Comments from John Lazarus at the 2009 One-Act Play Awards Luncheon
EODL ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL AWARDS PRESENTATIONHosted by Studio Theatre Productions, Perth
November 15, 2009 Adjudicator John Lazarus This Festival has been a treat. It has been remarkably well run, by Jeremy Dutton, Renata Seiler, Roberta Peets, my escort Rob Umpherson, and the rest of the committee. Smooth as cream cheese on Mylar. There were a couple of features that struck me that I’d like to comment on. First, I’d like to tell you about the most motivational piece of writing I’ve ever read. In 1973, the Vancouver Playhouse production of George Ryga’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe opened in Washington, D.C. Since nobody in the U.S. had ever seen a Canadian play, the New York Times sent one of their drama critics, Julius Novick.
He wrote:
‘Canadian Playwright.’ The words seem a little incongruous together, like ‘Panamanian hockeyplayer,’ almost, or ‘Lebanese fur-trapper’.I cut that out and taped that to my typewriter. It kept me angry for a good long time, and helped motivate me to become a Canadian playwright. Well, those days are gone. I said this last night, but it’s worth repeating: Out of nine plays in this festival, six are Canadian: three by two established playwrights, and the other three original pieces by members of the companies, all of whom then also participated in the plays, two by acting and one by directing. This represents, almost literally, a dream come true. The second thing I noticed, perhaps connected to the first, is an evolution of sophistication. I don’t want to make too much of this, but I’m heartened by the existence of Toto Too Theatre. These are exciting times in professional theatre, with all kinds of explorations of gender, ethnicity, politics and spirituality going on. I see Toto Too as a sign of enormous potential in bringing more of that kind of exploration into community theatre. Generally speaking, I thought this was a very sophisticated festival. Don’t mean to sound condescending, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be sophisticated – we’re all sophisticated people – but community theatre sometimes has the stereotype of being rather strait-laced and out of date, and I know that you’re often up against a lot of pressures from factions in your communities. However, what with productions like The Soldier Dreams, Deliver’d from NoWhere, and Ruby of Elsinore, you guys are proving the stereotype itself to be hopelessly out of date. Now we come to the hard part. Last night it started to feel as though I was deciding who does not get awards today. If you think you should have got an award, and you didn’t, you’re probably right. A couple of years ago I was doing a Sears high-school festival, and I said, “If you think you should have got one and you didn’t, phone me” – and I gave out my phone number. Big mistake. Don’t phone me.2 Peterborough Examiner Award for Best Visual Production – For combined use of setting, signage, lighting and silhouette acting - Worth It, Dundas County Players and Shoestring Productions, Mountain. Helen R. McGregor Award (Adjudicator’s) – I thought about dividing this award among three participants, but then decided to stop being so precious about it and to honour the spirit of competition. However, the Nominees for this award are Tim Ginley and R. Keith Smith. The winner, for representing a welcome trend in community theatre of presenting new, original work, and also for writing a hell of a good script, is Moira Law, author of Worth It, Dundas County Players and Shoestring Productions, Mountain. Peterborough Theatre Guild Award (Adjudicator’s) – For a very funny performance, and for successfully fooling the Adjudicator and, I hope, other audience members, by means of a triumphant, sustained, masterful feat of what I’ll politely call gender bending – Michael DeWolfe as Ruby in Ruby of Elsinore, Vagabond Theatre, Cornwall. I should add, there were no other nominees in this category! Colin Mawson Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Student – This was close. The nominee is Aaron Beaudette, for his performance as Claudius in Ruby of Elsinore. However, the winner, for his backstage work as ASM, Sound Operator, and, I hear, supportive son of the Stage Manager, is Josh Lueck in Mrs. C., You’ve Got a Lovely Scar, Peterborough Theatre Guild. Nancy Chajkowski Memorial Award for Costume Design – The nominee is uncredited: whoever created the costumes for Ruby of Elsinore. The winner, for two simple costumes that told us most of what we needed to know about the ladies wearing them – Monica Cleland, Barb McDerby and Cathie Raina, in Roommates, Kemptville Players Inc. Now we come to the four awards for acting. In the area of acting, as in most areas here, there were too many good performances and not enough awards. I started