Association of Community Theatres - Central Ontario
Festival Information | Page updated Saturday, February 27, 2010
Festival 2009-2010
 

Every year ACT-CO presents its Theatre Festival. This event, traditionally involving over 40 theatrical productions over a six month period, is open to all ACT-CO member groups. Each group is invited to submit one or more productions. Each production entered will have one performance adjudicated by an accredited and experienced theatre professional. These adjudications are both educational and necessary for consideration of eligibility for the various awards categories.

Application information is now available. Interested groups have until Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 6:00pm to submit their entry applications.The actual schedule of adjudicated performances will be available shortly after that on this website and will be regularly updated until the start of the Festival on Monday, October 12, 2009.

In addition to the private group adjudication, there is also be a free 15-30 min public adjudication immediately following the performance to which the audience that evening is strongly encouraged to stay and listen to and hopefully learn many previously unknown insights into the play itself and theatre in general.

If you are interested in knowing more about the availability of entertaining theatre in and around the GTA, please check our show calendar page for a comprehensive listing of our other member group's current show listing's and those for upcoming 2009-10 season. If you are looking for entertaining, quality theatre in Southern Ontario, you need go no further than this calendar.

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ACT-CO 2009-10 Festival Information

ACT-CO's annual Festival season is about to begin! Festival Application Information and the entry form for the 2009-2010 ACT-CO Theatre Festival are now available. Festival packages have been sent to all member group ACT-CO contacts. Please read carefully all of the information provided in the package. If your group has not yet received your package, please contact Brandon Moore immediately so the information can be forwarded to the correct person.

To download the 2009-10 Festival information package, please click on the following links:

Please note that your group must be a paid member of ACT-CO in order to register for and participate in the ACT-CO Festival. Please contact ACT-CO Membership or go to our membership page for membership information. Please do not send membership information to the Festival Chair.

Our adjudicators for this year's Festival are:


COMEDY CATEGORY - Mark Schoenburg
DRAMA CATEGORY - Brenda Kamino
MUSICAL CATEGORY - Thom Currie


Festival Duration: The Festival will run from Monday, October 12, 2009 to Saturday, April 3, 2010 inclusive.
Festival Awards Gala: The Gala will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010
Theatre Ontario Festival: The Theatre Ontario Festival will be held in London (Ottawa) on May 19-23, 2010.

Festival Entry Deadline:The Festival entry deadline is Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 6:00pm.
Late Entry Policy: Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of the Festival Committee . An additional fee of $100.00 will be levied. Entries from non-members (including groups who have not yet renewed for 2009-2010) will not be accepted.

Please send your Festival entry to Brandon Moore at the following address:


ACT-CO Festival
c/o 347 Blue Grass Boulevard
Richmond Hill, ON 
L4C 3H3

Other Eductational Opportunities: ACT-CO continues to offer workshops on technical, artistic and administrative aspects of theatre. We encourage your continued participation in these workshops. It is a learning process for our membership that will help all of us improve our skills and enable us to provide better entertainment for our audiences. ACT-CO is here to assist you in any way that we can. The Festival is just one of the services that we provide to our member groups. The option always exists for groups to request an educational adjudication, without entering the Festival competition.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Festival, please contact Brandon Moore, Membership Co-ordinator at .


Application Information

FESTIVAL FEES must be paid by the Festival entry deadline.  The cost of each adjudication is $325.

MEMBERSHIP FEES must be paid by the Festival entry deadline.  Memberships are not considered paid until they are received by the Membership Coordinator.

CATEGORIES.  A production may be entered in ONLY ONE category.  If there is any doubt as to which category is appropriate, please contact the Festival Scheduler.

ADJUDICATION DATES are allocated in the order in which completed entries are received, but allocation also considers adjudicator availability, and the schedule as a whole.

SCRIPTS & LIBRETTOS should accompany application forms.  If you cannot enclose the script, it MUST be received by ACT-CO at least FOUR WEEKS prior to adjudication night. Failure to forward the appropriate material on time may jeopardize your adjudication.  Groups entering musicals shall provide a libretto; the full piano score must be available to the adjudicator on the night of the adjudication.  Scripts and librettos become the property of ACT-CO unless you clearly indicate in writing when submitting your application that they must be returned.

MAPS are a necessity for the adjudication party. Please send a legible map (preferably with an electronic version or link.)  Please ensure that your map is accurate and provide a contact telephone number on-site in case of emergencies.  If your group will be hosting the private adjudication at a site other than the theatre, please include the address and a map to this site with your entry.

