All Muskoka’s a stage

MUSKOKA — Theatre is alive and thriving in Muskoka.
The region features a diverse group of production companies, both professional and amateur, with plans for shows that run the gamut from Shakespeare to Noel Coward. In fact, there’s so much live theatre taking place now that some professionals are wondering if the audience isn’t being spread a bit too thin.
This summer, along with productions at places like the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville, the Gravenhurst Opera House and the Rene M. Caisse Theatre in Bracebridge, art patrons will be able to see shows under the stars with PRISM Theatre In The Park and in Bala at the New Actors’ Colony Theatre.
Eva Moore, artistic producer with the New Actors’ Colony Theatre in Bala, believes the appetite for the arts has grown in the region because the Muskoka lifestyle and theatre go so well together.
“The people who are coming to Muskoka want something to do. The theatre in particular lends itself so well to summer evenings and tie-ins with restaurants for dinner and theatre packages and drinks afterwards at the local pub,” said Moore.
This will be New Act’s second season – the company is named after the Actors Colony Theatre, which ran in Bala in the 1920s and 30s and introduced the concept of professional summer stock to Canadian audiences. The New Act team of theatre professionals has laid out an ambitious plan for four shows throughout the summer starting on July 11 and running Wednesdays through Saturdays at the Bala Curling Club.
Moore said their last season received an excellent response despite the company having a very limited promotion budget. She thinks the reason Muskoka has seen more theatre companies is due to a combination of factors that include government promotion, abundant local talent and a general love for the arts.
“People recognize that they need that kind of activity in their lives and there’s a great deal of talent around Muskoka. I think people are just recognizing if you do it they will come,” Moore said.
For a different theatre experience there’s PRISM Theatre In The Park, which this year is presenting William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Julie Larman, a representative with PRISM, believes their shows stand out for the uniqueness of the performance.
“It’s all done outside as opposed to an indoor stage,” said Larman. “People bring their own seating, lawn chairs or blankets, and it’s a nighttime performance. It’s fun, and during the summertime over a two week time period which is very short but we’re well received – people come from all over the province.”
As You Like It features the bard’s usual combination of romance, betrayal and witty prose. The amateur company is made up of performers under the age of 30.
“It’s a sort of fun frolic of misadventures that takes place between a town stage and outdoor sort of country setting,” said Larman.
You can catch As You Like It at 7 p.m. from August 8 to 11 and August 14 to 16 at Annie Williams Park in Bracebridge.
Gravenhurst, meanwhile, will see the return of dinner theatre as Dragonfly Theatre Company returns for another season. The amateur company is presenting three shows this season, with performances of Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels May 18, 19, 25 and 26, and performances of both Fallen Angels and Kindly Leave the Stage in July.
Shows are performed at the Gravenhurst Opera House, and feature catering by Riverwalk Restaurant.
While the recent explosion of live theatre options has been positive for theatre audiences it isn’t considered a good thing by everyone in the Muskoka theatre scene.
Vince Gritanni, Founder of the Muskoka Theatre Project, said his group has decided not to run any shows this year and are instead planning for projects in 2013.
The Muskoka Theatre Project was launched in 2001, and presented original, professional productions in a range of Muskoka venues before entering a brief hiatus.
“We’re a phoenix that’s rising from the ashes,” said Grittani. “You have to be different and rise above them so we decided to suspend and regroup. We need to go back to our roots of original theatre that used to be seen in Muskoka and basically give something that isn’t being seen in Ontario. That’s what we’re doing.”
Grittani believes that the region’s theatre movement has drastically changed in the last few years. He said it’s at the point where there is so much competition it’s become difficult to generate a consistent, sizable audience.
The Muskoka Theatre Project future plans are to produce shows that will draw an audience from well outside of the region.
“You need to give a product you can’t see anywhere else that has quality. When people say ‘oh why don’t you do this?’ I say, would you drive two-and-a-half-hours to see this? Is it unique?” Grittani said.

Small - Large
|
Print
|
Email
|
|