On the Road
On the Road is inspired by The Presenter’s Handbook and the There and Back Guidebook which were originally published through the Touring Office of the Canada Council for the Arts in the early 1990’s. Over the years, these out-of-print documents have been photocopied and re-copied with people still contacting the Canada Council for the Arts in search of any remaining versions.
These individual inquiries were combined with the regional presenter networks, provincial arts councils and numerous service organizations from across the country placing these resources front and centre during their meetings with the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Through financial resources dedicated by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage, Arts Presentation Canada in 2004-05, we have been able to revisit this material and finally respond to the many inquiries for this content.
There is no definitive way to tackle the challenges involved in presenting work to an audience or touring across this country. These resources are structured to provide as much advice from as many different perspectives as possible. You can decide what works best for your particular situation.
The information and resources contained in this material is only as good as its sources. We welcome any additions or suggestions for improvement. Let us know when information changes. Suggest information or content that is not included. Give us your comments on how this material can be made more useful to touring artists and individuals presenting the performing arts.
It is our intention that this on-line version will continue to develop and expand based on your needs, comments and suggestions. It is also our intention that this on-line resource will continue to cross-reference with other websites, databases and other on-line tools, acting as a hub of information on how to present and how to tour. Many of the sites are not bilingual; however, we have included the sites, whether in English or French, which are fantastic resources of information.
The site has also been developed with a print on demand function so that you are able to print out the entire document or portions of the document that you find particularly useful. We have used basic web programming, in order to ensure that everyone can access this material, whether logging on through high speed or dial-up connections.
In order to update and revamp these materials, a core team of Lendre Kearns, Judy Harquail, Sandra Bender and Janet Uren was assembled.
Lendre Kearns is the primary author of this content with a number of contributing writers that are listed below. Judy Harquail is the Project Coordinator managing logistics for the advisory committee, contributing writers as well as providing content herself.
Lendre is a marketing and audience development specialist who has worked with Canadian and US arts organizations for over 30 years including stints with Vancouver Playhouse, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis) and, currently, La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego). As a marketing/strategic planning consultant and workshop facilitator, she has assisted a wide range of producing and presenting arts organizations, and has presented hundreds of workshops for service organizations, provincial and federal government agencies in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. She is also an Adjunct Professor (Marketing) for Goucher College's MAAA (Master of Arts, Arts Administration), a distance learning program.
Judy has over 20 years of experience working in the performing arts. Her previous accomplishments include directing and executing touring activity for some of Canada's most highly respected dance and opera companies, developing and executing strategic marketing campaigns and working in collaboration with an extensive range of arts organizations and arts professionals across Canada, the United States, and throughout the world. She is currently the Tour/Marketing Consultant for the Toronto based Baroque Opera/Theatre Company, Opera Atelier, the Program Manager for CCI - the Ontario Presenters Network and the lead mentor on the Management team for the CDA. She also has extensive experience dealing with all levels of government funding agencies having worked on contract for the Canada Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage assisting in the launch of the Arts Presentation Program in Ontario.
Janet Uren, WordImage, is the co-editor of these resources along with Sandra Bender, who is also the overall manager of this project. As special thanks to Kim Lymburner, Stacey Elliott, Terry O’Grady and Manon Bégin at the Canada Council for the Arts that dealt with the translation and web production for these resources.
In addition to this core team, a number of individuals contributed to the production of On the Road.
The advisory committee was central in developing the framework as well as identifying key individuals throughout Canada who contributed additional knowledge, expertise and experience to the content of these tools.
Many of these folks also contributed directly to the content, through providing their own experience in touring and presenting the performing arts in Canada.
We are very grateful to the members of this advisory committee. They dedicated countless hours to the development of these core materials.
The members of the advisory committee include:
 Jay Rankin, Toronto, ON
Jay Rankin is currently the Managing Director of Toronto Dance Theatre. Jay has worked as an administrator, tour booker, production manager, stage manager and stage technician.
 Kent Martin, Vancouver, BC
Kent Martin is currently General Manager of Axis Theatre Company. He has worked as the Promotions & Programme Coordinator at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Executive Assistant to the CEO at the Hummingbird Centre and Acting Administrator, Performing Arts, Harbourfront Centre.
