Western Ontario Drama League
WODL
Newsletter September 2018
In this issue:
  • Adjudications Schedule
  • WODL General meeting - Sunday 21 October - Guelph
  • News from Festival 2019
  • News From Around the WODL Region
  • Theatre Ontario - Carolee Mason - Festival Adjudicator
  • Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet
  • If you are producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out
  • ONstage Theatre Listings
  • Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date?
  • Dates for your Diary
Quick Links:
Adjudications Schedule
By Ken Menzies, WODL Adjudications chair, adjudications@wodl.on.ca
By the evening of Friday September 14, I had received 24 applications for adjudication. Over the weekend I drew up a schedule and ran it by the traveling adjudicator, Trevor Smith Diggins. Once we agreed (easy as he accepted what I proposed), I sent out emails to the groups telling them when their adjudications would be.

There are 12 fall, and 12 winter, adjudications. Four groups are having 2 plays adjudicated. Only one of these can be entered in-Festival. For example, Paris Performers has one play in-Festival and one play out-of-Festival. London Community Players has two out-of-Festival productions being adjudicated.

There are seven in-Festival productions, six of which are in the winter.

The pre-Festival adjudicator kindly agreed to do an extra adjudication on Saturday February 16. This allowed me to schedule a second adjudication for Theatre Tillsonburg.

Click here to see the current printable adjudication schedule.

Late applications for adjudication may be accepted if they can be fitted into the schedule and the pre-Festival adjudicator’s life. If you want to see whether there are changes to the adjudication schedule, check the WODL website ( www.wodl.on.ca).
WODL General Meeting - Sunday 21 October 2018 - Guelph
The October General meeting of WODL takes place at

11:00 am on Sunday 21 October at

Guelph Little Theatre
176 Morris St, Guelph, ON N1E 5M7
Map

Everyone is welcome to attend.


Guelph Little Theatre has a performance of Ordinary People at 2:00 pm and if you are interested in staying after the meeting and attending the show, please visit www.guelphlittletheatre.com for ticket information.
News from Festival 2019
by Chris Grose, WODL Festival 2019 co-chair, chris@wodl.on.ca
5 months and counting until the 2019 WODL Festival – Spotlight on Sharing! Members of Guelph Little Theatre and Elmira Theatre Company look forward to seeing you in Guelph March 11-16, 2019!
Alex Mustakas
In the Spotlight - we are pleased and honoured to announce that Alex Mustakas is the Festival Honorary Chair and will also be leading one of the workshops during the week of Festival.

Alex is the founding Artistic Director and CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer, as he likes to refer to it) of Drayton Entertainment, one of the largest not-for-profit theatre organizations in Canada. Drayton Entertainment operates seven venues across Ontario.
 
We appreciate Alex sharing his time and expertise with us!
Within the spirit of the theme, it is now time to call on members of neighbouring theatre companies to share in some of the tasks throughout the festival week. There will be opportunities at both the theatre and the hotel – primarily within the hospitality areas. 

If you would like to share your time and skills during the week of March 11 – 16, please contact Volunteer Co-ordinator and Co-chair Chris Grose.  chris@wodl.on.ca or call 519-575-1071.

Click here to see the latest developments for Festival 2019.
News from Around the WODL Region
By Janice Lundy, member WODL Communications Committee,   janice@wodl.on.ca 
The leaves are turning colour and the nights are getting chilly. It’s the perfect time to go and see a play. While most theatres are getting ready for November openings, you still have shows available every weekend in October!

Continuing to Oct 13: Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre Blood Relations
Oct 4-13: Aylmer Community Theatre A Red Plaid Shirt
Oct 11-21: Guelph Little Theatre  Ordinary People
Oct 12-20: Theatre Woodstock I’ll Be Back Before Midnight
Oct 24-31: Theatre Sarnia Evil Dead the Musical

Opening November 1 st!
Nov 1-11: London Community Players  The Memory of Water
      St Marys Community Players The Game’s Afoot
      Theatre Tillsonburg A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Nov 1-17  Elmira Theatre Company  Murder Most Fouled-Up

If your theatre group has a special event coming up, please let me know so that I can include it here!
Theatre Ontario - Carolee Mason - Festival Adjudicator
By Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager, Theatre Ontario, brandon@theatreontario.org
Theatre Ontario welcomes Carolee Mason as adjudicator for Theatre Ontario Festival 2019 in Richmond Hill. Carolee most recently adjudicated as the Western Ontario Drama League Festival preliminary adjudicator in 2017/18 and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario (ACT-CO) Festival in 2015/16. This will be her first time adjudicating Theatre Ontario Festival, and marks the first Theatre Ontario Festival adjudicated by a graduate of Theatre Ontario’s Adjudicator Training Program, initiated in 2010.
Carolee has taught in the Theatre Department at Brock University, instructed practicing teachers and teacher candidates with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and has been the teacher/director of generations of high school drama students and countless community theatre groups. She is a frequent workshop leader with the Council of Drama and Dance Educators of Ontario, and has presented for drama educators internationally with the American Alliance of Theatre Educators and the International Drama and Education Association.
"Creative collaboration is one of the most engaging of human endeavours," said Carolee. "Couple that with the spirit of community and discovery at the Theatre Ontario Festival, and the experience is heady! I am thrilled to adjudicate the 2019 Festival, to foster learning, and to celebrate achievements with my theatre colleagues from around the province."


Theatre Ontario Festival 2019 will be held in Richmond Hill from May 15 to 19, 2019 and is co-hosted by Theatre Ontario, The Curtain Club, and the Association of Community Theatres—Central Ontario.

Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet
The  Canadian Play Outlet  has launched its new site with over 2000 Canadian Plays right at your fingertips. Looking for something specific? Check out the curated  Collections .

Every month you can take a look at the newest unpublished and published plays available!
If you are Producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out
The Playwrights Guild of Canada publicises productions of Canadian-written plays through its website,  www.playwrightsguild.ca .

If you want to perform a Canadian play but cannot figure out where to obtain the amateur performance rights,  view this presentation from PGC .
ONstage Theatre Listings
Theatre Ontario publishes an online list of current and upcoming productions by its member groups. To see what is on  click here .
Is your WODL Menbership Information Up-to-date?
Are you on the board of a theatre group that belongs to WODL? If your group has:

  • A new President
  • New WODL delegates
  • A new Treasurer

Please let our membership chair, Gina Paradis, know at  membership@wodl.on.ca
Dates for your Diary:
21 October 2018
WODL General Meeting, Guelph
17 February 2019
WODL General Meeting, Guelph
11 to 16 March 2019
WODL Festival 2019, Guelph
15 to 19 May 2019
Theatre Ontario Festival 2019, Richmond Hill
21 July 2019
WODL Annual General meeting, Tillsonburg