Auditions: Casting S-27 at the Toronto Fringe Festival, Intersection Theatre

Casting S-27 at the Toronto Fringe Festival
Produced by Intersection Theatre

S-27, by British playwright Sarah Grochala, won the Amnesty International Protect the Human Playwrighting Competition in 2007.

‘Sarah Grochala’s play, inspired by stories of those who survived the Khmer Rouge, is a blistering account of the things that we will do to save our own skins, and the way the human heart betrays us.’  Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, June 2009

We are still accepting submissions for the following role:

• The Man – 30+ formerly a district chief, he expects to get what he wants.

Auditions will be held Friday 20 April, and Saturday 21 April.

This is a profit share production directed by Yolanda Ferrato.

Actors familiar with working on fringe festivals, and possessing a general spirit of mucking in and taking ownership of the work are most welcome.

This year’s Toronto Fringe runs July 4-15, show dates and times will vary.

Part-time rehearsals will begin by late May, in Toronto.

Please forward CVs and headshots to yolanda.ferrato@gmail.com subject: “casting S-27”.

www.intersectiontheatre.wordpress.com

Job Posting: Summer Program Director, Toronto Youth Theatre

Toronto Youth Theatre, Toronto’s premiere performing arts company for youth, is currently seeking a talented, creative, and enthusiastic Summer Program Director for their 2012 Summer Program!

Aimed at youth aged 13-19 years, the students of Toronto Youth Theatre’s Summer Program are challenged to expand their skills of acting, singing, and dancing in an encouraging and inviting environment. Students will work alongside seasoned theatre professionals through voice, dance and acting technique classes. This musical theatre intensive culminates in the mounting of a full-scale Broadway musical production to be presented for 5 performances at the Lower Ossington Theatre! This year’s production will be Stephen Schwartz’s hit Broadway musical — Godspell! Students will emerge from our program not only honing their skills the three ‘triple threat’ disciplines (acting, singing, dancing) but with greater self-confidence, the ability to work with their peers and a greater engagement with the world around them.

RESPONSIBILITY:

• Provide mentorship, leadership and instruction for youth as theatre director
• Formulate a curriculum for the summer program in consultation with music and dance instructors
• Facilitate a program of acting / theatre workshops
• Direct, stage and oversee the production of the full Broadway musical — Godspell
• Collaborate productively, positively and efficiently with Musical Director, Choreographer, Stage Manager and technical team.
• Assist with overseeing the budget
• Must be responsible, hard-working and enthusiastic
• Maintain a professional, highly organized environment and with an attention to detail
• Actively participate in all designated meetings, rehearsals and performances.
• Work with the Artistic Director to maintain the smooth running of the program
• Attend production meetings throughout June (dates TBA)

REQUIREMENTS:

• Professional experience in the performing arts
• Relevant experience designing, delivering and leading youth theatre programs
• Experience in teaching youth drama, theatre, youth theatre, production and stage management
• Successful experience in teaching and leading acting, stage and technical aspects of theatre production – experience directing musical theatre is a must
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Ability to accept feedback / constructive criticism
• Graduates of a Performing Arts training program preferred

COMPENSATION
$3200

CONTRACT DATES
Monday to Friday, July 2nd-28th (9am-5pm)
Evenings, July 23rd-28th (5pm-10pm)
Production Meetings through June and July (Times and dates TBA)

HOW TO APPLY
Please forward your cover letter and resume with “Summer Program Director” in the subject line to:
neil@torontoyouththeatre.org. Please be familiar with “Godspell” in preparation to the interview. Not all applicants will be contacted for an interview. Applications will be accepted up to May 1, 2012.

ABOUT US
Since 2005, the Toronto Youth Theatre has been producing the very highest quality youth theatre productions. The fundamental goal of the TYT is to assist in the personal, cultural, and social development of young people through the practice of theatre – empowering them to develop their own artistic voice under the mentorship of professional artists and educators.

Students that have been involved with Toronto Youth Theatre are currently enrolled in top college theatre programs, including Sheridan College, York University, University of Toronto, Brown University, University of Michigan and Boston Conservatory.

Toronto Youth Theatre is a registered charity, relying on the support of the community to change the lives of Toronto youth in theatre.

Event: Activist Performance in/and Canada, York University

York University’s first Graduate Symposium in Performance Studies hosted by the Department of Theatre is taking place on 12 April 2012. This free symposium is titled Activist Performance in/and Canada and features scholars, artists, and activists presenting pieces that focus on the intersections of performance and social engagement. If you have and questions or would like any further information, please visit our website at activistperformanceyork.wordpress.com, or email activist.performance.york@gmail.com.

Activist Performance in/and Canada
Graduate Symposium Hosted by York University

12 April 2012
Accolade East, York University
4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3

Thursday 12 April

• 8:30            Morning Coffee and Registration
• 9:00    Opening Comments, Keynote address by Catherine Graham, McMaster University

10:15     Session 1

Panel – Room 207

Women, Theatre, and Feminist Activism in Canada at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Organized by Kim Bird, York University
Panelists:

Lauren Orav, York University
Rachel Dowzansky, York University
Aaron Cappe, York University
Hannah Erickson, York University
Jade Nauman, York University

Panel – Room 209

Embodied Activisms in National Politics
Presenters

Lauren Fournier, Simon Fraser University
“Performing Activist Narratives: Embodiment, Subjectivity, and Civic
Engagement in Canadian Environmental Movements

Jay Heisler, St. Paul University
“Protest as Propaganda: Examples from Burma and Iran”

Helene Vosters, York University
“Towards a Poetics of Shared Vulnerability: Re-Imagining Canadian Military Memory     Projects”

