Western Ontario Drama League |
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- Welcome
- WODL General Meeting - Sunday 21 February 2021 - 11.00 am - on Zoom
- WODL Festivals
- News from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MOLTSD) Advisory Committee for Live Performance
- You can help WODL
- Community Theatre in the WODL Region
- Community Theatre in Waterloo-Wellington
- Community Theatre Elsewhere in Ontario
- New Plays from the Playwights Canada Press
- Off the Wall - Covid-19 Readiness
- Inspiration
- Pantomime
- Lockdown Swan Lake
- Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet
- If you are producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out
- Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date?
- Dates for your Diary
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Welcome back to the WODL newsletter. I find it hard to believe that the last newsletter was in April 2020. We were all in lockdown. The WODL Festival 2020 had been cancelled. The Ontario Theatre Festival had been cancelled. We were cautiously looking forward to a Festival in 2021. We were optimistically hoping to resume our theatre activities later in the year.
Here we are in February 2021 facing an uncertain artistic future. I have decided to restart publication of the newsletter, optimistic that we are learning to live in our restricted environment, and maybe we can see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel.
Over the next few months, I would like to publish articles that will help our community to survive and thrive. For this I need your help. Could you share your experiences of creating videos, or online performances? Do you know about online workshops, or sources of artistic inspiration? Maybe soon, we can share our ideas on reopening our theatres.
Forward to the future!
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WODL General Meeting - Sunday 21 February 2021 - 11.00 am - on Zoom |
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Invitations will be sent to all the presidents, and delegates, of member groups.
All members in good standing with a WODL member group are entitled to attend this meeting and to vote at this General Meeting.
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If you want to attend this meeting and have not received an invitation, contact the secretary to the WODL board at secretary@wodl.on.ca.
In your email please include your full name and member group affiliation (no acronyms) and whether you are a group delegate, group member, or other.
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You will receive instructions on joining the meeting and copies of the meeting materials, a few days before the GM.
Special Guest: Brandon Moore:
Brandon was formerly Community Theatre and Communications Manager at Theatre Ontario. He is currently a member of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development Advisory Committee for Live Performance, working to develop a guideline for safe operations at theatres during the pandemic.
Brandon will provide an update on the work of this committee in developing occupational health and safety guidelines for live performance.
If you have any questions about this GM:
We look forward to having you join us!
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Like so many things at this time, the plans for the future WODL Festivals have evolved since the last WODL newsletter was published. Here is what know at this time:
WODL Festival 2022
This will take place March 14-19, 2022 in Guelph. It will be hosted by Guelph Little Theatre.
The pre-Festival adjudicator is Alexander Galant, and the Festival adjudicator is Annette Procunier.
WODL Festival 2023
This will take place March 13-18, 2023. Venue and host not yet available.
WODL Festival 2024
This will take place March 11-16, 2024 in Leamington. It will be hosted by The Bank Theatre.
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News from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MOLTSD) Advisory Committee for Live Performance |
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As I shared at the October WODL meeting, I am a member of the MOLTSD Advisory Committee for Live Performance, working to develop a guideline for safe operations at theatres during the pandemic.
As you can imagine, the ever-evolving environment of growing scientific knowledge has made developing and approving written guidelines a challenging task! While guidelines for film and television production have been published, we are still awaiting ministry approval for live performance guidelines.
Under the latest “COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open” (dated November 22, 2020), theatres in the Orange/Restrict Zones can be open to a limited number of spectators, with barriers for certain types of performances. Even in the Grey/Lockdown Zones, theatres can rehearse and perform recorded productions, provided they comply with all of the General Public Health Measures including capacity limits, screening, cleaning and disinfecting, face coverings and written safety plans. (Although a significant fact for community theatres is that travel in Grey/Lockdown Zones must be “essential.”)
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However, the State of Emergency suspended that Response Framework until at least February 9, with all theatres in Ontario closed for all purposes, including rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted event. |
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WODL communicates with our member groups through the group presidents and the group WODL delegates--two delegates from each group. These people can then pass the information on to the rest of their group membership. Presidents and delegates also receive personal invitations to the WODL general meetings and to the AGM.
