It’s pretty hard not to notice the smile on Corey Robertson’s face around The Bank Theatre these days.
The long-time board member, actor, director and former president at the theatre is the Festival Chair for the upcoming Western Ontario Drama League (WODL) Festival.
WODL encompasses dozens of community theatres across Southwestern Ontario and The Bank Theatre will be at the forefront May 14 through 18.
“I am thrilled that The Bank Theatre is the host for the WODL Festival,” he said. “I’m equally thrilled that the town of Leamington gets to showcase itself to visitors from all over the province.”
Robertson says that volunteers at the theatre have been busy in recent weeks getting prepared for the festival, which will open with a reception on Wednesday, May 14 at the Best Western Plus.
From set building and painting to ushers and other front-of-house volunteers, The Bank Theatre thrives on its crew of community-minded theatre-loving people.
“Without the volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to host this festival and have the confidence that we can present a top-notch festival,” added theatre manager Michelle Fortier. “This is community theatre at its finest.”
The Bank Theatre had been chosen to host the festival in 2021, but the COVID pandemic interfered and this year’s festival will be the first in-person festival since then.
Robertson says that the festival has been in the works for months with all eyes on Leamington as they prepare for the theatre community’s premier event.
The competitive portion of the festival consists of the top three plays in the region being presented to audiences, with scoring and judging on acting, lighting, set design and many other categories.
Each of the three theatre groups — Elmira, Woodstock and The Bank Theatre — will be allowed access to the stage on the morning of their performance. A crew must unload their truck with the entire set, props, set pieces, costumes and anything else they need and begin to build at 7 am. By 7 pm, the set, lighting, sound and actors must be ready to go as the curtain goes up at 8 pm.
Adjudicating — or judging — will be done on all three plays, including the work of the set crew and technical people for each performance and how efficiently they put everything together.
Some 23 plays across the WODL region asked to be adjudicated, with three requesting to be adjudicated in-festival and the rest out-of-festival.
Out-of-festival means that the plays would be eligible for out-of-festival awards, but not eligible to be included in or performed during the festival itself.
The three plays that have been adjudicated in-festival will be playing at The Bank Theatre on May 15, 16 and 17.
Forever Love written and directed by Michael Grant for Elmira Theatre Company will play Thursday, May 15. Doors open 7:30 pm, show 8 pm.
Forever Love is the story of Kyle and Max’s relationship told in their own words. From their first high school dance in the ‘80s through to their relationship years later. Love between teenagers is much different than love between adults and some love is forever and some unfortunately does not stand the test of time. Produced by special arrangement with the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
My Old Lady by Israel Horovitz, directed by Sally Johnston will be presented by Theatre Woodstock on Friday, May 16. Doors open at 7:30 pm, show at 8 pm.
My Old Lady is set in early spring in Paris. The story unfolds over the course of one week. When a down-on-his-luck New Yorker inherits a Parisian apartment from his estranged father, he uses the last of his savings to fly to France so he can collect on his win-fall. Imagine his surprise when he meets the old lady and her daughter who have lived there for years and have no intention of moving. Produced by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Halfway There by Norm Foster, directed by Dean Valentino via The Bank Theatre, will play on Saturday, May 17. Doors open at 7:30 pm, show at 8 pm.
There’s no such thing as a secret in Stewiacke. Vi, Rita, Mary Ellen and Janine are all as close as can be — they are comfortable and coasting. But when Sean, a heartbroken doctor, moves in to take a temporary job and decides to pursue Janine, he tips the Maritime town –that’s famous for being halfway between the North Pole and the equator – off its axis.
Halfway There was first produced by the Foster Festival in St. Catherines in August 2016 and is staged by arrangement with Pam Winter, GGA www.ggagency.ca.
The local theatre community has high hopes for Halfway There and is already thrilled that last fall’s Dracula has also garnered four nominations.
The timeless tale of the world’s most famous vampire was adjudicated out-of-festival and is eligible for all out-of-festival awards.
Dracula nominations include Outstanding Lighting and Design — John Moran.
Outstanding Sound Design and Execution — Corey Robertson and Vee Papadimous.
Special Adjudicator’s Award for Best Prologue or Pre-set — cast and crew of Dracula.
Outstanding Visual Production – cast and crew of Dracula.
Halfway There, which played here in January, has been adjudicated in and out-of-festival, and so far has three nominations but is eligible for more during the festival and expected to do well in that regard.
So far, it boasts nominations for Outstanding Cameo Performance — Brett Hallick (Junior), Outstanding Sound Design and Execution, Katherine Albuquerque, and Outstanding Production of a Canadian Play, Sun Parlour Players.
The festival also includes an opening ceremony, three theatre-related workshops and wraps up with an awards gala, which will be held at the Best Western Plus on Sunday, May 18.
Tickets are available for all plays and the awards gala on banktheatre.com.
Click on the drop-down menu, then on the WODL Festival and you can purchase tickets there. Or stop in at the box office Thursday through Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm.
While you can buy individual performances, Robertson encourages you to buy the full package to get the scope of the competition between the three plays.
“Local live theatre lovers will not want to miss any of these productions,” added Robertson. “It will be an event to be remembered.”