a list of nominees, but it got silly. I started to worry that those who were going to feel singled out would be those who did not receive nominations. So forgive me, but I’m not going to list all the nominees in these categories. I singled out these winners as representative of a great many more. Belleville Theatre Award for Acting – For a subtle and sensitive comic performance as an unsubtle and insensitive actor, who at least enters with conviction, Ian Stauffer in This is a Play, More Theatre, Manotick. Mae Carmichael Award for Acting – For another paradoxical achievement: a graceful portrayal of awkwardness, in a character who is buoyed up by her dreams, Kate McDonough in Ladies of the Mop, Valley Players of Almonte. Pauline Grant Award for Acting – For a cheerful and exuberant performance that sparkled, literally and figuratively, Joanna McAuley as Nola in Would You Like a Cup of Tea?, Studio Theatre Productions, Perth. Nepean Little Theatre Award for Acting – For a nuanced, multi-leveled, perceptive portrayal of a man desperately trying to do and say the right thing in a difficult situation, Ken Godmere as Sam in The Soldier Dreams, Toto Too Theatre, Ottawa. Penny Arril Award (Adjudicator’s) – I wanted to honour this production, but I couldn’t find a category to honour it in, because what makes the production so special is what’s unique and unclassifiable about it: no one contribution, but the whole thing adding up to more than the sum of its parts. So this is an adjudicator’s award for ensemble work: to the cast and crew of This is a Play, More Theatre, Manotick. Academy Theatre Foundation Award for Best Director: The best theatrical achievement by a director. Again, the nominees were just about everybody. However, two that stood out, as nominees, were Marianne Mullen for Ladies of the Mop, and Joan Sullivan Eady for This is a Play. For the winner, this was one of those productions in which each of the performances was so strong that you figure it can’t be just a coincidence. Geoff Gruson, for Deliver’d from NoWhere, Ottawa Little Theatre, Ottawa. Ottawa Little Theatre Award for Best Production: For direction, minimal but effective design, and superb ensemble acting in an emotional and complex script, The Soldier Dreams, Toto Too Theatre, Ottawa. [Brighton Barn Theatre People’s Choice Award, (announced by Lee Jourard EODL Awards Chair: a tie between This is a Play and The Soldier Dreams.
Comments from Brian van Norman at the 2008 Full-length Awards Luncheon
EODL 2008 REPORT I had a wonderful time at the somewhat curtailed EODL Festival this year; the two productions I adjudicated were both of high quality and very contemporary. The problem was, only two productions. My understanding after speaking with several members of EODL’s board, including Andy Trasuk, was that many of the original entries felt they were not ready to travel. Indeed, in a frank discussion the subject came to the formulation of the actual festival itself. The fact that the festival is hosted in one place and all potential productions must design and budget for travel is problematic. In actuality it costs a great deal in time and money for a company to prepare itself to perform in the EODL Festival. Having adjudicated through most the province, I’ve seen two models which might allow for more entries into the Festival, and also provide a number of theatre groups with an adjudication process they might never otherwise take advantage of. WODL uses the pre-festival and festival process. In pre-festival an adjudicator travels to each home venue, adjudicates both publicly and privately, and then selects the five plays destined to move to the festival itself. The WODL festival is much like EODL’s in that it takes place over a week and all productions come to one host city. I’d like to add here that over half of the WODL pre-festival productions were listed as ‘out of festival’ meaning they had no intention of travelling to the festival itself. Each ‘out of festival’ production is still eligible for a separate set of awards of distinction (24 in total) for acting, technical, design, etc. These awards are given at the Festival Awards Banquet by the pre-festival adjudicator just prior to the awards bestowed on the five competing shows in the Festival itself. The ‘out of festival’ plays in their home venues still received the advantages of adjudication though in a slightly different manner. Rather than deconstruct the plays with an eye to re-rehearsal before moving on to the Festival, the adjudications took on a much more general tone: using the play as a starting point but moving into conversations on what actors, technicians, designers or directors might consider or choose to do in the next play, or others in future. Feedback indicated that a great number of the ‘out of festival’ adjudications actually helped company members improve their craft for future