SEATING will be required for the Adjudication party.  Please plan on setting aside four (4) seats together.  They are best situated in the mid-section, on the aisle.  A configuration of 2 in front and 2 behind will minimize the disturbance of patrons that might be caused by the adjudicator’s light or note-taking.

PUBLIC ADJUDICATION.  The public adjudication is at the option of the group.  If the group does not want to receive a public adjudication, please specify that on your application form.  If scheduled, the audience should be informed prior to the performance that there will be a public adjudication and invited to remain at the conclusion of the performance.  This information may be supplied as an insert into the program, a notice in the lobby or an announcement by a member of the group.  A brief explanation of the adjudication process might prove helpful to audience members.  The public adjudication commences approximately five minutes after the conclusion of the performance.  Enough time will be provided for audience members who wish, to leave the theatre, and to allow cast and crew to be positioned where they may clearly hear the Adjudicator’s comments during the public adjudication.  The adjudicator will be introduced to the audience by the Festival Chair or designate.

CONFIRMATION of receipt of your application and adjudication dates will be sent to you as quickly as possible.  The groups that will be adjudicated at the beginning of the Festival will be contacted by telephone.

HOST is required by the company on the adjudication night.  Please ensure that this person is at the theatre one-hour prior to curtain to receive the adjudication party and review any special preparations for the adjudication, including time restrictions for the evening.  This person must also have the authority to make decisions in an emergency.

PRIVATE ROOM (or quiet area close to the theatre) is required for the adjudicator to make notes privately.  The room should be available at least thirty minutes prior to the start of the performance, and during intermission.  Light refreshments are not expected, but appreciated.  At a minimum, please provide water for the adjudicator.

PRIVATE ADJUDICATION will commence approximately ten minutes after the conclusion of the Public Adjudication.  This will allow the audience to leave, the cast and crew to change, remove makeup, wash up etc.  All members of the Group (not just the Production) may attend the Private Adjudication.  The Private Adjudication will be 60-90 minutes in length.  Please ensure your group provides adequate time following the production to ensure all aspects of the production can be covered.  It is preferable that the Private Adjudication take place in the same location as the Performance and Public Adjudication.  If this is not possible, the new location should be as near as possible, and should be a smoke-free environment.  Maps to any secondary location MUST be available for the adjudication party.

POST-ADJUDICATION EVALUATION FORMS are distributed (or available for download on the website) for groups to comment on and evaluate the adjudication.  We strongly encourage the group to complete and submit this form following their adjudication.  ACT-CO receives the evaluations in confidentiality and gathers the feedback to ensure quality adjudications.

THEATRE ONTARIO FESTIVAL.  One participating group in the ACT-CO FESTIVAL will be invited by the Board, though the Festival Chair, to represent ACT-CO at the Theatre Ontario Festival.  This invitation will be extended at the conclusion of the awards presentations at the ACT-CO Gala.  Prior to the Gala, group executives, casts, and production teams should discuss their desire and ability to remount their presentation.  Each group shall ensure that someone at the Gala is authorized to respond on their behalf.  Failure to do so will be taken as a negative response.

COPYRIGHT.  The actual script being used must be the exact text being performed and must be an original edition and not a photocopy.  If any changes are made to the script, written permission from the rights holder to make said changes must be obtained and forwarded to ACT-CO.  Copyright infringement by our member groups is not acceptable.  Any deliberate copyright infringement of a play-script entered in the ACT-CO Festival will be penalized by elimination of the entire production and its personnel from Thea award consideration.  Said production will, of course, receive its full adjudication regardless.  Please contact your rights holder, playwright, or their agent if you have any questions regarding the issue of copyright infringement. They can best determine if any changes your group is considering will violate the copyright.

PROFESSIONALS.  The ACT-CO Festival awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements by community theatre artists, and not achievements by professional artists working on community theatre productions.  Professional artists are not eligible for ACT-CO Festival awards.  All groups entering Festival will be expected to identify any professionals participating in a production prior to adjudication.  Failure to disclose this information will be penalized by the ACT-CO Board. Please note that the inclusion of a professional in a production does not necessarily exclude the production itself or other non-professional cast or crew from being eligible. If there are any questions, please contact ACT-CO for clarification prior to submitting your festival entry.