Giles of Festivals Edinburgh introduced us to his work as the organization’s Environment Officer and the challenging questions he gets to ask about the carbon costs of Festival programming decisions.

My colleague Bruce Pitkin attended the second day of the conference.  One of the programs that caught his eye was the Broadway Green Alliance, which works to motivate and inspire the theatre community about environmental practice.  One of their techniques is to recruit volunteer “Green Captains” so that every production has someone specifically focused on environmental impact.  As is always the case, concurrent events meant that I couldn’t hear panels of about artists on the front lines, or innovation in sustainable practices, or many other significant conversations.

As we aspire towards a thriving theatre community, the benefits of sustainability-thinking—whether the goals are artistic or economic—were clear throughout the conference.  There is an eagerness to keep these conversations going, and we look forward to hearing more.