shows and were accepted quite positively. ACT-CO does not even have a hosted Festival, but simply places all plays that wish to be adjudicated into their Festival and sends adjudicators out to adjudicate each of the productions in their home venues (there are three adjudicators: for comedy, drama and musicals due to the large number of productions). The entire process culminates in an Awards Gala in which awards are bestowed by the adjudicators and a single play is selected to continue to the Ontario Festival if it so chooses. If not, there are second and third alternatives who are ready to take their place. I’ll mention here that at both Awards functions, people attend in considerable numbers as awards are being bestowed and award winners often bring with them family, friends and fellow company members. The evenings also give many individuals a chance to see people they wouldn’t otherwise come across unless they travelled to see other shows (which many do). I understand that EODL does somewhat the same thing each time it hosts the Ontario Festival, but I think if EODL made this an annual event, allowing the festival to occur in home venues with a travelling adjudicator, and also permitting productions to opt ‘in’ or ‘out’ of festival many more companies might be willing to participate. The cost would be relatively minimal consisting of the adjudicator’s fee along with travel costs like mileage and food while on the road. The cost of hotels could easily be averted by billeting the adjudicator with a willing company member on the night of the adjudication. The only other cost would be in the Awards function. Currently it’s a brunch, but it would easily be turned into a Gala evening of awards and celebration of EODL, with a business meeting either that day or the next morning to deal with administrative elements, including delivery of a Report to the Board by the adjudicator. It’s unfortunate that a community the size of EODL, which must have any number of community theatres within its fold, can’t engender more participation. My hope, with this suggestion, is that it might make the process easier and more accessible for companies within EODL. Respectfully Submitted, Brian Van NormanAdjudicator, EODL 2008
Comments from Bea Quarrie at the 2009 Full-length Awards Luncheon
EODL SPRING FESTIVAL 2009Introductory Comments by Bea Quarrie, Adjudicator Ladies and Gentlemen
Why are we here today? Why do we spend years planning, months organizing, weeks making calls, days rehearsing, hours finalizing for mere minutes on stage? I am certain that each person has a personal story about how they were recruited, or coerced or had a special moment when they felt The Call to work in theatre. My experience harkens back to a very special event that happened in a refugee camp in Italy fifty years ago. On a foggy December night in 1956 my family had escaped through mine fields eluding guard dogs search lights and machine guns, walking across the border from Hungary to Austria. We were dispatched to a refugee camp first in Eisenstadt and then moved to a holding Red Cross camp in Rome Italy. At this camp of about 400 people we were lucky enough to have a dozen musicians and singers form Hungary’s National Opera House. Christmas was approaching and we had nothing- no money, no jobs and no country that would take us in. Even the Italian staff had only contempt for us Huns, calling us names, accusing us of sponging off their government. So as a hopeful gesture, the tenor’s wife decided to organize a Christmas concert. I was delegated to sing Silent night, since as a curious 11 year old, I was constantly present at all the rehearsals. The conductor, Istvan Kertesz, destined to be Von Karajan’s successor at the Berliner Philharmonic, rehearsed feverishly for weeks leading up to the Big Event. The night of the concert, I stood on stage and watched the audience as they all shuffled into the big dining hall for dinner. We had decorated the space with a donated tree bedecked with hundreds of white paper doves. We had also been given candles to light during Silent Night. As soloists, singers and instrumentalists took the stage, the Italian kitchen staff were going about loudly clearing up dishes, causing quite a din with pots and pans. Someone was dispatched to the kitchen to ask them to be quiet and that poor messenger was thrust back out of the kitchen area with a taunting call-“Barbarians!” Undaunted, the concert went on as planned. Soon the sweet aching music of a violin solo filled the room, and works by Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti soon mingled with Liszt, Brahms and Kodaly. The coloratura soprano’s rendition of Gounod’s Ave Maria left everyone breathless. One by one, I could see the kitchen staff silently sneaking out to line the walls behind the audience. By the time I had to perform they were all there, looking bewildered