WODL

  
   Newsletter November 2016

In this issue:
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2016/2017 Adjudications schedule

Book a room for Festival 2017 at Holiday Inn, Guelph
 

Adjudications Schedule for Festival 2016/2017

The latest adjudications schedule is on the WODL website at  www.wodl.on.ca/Adjud%20Sch%2017.pdf
The Perfect Christmas Gift For Your WODL Friends!

By Dennis Johnson, Festival 2017 Co-chair, [email protected]
Guelph Little Theatre is offering the perfect Christmas gift for your WODL friends and family - tickets to the 2017 WODL Festival. What could be more desirable?

GLT has pre-printed a number of "VIP Tickets" - the best seats in the house, which are available by mail without extra Box Office charges. These are 5-play packages with tickets to all five shows during festival week - March 13 to 17. Awards Gala tickets are not included. Purchase those separately from the Festival Box Office.

The Christmas Gift packages are $110 each, for all 5 shows. We have to wait until February 19 to learn which plays have been selected by the Preliminary Adjudicator, for presentation at Festival. But if you plan to attend all 5 plays, why not buy your tickets early? An invitation to the Opening Reception will also be sent to all 5-play subscribers.

Here's how to get your CHRISTMAS PACKAGES:
  • Contact us at [email protected]
     
  • You can also mail us a letter with your order to:
    • WODL 2017, Guelph Little Theatre, 176 Morris Street, Guelph ON, N1E 5M7
       
  • Don't phone, but do let us know the following:
    • Your name
    • Mailing address
    • Either your e-mail address or your phone number
    • The name and mailing address of the person to whom you wish the tickets sent as a Christmas gift. We will mail the tickets with a Greeting Card to the recipient. You may have the tickets sent to you personally if you prefer.
       
  • Send a  cheque for the total amount of your purchase. No tax. No extra charges. Send $110 for one package of seats, $220 for two packages, etc. If you are ordering by email, we will contact you to confirm that the tickets are available and the amount you need to send us.
    • Make all cheques payable to GUELPH LITTLE THEATRE.
       
  • If you have a special seating request, let us know. Centre section seats are available in Rows B, D and F. Aisle seats are also available in the centre or side sections.


It's never too early to plan for Christmas. Don't leave your purchases until December or we can't guarantee delivery. Happy New Year !!

Festival 2017 Sponsors
By Dennis Johnson, Festival 2017 Co-chair, [email protected]
On October 6, the Guelph Community Foundation announced that Guelph Little Theatre would be the recipient of a $3000 grant to help support the 2017 WODL Festival in March. We'll be using this money to pay for extensive local publicity which will promote both the Festival and the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation - Canada 150.

The 2017 WODL Theatre Festival is the first all-Canadian Festival in fifty years. Eleven member groups have been scheduled for adjudication in-Festival and all eleven plays are by Canadian authors. Preliminary Adjudicator, Lindsay Price, will be selecting five of these productions to move on to the WODL Festival in Guelph during March Break.

So we now know that all five plays chosen for Festival, will be by Canadian playwrights. This was the icing on the cake for our application for "Canada 150" funding from the Guelph Community Foundation. Their sponsorship is made possible by the Community Fund for Canada's 150th - a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada, the Government of Canada and extraordinary leaders from coast to coast to coast. Thanks to Julia Loncke, our Festival Fundraising Chair, the Festival will be a financial success.

Guelph Community Foundation aimed to distribute at least $150,000 to celebrate the sesquicentennial in Guelph. On October 6, they announced grants of $162,971. For more information, check out the GCF website at www.guelphcf.ca/CommunitybrInitiatives/Canadas150thCommunityFund.aspx
Festival 2017 Update
Tickets

Ticket Sales for Festival 2017 will be managed by the River Run Centre Box Office. Tickets will be available on line (print-at-home option), by telephone, mail or in person at the River Run Centre, 35 Woolwich Street, Guelph.

Opening Reception

Everyone who purchases a 5-play series package will receive an invitation to the Opening Reception on Monday March 13.

