2012 Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture awarded to Heather Young

Theatre Ontario is thrilled to announce that the 2012 Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture has been awarded to Heather Young, in recognition of the value, insight and stability she has brought to the planning and management needs of over a hundred individual artists and organizations in the province and beyond.

“We had a difficult decision, as there were several outstanding candidates nominated for this year’s award,” said Peter Honeywell, Executive Director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, and chair of the 2012 Award Jury.

Heather has worked in the field of arts management for twenty-five years. Her experience includes leadership roles with a variety of arts and heritage service organizations, theatre and dance producing companies, galleries and museums, facilities, festivals and community organizations, in both professional and volunteer capacities. For two decades, Heather has taught accounting and financial management to diploma and continuing education students.  She founded Young Associates in 1993, and in 2005 published Finance for the Arts in Canada, a unique self-study guide, reference source and textbook for the accounting and finance functions in cultural organizations.

“I am honoured and humbled to join the company of outstanding managers and leaders who have received this award,” said Heather.  “It has been an absolute privilege for me to share in the evolution and development of the arts and culture sector in Ontario.  My clients and the amazing work they do has been my inspiration. I am grateful to Theatre Ontario and to the jury for this recognition.”

The award was presented to Heather on October 29, as part of Creative Trust’s Sunset Bash.  The Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture is presented annually to an individual or a collective whose initiative, activism, leadership, and service has contributed to the development and strengthening of arts and culture in Ontario through innovative and practical initiatives.  While Theatre Ontario donates administration for this award, it recognizes achievements in all artistic and cultural disciplines.  The award was established in 1998 by friends and colleagues of Ms. Tulloch on her retirement as Executive Director of Theatre Ontario.  This award pays tribute to the outstanding contribution that Sandra Tulloch has made to the arts in Ontario.

Read more about the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture on the Theatre Ontario website

Browsing The Bulletin Board

• Is being a Board member of a theatre or cultural organization for you?  Register for Do You Want To Make A Difference? with Brenda Worsnop on November 16
• Suddenly you look around and realize that those running your organization represent a skilled, experienced and mature group.  What is going to happen when you don’t want the responsibility of running the organization, when all you want to do is create?  Register for Keeping Your Theatre/Arts Board Healthy with Cheryl Ewing on November 17
• Are you an actor? Set designer? Production manager? Technician? If you work in theatre and you don't already have one, you've probably asked yourself, “Do I really need a website?” This workshop will show you why the answer is an emphatic, “Yes you do!”  Register for The Why and How of a Successful Web Presence with Paul Snepsts on November 19
• Professional Theatre Training Program Talk Back and Mixer – Can you benefit from mentorship?  Looking to further or change your career?  Develop a new skill?  Mentoring through Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program might be for you.  RSVP for the Professional Theatre Training Program Talk Back and Mixer on November 20
• For actors beginning their professional careers, answering the most frequently asked questions about the business of acting.  Register for Getting Started for Actors with Tim Chapman on November 21
• For organizations to help identify where your social media content comes from, what voice you should use, what are the latest trends, and how it can assist rather than distract from the work.  Register for Social Media: Live Performance and Community Engagement for your Theatre Community with Michael Wheeler on November 27
• If you want to do a show but have never produced professionally before, and if you want to know what questions to ask first, this session is for you!  Register for Self-Start: The Basics of Producing with Tim Chapman on November 28
• A session for new performers covering the basics of the agent/performer relationship and some general business information.  Register for Ask an Agent with Alicia Jeffrey on November 28

Upcoming on The Bulletin Board

• Deadline to submit for rock.paper.sistahz festival 12 from b current is tomorrow, October 31
• Artists’ Health Alliance is holding a workshop on Psychology of Performance, running November 3 in Toronto, with a discount for Theatre Ontario members
• Deadline to apply for the Toronto Fringe Festival Lottery, and for Culturally Diverse Artists Projects is November 5—and don’t forget about the Site-Specific Art Category, too

New on The Bulletin Board

• Jumblies Theatre is holding a seminar on November 22 on the Convergence Project—exploring the relationship between meditation, spirituality and community arts

Check out these items and all of our postings of workshops, calls for submission, and opportunities for recognition on Theatre Ontario’s Bulletin Board on our website

ONstage Openings for the week of October 29

In Northeastern Ontario
Nov. 1, How It Works at Sudbury Theatre Centre

In South Central Ontario
Nov. 1, Frankenstein at The Oakville Players

In Southwestern Ontario
Nov. 1, Caught In The Net at Theatre Tillsonburg
Nov. 2, Job's Blues - A Blues Opera at Grey Wellingon Theatre Guild (Harriston)

In Toronto
Oct. 29, Aluna Cafe: Selections from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz at Aluna Theatre
Oct. 31, Endgame at Soulpepper Theatre (currently in previews)
Nov. 1, Speaking In Tongues at Canadian Stage (with previews from Oct. 29)
Nov. 1, The Wizard Of Oz at Scarborough Music Theatre

In Central Ontario
Nov. 2, The Ghosts Of Aisne at Peterborough Theatre Guild

In Eastern Ontario
Nov. 2, Fly Me To The Moon at Great Canadian Theatre Company (Ottawa) with previews from Oct. 30
Nov. 2, Murder Me Always at Mississippi Mudds of Carleton Place

For all the theatre currently playing across Ontario, and information for theatres on how to submit your listings, visit Theatre Ontario’s ONstage theatre listings on our website.

Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to Community Theatre in Eastern Ontario

Theatre Ontario is now inviting nominations for our 2013 Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre.  This award honours an individual for his/her outstanding contribution to community theatre in his/her region over a sustained time.  It is now presented annually to an individual from the region that is hosting the Theatre Ontario Festival—which in 2013 is Eastern Ontario.

“Since 1997, we have been demonstrating our leadership in the Ontario community theatre sector by honouring outstanding leaders in their regions,” said Carol Beauchamp, Executive Director of Theatre Ontario.  “By increasing the frequency of the award, and involving the local theatres in the nominating process, we will continue to strengthen the profile of community theatre and its leaders in Ontario.”

The criteria for the award are:

• Sustained contribution to community theatre;
• Generosity of spirit, involvement, and commitment to community theatre that is legendary within his/her region, helping community theatre flourish.

Past recipients of the award are Joan McRae, Anne Wilson, Lillian Sievanen, Betty Coates, Sharon Sproule, Arlene Watson, Vince Mathewson, David Glover, Harry Houston, Hans Warmenhoven, Beth McMaster, Val Hadley, Maureen Lukie, Gabe Ferrazzo, Ken Stephen, Margaret Shearman, Lawrie Bonanno, Jo-anne Spitzer, and Walter Maskel.

The 2013 award will be presented to an individual from the Eastern Ontario community theatre region.  The Eastern Ontario community theatre region includes Northumberland County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, Hastings County, Renfrew County, and all other municipalities eastward to the Quebec border.

The award was established in 1997 by Theatre Ontario on the occasion of Theatre Ontario's 25th Anniversary.  Multiple awards were presented on the quinquennial anniversaries of Theatre Ontario until 2012, when it became a single, annual award.  The award is named in honour of Michael Spence, the founding President of Theatre Ontario.  Michael was active in community theatre at Hart House Theatre, London Little Theatre, and the University Alumnae Dramatic Club (now known as Alumnae Theatre.)  He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Dominion Drama Festival, a past President of Arts Etobicoke, and continues to be an enthusiastic supporter of Theatre Ontario.

The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2013.

Read more about the Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre, download the award guidelines, and nomination form 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