Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager

Conversation Starters

• Toronto’s Harold Awards are on June 6—and #CdnCult Times shares stories from Sarah Garton Stanley, Daniel MacIvor, and Michael Wheeler about the tradition of this “underground institution.”

Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

Sylvia Jones (MPP for Dufferin-Caledon),
Fred Aitchison (of the Ontario Trillium Foundation),
David Nairn (Artistic Director of Theatre Orangeville) and
Don Kidd (Orangeville Town Councillor)

• Theatre Orangeville received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to launch a lighting upgrade.
• Congratulations to the theatres supported by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, including the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, Classic Theatre Festival (in Perth), and 4th Line Theatre (in Millbrook).
• The June Map of productions of Canadian-written plays is now up from Playwrights Guild of Canada.
• CBC Arts profiled the London Fringe Festival, which opened this past Tuesday.
• Statistics Canada has released the Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators, 2010 to 2014 report, providing insight into the economic importance of arts and culture in Ontario and across Canada.

Migrations

• Dennis Garnhum is the new Artistic Director of The Grand Theatre in London.

TO Toasts

• ... to George Randolph, President of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts (and a member of the Theatre Ontario Board of Directors), who received the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, presented to a Canadian artist who demonstrates excellence in the performing arts and is dedicated to advocating and being an ambassador for the arts in Canada.
• ... to Nancy Webster, Executive Director of Young People’s Theatre, who was double-honoured with the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (presented to a Toronto arts administrator) and the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award from the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (for administrative or managerial leadership with the Canadian theatre community.) The latter award includes recognition of a protégé, and Nancy recognized Katie Pounder.
• ... to Jennifer Wonnacott, costume cutter and tailor at the Stratford Festival, who received the Pauline McGibbon Award from the Province of Ontario, presented to an Ontario-resident professional artist in the early stages of their career who has contributed to the well-being of Ontario’s theatre community, displays unique talent and has the potential for excellence.
• ... to all of the nominees for the 37th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Toronto professional theatre.
• ... to the recipients of the Toronto Theatre Critics Awards.

In Case You Missed It

• This year's Theatre Ontario Summer Theatre Intensive features a unique stage management course with Maria Popoff: "Places Please! Stage Management and the Creative Process from Pre-Production to End of Run." Gloria Mok recently attended a course with Maria at Alumnae Theatre, and shared some reflections on learning with her.
• The Theatre Ontario Youth Advisory Committee held their first event of 2016: “Now What? An Emerging Artist’s Guide to the Theatre Universe”