Announcement: New Summer 5 Star Experiences Launched, TAPA

TAPA’s Top-Value Theatre Packages partner with Toronto’s favourite theatres and restaurants to offer unbeatable entertainment savings!

TORONTO – The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is excited to announce the Summer 2008 line-up of their 5 Star Experience packages. The 5 Star Experience offers unbeatable entertainment value partnering Toronto’s favourite theatres, restaurants and attractions. The components of the 5 Star Experience may be redeemed in one evening or over the entire summer.

The Summer 2008 5 Star Experiences are:

BARREL OF LAUGHS COMEDY PACKAGE

1 Show + 1 Restaurant + 1 Bonus Attraction for only $49.95!
Tickle your funny bone with this popular comedy package! Laugh ‘til your belly hurts with THE SECOND CITY’s mainstage comedy, enjoy a three-course dinner at THE RED TOMATO, and – as an added bonus – take a tour and tasting at THE STEAMWHISTLE BREWERY for one fun – filled experience!

SOULPEPPER THEATRE PACKAGE
1 Show + 1 Restaurant for only $75!
Make a date with Toronto’s finest classical theatre company and one of the city’s favourite dining hotspots! Choose from one of three plays (The Way of the World, Black Comedy + The Real Inspector Hound, and Ring Round the Moon) performed by the acclaimed SOULPEPPER THEATRE COMPANY in the Historic Distillery District, and enjoy a prix-fix dinner at the popular HOT HOUSE CAFÉ in Old Toronto.

SUMMER FESTIVAL PACKAGE
1 Festival Pass + 1 Restaurant from $50 to $65
Summertime is Festival Time! Choose from either the FRINGE 5 – PLAY PASS (Valid July 2 – 13) or the SUMMERWORKS 3 PLAY – PASS (Valid August 7 – 17), and enjoy dinner at a favourite theatre haunt, THE EPICURE CAFÉ, close to the festival action. This package is available exclusively
IN – PERSON at the T.O.TIX Booth in Yonge-Dundas Square

5 Star Experiences go on sale July 1, 2008, and are sold in person at T.O.TIX – Toronto’s One-Stop Ticket Shop at Yonge-Dundas Square, or online at http://www.totix.ca.

Go Live Toronto:
The 5 Star Experience is a component of TAPA’s Go Live Toronto campaign. Go Live Toronto is a citywide marketing campaign designed to increase public awareness of theatre, dance and opera, energize the youth demographic and engage a wider audience. Go Live Toronto is a call to action to the people of Toronto encouraging them to “go live” and experience some of the award-winning work that is consistently presented on Toronto stages.

Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts:
The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts is an arts service organization that represents nearly 200 professional theatre, dance and opera companies in the City of Toronto and works to create an environment in which the performing arts may flourish and maintain its leadership role in the vitality and liveability of the City of Toronto.

Among the programs and services provided by TAPA are: the T.O. TIX Booth—Toronto’s One-Stop Ticket Shop at Yonge-Dundas Square and online at http://www.totix.ca; the Dora Mavor Moore Awards; the Go Live Theatre Guide with current listings for theatre, dance and opera performances; http://www.goliveto.ca featuring comprehensive show listings; The City Special, sponsored by TD Bank Financial Group and the city of Toronto, offering free performing arts tickets to at risk communities; hipTIX, offering $5.00 tickets to students between the ages of 15 and 25; 5 Star Experience, unique and affordable theatre packages; and the Commercial Theatre Development Fund.

For more information visit www.tapa.ca.

Job Posting: Head of Wardrobe, Brock University

Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Ontario
Posted: June 18, 2008
Deadline: Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Start date: ASAP

Competition number: #AP 26/2008

Employer profile:
Department of Dramatic Arts, School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University

Duties:
Reporting to the Production Manager and to the Chair of Dramatic Arts, your primary responsibility will be to provide wardrobe, including wigs and props, for departmental production activity, including two mainstage productions, various course outcomes, and off-campus outreach activities.

In addition to participating in the overall operation of the department, you will support the teaching of wardrobe by instruction or lab demonstration where necessary as well as maintain and catalogue the wardrobe and properties inventory, and coordinate the borrowing and lending of costumes and properties.

Qualifications:
The successful candidate will possess a University degree with specialization in theatre or equivalent experience in a professional theatre combined with 3 – 5 years of related experience in professional theatre production, including demonstrated skill in wardrobe construction and related duties. Instruction experience in a post secondary environment is an asset.

