I am extremely happy to be returning to the role of President of the Eastern Ontario Drama League! With Val Bogan stepping away from the position of Past President, I welcome back the expertise of Brenda Worsnop, a valued and exceptional Past President!

For those of you who may not know me, I am a retired high school French and Drama teacher from Brockville and have been involved with EODL since 2014 when I became a “Member at Large” on the EODL Board. I was Festival Liaison from 2015-2017 and Vice-President from 2016-2017 before assuming the role of President from 2017-2020.

It has been indeed a pleasure, not to mention an educational experience! Listening to many adjudicators over those years has been such a wonderful opportunity! In previous reports, I commented on such wonderful adjudicators as: Annette Procunier, Mark Mooney, Janet Kish, Michael Clipperton, Carey Nicholson, Geoffrey Coulter and Carolee Mason, Most recently, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Caroline Smith as she travelled Eastern Ontario to adjudicate our Full Length Play Festival. Here are some tidbits from those adjudications:

• We can never forget that adjudications are only one person’s opinion. They provide us with “things to think about for the next show we do”.

• We need to be thankful that theatre is keeping history alive.

• We need to trust the audience to trust the quiet.

• Silences are fantastic if they are FULL!

• Take the time to INDULGE

• The director is the lens of the camera.

• Regarding props: an audience doesn’t need much!

• Always understand what you’re feeling before you just jump to the delivery of the words.

• Make sure that your set doesn’t get in your way!

• Don’t make it easy!

• Find the comedic moments even in the drama.

• Audience reaction is EVERYTHING! It’s a gift!

• Allow the laugh to happen.

• Read each other’s eyes and deliver depending on that eye contact

• It’s hard to “shatter” on stage.

• In an ensemble piece, you must have TRUST!

• Never drop the ends of your lines.

• Don’t anticipate who speaks next.

• Keep the monologues grounded.

• Dying is easy…comedy is hard!

• As an adjudicator, Caroline reads the play and then stops, because she “doesn’t want to direct it”!

  I learned all of that from having listened to only THREE of Caroline’s SEVEN adjudications! Can you imagine how we could ALL learn if we were to travel Eastern Ontario together and listen and learn from our upcoming adjudicators? Our One Act Festival adjudicator in Kemptville on November 3 and 4 was Geoffrey Coulter. He adjudicated 9 plays for us! Our Full Length Play adjudicator from October 2023 to April 2024 was Michael Clipperton! I’m so glad I got to see these men in action!

See you at the theatre; cheers!

Lisa Leroux