Theme: Harmony in Your Efforts for Deeper Patron Involvement

May 15-16, 2013 at Metropolitan Hotel, Toronto ON

Given the increasing competition for arts-goers’ attention, finding new ways to deepen patrons’ involvement with your organization is one of the main paths to growing audiences and donors. Your team holds the keys to unlocking effective engagement strategies and synergies, and its efficient collaboration is paramount to overall success.

The first Canadian Arts Marketing, Development and Ticketing Conference will focus on the myriad ways your organization can benefit from the latest trends and technologies that others are using to gain, retain, and upgrade patrons.

Along with colleagues from across North America, over the course of two full days of learning and discussion you and your team will refine the skills necessary to turn all of your patron interactions into the solid connections that create lifetime supporters.

We have built team-building workshops into the program, and have structured the tuition prices so that it will be easy for you to come as a team. Teams get the most benefit from the conference, since they return to their company with the same knowledge base, ready to roll up their collective sleeves and put the new strategies to work immediately.

Plus, constituents of the following organizations, which are assisting with the conference, receive an Association discount of $130 off the regular registration price.

• Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA)

• Canadian Museums Association
• CanDance Network
• CCI – Ontario Presenting Network
• INTIX
• Ontario Association of Art Galleries
• Ontario Museum Association
• Ontario Professional Ticketing Association
• Opera.ca
• Orchestras Canada
• Professional Association of Canadian Theaters
• Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts

See registration page for details

There are a limited number of work-study scholarships available.

If interested, contact admin@artsreach.com

Landmark Study Sheds Light on Profound Benefits of the Performing Arts

April 29, 2013 – Performing arts presenting generates a wide range of benefits for Canadians, the communities they live in and society at large, according to a report prepared by Strategic Moves and released today by the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA).

“At long last, we have a study and stories to reflect back to us why presenting professional performing arts matters to our communities and to the generations of Canadians to come.” – Warren Garrett, Executive Director of CCI and member of the study’s advisory committee.

The Value of Presenting: A Study of Performing Arts Presentation in Canada includes a comprehensive historical and contemporary overview of the performing arts ecosystem. It reveals that performing arts are valued by the vast majority of Canadians – across socio-economic differences – and it provides a new perspective on younger Canadians’ interest in live performing arts. Most importantly, the study identifies a broad range of public benefits associated with performing arts presentation, including better health and well-being, greater energy and vitality in communities, and a more caring and cohesive society.

This invaluable study is the culmination of two years of collaborative effort between presenting networks, funders and partners from across the country. Special thanks to all the CCI members who have contributed to support this important initiative to unveil the value and benefits of presenting for all Canadians. Read more

You are cordially invited to Theatre Ontario’s 2013 Annual General Meeting, followed by refreshments and the panel discussion.

Saturday May 25th, 2013 | 10:30 am to 1 pm
Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College Street, Toronto

Panel Discussion on Diversity, Engagement and Inclusion in Theatre

charles c. smith will be moderating an engaging dialogue with four dynamic and innovative theatre panelists: Ravi Jain, Yvette Nolan, Soheil Parsa and Trevor Schwellnus. Our panelists will share their success in nurturing inclusiveness to engage communities, foster collaboration and develop audiences. Following the forum, there will be an opportunity to address the panelists with specific questions and issues.

Facilitator charles c. smith is a published poet, playwright and essayist. He won second prize for his play Last Days for the Desperate from Black Theatre Canada. He has edited three collections of poetry, has one published book (Partial Lives) and his poetry has appeared in numerous journals and publications. charles is also Lecturer, Cultural Pluralism in the Arts at the University of Toronto Scarborough and Project Lead for Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario. Further, he is a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, board member Fuse Magazine and advisory board member for the Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre and the Scarborough Arts Kaleidescope Program.

Ravi Jain is a multi award winning actor, director, producer, educator, arts‐activist and Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre. On the Board of Directors for the Laidlaw Foundation and the Artistic Advisory Boards for ArtReach Toronto and the Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre. Alumni of the DiverseCity Fellows program with Civic Action. Ravi is currently artistic director in residence at The Theatre Centre, Resident artist at the Young Centre and was selected to be on the roster of clowns for Cirque Du Soliel. Awarded the Ken MacDougal Award for Emerging Director and most recently The Pauline McGibbon Award for Emerging Director.

Yvette Nolan (Algonquin/Irish) is a playwright, director and dramaturg. She is the editor of Beyond the Pale: Dramatic Writing from First Nations Writers and Writers of Colour, and of Refractions: Solo, with Donna‐Michelle St Bernard. In 2007, she received the Maggie Bassett Award for service to the theatre community, and in 2011, the George Luscombe Award for mentorship in professional theatre. From 2003‐2011, she served as Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. Last season, she was the Writer In Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library. She is currently working on a book about Native theatre in Canada.

Soheil Parsa is an award‐winning director, actor, writer, dramaturg, choreographer and teacher, whose professional theatre career spans thirty years and two continents. In his native Iran, Soheil completed studies in Theatre Performance at the University of Tehran and began a promising career as an actor and director. Soheil’s own work at Modern Times has been recognized with five Dora Mavor Moore Awards, a Chalmers Fellowship in 2002, a senior artist creation grant from the Canada Council, as well as a number of international prizes and master class requests. In 2007 and 2010 he was short‐listed for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre.

Trevor Schwellnus is a Scenographer, working with independent companies in Toronto. Since 2002 he has been the Artistic Producer of Aluna Theatre, with his partner Beatriz Pizano. There he: directed and designed the collectively created Nohayquiensepa (No one knows), designed La Comunión, Madre, and For Sale, and produces the biennial Panamerican Routes | Rutas Panamericanas Festival of Theatre for Human Rights. This year he curated Harbourfront’s HATCH series of emerging performance work. He is currently studying multidisciplinary and intercultural practices, with a focus on the dramaturgy of design, through a Chalmer’s Fellowship. Upcoming: What I learned from a decade of fear.

Please RSVP at info@theatreontario.org or 416-408-4556