Additional information:
See the entire text of the posting #AP 26/2008 and apply here:
www.brocku.ca/hr/careers/position_detail.php?id=528

For more information, please contact the Chair, Marlene Moser at mmoser at brocku.ca

Call for Submissions: HATCH, Harbourfront Centre

An Open Call for Artist Proposals 
HATCH: emerging performance projects at Harbourfront Centre

Deadline for Proposals: June 27, 2008

 TORONTO, May 6, 2008

Harbourfront Centre is pleased to announce an Open Call for proposals from Toronto-area artists and companies working in the field of performance for HATCH: emerging performance projects for the 2008/2009 series. Companies and artists selected to participate in HATCH will receive a one-week residency in Harbourfront Centre’s Studio Theatre. 

HATCH is designed to incubate and foster invention and innovation in the local theatre and performance landscape.

Entering its sixth year, this programme has become an important element in the milieu of local performance development. Full criteria, qualification information and instructions for applicants can be found at www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whoweare/submissions/hatch.cfm or phone 416-952-7969.
While the primary focus of HATCH has traditionally been on projects from emerging theatre artists, Harbourfront Centre also invites proposals from established artists engaging in new collaborations or entering into new artistic territory, as well as proposals within dance or interdisciplinary performance. Of particular interest are proposals that can demonstrate how HATCH will benefit the project or the artist during this stage of development.

Please mail proposals to:

HATCH Proposals 
c/o Laura Nanni, Artistic Associate 
Interim Artist and Community Development Coordinator
 Performing Arts, Harbourfront Centre
 235 Queens Quay West
 Toronto, ON M5J 2G8
Sorry, applications by fax or email are not accepted.

Audition: ARAS Theatre Companies, Avenue Road Arts School

Book an audition for one of the ARAS Theatre Companies!

The ARAS theatre programs offer young acting enthusiasts an opportunity to learn theatre skills at an advanced level with a focus on a semi-professional work ethic.

Choose from ARAS Musical Theatre Company Junior (Gr. 4-7) or Senior (Gr. 8-12) in which students have the opportunity to develop their singing, movement, improvisation and character development techniques. Or our ARAS Young Drama Company (Gr. 5-9) which gives young actors the skills necessary to perform on stage and be part of a theatre company.

Each class will showcase their talents at a mid-year and end of year performance at a professional theatre venue.

For more information or to book an audition please contact Kristina at 416-961-1502 ext. 302 or visit our website at www.avenueroadartsschool.com.

Audition: Wit, Alumnae Theatre Company

This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a woman who discovers the value of love and human kindness is the story of Professor Vivian Bearing, a John Donne scholar, who has terminal ovarian cancer and finds her own humanity in her mortality. It’s a play about the search for love and knowledge — a story told with humour, honesty and wit.

AUDITION DATES

• Sunday, June 22nd 2:30 – 6:30pm
• Tuesday, June 24th 6:00 – 10:00pm
• Sunday, June 29th 2:30 – 6:30pm

Callbacks will be held in July, dates TBD

PREPARATION

Please prepare a short contemporary monologue and be prepared to read from the script. Please bring a photo and résumé to the audition. Copies of the script are available at Theatre Ontario and at the Toronto Reference Library (5th Floor, Performing Arts Desk)

ROLES

• Vivian Bearing Late 40s, early 50s: PH.D, a University Professor of 17th century poetry specializing in the works of John Donne
• Harvey Kelekian Late 40s or 50s: M.D., Chief of Medical Oncology, University Hospital
• Jason Posner M.D. Late 20s, early 30s: Clinical Fellow in Medical Oncology
• Susie Monahan Late 20s, 30s: R.N., Primary Nurse, Cancer Inpatient Unit
• E.M. Ashford 60’s – 80s: PH.D, she is Professor Emerita of English Literature and Vivian’s mentor
• Mr. Bearing Late 40s or 50s, Vivian’s father (to double with Dr. Kelekian)
• Ensemble 4 actors in their 20s or 30s to play multiple speaking roles of lab technicians, clinical fellows, students and the code team

TO BOOK AN AUDITION

Please email Tabitha Keast at tabithakeast@sympatico.ca or call 416-364-4170 (press 3 for the audition hotline)

Auditions will be held at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. (SW corner of Berkeley and Adelaide) www.alumnaetheatre.com

Volunteer: Canstage TD Dream In High Park, The Canadian Stage Company

The CanStage TD Dream In High Park is looking for 50 volunteers to help with this season’s production.

