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(Ottawa, Ontario) – Kanata Theatre’s production of Over the
River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro has received the
‘Best Play’ award at the annual Eastern Ontario Drama League
(EODL) Spring Festival, which the west-end Ottawa group
hosted this past week at its Ron Maslin Playhouse. Winning
the Festival’s top prize means the group will now move on to
represent Eastern Ontario at the province-wide Ontario Drama
League Festival to be held May 18th to 23rd in Sault Ste
Marie.
“Community theatre is thriving in Eastern Ontario! And
hosting the EODL’s festival was a wonderful way for Kanata
Theatre to celebrate its 35th anniversary,” said Kanata
Theatre President Gwen Knight. “Winning the festival’s
highest honour is testament to the quality of theatre for
which our group has strived since its earliest days and
makes our members’ hard work of hosting the Festival all the
more rewarding.”
The Eastern Ontario Drama League is an umbrella group
bringing together over 25 community theatre groups in the
region. Each spring the EODL holds a full length play
festival presenting some of the region’s best community
theatre being staged that year. Each play is professionally
adjudicated – this year by acclaimed Canadian playwright
Allan Stratton – giving the companies a chance to exchange
with members of other theatre groups and learn from the
experience as well.
In addition to Kanata Theatre’s production of Over the River
and Through the Woods, three productions from across the
region qualified for this year’s festival. Domino Theatre of
Kingston produced Brian Friel’s The Freedom of the City;
Peterborough Theatre Guild presented The Dresser by Ronald
Harwood and Highlands Little Theatre from Haliburton staged
Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce.
In addition to Best Play, Kanata Theatre members garnered
multiple acting awards, including Stewart Wheeler for "Best
Actor in a Major Role", Mary Holmes and Jim Holmes for
"Acting Excellence - Female", and "Acting Excellence" -
Male. Rosemary Keneford of Kanata Theatre picked up the
"Best Director" award.
Other awards were presented to Domino Theatre, Kingston for
"Best Visual Presentation", "Best Cameo", and "Best Actress
in a Major Role". Peterborough Theatre Guild won for: ""Best
Costumes", and "Best Set Design", and Haliburton Little
Theatre won special adjudicator's awards for "Set Design".
Kanata Theatre's next production "Out of Sight...Out of
Murder", a comedy mystery runs from May 25th to June 5th,
2004. |
