Grove Guild July Event: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour Recap with Tim Wisener
July 28, 2026
The Grove Theatre group put on a great tour for us!
We split into four groups of about 12, visiting frontstage, the tech booth, the cast and crew area, and finally backstage. There was simply so much to absorb, so this recap goes deep on all four stops so that anyone who missed the tour can catch up in full.
There was far to much to learn in one visit, so we look forward to another session next season.
Frontstage with Tim Wisener
We walked on Tim’s now-famous painted deck floor—seven coats of paint deep—while stagehands took down the 70s tinsel wall in preparation for that evening’s performance of Spamalot. Tim joked that, unlike an opera house where the whole stage and floor shift as one mechanized unit, Grove scene changes are done entirely by hand. We watched the tower tops fold up and the castle’s stone walls slide into place—styrofoam pieces glued onto plywood backing, textured with rasps and heat guns, then finished with about eight rounds of paint. Aside from the paint and glue, the whole set was built from free scrap material. Very creative engineering!
Tim calls his floor “sacrificial” since it’ll be removed before the end of the season—no easy task, given the screws are set 8 inches apart in every direction. It may be salvageable for another year.
The four truss towers surrounding the theatre are set in 2,800 pounds of concrete—all moved into place by hand, since neither a pumper truck nor an excavator could be driven across the stage. Brian Jackett, of Jackett & Sons Construction, was a tremendous help. The new fixtures are IP-rated for outdoor use, protected against dust, dirt, moisture, and water. Tim shared that the tower lights were made possible by the Light Up The Grove Campaign—it was good to see our donation dollars set in stone!
He pointed out the roofing membrane at the side of the stage, which gives them a waterproof spot to keep sound gear in place, thanks to Andrew Dunnette, of Dunnette Roofing.
From our vantage point upstage on the second floor, we could clearly see the spike marks showing where larger props are placed for every show. Tim mentioned that the stage area is a bit disjointed, which turns moving around the space into a bit of a dance.
We also learned that Ben Skipper, who plays Patsy, is on limited duties in a full knee brace—that’s what four shows and a lot of cantering will do.
Tech Booth with Tracy Lynne Cann
Tracy has returned as The Grove’s Production Stage Manager for the season. She’s been in the business for 25 years, working across Canada. Tracey isn’t employed by the theatre company; she works as a subcontractor. An interesting fact, her partner is Peter Aylin, The Grove’s music director and sound design assistant, whom we met last fall—as he told us then, they live in Bobcaygeon.
Tracy explained that her role varies depending on the demands of the theatre company. For a larger company, she’s more likely to act as an administrator, producing paper schedules. Her preference is a smaller company like The Grove, where she works with the company rather than for it, taking on greater input and a much larger role.
Her role with The Grove is twofold. She begins in the rehearsal hall, where she acts as the director’s right-hand person, “tracking” the needs of the director, and cast and then relaying them to the various departments—lighting, sound, stage, wardrobe, props, and set. Tracy writes two to three pages of notes after each rehearsal session; think of her as the middleman who makes sure every important detail reaches production. As an example, a note regarding wardrobe – are there heels, or long skirts that could cause an actor could trip? If so, the lighting department gets involved to make sure stairs and ledges are painted and properly lit.
When she moves into production, every detail gets documented in the prompt script—it covers where everything should be, and where every performer is at any given moment. So, if lighting designer Luke says “I want a spotlight on Gabby”, Tracy can respond with “hit spot one” because she knows exactly where everything lives on stage, minute by minute. In other words, she liaises with every department, carrying the director’s needs from the rehearsal phase through to the stage manager’s needs during tech rehearsals, as the show transfers from one set of hands to the next. By the time it reaches the stage, everything has been voiced, implemented, and can be tracked.
Tracy’s second role begins once the show moves into production, where she oversees the tech booth, working closely with the lighting and sound designers’ visions. Together they build the show, coordinating all the cues. Fun fact: a typical musical has 500 cues, while Spamalot has closer to 1,000. As they program the lighting, sound, and stage design, she tracks and records every moving piece in the prompt script.
Her example involved Rasesh, the sound designer/operator who works closely with Peter. Using Theatre Mix, he blends all the audio elements on a soundboard, balancing volume levels with “faders”—if a performer’s vocal projection needs adjusting, Rasesh can “ride” the faders up or down. As Tracy put it, “it’s a bit of a tricky balance”. Or, as Tim said last year and Tracy echoed again this year: it’s “air traffic control”. Tracy added that they’ve been a bit behind this season, thanks to poor air quality, rain, and extreme temperatures.
As a member of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, Tracy shares the responsibility for the cast’s health and safety, making sure their needs are met.
Backstage Operations 1 with Sarah Grindal
Sarah, whom we met at the Guild’s costume event with Andrew Nasturzio, welcomed us backstage in the cast and crew, storage, and water areas of the Grove grounds. For a description of the backstage layout, see the Guild’s August 2025 recap.