The Two Final Volunteer Recruitment Sessions are :

• Monday June 16th at 6:00 pm at The Berkeley Street Theatre, (26 Berkeley St. S of Front St) or
• Sunday, June 22nd, 12pm Noon in High Park (Meet at High Park subway station at noon)

Bring one snack for yourself and one for another person. There will be a Learning Series Event beforehand and training afterwards

If you would like to volunteer please contact Raphael Roter Volunteer Coordinator for CanStage TD Dream In High Park at rroter@canstage.com or by phone at 416 367.8243 ex 218.

www.canstage.com

Event: Rush Tickets for Luminato at the T.O. TIX Booth

The T.O. TIX Booth Proudly Offers Community Rush Tickets for Luminato!

A limited number of tickets for all performances* will be available for $20 per ticket from the Festival Box Office at the T.O. TIX Booth in Yonge-Dundas Square. Tickets only available the day of the performance beginning at noon and continue until all Community Rush tickets have been sold or until 4:00 p.m. (whichever occurs first). Cash only, limited to two tickets per person.

*Available for all ticketed public performances which have a ticket price over $20 (except Sanctuary Song).

Come on down to the booth and enjoy the Luminato festivities at Yonge-Dundas square!

Hope to see you there.

www.luminato.com/festival/eng/

Workshop: 15 Hour Acting Workshop, Theatre Smith-Gilmour

Michele Smith and Dean Gilmour are offering a 5 day workshop exploring 
”the freedom and naivete of play that is the source of all the work we do.” Their work is rooted in the search to mobilize the actor’s imagination within the space. 
”What is most important to us, as creators, is to be free.”

The workshop is 15 hours: Monday June 9 2008 to Friday June 13 2008 from 10am – 1pm each day.
COST
: $30 Registration Fee, no other fees required.
LOCATION:
 Pia Bouman School of Dance
, 5 Noble Street
, Toronto, ON

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Saturday June 7 2008
 by phone: 416 526 0023
 or email: gilmour@pathcom.com

Theatre Smith-Gilmour (www.theatresmithgilmour.com) is an artistically driven professional theatre company. We are committed to creating theatre developed through an artistic process that gives expression and dignity to people’s imaginations and fantasies; that communicates to audiences stories of personal and universal meaning with a compassionate vision of the human condition.

Call for Submissions: 2008-2009 BASH! Artist Development Program, The Canadian Stage Company

The Canadian Stage Company is pleased to announce a call for submissions to its third annual BASH! Artist Development Program for the 2008-2009 Season. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2008.

BASH! is a program for professional theatre artists that explores strategies and approaches to contemporary performance practice, production and administration in a national and international context, and provides artists the opportunity to examine their own work and vision with the support of other dynamic perspectives. The program is ideally suited for creators who have experience producing work, and would like to push their practice to the next level. Participants must be interested in engaging with other artists, audience members and the theatre community to further the art form. BASH! artists spend the season with The Canadian Stage Company, meeting on a regular basis in think-tank sessions discussing current projects, challenges and national issues, and are often joined by guest artists and the Canadian Stage Company’s artistic, production and administrative teams. A total of eight artists will be selected to be part of this unique program.
BASH!

• To have an impact
• A vigorous collision of ideas or objects
• To produce rapidly
• An uproarious party
• To have a bash: To try an activity that you have not tried before

Participants will:

• Receive a fee towards the development and presentation of an artistic project.
• Attend bi-weekly Conversations at The Canadian Stage Company, which include think-tank sessions with BASH! members, and members of The Canadian Stage Company artistic, production and administrative teams.
• Attend Canadian Stage Company productions, rehearsals and events.
• Be mentored by a senior artist, capable of speaking to the individual’s professional needs and goals.
• Likewise mentor an emerging theatre artist from our Gymnasium program.
• Have the opportunity to participate in Education and Audience Development Programs.
• Attend the professional work of the other BASH! artists, and invite BASH! artists to a performance or showing of their own work.
• Participate in two field trips, to be determined.
• Participate in two BASH! Classes, on subjects of the groups’ choosing.

