ONstage Openings for the week of January 11

This week’s openings on Ontario’s stages

In Central Ontario

Jan. 15, Sylvia at Peterborough Theatre Guild

In Eastern Ontario

Jan. 12, The Murder Room at Ottawa Little Theatre

Jan. 14, Jack Charles V The Crown at National Arts Centre—English Theatre (Ottawa), with previews from Jan.12

In Southwestern Ontario

Jan. 15, Fly Me to the Moon at The Grand Theatre (London), with previews from Jan. 12

In Toronto

ONstage Now Playing in Toronto
Mauritius at Bloor West Village Players
Derek Perks, Rob Woodcock
Photo by Bill Michelson

Jan. 14, Hedda Gabler at Canadian Stage, with previews from Jan. 12*
Jan. 14, Elle at Theatre Passe Muraille*
Jan. 15, Into the Woods at Hart House Theatre*

Jan. 16, Sheep in Wolf's Clothes at Solar Stage Children’s Theatre

ICYMI: Check out last week’s openings

For all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website

Theatre Ontario individual members can access discount ticket offers for shows marked with an * asterisk

Read more about Theatre Ontario’s Discount Tickets program

Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

• I’m excited to see Playwrights Guild of Canada launching “The Play Map of Canada.” With the goal of improving the number of Canadian plays in Canadian communities (with a focused eye on the upcoming sesquicentennial in 2017), I was impressed by HowlRound’s New Play Map, and wondered out loud if something similar could inspire our communities to share the breadth of success stories in producing our works. And PGC ran with it. Join us for the launch on Monday, January 11, with a Twitter Chat from 12pm to 2pm EST.
• Jini Stolk, the Creative Trust Research Fellow with the Toronto Arts Foundation, suggests a mistake to avoid in 2016: don’t forget your past Board member as soon as they leave your Board.
• The mathematics is rather complicated—but this study of the National Theatre Live program in the UK suggests that broadcasts of theatre productions within the theatre’s community does not affect attendance.
• As you plan your blog posts for 2016, this ArtsHacker blog post by Jonathan Eifert should remind you of the principle that “content marketing isn’t ‘repurposed advertising’, but about creating something worth talking about.”

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

St. Marys Community Players production of Cabaret. SMCP
is the proud recipient of an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.
Photo by Lucid Musings Photo.

• St. Marys Community Players received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant for renovations to the Town Hall theatre. It’s always good to see OTF supporting this important work in our communities.
• Native Earth Performing Arts unveiled their recipients of their 2015-2016 Theatre Creators Reserve program … as well as sharing how Weesageechak Festival Producer Jessica Lee Fleming will be training in B.C. through our Professional Theatre Training Program.
• Welcome to the newest member of the Ontario Fringe Community: the Windsor-Walkerville Fringe Festival.

In Case You Missed It

• Theatre for Literacy by Alexsandra Marzocca – A partnership between Frontier College and Theatre Ontario empowering students with drama techniques that develop their communication and literacy skills.

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.

Browsing Our Bulletin Board

Coming Up from Theatre Ontario

• Directors, artistic directors, producers, casting directors, agents EIC-signed or TAMAC-members – the deadline to RSVP for our Next Generation Showcase is January 8
• The deadline to apply to our Talent Bank of Theatre Instructors is January 15
• Interested in (or experienced with) stage management or event management? Volunteer at our Next Generation Showcase on January 18
• Getting Cast: Auditioning Masterclass with Anna Migliarisi, starting January 23 in Toronto – Enhance your cast-ability with this 4-session masterclass
• Launching Your Career Workshop with Rebecca Ballarin and guest actor Tim Walker on January 25 in Toronto – Get answers to your FAQs about the business of acting
• The deadline for nominations for the Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre in Northeastern Ontario is January 29

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

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

The Estelle Craig ACT II Studio theatre program in Toronto
for adults 50+ is holding an Information Day this week.

• Deadline for applications for Ontario Trillium Foundation Seed Grants and Capital Grants is January 6
• Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio’s Social Scripts program starts January 8, funded by the Youth Theatre Training Program
• Deadline for submissions for Sudbury Theatre Centre’s Ontario Arts Council Theatre Creators’ Reserve Program is January 8
• Deadline for submissions for Burl-Oak Theatre Group’s Page to Stage Student One-Act Playwriting Contest (for Halton area secondary school students) is January 8
• The Estelle Craig ACT II Studio theatre program for adults 50+ is holding an Information Day on January 8
• Deadline for submissions for b current’s rock.paper.sistahz 14th Theatre Festival is January 11
• Deadline for applications for Ontario Arts Council Aboriginal Artists in Schools and Artists in Education programs are January 15
• Deadline for nominations for Ottawa Arts Council Mid-Career Artist Award and RBC Emerging Artist Award is January 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 and job postings on our Theatre Ontario Individual Member Resources on our website

ONstage Openings for the week of January 4

ONstage Opening this week in Toronto
The Gay Heritage Project at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Paul Dunn, Andrew Kushnir, Damien Atkins

This week’s openings on Ontario’s stages

In Toronto

Jan. 7, Tribute at Scarborough Theatre Guild

Jan. 8, The Gay Heritage Project at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, with previews from Jan. 6

Jan. 8, Mauritius at Bloor West Village Players

Jan. 9, Peter Pan at Solar Stage Children's Theatre

For all the theatre playing across Ontario, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website