News Archive

Headshot of Richard Willis. He wears a blue shirt and stands in front of a grey-blue background.

Writing a Play is Like Watching a Film: Richard Sheridan Willis on ‘Boy Beatle’

  • Interview
  • News
  • Playwright
  • Theatre Kingston

The classic saying is, “The show must go on!” Well, so must the review… sort of.  With our small team at the KTA, unfortunately when one of us is struck with sickness, there’s a bit of reworking to be done. This was the case last week, just as we were about to review Theatre Kingston’s production of Boy Beatle. However, we luckily managed to work out a short interview through […]

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Job Opening: Development Coordinator

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

The Development Coordinator will be responsible for acting as a community ambassador for the Kingston Theatre Alliance and The Kick & Push Festival through the development, planning, and execution of the initial stages of a year-round development plan to both strengthen the organization’s relationships with existing funders, and identify and pursue new fundraising and sponsorship opportunities. This role can be done in a hybrid work environment until the Festival start in July, at which point the role requires being on-site in Kingston, ON until the completion of the Festival in late August.

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Animated purple curtain with the words: "The creativity dilemma. Exploring the divide between higher and lower budget productions."

The Creativity Dilemma

  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News
  • Opinion

Last summer I booked a trip to New York City as I hadn’t visited since I was very young. I was extremely excited as I really wanted to see a Broadway musical for the first time. As I hopped online looking for shows to see, I remember thinking, “Back to the Future the Musical… Why?” I have no hate for the idea—it could be an amazing musical—I was just surprised at the idea of a Back To The Future musical and it having a spot on Broadway. I continued searching and found that around half of the musicals on Broadway at the time were either remakes of hit movies or revivals of older shows. At first, I was surprised but after further thought, it made sense. I recently looked at Broadway.com’s list of current best-selling Broadway shows and saw that four out of the top ten shows on Broadway right now are direct adaptations of former hit movies, while five out of ten of the shows are connected to an already existing popular product or a revival of an old show.

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Logo for the Kingston Theatre Alliance.

Job Opening: Theatre Critic

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

The Performance Blog is a primary resource for audience members, artistic collaboration, critical dialogue, and theatre practitioners. Our platform consolidates events, news, artists, and organizations in the Southeastern Ontario area in an accessible and accountable manner that the region has never seen before. Led by the Editor, the writing team is looking for passionate individuals who are committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR, all while building a stronger sector for live performance in the region.

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A large "k" appears on the left in green and purple. Next to it reads "Kingston Theatre Alliance"

Job Opening: Associate Artistic Producer

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

Job Description The Associate Artistic Producer acts as the second and primary collaborator to the Artistic Producer, and will collaborate on organization administration, scheduling and operations, document and/or policy refinement / creation, grant writing, strategic planning, human resources as well as proposing initiatives that develop both organization and the regional theatre  sector. This is a contract leadership position with potential to shift to employee position in 2024. Key Relationships Responsibilities […]

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A large "k" appears on the left in green and purple. Next to it reads "Kingston Theatre Alliance"

Job Opening: Theatre Critic

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

Job Description The Performance Blog is a primary resource for audience members, artistic collaboration, critical dialogue, and industry contacts. Our platform consolidates events, news, artists, and organizations in the Southeastern area in an accessible and accountable manner that the region has never seen before. Led by the Editor, the writing team is looking for passionate individuals who are committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR. Responsibilities Requirements Eligibility […]

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Red curtain across a stage.

What is the Point of Theatre Criticism?

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

What is the Critic Looking For? What a loaded question! Let me ask you one. What makes great theatre? I’ll even tell you the answer.  Artists.  You want artists to be there. Artists, technicians, administrators, engineers, carpenters, bartenders, ushers, whatever their job title, you want these masters of their craft there. You want them in there doing what they love to do; making theatre happen. Ideally, you’ll find artists who […]

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A large "k" appears on the left in green and purple. Next to it reads "Kingston Theatre Alliance"

We’re Hiring!

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

Job Description The KTA is looking to hire a Theatre Critic for the Performance Blog. The Theatre Critic is responsible for attending and reviewing 1-2 shows in the Kingston area per week. They will work very closely with the Editor of the Performance Blog to discuss articles, edits, and timelines.  Responsibilities Requirements Pay As an independent contractor, pay will come as a stipend of $550 per month with the expectation […]

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A large "k" appears on the left in green and purple. Next to it reads "Kingston Theatre Alliance"

Open Letter

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

The KTA would like to release an open letter to discuss our goals for the performance blog.  The blog is a space for reviews, interviews, and opinion pieces surrounding the arts that we hope will engage with the community of Kingston. We strive to spark dialogue that can enrich theatre and provoke valuable conversation. Theatre is—and should be— constantly growing. It is a passion of ours to communicate about the […]

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Black History Movement and the Importance of Framing

  • News
  • Review

While some pieces of theatre find their footing in fiction, others find meaning and shape in the staging of true events. In the last stretch of this past Black History Month, an example of the latter came in the telling of an essential piece of American and Canadian Black history. JOSIAH, co-created by director Charles Robertson and sole performer Cassel Miles, was a multi-disciplinary dip into the life of Josiah […]

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Writing a Land Acknowledgement for Dummies, I mean Settlers

  • Industry
  • News

Land acknowledgements have become too ritualistic, like eating three meals a day or having sex with your wife. I fall somewhere between the first and second generations on this land, and flat on the understanding that this land was not meant for me. The prosperity of my family follows the promised immigrant livelihood of playing by the rules, of keeping your head down and your foot forward. My acceptance into […]

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Now Hiring: Assistant Theatre Critic

  • Industry
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

Join our team!

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