Participation in this unique program is FREE, however, it requires a substantial time commitment. The season commences September 2008 and continues to May 2009.

The Ideal Candidate is:

• An arts professional who has experience creating and producing performance-based work. BASH! is open to multidisciplinary artists.
• Interested in the work and producing practices of The Canadian Stage Company (Canada’s largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre company) which includes the development and production of new Canadian plays and modern classics from the international repertoire, and the marketing, development and operational challenges of a large theatre.
• Eager to engage in a vigorous exchange with BASH! artists, Canadian Stage Company professionals and members of the Canadian theatre community in the examination of current performance and production practice.

Former BASH! artists include:

• Gideon Arthurs (producer and director); Laura Bolton (dancer and musician); Lauren Brotman (performer, writer and producer); Anna Chatterton (performer, playwright and librettist); Lisa Codrington (performer and writer);
• Spy Dénommé-Welch (multi-disciplinary artist and scholar);
• Chris Dupuis (interdisciplinary artist working with performance, text and video);
• André du Toit (producer, director, designer and writer);
• Karen Gilodo (dramaturg and arts educator);
• Brendan Healy (director);
• Njo Kong Kie (pianist, music director and composer);
• Ravi Jain (performer, director and producer);
• Scott Lale (artistic director and executive producer);
• Adam Lazarus (performer, director and instructor);
• Mitchell Marcus (producer and freelance arts administrator);
• Lisa Pijuan-Nomura (multi-disciplinary artist);
• Katherine Sanders (performer, writer and producer);
• Erin Shields (playwright and performer);
• Rebecca Singh (performer);
• Kwame Stephens (writer);
• Lindsay C. Walker (set and costume designer);
• Norman Lup-Man Yeung (theatre, film, and visual artist);
• Jacob Zimmer (dramaturge for dance, writer, performer and artistic director).

BASH! ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
INTERESTED APPLICANTS PLEASE SUBMIT:

A COVER LETTER WHICH ADDRESSES:

• How you think this experience will impact you or help you reach your career goals.
• The experience/perspective you would like to share with other participants and The Canadian Stage Company.
• The project you are currently working on that you would like to develop with additional support from The Canadian Stage Company.

A ONE-PAGE RESPONSE TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• What is the role of the artist in Canada?
• How would you address the greatest challenge for Canadian Theatre?
• How do you see creation and performance practice evolving?

A CV AND HEADSHOT

APPLICATIONS CAN BE DROPPED OFF OR MAILED TO:
BASH!
THE CANADIAN STAGE COMPANY
26 BERKELEY STREET
TORONTO, ON
M5A 2W3

DEADLINE: 5 P.M. ON TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2008
Applications must be received by this date. No exceptions.
Selected candidates will be contacted for an interview by July 15, 2008.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT BASH! PROGRAM DIRECTOR NATASHA MYTNOWYCH
AT 416-367-8243 X277 OR nmytnowych@canstage.com

Job Posting: Dance Officer, Toronto Arts Council

Position: Dance Officer Term: one-year contract until June 30, 2009 Classification: part-time

Toronto Arts Council is an arm’s length body of the City of Toronto that supports the development, accessibility and excellence of the arts in Toronto. On behalf of the City of Toronto, Toronto Arts Council offers grants programs to the city’s arts organizations and professional artists.

The Dance Officer is responsible for the management of the Dance programs which include operating grants for organizations and project grants for individuals, organizations and collectives. In addition to program management, grants officers facilitate the work of TAC standing committees and provide information services and support to the arts community.

Responsibilities include:

• Delivering grant programs.
• Managing and facilitating the peer assessment adjudication process.
• Providing guidance and support to applicants.

This position requires exceptional oral and written communication skills and solid analytical abilities. The successful candidate will be familiar with Toronto’s diverse dance community and the issues facing its members. Experience with the granting process would be an asset.

The successful candidate will be proficient with Windows-based software (Word, Excel, Filemaker) and will be capable of working collaboratively within a small office environment. Flexibility regarding work hours is a requirement.

Toronto Arts Council is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in its employment. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Interested individuals should submit their resume and a covering letter by June 20, 2008 to:

Beth Reynolds,
Director of Grants
Toronto Arts Council
141 Bathurst Street
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2R2
Fax: 416-392-6920
beth@torontoartscouncil.org