Adjudicator

The adjudicator for Festival 2009 is Chris M. Worsnop.In his secret life, separate from his career as a curriculum specialist in Ontario public education, Chris has been connected with community and student theatre for more than 50 years. He made his debut in a 1955 church youth club play in Blackpool, Lancashire. It is now forty years since he played his first adult role with Ottawa’s Phoenix Players. Chris has done almost everything theatrical in that time. He has played all kinds of roles on stage in both dramatic and musical productions. He has directed, written scripts, worked in numerous technical roles, presented play-polishing workshops, and organized and hosted festivals. He knows and understands community and student theatre from the inside. He has adjudicated at various levels of the Sears Drama Festival over the past 30 years, has adjudicated the Meadowvale Music Theatre Festival three times, and has adjudicated for the Association of Community Theatres - Central Ontario (ACT-CO) in two consecutive years (2006- 2008) in the drama, then the comedy category. In 2008 he adjudicated the Eastern Ontario Drama league (EODL) One Act Play Festival. He is the proud winner
of two ACT-CO Thea awards for acting, and has awards also from EODL and (somewhere) one from that 1955 performance in Blackpool. He has acted in professional and semi-professional theatre, and, together with his wife, Brenda, he owned and ran a
murder-mystery theatre company (Games Up!) in the 1980s and 90s.

Chris’ academic qualifications include two undergraduate and two masters degrees, from Cambridge University, Ottawa University and Queen’s University. In his adjudications, he enjoys developing a dialogue with the theatre practitioners to explore the triumphs
and challenges of community and student theatre. He promotes his own community and student theatre roots to advocate a rigorous form of peer commentary.

After each performance, Mr. Worsnop will give a public adjudication of the evening’s performance. The following morning, he will give a detailed adjudication. He will also lead an adjudicator’s workshop: "It’s not just the acting... it’s everything!" on Thursday May 14 and Saturday May 16 at 2 p.m. in the playhouse lobby. This event is free but space is limited. Please see the Box Office to register.