The fourth annual prestigious Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays was just what the doctor ordered for pandemic-weary theatre aficionados in Newmarket and the surrounding area.
This venerable festival that ran over three nights and one afternoon on a weekend in early September attracted almost a full house every night at the Old Town Hall in downtown Newmarket. In fact, the afternoon matinee by the Young Company Theatre of a children’s musical by a Newmarket playwright was sold out three weeks ahead of time.
And the best news is that the Very Useful Theatre Company, which hosts this annual festival, will donate a portion of its proceeds to the Newmarket Food Pantry.
On top of all this, the Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays held this Sept. 9, 10 and 11 was, by all accounts, the very first live theatre to be on stage since this pandemic began in all of Canada.
The much-sought-after festival Ross Award went to Bruce Williamson of Aurora, who brought the play The Third Life of Eddie Mann to a level unheard of as its talented director. This is his second Ross Award after winning it in the last pre-pandemic festival.
Newmarket actor Arlene Murchinson-Doggart won the award for best female actor for her role in Mourning Glory as a spirited Aggie. Joey Ferguson won best actor for his excellent role as Angel in The Third Life of Eddie Mann.
The Best Play Award went to Rosa and Leo, by playwright Adam Szudrich of Australia and directed with enthusiasm by Amanda Dempsey-Laughlin of Orangeville. A special tribute was given to Kira Rosenbloom of Richmond Hill for directing and composing the music for Gilda: The Princess, based on a children’s book by longtime Newmarket businessman Ole Madsen, and also to “an outstanding group of young actors in the VUTC Young Company for their performance of ‘Gilda,” said John Dowson, artistic director of the festival.
Dowson and VUTC president Paul Bath thanked Mary Rose Talani, who directed the Canadian Premiere of The Book Club Thief on the Thursday night, and through her, the VUTC was able to ‘live stream’ all performances around the world. Feedback from around the planet was really uplifting for the small VUTC executive.
This was all possible through the hard work of the VUTC web master Darryl Erentzen, who not only set up and managed the group’s very visible website, but also worked with Live Stream Events GTA to enable the live streaming.
Dowson and Bath also thanked — among the many volunteers and people behind the scenes to actually put on this three-day festival — Tom Pearson of Newmarket's TPE Entertainment & Productions, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes as the festival stage manager.
Bath also thanked NewmarketToday for getting the message out about the festival, the former snapd Newmarket and Shelley Dutton for flawlessly handling the tickets, and last but not least, Jill King, the VUTC's recently appointed treasurer for handling all the finances.
The Fifth Annual Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays is already in the planning stages for 2022.
For more information, visit www.oneactplayfestival.com or email [email protected].