So, presidents and delegates, if you are hiding out there, we need to hear from you!
So if you are the president, or you have been appointed a delegate for your group, please do the folowing:
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- Your name
- The name of the theatre that you represent
- Your position: president or delegate.
- Your email address
- Your phone number
- Your postal address
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Your contact information will only be used for official WODL purposes. |
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Community Theatre in the WODL Region |
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Several WODL member groups are keeping active during this time. A good place to find out about these activities is on the WODL Facebook page, WODL | Facebook. Most of the announcements are at fairly short notice, so check in often!
If your group is putting on an event that you would like included in the March newsletter, please send the information to communications@wodl.on.ca.
Here are some other events:
Owen Sound Little Theatre
OSLT is presenting a series of virtual events. Visit roxytheatre.ca/events/ for up-to-date information and to purchase tickets.
Hanover Community Theatre
HCT is reahearsing Hilda's Yard online. They have the rights to film the production and to present it online for a limited time. It will be filmed outdoors in May and released shortly after.
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Community Theatre in Waterloo-Wellington |
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Elora Community Theatre
The White Liars by Peter Shaffer
The White Liars originally known as White Lies by Peter Shaffer will stream on the Elora Community Theatre YouTube channel on Feb 27th at 7pm. Once Covid restrictions are lifted it will be filmed and streamed as a short film. The director is Anthony Deciantis and show is produced by Deb Stanson. David Tanner is the Director of Photography. Cast is as follows: Michelle Kreitzer as the Baroness, Kevin Foad as Tom and John Settle plays the role of Frank.
The White Liars revolves around Sophie Lemberg, an eccentric and disillusioned fortune teller (who imagines herself to be a baroness of the Holy Roman Empire) living in a decaying seaside resort, and the two young men—Tom, the lead singer in a rock band, and Frank, his business manager—who consult her. It soon becomes clear that their lives are much stranger than fiction as Sophie tries to create in her magic ball.
The Reluctant Dragon by Mary Hall Surface
The Reluctant Dragon adapted by Mary Hall Surface from the book by Kenneth Grahame, directed by Fin Janleigh is a radio drama for youth which will stream March 27th on Elora Community Theatre You Tube Channel. Recorded auditions are due by February 13th.
The synopsis is as follows: When a Dragon settles near the village of Guildemere the town erupts with superstition and wild accusations. The dragon has killed the crops, stole the sheep, and curdled the milk. The Villagers create an image of the dragon as a foul beast when in fact nothing could be farther from the truth. The dragon is a kind, poetry-loving creature who just wants to be accepted. To reach that goal he must rely on the help of a young child he befriends and the knight who was sent to kill him. The Reluctant Dragon will be an audio drama production.
Stuart Little by Joseph Robinette
The next virtual play will be Stuart Little adapted by Joseph Robinette based on the book by E.B. White, directed by Deb Stanson. It will stream on April 24, 2021. This is the endearing classic about a mouse named Stuart Little who is born into an ordinary New York family. The many adventures—both big and small—of Stuart Little are brought vividly to life in this story theatre presentation. The acting ensemble plays many human and animal roles in a series of delightful scenes that make up the marvelous maneuverings of a mild-mannered mouse trying to survive in a "real people's world." Ease of staging along with flexible casting make Stuart Little perfect for small touring groups or for large-cast productions. Auditions: March 17 & 18th via Zoom - Cold Read.
Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre
March Madness will take place on March 13 and will have a new look. Teams will be given an open ended silent film which they will be able to dub with dialogue, special effects and music. Applications for production teams are accepted up until February 22. A minimal team is a director and a stage manager, but larger teams are welcome. A team member that can do audio editing and well as a member interested in writing dialogue would be a good idea. If you don’t have a team but would like to be on one, you can submit yourself as an individual, and you could be matched with other teams. Auditions will be held online on February 27 from noon to 4 pm. Actors who can’t make it at that time can submit an audition tape in advance.
