Theatre Ontario's Blog: properties design

Showing posts with label properties design. Show all posts

Friday, 9 March 2018

Ontario Off Stage

Don Herbertson

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

In Memoriam

Don Herbertson, a former Executive Director of Theatre Ontario, passed away on December 12 after a long battle with cancer. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Marble Arts Centre in Actinolite (Tweed) on Sunday April 15th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.
Sandy Macdonald, longtime Theatre Ontario Talent Bank adjudicator, passed away on February 28, one day shy of his 78th birthday. We've updated Sandy's Talent Bank bio on the Theatre Ontario website with his obituary.

Conversation Starters

Sandy Macdonald

Alisa Palmer, AD of the English Section of the National Theatre School and Director of the Acting Program, discusses on SpiderWebShow's #CdnTimes the NTS philosophy of actor training

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Staging and eating a fictional meal—Sara Farb and Richard Lee wrote on Intermission about their challenges with food on stage in The Humans at Canadian Stage.

Friday, 27 October 2017

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

Cole Alvis (an alum of our Professional Theatre Training Program) and Falen Johnson describe their process programming Soulpepper Theatre’s Guswenta Gathering, and “clearing a path for Indigenous artists.” (From Intermission)
Andrew Taylor observes that arts organizations don’t really have missions—it’s the missions that come before the organizations. (From The Artful Manager)

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Tom Hendry is heading out to his namesake awards
from Playwrights Guild of Canada

The Ontario Arts Council is hosting a “Cross-Province Check-in” to answer questions about OAC funding and future plans to support Ontario’s arts sector. Sessions are being held in 16 communities across the province.
Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Awards on Sunday night are “sold” out—but they do have a waiting list for cancellations.
As St. Marys Community Players prepares for their opening of Man of La Mancha, their props master Ray Doerksen shared some of their prop-making work.
Sad to hear of the passing of Paulette Gagnon, a former Executive Director of the Association des theaters francophones du Canada.

Migrations

Matthew Jocelyn is stepping down as Artistic and General Director of Canadian Stage.

In Case You Missed It

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

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

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 and Coaches” workshop with Tonia Sina on June 11 in Toronto.
Preparing an OAC application? Get the inside scoop at Grant Writing Information Session pre-recorded webinar with Pat Bradley available on June 15.
Want to know the secrets to a successful voice acting career? Join us at our Voice Over workshop with Elley-Ray on June 17 in Toronto.
Summer Theatre Intensive 2017 in partnership with Off the Wall Stratford Artists Alliance, features week-long courses starting August 6 and August 13 for performers, directors, and playwrights. Register by June 23.

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

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

Upcoming Shaw Beyond the Stage workshops for teens include “Story Theatre” (June 10) and “Playing with Props” (June 17) in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The Musical Stage Company’s 2nd Annual Tony Awards Viewing Party is on June 11 in Toronto.
The ArtsReach Canadian Arts Marketing, Development and Ticketing Conference starts June 12.
Deadline for Ontario Arts Council’s Chalmers Arts Fellowships grant applications is June 15.

New on The Bulletin Board

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre invites submissions for their Emerging Creators Unit; the submission deadline is August 11.

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

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

Thursday, 25 May 2017

Highlights of the Detailed Adjudication of “Better Living” at Theatre Ontario Festival 2017

Ghost Light Players' production of Better Living

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Annette G. Procunier of Ghost Light Players’ production of Better Living by George F. Walker (representing the Western Ontario Drama League—WODL)