and filled with disbelief. Then I surrendered myself to the music and gave my all to the song. Soon people joined in and the hall rang with glorious sounds. Someone sang the national Anthem, and we all had a good cry before hugs followed as people told each other about their past Christmases. Exchanges of pleasantries took place for about an hour or so. Then, suddenly, the doors to the dining hall burst open. There stood the entire Italian kitchen staff with huge vinyl bags in hand. They mobbed the conductor, kissing him, and started giving out gifts, toys for every child in that camp. You could hear “Puccini, Verdi !” echoing as they swarmed the performers with their exuberant, joyful thanks. “Buon Natale!” Someone sang an Italian Christmas carol, which was followed by a Hungarian one. Everyone was overcome with a kind of euphoria that comes from sharing an unexpected event. I still get goose bumps when I remember that night. I knew then in my bones that I wanted to be part of that kind of experience in my future. In a place where everyone was focused on survival, on bare necessities, the obvious conclusion to be drawn from that event and events like it, is that art must be essential to life. In that camp we were without prospects, and even without basic respect, but we were not without art. Art is a part of survival; art is a part of the human spirit, an expression of who we are. Art connects us as humans, it is the way we say “I am alive and my life has meaning.” From that early childhood experience I have come to understand that the arts- in my case the visual and theatre arts- is not “entertainment”(as some media would like to relegate these forms to its Arts and Entertainment pages). It is not an elitist diversion, a luxury that gets funding from leftovers in municipal, provincial or federal budgets. It is not a disposable plaything, or a hobby or amusement- it is a basic need for human survival. People the world over have a fundamental need for a sense of order and purpose in their lives, and the arts and religion serve to meet that need. After all, our creative and spiritual being comes from the same source. Theatre, in our case amateur - for the love of it - is one of the ways in which we express feelings when we have no words of our own, a way for us to understand things with our hearts when we cannot with our minds. So why are we here? Well, we are not here to sell ourselves, although we are often asked to do so by funding bodies. The truth is we really do not have products to sell, because if we become complacent and seek simply to satisfy our sense of ease and comfort, we immediately become irrelevant and useless. We are each one of us- whether backstage or on, in the lighting booth or the carpentry shop or the ticket booth- we are engaged in a process that helps us and those round us to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well. Because if there is a future wave of wellness on this ailing, shrinking planet, if there is to be harmony and peace, equality, mutual respect and fairness, I do not expect it to come from governments, or the military, and definitely not from large corporations. If there is a future of peace for our strange species, if there is to be understanding of how invisible internal things inside us should fit together, I expect it will come from creative people the world over, the artist that is inside each one of us here today. Why else would Suzart exist? Why would two dedicated women do so much work to make theatre training happen for young people in Ottawa? Why would Tara Players go to so much searching and soul searching to maintain their Irish cultural heritage, to connect to their roots and make clearer their sense of who they are? Why would Domino Players, turfed out of their beautiful little theatre on the waterfront struggle to stay alive and relevant by producing a complex and demanding play in a space that is no more than a little black box? And Ottawa and Peterborough Little Theatres, comfortable in their exclusive theatres, why would they feel the need to test themselves, to step out of their comfort zones and enter a festival in order to clarify what is a fresh look at themselves and their work? You know, if we were paramedics, doctors and nurses in ER, we would take our work very seriously, and so would everyone else, right? Well, at 8 pm on any given night of our performances, someone could walk into our theatre with a very heavy heart, feeling disconnected and isolated, overwhelmed by life and weary in their souls. Whether they go out feeling a little restored, feeling connected and maybe even a little less burdened depends entirely on how well we do our craft. Today we are here to celebrate the fact that our work matters. It matters a great deal to all of us, to our families, to our communities and to our country. Bea Quarrie
Kemptville, ON
March 29, 2009