11:45    Catered Lunch Break

1:00     Session 2

Panel – Room 207

Disability Narratives, Performance and Institutions: Negotiating Critical Approaches to Self-Advocacy, Activism, and Collaborative Practice
Panelists:

Joshua Palmer, Compass
Romeo Pierre, Compass
Isabel Mackenzie Lay, Compass Drop-In Coordinator, reachOUT
Onyinyechukwu Udegbe, sprOUT Project Coordinator, Community Connections and     reachOUT
Tess Vo, Supervisor, reachOUT
Rainbow Hunt, Compass

Workshop – Room 209

El Che, VIve! Ripping Up “Collage Theatre”
Presented by Tristan Castro Pozo, George Brown College

2:30    Break

2:45    Session 3

Panel – Room 207

Proclaiming the Self: Activisms, Activations, and Assertions of Difference
Presenters

Catherine Bernardi, McMaster University
“Outreach or Activism?: Artists as Social Actors in Toronto”

Karen Kugelmass, York University
“In/visibility in performances of disability: the beginning of a dissertation”

Shannon Roszell, York University
“Disclosure as Activism: Depression, Dogs, and Dialogue”

Workshop – Room 209

Tools, Techniques, and Games for Creating Verbatim and Documentary Theatre
Presented by Liza Balkan, Window Collective

4:15    Break

4:30    Session 4

Workshop – Room 207

Sing. Chant. Speak. Repeat: Considering the Sounds of Occupy Toronto
Presented by Lane Yale Zisman Newman, Ryerson University

Performance – Room 209

“Straight Talk”
Presented by Kim McLeod, York University, and Dave Messer, Independent Artist

Call for Submissions: Last Call for Nominations for the Toronto Arts Foundation 2012 Awards, Toronto Arts Foundation

Toronto Arts Foundation (TAF) invites you to submit nominations for the 2012 Arts Awards by the April 12th deadline. From emerging to well-established artists, and arts administrators to partrons, these awards often bring into the spotlight extraordinary talent, skill, innovation and generosity that has never before been widely recognized.

Last year’s Emerging Artist Award went to Adam Garnet-Jones, introducing to many this young and outstanding film maker whose work brings into focus aboriginal and queer identity. Awards also went to percussion virtuoso Trichy Sankaran, a world master of Indian Karnatak music and a professor at York University; Jane Marsland, a freelance consultant in the arts with a long history of arts management; Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, a modern dance repertory company of dancers under 20 years of age, and the TD Bank Group, who were recognized for their outstanding support of the arts in Toronto.

Five very different awards in total celebrate artists, cultural professionals and arts supporters from every creative discipline. In addition to a total of $41,500 in cash prizes, all recipients will receive an original work of art by a Toronto artist commissioned by Toronto Arts Foundation. All finalists will also receive a professional portrait by Denise Grant Photography, and be featured in the Finalist Portrait Series.

This year, the Arts Awards Lunch will be taking place at the beginning of summer on June 21st, 2012. This gala event previously occurred in the fall, so please note the early call to submit your nomination:

The deadline for nominations is Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 5 pm.

Nomination forms, criteria and awards adjudication policies for the 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards are available here.

AWARD CATEGORIES
Three finalists will be chosen for each of the five 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards

• Arts for Youth Award – a $15,000 cash prize established in 2007 by Martha Burns, Jim Fleck and Jim Pitblado, this award celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging Toronto youth in the arts. In addition, finalists will receive $2,000 each. This Finalist Award was established in 2010 through the generous donation of Diana Bennett and Spencer Lanthier.
• The Toronto Arts and Business Award – celebrates a local business which has made an important contribution to the arts in Toronto through innovative, transformative and entrepreneurial partnerships. Established in 2006, this award is presented in partnership with Business for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Foundation. 
• RBC Emerging Artist Award – a $7,500 cash prize presented to an emerging Toronto artist working in any discipline in celebration of current accomplishments and future potential. In addition, finalists will receive $1,000 each. Established in 2006 by RBC Foundation, this award is intended to support the development or completion of new work.
• Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition – a $10,000 cash prize presented to an individual, ensemble or organization to recognize creative, performing, administrative, volunteer or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life. This award was established by the Volunteer Committee of Roy Thomson Hall in 1984 to recognize and thank the community that supported the conception, building and establishment of the new concert hall. In 2002, the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall asked the TAF to manage the award.
• William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto’s Cultural Life – a $5,000 cash prize presented to an individual performer, teacher, administrator or creator in any arts discipline, including architecture and design, whose work is a celebration of life through the arts in Toronto. Established in 1996, this award is funded through an endowment made possible by private donors who wished to celebrate and remember the life of William Kilbourn who died in 1995. Kilbourn was a writer and teacher who spent seven years as a member of Toronto City Council, and served as Toronto Arts Council president from 1982 to 1984.

The winner and two finalists for each award are selected by an arts saavy, multi-disciplinary jury comprised of practitioners, organizers, programmers, producers, curators and critics.  Jury members are each chosen for their contribution of expertise, sense of history, unique perspective and range of experience.  The jury will review candidate profiles and make a recipient recommendation for each award to Toronto Arts Foundation Board of Directors, who will make final determinations.

Winners of the 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards will be announced on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at the Arts Awards Lunch Gala celebration.

NOMINATION FORMS may be downloaded from the Toronto Arts Foundation website here.

Toronto Arts Foundation exists to provide the creative opportunity for donors to support the arts in Toronto. TAF believes that a great city demands great art, and by supporting, celebrating, financing and advocating for Toronto’s local artists, we’re improving the quality of life of all Torontonians.  Although separate entities, the Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation benefit by being run as sister organizations, ensuring close contact with the arts sector in Toronto and an ongoing awareness of activities and needs throughout the community. For more information on the awards and the work of the Toronto Arts Foundation, please visit www.torontoarts.org/awards.html