Awards Gala
  • All tickets for the Gala will be handled by the River Run Centre Box Office. Gala price is $55. Only 218 seats are available.
     
  • The River Run will ask you to enter a "Company Name" in your personal information before they sell you a ticket. This is the local theatre group to which you belong. This information will be used to prepare a seating plan for the Awards Gala.
     
  • Starting January 1, 2017 patrons with special menu needs may call the GALA HOT LINE at 519-835-0063 and leave a message, or you may email at [email protected]
Norm Foster Play Reading Workshop

Playwrights Guild of Canada will sponsor a Canada Council Play Reading Workshop featuring Norm Foster, tentatively scheduled for Friday March 17, 2017 at 1:30 pm in the Oakwood Ballroom at the Guelph Holiday Inn.

 
Hospitality at GLT

Ruth Connor and Pat Northey will be in charge. They are looking for community theatre groups willing to sponsor or provide lunches at the theatre for the performing group in rehearsal each day, and for the Festival crew.

Hotel Booking

Click here to check out the detailed information sheet for Hotel Room booking. You can book on line, by phone, by email or in person at the Holiday Inn, 601 Scottsdale Drive, Guelph. Always use the booking code WDL to ensure access to the special festival room rates.

 
Events at the Holiday Inn
  • Breakfast is served 6:30 am to 9:30 am every morning in the Hotel Restaurant. Cost is included in your room rate.
     
  • Detailed Adjudications in the Trillium Room start at 10:00 am Tuesday through Saturday. No refreshments will be available but you may bring your breakfast coffee/tea with you.
     
  • Hospitality in the Wellington Room is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.  Coffee, tea and snacks will be available.
     
  • Workshops take place Tuesday through Friday at 1:30 pm.
Party Room - Priory Suite
  • The late-night Party Room will be a 3-room suite on the 4 th floor of the Holiday Inn.  You may wish to request a room on the 4 th floor if you have nice pajamas.
     
  • The 3 small rooms will be equipped with sofas, tables and chairs. No beds. There will be a refrigerator for leaving edibles and drinkables in the suite.
News from Around the WODL Region
By Janice Lundy, WODL Area VP Oxford Region, [email protected]
Binbrook Little Theatre has a very exciting year planned! They will be hosting a Murder Mystery evening on Nov 26...after that.....
 
THE GOOD - The federal government, as part of the Canada 150 celebrations in 2017, has earmarked money for renovations of Memorial Hall. The City of Hamilton is contributing additional funds for a massive-scale renovation. New downstairs flooring, upgraded kitchen and bathrooms, upgraded accessibility features, and more are planned, including an elevator to the second floor. They are very excited about the improvements and look forward to unveiling it to all their members and guests.
 
THE BAD - This type of grand renovation will obviously take time. Therefore, the Board of Directors has been forced to suspend two productions in February and April 2017. Those selected productions will be inserted into the schedule in future seasons. The Board discussed the possibilities of moving to a temporary location for those shows, but decided that the logistics of such a move would be too difficult and they would not be able to mount the high-quality productions that their long-time audience had come to expect.
 
They intend on keeping their members, volunteers and audience supporters updated during the course of the renovations. The Grand Reopening Celebration will take place in the fall of 2017. 
 
Around the region in November...
 
November is always a very busy month, with most companies presenting their first show of the season. Here's a round-up of what you can see throughout the month:

Dates 
3-13               Theatre Tillsonburg : Ten Times Two
4-13                Elora Community Theatre : It's a Wonderful Life
4-11                Peninsula Players : Jake's Women  
4-19                Elmira Theatre Company : Buying the Moose Dinner Theatre
 
9-26                Owen Sound Little Theatre : White Christmas
10-19              London Community Players at Procunier Hall: Someone Who'll Watch                                over Me
10-12              Theatre Kent : Anne of Green Gables- The Musical 
11-19              Ghost Light Players : Voices of Vimy
11-20             Ingersoll Theatre of the Performing Arts (ITOPA): M*A*S*H*
 
