Sandy Macdonald is a director, actor and acting coach with some five decades of experience working in theatre, in both England and Canada.

He has been Artistic Director of the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover and of the Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend, as well as Associate Director/Producer of Rainbow Theatre in Parry Sound and Theatre Muskoka. 

Among his favourite directing credits are ' The Importance Of Being Earnest ' , ' Private Lives ' , ' Shirley Valentine ' , ' Nurse Jane Goes to Hawaii ' , ' Little Shop Of Horrors ' , ' Nunsense ' , ' A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum ' and ' The Maids ' .

Sandy has worked as a director and workshop leader with community theatre groups in several cities and towns across the province, including Kanata, Woodstock, Ingersoll, Sudbury and Peterborough.  As well, he has adjudicated for ACT-CO, WODL, QUONTA and EODL as well as the Sears Drama Festival and the New Brunswick Drama League.

Sandy ' s acting experience includes seasons at Lincoln and Windsor Repertory Theatres,  and the Chichester Festival Theatre, in England (longer ago than he cares to remember!). At the latter, he had the privilege of working with two of Britain ' s greatest names in theatre, Sir Alec Guinness and Sir Peter Ustinov. 

His acting credits include Willie Clark in ' The Sunshine Boys ' , Jack in  ' Brighton Beach Memoirs '  and Herb in ' I Ought To Be In Pictures ' .  He is particularly proud of two cameo roles, Merriman in ' The Importance of Being Earnest '  on stage and a soldier in the classic action film, ' The Dirty Dozen ' .

 

Paris Performers' Theatre Inc. began its humble beginnings in an old Penman Mill at 120 West River Street in Paris, Ontario. They spent several years working around pillars, dealing with snow blowing in the main stage door and having the floor creak during our more subtle moments.

 

Many memories were created as we developed into a theatre group. Paris Performers' Theatre spent a short laborious time in the upstairs of the Town Hall, then moved to Syl Apps Arena, which was geared to hockey games and figure skating, but not suited to a theatre environment.

   

Then came the "Big Move" to the Paris Fairgrounds.  Many memories of tipping light standards up with ropes, lugging costumes from the back of a van and actors rehearsing in someone's basement rec room. They now had a heated rehearsal area, cloth seating, white lights, sound equipment and a solid stage.

 

Paris Performers' Theatre has seen hundreds of volunteers put in thousands of hours, to make us what we are today. Some of Paris Performers' Theatre's early members were Digby & Anne Sargent, Sarah Staysha, Stephen Smith, John and Sadie Creeden. They had a vision of what this could be with hard work and dedication. 

   

Paris Performers' Theatre is planning special events during our 25th season and to start off the year we will have 25th Anniversary Gala (Dinner and Dance) on Friday October, 23, 2015 @ 6:00 pm at the Paris Fairgrounds in the Special Events Building. Masters of Ceremonies Greig Graham and Stephanie Christiaens will reminisce of the years gone by. Tickets are available through Green Heron Books, 47 Grand River St. N., Paris, ON or calling our Box Office @ (519) 302-0169.  Ticket price is $25.00 per person.

   

November will be our first performance of the season.  We wanted to kick off the season by re-mounting a performance from the past. "How the Other Half Loves" by Alan Ayckbourn - directed by one of our seasoned directors - George Fowlie. Featuring a composite set of two over-laid city flats. It follows the misunderstandings caused by a couple having an affair and covering their tracks by using an innocent third party. Performance dates November 20 - 29, 2015.

     

Tickets for performances can be purchased in advance from Green Heron Books in Paris, ON, reserve by phone or purchase at the door.

 

For more details of our up and coming season, please visit our website at

More and more, I believe the future of Canadian drama lies in the smaller community.Some of my most challenging works have been tackled by community theatres whose passion and commitment to Canadian plays is often far greater than most regional theatres. That said, recommend five Canadian plays for Community Theatres? Are you nuts? But hey, if we aren't going to lift one another up, who will? So after considering musicals, comedies, dramas, and everything in between, here's five of at least fifty I could put on such a list. My criteria: plays with cast sizes over eight, strong roles for women, written in the last twenty-five years, and where the idea of "community" is critical. By putting the spot light on a few works, I hope I can draw attention to the entire Canadian canon. In alphabetical order...

 

INNOCENCE LOST: A PLAY ABOUT STEVEN TRUSCOTT -    Beverley Cooper

Bev Cooper's gripping and powerful play about a 14 year old boy sentenced to hang in a small Ontario town. Cast of 10, great roles for women, a period piece, and purely Canadian.

THE MALTESE BODKIN - David Belke

For pure fun, David Belke's murder-mystery-comedy makes fantastic community theatre. With over 15 (mainly) Shakespearean characters Belke's play has small, scene-stealing roles that can be cast regardless of race, age or gender.

THE REFUGEE HOTEL -   Carmen Aguirre

With more and more immigrants moving to smaller towns and cities in Canada, Carmen Aguirre's moving portrait of eight refugees in limbo gives voice to newcomers to our country.

STRANGERS AMONG US - Aaron Bushkowsky

Two people in the last stages of Alzheimer's meet and fall in love over and over again. There are lots of plays about Alzheimers out there, but only Aaron Bushkowsky manages to turn something truly horrible into a touchingromantic comedy. Lots of great roles for actors over age 60.

UNITY (1918) - Kevin Kerr 

Winner of the 2002 GG, Kevin Kerr's moving play about the Spanish Flu invading a small Canadian town features a large cast filled with great roles for women and men.