Ghost Light Players is a two-year-old company; no permanent home—they enjoy moving to new spaces; found kindred spirits
Director enjoys black comedy, absurdist theatre, “meaty” work: opportunities in George F. Walker; this was an exciting challenge
Originally performed at the Bank Theatre in Leamington; seats 150 and they averaged about 75 people per performance which exceed their expectations—proscenium stage, braced set pieces, manual lighting board, two-channel sound system; 40 minutes away from their home in Windsor
Texts like this from the late-70s/early-80s are resonating again with political extremism coming back; issues of family violence have not gone away
Not an easy play to watch, learning curve for the audience; there will be people in the audience who have lived it; depended upon the truthfulness of the presentation
Structure of text can be problematic: Opens with exposition, raucously funny, initially the father isn’t so dreadful—he seems benign; but evil hides in banality
Text doesn’t articulate why the women get sucked back in; people do return to abuse, but it is a sparsely-written transition—all plays have difficulty in their writing, and the challenge is to figure them out
Production was abundantly truthful—committed to believability and taking us into the world (and we didn’t want to be there)
Set was evocative, audience members went up to the edge of the stage to see the detail
Give your tech people all the time in the world—they get far less of it; in tech rehearsals, actors need to sit there and shut up
Furniture arrangement: Sofa was parallel to the edge of the stage, with the chair perpendicular; if the chair was angle, we would have seen the person sitting in the chair much better
Kitchen rocking chair interfered with them using the space; also, it read more like a living room rocking chair; it was Nora’s mother’s chair yet she never sat in it (actor had backstory to explain that, but audience didn’t see it)
Loved the characters eating; it demonstrated compulsive behaviour but the heads down sometimes made it hard to hear
Costumes and cell-phone made it clear it wasn’t set in the 1980s since the set (out of necessity) couldn’t tell us that
Actors should take time with their initial entrance: they are the action and we want to absorb who they are; give us an action that allows us a second to see them (e.g. Junior’s entrance—wanted him to flaunt while not seeing Jack in the kitchen; could have been achieved if Jack was entirely U.S. and Junior flaunted to audience rather than mirror)
Wonderful job of truthful movement, especially with a text requiring so much physicality
Relationship between Gail and Junior was extremely clear about who was in charge, his naivete was finely acted
Theatre is about truth not reality: believable people are essential and the actors committed to that; family members’ responses were distinct from each other
Nora’s first entrance in full regalia was successful: actress created a world and lived in it; always be careful vocally: when voices rise, they can emphasize vowels at the expense of consonants (particularly for women)
Risk-taking: characters/actors push each other to the limit, listened to each other as thought things were fresh and new
Occasionally kept playing through the laughs; this is not stand-up comedy with punchlines (like a comedian telling jokes for predictable laughs), but the humour is essential to the work
Pace and internal rhythm was good
Nora clearly knew who Tom/Tim was, but decided to live their relationship in another way; it was scary; they talked through the fight scene and changed it a lot—talking is good, but performers can be hurt and should take the time to rehearse it; similarly the Tom/Jack fight was creepy
Maryann had excellent flightiness
The gun was not seen clearly by the audience; a stage gun would have had more impact than the sound effect
The motorcycle helmet gag was a hoot; succeeded because there was no self-consciousness
The final family scene left us with question of what happened to him, and then he comes in with the television—would his entrance have been more effective if he came in from the backyard, audience focus would go to him; they had tried that choice, but decided they preferred him sneaking into the family portrait—execution didn’t read as “sneaking”, read as he belonged there; what was the significance of the television? He will show them what’s going on in the world, part of his control over them

As always, this is my best effort to record the conversation at the Detailed Adjudication, with apology for any misrepresentations of the ideas of the members of the company and the adjudicator. Corrections and clarifications are welcome in the comments.

Highlights of the Detailed Adjudication of "Waiting for the Parade" at Theatre Ontario Festival 2017

Northumberland Players' production of Waiting for the Parade

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Highlights of the detailed adjudication by Annette G. Procunier of Northumberland Players’ production of Waiting for the Parade by John Murrell (representing the Eastern Ontario Drama League—EODL)