17- Dec 3       Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre : Scrooge Macbeth
17- Dec 3       Kincardine Theatre Guild : Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor                                           Dreamcoat
17- Dec 4       Simcoe Little Theatre : A Christmas Story 
18-26             Thistle Theatre : The Nerd
18-27             Paris Performers' Theatre : The Heiress 
 
23-27             London Community Players at Procunier Hall:
               I Take Your Hand in Mine
25-Dec 3        Theatre Woodstock :  It's a Wonderful Life
25- Dec 10    Guelph Little Theatre : The Giant's Garden
25- Dec 10    Cambridge Community Players : A Dickens Christmas Carol
26                   Binbrook Little Theatre  : Murder Mystery Evening
26- Dec 10    The Player's Guild of Hamilton : To Kill a Mockingbird

Theatre Sarnia Mortgage Burning Open House - 30 November 2016
Theatre Sarnia will be hosting an open house between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Wednesday 30 November at the Imperial  Theatre, 168 Christina Street North, Sarnia, Ontario N7T 7H8.

The City of Sarnia has assisted Theatre Sarnia by providing a $600,000 interest-free loan for 20 years. The final payment will be presented to the City at 6:00 pm.

Theatre Sarnia raised funds to the tune of 1.7 million dollars in money, material and machinery. The total cost of the renovation was about 2.3 million dollars. Many local businesses and companies donated material and machinery during the construction phase.   

There will be historical photos, and a video slide show, from the theatre archives about the construction and the conversion of the old abandoned Capital Theatre to the current Imperial Theatre.

There will be some light snacks or finger food. Everyone is welcome.
Trial Adjudications at Community Theatres
By Linda Lloyd-McKenzie, WODL Theatre Ontario Liaison, [email protected]
Theatre Ontario's Adjudicator training and evaluation program includes trial adjudications at Ontario community theatres.

OVERVIEW

Community theatres that participate in the program receive:
  • A free public adjudication for the audience.
  • A free private and detailed adjudication for the theatre's members.
Community theatres that participate must provide:
  • An open and enthusiastic attitude towards adjudication and adjudication training.
  • A copy of the script (if necessary).
  • Six complimentary tickets to the trial adjudication performance for the adjudicator, the evaluators and/or Theatre Ontario staff and guests.
     
  • Space for the private, detailed adjudication.
     
  • Feedback to Theatre Ontario following the adjudication
Preference is given to community theatres that are  organization members of Theatre Ontario .

Adjudications are scheduled on a when-needed and where-needed basis. We are not able to accommodate show-specific requests for trial adjudications.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
If your theatre is interested in participating,  contact Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager, at [email protected] or call 416.408.4556 x13.

PROSPECTIVE ADJUDICATORS

If you are interested in applying to Theatre Ontario's Talent Bank as an Adjudicator, please  read more about Theatre Ontario's Talent Bank of Theatre Instructors
Theatre Ontario Workshop: Intimacy for the Stage Weekend Intensive - 12-13 November 2016

By Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager at Theatre Ontario, [email protected]
Theatre Ontario is offering a weekend intensive on Nov 12/13 in Toronto on Intimacy for the Stage. It's for performers, choreographers, directors, and stage managers who want to learn the techniques and the language to stage human sexuality in a way that is professional, dynamic and focused on storytelling.

Click here for further details of this workshop, and to register for it.
Canadian Play Map of Canada

Each month the Playwrights Guild of Canada publishes a map showing which Canadian plays are being produced and where. To see the map for November  click here.
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 Membership 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, Sue Perkins, know at  [email protected]
Dates for your Diary


19 February 2017
GM, Guelph. Finalists and out-of-Festival awards announced

13 to 18 March 2017 WODL Festival 2017, Guelph

17 to 21 May 2017 Theatre Ontario Festival 2017, Ottawa
23 July 2017 AGM, place to be decided
12 to 17 March 2018 WODL Festival 2018, Sarnia
16  to 20 May 2018 Theatre Ontario Festival 2018, London
This newsletter was prepared by:  

Tricia Ward
Communications Coordinator
WODL

Western Ontario Drama League | [email protected] | http://www.wodl.on.ca