Sarah’s career at The Grove has grown since then—she began as a Production Assistant in 2023, and was invited back for the 2025 season as Head of Wardrobe. Her talk focused on the backstage operations and responsibilities of the wardrobe and production teams.
There’s a small office cabana that houses sound equipment along with a fridge, microwave, and kettle. Sarah’s own office was outdoors that day, under an umbrella—she shared the space with her trusty serger (a specialized sewing machine), an ironing board, and an iron. She worked there all day, and as she explained, “it’s simply too inconvenient to move costumes off-site for alterations and repairs.”
This brings us to costumes: Sarah runs the fabulous team of volunteer sewers, who built a huge number of this season’s costumes, starting back in January. Sarah’s own contract began May 8, 2026.
We moved to the production area, which barely accommodates the needs of the 11 crew members and the wardrobe team. Once again, we heard about the ongoing challenge of space and storage for props, and costumes. The production cabana houses all the set pieces and props for the season—every inch is occupied. As Sarah said, “it’s bursting at the seams (pun not intended)”. The space is so tight that props are moved outside strategically, night by night, bin by bin, act by act, because there’s simply no room to maneuver anything in that shed. Message received: they need more storage!
A member asked “what if it rains” Sarah said they have a rain plan—everyone has a responsibility, mostly involving tarps. In fact, just the day before, she’d had to grab all her machines and tuck them indoors in a hurry. Another member asked about the green smear of paint on the pavement outside the dressing room cabanas. Sarah explained that traditionally, performers would wait in a “green room”; thought to make their cheeks look rosier before going onstage. This particular green streak, though, had nothing to do with that tradition—it was leftover from painting the Into the Woods set a few years back. Tim’s joke, she said, is that The Grove’s outdoor cast area is the greenest green room you’ll ever find—which got a good laugh from Guild members!
Sarah then walked us over to the dressing room cabanas, numbered 1–5, which accommodate 14 actors in total. Cabana 4 – nicknamed “JumboBanna” holds up to six actors, while the smaller cabanas hold two each. We did a tight walk-through of JumboBanna, promising not to touch anything—though we really wanted to pull out those rows of fabulous costumes for a closer look. Rows of shoes live underneath.
We learned The Grove has an understudy, Charlotte, who has traveled from Toronto twice this season to fill in for an ensemble member due to injury or illness. Every actor, including Charlotte, has their own station—makeup section, mirror, chair, and a bin for personal belongings. Spamalot costumes hung and shelved on one side of the cabana, with the other shows’ costumes organized on the other. A lot goes on in this small, carefully organized space! One Guild member noted that this setup is a definite upgrade from what actors originally had.
Interesting fact: a “quick wardrobe change” means a costume change in under five minutes. This is done behind the stage, outdoors, on a small mat. Thankfully, the planning included undergarments. Sarah has a dresser to help her this year—one actor has 21 costume changes in Spamalot (how is that even possible?). Other roles, like King Arthur, have just a single costume.
Sarah handles laundry daily at the Fenelon laundromat, then returns each garment to its cast member’s spot in the dressing room, so clean clothing is always within reach. Other wardrobe responsibilities include restyling wigs after each show, organizing shoes (each cast member has about 4-6 pairs across the different shows), and moving costumes backstage for quick changes. We can only imagine the schlepping involved in keeping up with Spamalot’s quick changes. In short, Sarah’s job keeps everyone else sane—which must take a toll on her own!
Backstage Operations 2 with Allison Bjerkseth
Allison Bjerkseth greeted us backstage in the space traditionally called a “crossover”—a hidden corridor allowing actors and crew to move from one side of the stage to the other, unseen by the audience. At T\the Grove, though, that corridor isn’t a building with walls and a cement floor, but an open-air path through the woods with a mulch surface. As Allison said, it’s the same concept—and a very busy space.
The costumes we saw in the dressing rooms come back here “at the top of the show” for the quick changes Sarah mentioned. Allison pointed out the clothing racks, hooks, and mats that serve as dressing areas. Costumes for each show are “preset” in the same place every night, so cast and crew always know exactly where to go.
Baskets sort “dead” items (already used), from “not dead yet” items (still needed later in the show). This keeps cast and crew organized. Allison called it a constantly moving, flowing system—a “backstage dance”. It’s unusual for a production manager to be backstage, but Allison is there every night for Spamalot, since it requires extra hands—which they were prepping for that very evening. Her job is making sure her team has everything they need; her motto is “if the team needs my support, that is my job”. She’s justifiably proud of her small but mighty six-person crew.
Allison showed us a sample running sheet—what she called “the paperwork”—to give us a sense of how a show is organized. It notes the songs, cues, and who’s doing what, changing, moving, or receiving on and off stage at any given moment—down to the exact second (this happens at 3 minutes, 35 seconds - that accurate). The crew rehearses, documents, and memorizes these details through sheer repetition. However, if memory fails, the paperwork is there to fall back on. It’s their lifeline if a crew member gets sick or can’t make a show and someone else has to fill in. Earlier this season, a crew member succumbed to the heat, and everything had to be reassigned on the fly. It wasn’t an easy night, but everyone—even the cast—pitched in to make sure the show happened.