Group performed originally in a 50-seat venue, the Firehall Theatre
Director took on play from her interest in subject matter, heard stories of life at home during Second World War
Play has interesting sensibility: written by a man, not Canadian- or British-born
Takes place over six years, women age over the course of the play, challenge for company is depicting that evolution over time
Established the character types, but then gnawed away at the edges
Beautiful palette for the show
Music was evocative, changed with the time of the play
Props were excellent, but the only one that was unclear was the teddy bear in Catherine’s area: director intended to depict her child, problem was that it was not engaged enough in the action, seemed ornamental rather than useful
Discussed differences between symbols and images: symbols are what they are (e.g. a cross is a clear Christian symbol) whereas images objects/sound/actions represent something
Set used platforms/risers for certain areas: Marta’s area was quite full
Lights are always a challenge in Festivals, especially with this show’s women of varying heights
Janet’s hat had an ornamental object on top; she needed to keep her head up so that her face would not go into the shadow of the object—audiences need to see faces in order to hear them
Each actress has an internal rhythm that helped distinguish the characters; they took time and were willing to react, there was never an disengaged moment
When the characters were not in the scene, they were in their own world, not frozen (e.g. Marta was sewing by hand, referenced by her father for delicate work, the action draws us to her)
Would Janet’s area with the piano have benefited from being on a riser/platform? She is the “bossy boots” and would give her height and status
Catherine’s playing area was S.C. and concerning: most central – does that mean hers is the most important story?
Catherine’s story would play well S.R., delving into love and sexuality
Had a riser U.S.C. – originally 3 feet high, but then stairs would be needed and would get in the way of the playing areas, lowered
Clear white light isolation on Marta while she was talking to the officials was extremely effective
Another effective scene was the fight between Catherine and Janet—rehearsing violence before the show is helpful so that nothing is left to chance
Discussed choice in the blocking that Janet backed up when Catherine challenged her: it weakened her position; the intention could have been achieved by having her turn and walk away instead, it becomes Janet’s choice to move and remains vulnerable, Catherine then has to move to her—keeps the stakes up
Eve did not caricature, which can be a trap with that character; she is naïve but not silly—as a teacher, she would have been eaten alive if she was silly; an excellent example of non-caricature was in the “practicing blackout” scene
Monologue styles—performers should always think about who you are talking to when addressing the audience
Good transition of scenes with motion taking us from moment-to-moment
Costumes were lively, shoes were terrific—showed evolution of characters, especially Janet and Catherine
Picnic was staged on the U.S.C. platform: In their home theatre, you cannot see scenes on the floor; may have benefitted here from being D.S.
Play was funny, without being over-the-top (Margaret’s “I can’t stand that woman” was an example)
Marta and Janet’s confrontation: it was indistinct where Janet was coming from, as she left in a different direction: the narrowness of the space meant that it was played very close together, environment did not allow characters to have appropriate responses (e.g. Janet not looking at her)
First entrances are always significant; the opening dances helped establish the relationships
Eve’s reactions to Harry were good—textual question is “Why did she marry him?”
Janet may be most “under-written” character in the play; her relationship with Jack is not established early, her monologue is where she articulates why she does what she does
Ways to make Janet more aggressive through exploration of vocal work: sharpness/emphatic comes in consonants (“Nice and tight”)
How nice that Janet could actually play the piano—music could be mournful when needed
The dancing in the final scene could emphasize more of their relationships and its evolution
Similarly, the singing evolves over the course of the show—the first time it is perfunctory, but it becomes better as we explore their personalities; Marta sings “Lili Marlene” differently (“It’s one of their songs”); unclear how they heard her sing: if she sang from her space in the set, it conveys the sense of her music disrupting the others (emphasized in her confrontation with Janet); Would that split focus?
In an episodic script like this one, find ways to connect the dots
The drinking scene following the news that Catherine’s husband was missing: Margaret had an effective balance of sympathetic without condoning, taking and giving focus effectively; Drunkenness was believable, not burlesque; Catherine stayed seated giving her an opportunity to show lack of focus concentration; Marta turned her glass over when she was done drinking—good choice as very European; Catherine’s fall with her dress flailing up was well executed and committed
D-Day Monologues: Scene could have benefitted from taking greater risks in soundscape so that the battle sounds were 10-times louder by the end, forcing us into the horrible situation for a brief time
Audience was listening intensely; credit to performers
For actors, risk-taking should involve pushing scenes to the limit in order to find the boundary; you can always pull a scene back but can’t force it—for Catherine, successful examples were the fight with Janet, the drinking scene, the heartbreak of Margaret writing with the eraser-end of the pencil; similarly for Margaret painting her own legs—showed us that she had made the emotional leap
Find everything in the script, all of the uncomfortable places

Friday, 15 January 2016

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

We partnered with Playwrights Guild of Canada to host a Tweetchat around the question of increasing the amount of Canadian plays produced in Canadian theatre. As you would expect, it was a free-form, open-ended, multi-directional conversation—captured on Storify.
Why Props Matter: What does it take to create great props, especially from a health and safety perspective? Janet Sellery of Sellery Health & Safety shared some terrific resources on the subject.
This week on #CdnCult Times from SpiderWebShow: “Critics are ambassadors (like it or not) bringing theatre to the general public. What is their role in the changing media landscape?” Three perspectives from Jerry Wasserman, Eric Coates, and Michael Wheeler
As you assess the success of your year-end donation campaign, ask yourself: Were you bothering your donors, or inspiring them?
From Charity Village, exploring the question of “waiting but not idle”: how do you keep potential volunteers engaged with your theatre?

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, was chosen for the Order of Canada.
The Waterloo Region awarded 18 arts grants before Christmas—and theatre/performance looks to have been well-supported.
Canadian Stage has chosen their RBC Emerging Artist Program participants: the Howland Company (Company in Residence) and Philip McKee & Elif Işıközlü (Director Development).

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

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

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