 Janet Lumb, Montreal, QC
Janet has been a musician for most of her life. She is now the Artistic Director of Festival Accès Asie, where she merges her passion for the arts, culture, community and social activism.
 Luce Couture, Lennoxville, QC
Luce Couture is currently the Programming Director of Centennial Theatre, a position she has held since 1987. Her passion is in the discovery of new artists in music and dance.
 Peter D. Smith, Saint John, NB
Peter D. Smith has worked in all aspects of the live performing arts throughout Canada. Currently, he is General Manager of the Imperial Theatre.
 Andrew J. Kwan, Toronto, ON
Andrew Kwan Artists Management Inc is an agency that specializes in the development of the careers of Canadian classical artists domestically and internationally. Andrew Kwan is also on the faculty at the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music.
Pierre Leclerc, Montreal, QC
A graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in education, Pierre Leclerc is the cofounder of the National Circus School in Montreal and DynamO Théâtre. He became the director general in 1991, after being involved in most of the company’s productions. He has sat on the CINARS board of directors since 2002.
 ahdri zhina mandiela, Toronto, ON
ahdri zhina mandiela is the founder and artistic director of the Toronto based performance art company, b current. She is widely known as a poet/performer and is a venerable multi-disciplined and self-styled dubb aatist.
 Dominic Lloyd, Winnipeg, MB
Dominic is currently the Artistic Director of West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg. Originally from the Yukon, Dominic was previously the Producer and Artistic Director of the Dawson City Music Festival.
Marrie Mumford, Peterborough, ON
Marrie Mumford (Métis/Chippewa-Cree) was recently appointed Canada Research Chair at Trent University, where she is also the artistic director of NOZHEM: First Peoples Performance Space. Prior to this appointment, she was the Artistic Director of the Aboriginal Arts Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Sheri-D Wilson, Calgary, AB
Sheri-D Wilson is a poet, playwright, performer, film maker, essayist and teacher. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival.
In addition to the advisory committee, a number of individuals contributed content and samples to the update of these resources.
Paul Tanguay, Montreal, QC
Paul Tanguay has been the Executive Director of LaLaLa Human Steps and O Vertigo as well as an Artist Manager for approximately 12 years. He is currently the Executive Director of Compagnie Marie Chouinard.
 Michael Green, Calgary, AB
Michael Green is a founding member and co-artistic director of Calgary's 23 year-old One Yellow Rabbit. He is also currently the curator of the annual High Performance Rodeo, One Yellow Rabbit's multidisciplinary festival of new and experimental work.
 Jill Battson, Kingston, ON
Jill Battson is an internationally published poet, poetry activist and Artistic Director of the PoetBureau. Her latest book of poems from Insomniac Press is Ashes are Bones and Dust.
 Richard Flohil, Toronto, ON
Richard Flohil is a Toronto-based music writer, editor, concert promoter, club booker, and publicist. He regularly presents shows in a number of Toronto venues.
Paul Sanderson, Toronto, ON
Paul Sanderson is an Entertainment Lawyer with the firm Sanderson Taylor in Toronto. His area of practice is specifically in the entertainment and arts law and he has been practicing since 1983.
 Tim Yerxa, Fredericton, NB
Tim Yerxa is the Executive Director of the Fredericton Playhouse. He also serves on several boards including the Atlantic Presenters Association (APA) and the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA).
 Heather Lundstrom, Kitimat, BC
Heather Lundstrom is President and Artistic Director of the volunteer-run community Kitimat Concert Association, a position she has held for the past ten years.
 Phyllis Stenson, Harrison Hot Springs, BC
Phyllis Stenson is the Artistic Director of Harrison Festival of the Arts and has been for the last 23 years. She is also currently the board chair of the BC Touring Council, and is a co-founder of WRAD (Western Artistic Directors of Roots Festivals) network.
Sharon Fernandez, Ottawa, ON
Sharon Fernandez is a consultant to federal and provincial governments in strategic planning and institutional change specifically in the areas of cultural diversity and equity integration. Prior to that Sharon was the Cultural Diversity Coordinator at the Canada Council for the Arts.