As part of the Black Box Radio Stageless Theatre Series All Around the Square is an improvised unscripted soap opera. The team is running it as a series of Harold improve events, and the rehearsals are largely character building exercises. The setting is the City of Waterloo and the thematic focus is on history and the current events in the city. At the helm of this project are director Peter Aitchison, technical manager Paul Budel, and production manager Monica Maika. Joining them on the production team are assistant director, Joe Gull, and technical team members Nicole Beer, Rob Curwain, Abigale Johnson, and Anne-Marie Lemieux. It will be presented online in weekly episodes during the month of March.
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Community Theatre Elsewhere in Ontario |
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I’ve enjoyed keeping up on the work at WODL theatres during the pandemic. With the zone restrictions varying across the province, I’ve seen all kinds of example of performances—live in-person, livestreamed, and recorded for online viewing.
Starting with my own home community theatre, The Curtain Club in Richmond Hill launched an Online Theatre Series of productions recorded while York Region was in the Orange / Restrict Zone. Three plays were recorded, including “Story of an Hour” directed by Harvey Levkoe (who directed the production of “Outside Mullingar” from Toronto Irish Players that won the Theatre Ontario Festival in 2017 in Ottawa.) Two of the shows can be viewed at www.thecurtainclub.org, available until February 15. I was in the process of directing our fourth production, but when York Region’s numbers began to increase and we were moved into the Red/Control Zone, we felt it was safer to shut down our rehearsals (,even though the activity is allowed under the public health guidelines.) We were interviewed for the January episode of “Stage Whispers”, a new podcast focusing on live theatre in parts of Central Ontario (Simcoe, Muskoka, York and Durham)—Episode 8 if you want to track us down wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Elsewhere in Central Ontario, Theatre Aurora has been presenting online performances through their free “One Voice” project and their rentable monologue performances, all of which can be seen at www.theatreaurora.com. South Simcoe Theatre in Cookstown has announced that their “Four Play” new play event will be online beginning in February on their YouTube channel.
In Eastern Ontario, Peterborough Theatre Guild had been performing monthly in-person socially-distanced and masked play readings among their members. Lindsay Little Theatre is planning an in-person variety show planned for Valentine’s Day with limited socially-distant seating. Before the holidays, Belleville Theatre Guild performed in a virtual play reading (still available on their YouTube channel via a link on their website at www.bellevilletheatreguild.ca).
In Northern Ontario, Sault Theatre Workshop was rehearsing using social bubbles of 10—but with the changes that came out in Thanksgiving, they had to indefinitely suspend their live in-person production of “Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak.” But they replaced it with a Christmas-themed dinner theatre staged reading of Foster’s “The Christmas Tree.”
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New Plays from the Playwrights Canada Press |
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In case you missed it, here are some of the newest releases from Playwrights Canada Press!
Both comical and poignant, this story of familial bonds traces seven years of a complex father-son relationship affected by the onset of dementia, providing satisfyingly sentimental clarity in those small moments that will last forever.
Award-winning playwright Erin Shields has crafted three thought-provoking plays that centre on the inner lives of women, offering space for those who dare to listen. Featuring Beautiful Man, Unit B-1717, and And then there was you.
When Laura finds a familiar book of poems in her estranged twin Lizzie’s bedroom, the sisters are dragged through a turbulent past, reliving their complicated history in order to make sense of their present.
All relationships need the strength of good communication—even the couple behind the historic invention of the telephone needed to find the right wavelength once in a while.
The literary careers of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë unfold in this striking historical drama, which collects the moments filled of passion and self-expression to show what it was like to be an ambitious woman in the 1800s.
For over five hundred years, a polar bear named Angu’řuaq has been witness to history from a breathing hole in Nunavut: from his entry into an Inuit community in the sixteenth century, to an encounter with the Franklin Expedition in the mid-nineteenth century, to an oil-slicked struggle on a cruise ship in the twenty-first century.
