Theatre Ontario Festival # 5: Who Gets the Hardware?

So the 2016 Theatre Ontario Festival is now history.  The legendary hospitality of the north ran at full stretch all week.  The Festival Committee from the Gateway Theatre Guild headed by Carri Johnson, Kelly Boegel, and Sally MacDonald went out of their way to ensure that we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

I don't think I've ever attended a Festival which encompassed such a widely divergent range of writing styles among the competing plays.  For me, this was the most fascinating aspect of the week!

I thoroughly enjoyed all the plays, and if I had to point out the areas for improvement in each one, well, what can I say?  That's what you get when you take a retired high school teacher and let him think he can write arts reviews!

It's been a delightful week all around, and I'm only sorry to have to say goodbye to all my friends as we take the road and head homeward.  This Festival is like a joyous family reunion which we all look forward to each year, especially those of us (and there are some from every region of the province) who are thorough-going Festival groupies.  We are the faithful who turn up every single year, whether we're involved in a competing show or not, just for the sheer joy of the experience in all its aspects!

Without further ado, then, here are the award winners:

[1]  Adjudicator's Award for Outstanding Ensemble
          Tamara Van Bakel, Nicole Wahl, and Shelly Meichenbaum in
          The Drowning Girls, Curtain Club (Richmond Hill)

[2]  Adjudicator's Award for "Cherry on Top" Curtain Call
          Dance sequence in Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[3]  Adjudicator's Award for Honest Presentation of Taboo Material
          The Company of Curved, Gateway Theatre Guild (North Bay)

[4]  Adjudicator's Award for Theme and Variations coordinated with the cast
          Dan Sonier (pianist) in 33 Variations, Theatre Sarnia

[5]  Adjudicator's Award for The 3 Cs:  Creativity, Commitment and Comedy
          Kristy Bird, Jody Ledgerwood and Anne-Marie Bouthillette as
          The Hostesses in Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[6]  Outstanding Coordinated Production (this award chosen by the Festival Stage Manager)
          Stage Manager Kaye Torrie in
          Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[7]  Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role
          Andrea Hughes Coleman as "Dr. Gertie Ladenburger" in
          33 Variations, Theatre Sarnia

[8]  Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Supporting Role
          David Hoare as "Bernard" in
          Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[9]  Outstanding Technical Achievement
          John Willcock (Master Plumber) for
          The Drowning Girls, Curtain Club (Richmond Hill)

[10]  Outstanding Visual Presentation
          The entire design team of
          Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[11]  Outstanding Performance by a Female
          Audrey Hummelen as "Dr. Katherine Brandt" in
          33 Variations, Theatre Sarnia

[12]  Outstanding Performance by a Male
          Jamie Hunt as "Robert" in
          Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

[13]  Outstanding Director
          Joan Burrows for
          The Drowning Girls, Curtain Club (Richmond Hill)

[14]  The Elsie for Outstanding Festival Production
          Boeing Boeing, Northumberland Players (Cobourg)

And that, as the say, is a wrap.  Well, almost.  I have one more personal reflection on a particular aspect of the Festival experience still to come in my final post for this event.

See you all next year, friends!