 Barbara Clausen, Vancouver, BC
Barbara Clausen is the Producer at New Works in Vancouver. Previously, Barbara was one of the founders as well as the first Executive Director of Vancouver’s Dance Centre, and a Dance Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts.
 Lindy Sisson, Vancouver, BC
Lindy Sisson has held positions as Executive Director for the ARC Arts Council, General Manager for the Playwrights Theatre Centre and Tour Manager for the Judith Marcuse Dance Company amongst others. She is currently the Executive and Artistic Director of the Vancouver International Children's Festival.
 Solange Morrissette, Rimouski, QC
Solange Morrissette has been the General Director of the ROSEQ Réseau des Organisateurs de Spectacles de l’Est du Québec network in northern Quebec since 1998. Prior to this position she was the General Director of Corporation Rimouski and Office du tourisme et des congrès de Rimouski.
Rosa M. John (Taino Nation), Kehewin, AB
Rosa John is a founding member of Kehewin Native Performance and Director of the youth performing arts company in Kehewin.
 Elaine Bomberry, Six Nations, ON
Elaine Bomberry is the President of the National Aboriginal Recording Industry Association and a member of the Ontario Collective for Aboriginal Music. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences & the JUNO Awards.
Cheryl Ewing, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON
Cheryl Ewing is President of Brava! Special Events & Arts Management. She works with a variety of performing arts organizations on all levels of administration and audience development.
 Bill Kimball, Peterborough, ON
Bill Kimball founded Peterborough New Dance in 1994 and is currently the Artistic Director and Curator.
Jim Giles, Toronto, ON
Jim has been a school teacher for the past 18 years and is currently a primary teacher for the Toronto District School Board at Ecole Rawlinson Community School.
 Denise Fujiwara, Toronto, ON
Denise Fujiwara is a choreographer, dancer, actor, dance impresario and teacher. She has channelled her energy into dance for 27 years, spending the last 11 of those years involved in the art of butoh, Japanese dance.
 Sheri Jones, Halifax, NS
Sheri owns her own artist management company Jones & Co Artists Management and indie label, Turtlemusik. She has served on the national boards of both FACTOR and CARAS and she is a founding director of the East Coast Music Association.
 Kathy Casey, Montreal, QC
Kathy Casey is the current Artistic Director of Montreal Danse, a position she has held since 1996. Prior to that Kathy danced with companies such as the Chicago Moving Copany, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Susan Marshall & Company.
 Pierre MacDuff, Montreal, QC
Pierre MacDuff has directed the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (1978-1984), the Conseil québécois du théâtre (1983-1991), which he founded, the Salle Fred-Barry (1986-1990), the Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec (1992-1996) and the theatre company Les Deux Mondes (1991-present), where he is the Director General.
 Gregg Lawless, Toronto, ON
Gregg Lawless is a singer-songwriter who also works as an educator in the school system producing over 175 song-writing workshops each year in schools, colleges and universities.
 Veda Hille, Vancouver, BC
Veda Hille is a musician based in Vancouver. She has released 11 albums, tours relentlessly, and also composes for dance, theatre, and film.
Santee Smith, Six Nations, ON
Santee Smith is a multi-disciplinary Mohawk artist from Six Nations who is committed to sharing traditional and contemporary stories of her indigenous culture. Santee is also the Artistic Director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre.
 Vanessa Richards, Vancouver, BC
Vanessa is currently the Artist-in-Residence at Public Dreams Society in Vancouver. She is also a writer, performance artist, musician, artistic director and facilitator
 Ember Swift, Dalkeith, ON
Ember Swift is a singer-songwriter and touring artist who has released eight independent albums on her own label, Few'll Ignite Sound. She is currently working on her 9th album and is poised to release a DVD documenting her latest Australian tour.
 Dwayne Morgan, Toronto, ON
Dwayne Morgan has spent the past twelve years carving a name for himself as a spoken word artists and author in Canada and internationally. He has published five volumes of his writing, while also producing four albums of his work.
 Gary Cristall, Vancouver, BC
Gary Cristall works as an artist manager and consultant. He was the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the producer of the Folklife Pavilion at Vancouver’s Expo 86 and a member of the staff of the Touring Office and Music Section of the Canada Council for the Arts.
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