Ontario Theatre Festivals

Theatre Ontario Festival is the annual presentation of the best productions in Ontario from regional community theatre festivals.  It's also an excellent learning experience with workshops, adjudications, and play readings by different writers.

Theater festivals of Ontario are an invigorating pleasure, like tasting the vintage fruit of the region's renowned vineyards. There's no language barrier, the beauty of the facilities is only surpassed by the quaint villages wherein they stand, and the exchange rate between different currencies like dollars is licensed. Lineup is particularly tempting.

The Ontario festival, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, goes full throttle in May; then a new event, the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, happens in Ottawa, celebrating contemporary Canadian stage works in the capital city. To take this wide variety of entertainment and subject matter and interpret it along common themes and achievements experienced theatre professionals to assume the roles of adjudicators. These adjudicators bring their wealth of experience and talent in reviewing and analyzing each of the productions that has been entered into the festival for consideration. They provide their feedback to the presenting group, as well as their insights on how well the groups achieved and the playwright's objectives for the play in question. The adjudication process is intended to take place in an open forum with the adjudicator and the production's cast and crew as equals and where a positive exchange of observations, questions and suggestions are possible.

In addition to providing the educational experience to each participating member group, adjudicators are also asked to note and select candidates in a number of categories, who in their view demonstrated exceptional achievement and warrant further recognition and celebration. Spectators from seven provinces and several states come together for this outdoor festival to celebrate people, art, food and music. The festival concerts are held at varying venues throughout Stratford including the Music Barge, Mozart Cafe, Knox Church and many more.