We then climbed the “escape” stairs, upstage to the upper crossover, with its vantage point over the amphitheatre—a tight space up there. Allison explained that a more traditional theatre would have wings with prop tables preset before a show; The Grove instead has a few shelves, color-coded for each show. Most of this season’s props belong to Spamalot—luckily, the other shows don’t have as many. Costumes are also preset upstairs so cast and crew always know exactly where to find an item. We saw two Lady of the Lake gowns ready to go. Allison said an actor may have less than a minute to change—in Spamalot, Jeremy Lapalme quick-changes from Dennison to Galahad in 48 seconds. So, the crew has to think about details like: the last item put on is the first thing hung back up. Hats go on top, shoes stay on the bottom, and every costume is placed the same way every show, so nothing is left to chance. Sometimes four actors are changing at once on the crossover, with two dressers helping, which gets cramped fast—so everyone has to stay organized. Then the crew runs up costumes for the next scene, making sure everyone gets the space they need. It’s constant back-and-forth with its own kind of flow. Costume and prop management, it turns out, is its own backstage choreography.
The stage crew also handles set changes upstairs. Allison showed us where the “feet of God” which was live for Spamalot, operated by a small pulley system that takes two crew members to run. Other props hang here too, ready for the stage crew. She pointed out a cabinet housing the audio receivers and mics, everything hardwired into their system and run from the tech booth. Changing mic batteries and troubleshooting receivers mid-show also falls to the stage crew. And Allison, naturally, is always armed with safety pins for quick wardrobe fixes.
A Guild member asked whether the drama camp puts on a show. Allison said yes—the first production of the season was last Friday. Families were invited, drawing about 100 audience members for a 25-minute performance of The Lion King. Some returning and older campers also got to write and perform their own show, so the kids put on two back-to-back productions. Allison praised their efforts. Not all campers want to be onstage. In fact, Grove crew member Gavin Jones was once a camper who at first volunteered because of his interest in audio and lighting; Grove staff nurtured that interest. Today he’ss a production assistant running spotlights during shows. Allison says he’s wonderful.
One of Allison’s favourite parts of the job is mentoring others. This year The Grove has some younger cast members who are technically paid interns. The Grove is their first professional gig. They gain the same experience as everyone else, just with less background knowledge going in. Next week, The Grove is offering educational sessions on topics interns might not learn in school—union specifics, taxes, and general theatre smarts—where Grove staff can pass along their lived experience to those coming up in the industry. To quote Allison “the people at The Grove are here because they love, enjoy, and are willing to do what they do. They really believe in what’s happening… even when it gets hard… it’s a little part of their heart”. She added that she’d rather be at The Grove than somewhere like Stratford, where everything’s already figured out—she enjoys the challenge to put her skills and talents toward being part of The Grove’s growth. Working with The Grove, she said, is gratifying; “it’s a bit of a feat” when people say something’s not possible, and they make it happen anyway. That challenge is exactly where she wants to be. She ended by noting that their work at The Grove is also helping the wider community.
Tim’s Final Comments
Tim was keen to share future plans: developing an indoor space for community engagement and year-round operations, with the goal of increasing The Grove’s economic impact and expanding educational and enrichment programming, and the hiring a Director of Education. Tim talked about how the Stratford Festival got its start and shared his parallel vision for how The Grove could be a similar catalyst for change and growth in our community.
He disclosed some exciting news: the Grove is currently in the architectural planning phase for an indoor space! The Grove Theatre can demonstrate that consumer spending already has made a $4.1 million economic impact on Fenelon Falls, and the surrounding community during the summer months. According to Tim, his wish list involves extending that activity into the off-season, right up through the holidays. Local merchants, businesses, and restaurants would be thrilled to hear about this forward momentum for Fenelon and area.
The outdoor theatre will always be at the heart of everything – The Grove Theatre - can we all picture Tim’s dream: butterfly wings closing over the amphitheatre when it rains?
Currently, The Grove can’t bring in bus tours, because they can’t guarantee a show will go on—an indoor space would change that. Tim suggested we all “buy a chair” to help make his dream a reality. He added that Stacey’s large band of volunteers want to be able to do even more.
The second bit of exciting news: The Grove is in the process of hiring a Director of Education, who will run youth and adult enrichment programming—the kind we’ve dreamed about at our own Guild meetings. Things like choir participation and performing arts programs for all ages. The sky’s the limit. Tim pointed out that the arts have been pulled out of the education system, which is exactly why support in this area matters so much.
Well, that was an eye-opening event! Our biggest takeaway? Goodness gracious - The Grove theatre team are passionate, talented and hard workers! Thank you to all our members for their participation, and for allowing the Grove Guild to keep thriving.
Your co-chairs,
Brenda Devine & Pj Murray
