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Newsletter SEE STARS UNDER THE STARS
That being said, it is important to come equipped for outdoor theatre—this can be a picnic meal or lawn chairs or picnic blankets, but it is important to remember sun screen, hats, water and insect repellent. From Shakespearean classics, to dramas, comedies and
productions for families, outdoor theatre throughout Ontario accommodates
all aesthetic tastes and price ranges. Set under giant trees, CanStage’s Dream In High Park has been a staple of Toronto’s summer scene for the past twenty years. Audiences flock to High Park’s Amphitheatre with picnic baskets and blankets in tow, ready to enjoy a wonderful evening of theatre under the stars. This year CanStage mounts Twelfth Night . www.canstage.com Cliffhanger Productions performs in the beautiful Guild Inn grounds on the Scarborough Bluffs (Toronto). Playing in the evenings on a classical stage complete with giant columns and arches is Sheherazade and the 1001 Nights. Also playing is Bluffer’s Moon that takes place in the daytime. In Ottawa, Odyssey Theatre presents The Illusion , a story of magical enchantment. The production takes place on the banks of the Rideau River, in Strathcona Park. www.geocities.com/odyssey_theatre Set in Oakville’s beautiful Coronation Park is RBC Festival of Classics. Presenting Shakespeare for eight years, Festival of Classics will be presenting The Tempest this year. Resurgence Theatre Group takes the stage at the Fairy Lake Park, Newmarket. Set under a tent by a lovely little lake, two productions are offered: Love’s Labour’s Lost and Measure for Measure. Shadowland Theatre offers a unique-style of outdoor pageantry, complete with masks and puppets. This year’s offering is Quixsand about an actual boat that sunk near Ward’s Island (Toronto), where performances are held. www.torontoisland.org/shadowland Performing at the Prescott Amphitheatre, located in the heart of historical downtown Prescott is the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. This year’s offering of Shakespeare is The Tempest . Norm Foster’s hit The Long Weekend begins Weston Little Theatre’s outdoor season. The group then presents A Night of One Acts and Shakespeare in Weston , a collection of songs and scenes inspired by the Bard. Weston Little Theatre entertains outdoors audiences at the Bandshell at Little Avenue Memorial Park in Toronto. Driftwood Theatre Group is touring to various outdoor locations across Ontario (Ajax, Belleville, Bowmanville, Cobourg, Brantford, Kingston, Mississauga, Oshawa, Pickering, Peterborough, Port Hope, Port Perry, St. Catharines, Toronto, Whitby) with its production of Love's Labour's Lost . For more information about summer theatre, visit www.summertheatre.org .
STAFF PROFILE “It’s my three year anniversary with Theatre Ontario,” said John Watson, the company’s Communications and Membership Coordinator. “What began as an internship at Theatre Ontario and wonderful experience coordinating summer courses, has grown into a full-time job with opportunities to get to know theatres all over Ontario, to get an overview of all the plays being performed by amateur and professional companies in the province, and to see the benefits that Theatre Ontario’s summer courses, newsletter, health and safety training, publications and accessible information on our website bring people at every stage of their career. I’m really looking forward to being a youth counsellor again at summer courses in August at Brock University.” Watson explains that Mississauga is where his love of theatre was sparked and where he began his training. Watson graduated in 1997 from Cawthra Park Secondary School—Mississauga’s arts high school. He was active in a number of community theatres: Burl-Oak Theatre Group, Mississauga Youth Musical Productions and Fanfare Youth Theatre and he worked for the Mississauga Theatre Alliance in 2000 as the Theatre Manager for Burnhamthorpe Library Theatre. He also worked for two seasons in the box office at Port Credit’s Harbourside Playhouse. In 1995, he co-founded with Lisa MacLellan (his soon-to-be wife) and other graduates from Cawthra Park, Cow Over Moon Children’s Theatre, a company that is dedicated to creating and producing quality, accessible theatre productions for children and families. “Young families are our core audience and our actors enjoy a lively interaction, and encourage audience participation,” said John Watson, Artistic Producer of the 2003 Cow Over Moon theatre season. “Our next production is Rumplestiltskin at the Burnhamthorpe Library Theatre in Mississauga from July 12 to July 20, 2003.” Last year, Cow Over Moon Children’s Theatre received the Emerging Performing Arts Group Award from the Mississauga Arts Council. For more information go to www.cowovermoon.ca “Although I started training as an actor, my studies took me to the National Theatre School in the Technical Production program where I graduated in 1999,” said Watson. “I worked as a stage manager and sound designer on many productions in Montreal and gained work experience as a stage manager at Solar Stage in Toronto and at the Toronto and Montreal Fringe Festivals. I’ll never forget stage managing the Millennium celebrations in Misssissauga on New Year’s Eve in 1999—handling the performers and the politicians, getting the timing and cues in tight sequence (with limited rehearsal) and working with so many great dedicated volunteers and skilled people behind the scenes.” Watson says that the health and safety and first aid training project he’s worked on has been particularly rewarding. Together with our health and safety consultants, he’s helped Theatre Ontario to develop new resources and written health and safety materials specific to theatre which are available on Theatre Ontario’s website (www.theatreontario.org). Two important volunteer commitments that John Watson is a part of in 2003 are Toronto’s ArtsVote steering committee (look for Toronto report cards and a stronger web presence) and Club Coordinator (a new network of emerging arts managers in Toronto that was spearheaded by John Watson and a number of Theatre Ontario’s former employees). Club Coordinator includes coordinators, assistants and junior level managers working in a number of performing and visual arts companies and service organizations. The purpose of Club Coordinator is to provide a “sanity circle” for emerging managers. They meet monthly, rotating between social get-togethers (usually at a bar), special guests (usually established arts managers) and issue-oriented meetings (outreach). They also exchange job postings and discoveries (reports, articles, news) and present opportunities for professional development. For more information about Club Coordinator, contact John Watson at news@theatreontario.org. |