Refractions: Scenes is a collection of scenes from diverse contemporary works by Canadian playwrights that reflect the country's artistic landscape through a breadth of themes, styles, cultures, regions, and creative practices. This collection can be used both as a source for actors and students, or as a primer on diverse Canadian theatre and an entry point into new works.
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Off the Wall - Covid-19 Readiness |
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By Michele Boniface, Chair, Off the Wall Stratford Artists Alliance, mboniface@cyg.net
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Theatre Production Arts Courses
Off the Wall Stratford Artist Alliance offers backstage courses to theatre enthusiasts of all ages. Our goal is to mentor and inspire the next generation of production artists for theatres across the Province.
Each summer and fall, professional backstage artisans -- most from the Stratford Festival – pass along their considerable skills, experience and passion for live theatre in a series of one-week specialty courses. Off the Wall participants learn a variety of theatre production skills – from specialty make-up, wig making and millinery, to artistic welding, prop building and scenic art. Our intensive, hands-on courses equip learners for volunteer work in community theatres, employment or apprenticeships in professional theatres, or specializations at the university level.
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Covid-19 Readiness
To finance Covid-19 readiness for the 2021 season, Off the Wall received a Tourism Alteration and Transformation grant from the Federal government, administered through Fed Dev Ontario.
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Prop maker Vicky Spain loads newly upholstered chairs into Off the Wall’s production studio |
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According to Off the Wall board volunteer Michele Boniface: “We were thrilled to be awarded a grant to help us get Covid-ready as we restart our theatre training program this summer. The funding enabled us to procure PPE, supplies & equipment to ensure the health and safety of our students, teachers and facilities. We had our chairs reupholstered in medical-grade vinyl that can easily be sanitized."
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Carpentry instructor Jeremy Cox cuts a plexiglass sheet for a classroom cubicle |
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“With limits of five to ten students per class, social distancing is easy to achieve at Off the Wall. But, as an added precaution, we built plexiglass dividers and cubicles, customized to each classroom setting. Quite frankly, we could not have carried on our courses without benefit of this special funding.”
In addition, with input from the Huron Perth Health Unit and the Stratford Festival, Off the Wall experts developed classroom health and safety protocols for students and teachers.
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“We look forward to welcoming participants from across the country into a safe learning environment, in Stratford, during July and August of 2021.”
Michele Boniface, Co-Chair Board of Directors.
Hashtags: #stratfordoffthewall #theatreproduction #backstage
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Here are links to a couple of sites which might provide some visual design inspiration for your post-lockdown productions.
The Brooklyn Museum has an online exhibition of the costumes from The Queen's Gambit and The Crown at this link:
The site is quite slow, so you have to be patient. You can access the interviews with the designers by clicking the two lines at the top-right corner of the main screen.
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) specialises in art and design from medieval times to the modern day. Their YouTube channel has hundreds of short videos on design, interviews with designers and experts, and how the artifacts are constructed.
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Christmas and the first couple of months of the New Year are pantomime season. If you've ever wondered why us Brits get all nostalgic about panto, all is explained in this short clip on pantomime dames from the National Theatre:
The end of this clip links to a longer documentary on the history of pantomime dames.
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The BBC has produced a bathtub version of Swan Lake created during lockdown:
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Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet |
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Every month you can take a look at the newest unpublished and published plays available!
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If you are Producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out |
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The Playwrights Guild of Canada publicises productions of Canadian-written plays through its website, www.playwrightsguild.ca.
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Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date? |
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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
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WODL General Meeting, Zoom |
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Deadline for submissions for the March newsletter |
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WODL Annual General Meeting, Zoom |
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14 March to 19 March 2022 |
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WODL Festival 2022, Guelph |
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13 March to 18 March 2023 |
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11 March to 16 March 2024 |
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WODL Festival 2024, Leamington |
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This newsletter was prepared by:
Tricia Ward
Communications coordinator
WODL
Copyright © Western Ontario Drama League 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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See what's happening on our social sites |
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