Jean Robinson has been chosen as Queens County’s volunteer of the year for 2025. (Rick Conrad)

Part of Jean Robinson’s job more than 30 years ago was to choose Queens County’s volunteer of the year.

Now, the Brooklyn resident and consultant has received the award herself.

“I was really surprised and honoured to be selected and I’ve been thinking it’s kind of funny because I came here in the late ’80s as the recreation director for the county and part of my job was helping select the representative volunteers, so it’s a bit of full circle.”

The Region of Queens Municipality announced earlier this summer that it had chosen Robinson as its volunteer of the year for her “remarkable and diverse volunteer resume”.

She has a full-time job as president of Horizons Community Development Associates, Inc., but that hasn’t stopped her from giving much of her free time to non-profits and other groups in the community.

Originally from Beersville, N.B., near Moncton, Robinson moved to the area in 1988 and has made her mark with many organizations, whether that’s volunteering at her kids’ schools when they were younger to the Queens County Girls Choir and Queens County Seafest to her current volunteer gig as chair of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival.

She’s also helped shepherd local community theatre productions at the Astor Theatre and with the Winds of Change Dramatic Society as a producer.

She credits her parents with teaching her the importance of volunteering at a young age.

“I just think that arts and culture have a really important foundational role in community and in a healthy community, so this is my way of being part of that and it ties to my bigger value that volunteering is foundational to communities, to community development and having a healthy place to live, work and play.”

She’s been involved with the theatre festival since 2011 and it was that connection that also garnered her the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal in January for services to the arts.

Former Lt.-Gov. Arthur LeBlanc and his wife Patsy are big fans of the festival and he nominated Robinson for the honour.

“And that came as a complete surprise. I opened my email one day back in early January and I thought is this a real email?” she says, laughing.

“It was very special. It was a lovely ceremony. I was able to take two of my three adult children. … It was lovely to see the breadth of volunteers that were being recognized for their work, whether it was in civil society or in government or in Indigenous relations.”

She says volunteering is changing as people’s family lives and priorities shift. Many groups, especially in rural communities like Liverpool, find it challenging to recruit and retain volunteers.

“I think it is still a struggle and I think that the days of folks volunteering for many years with an organization is maybe more of the exception than the rule than it used to be and just the ongoing long-term volunteer is a little more difficult to get now.”

Robinson is bucking that trend by staying with organizations like the theatre festival for the long haul. She says volunteering has helped her form and strengthen long-lasting friendships.

“People volunteer for different reasons and so, understanding that people may want to volunteer for social connections, they may want to do it for building skills which could then even potentially help on a resume.”

She says volunteer-run groups have had to adapt to remove any barriers to bringing new people on board.

“Knowing that there aren’t financial barriers for them to being involved and understanding that as an organization. Thinking about the strengths that volunteering brings to a person in the community but also how can we break down the barriers and support people to be part of the community. How do we open the door and make them feel welcome?”

Robinson will be the Region of Queens delegate to the provincial volunteer awards ceremony on Sept. 29. She’ll be one of 70 from around the province to be honoured with the award.

The Queens volunteer of the year is chosen from nominees for the region’s Ripple Effect volunteer recognition program which allows the public to nominate fellow community members for their volunteer efforts. More information about the Ripple Effect is available here on the Region of Queens website.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The Liverpool International Theatre Festival has issued a call for submissions for its 2026 event. (LaRocque Photography via Liverpool International Theatre Festival Facebook page)

The Liverpool International Theatre Festival is now accepting applications from amateur theatre troupes around the world to participate in the 2026 festival from Oct. 14 to 18.

“LITF is one of the Top 10 amateur theatre festivals in the world, and we’re incredibly proud to invite
troupes to bring their stories and artistry to our community,” festival chairperson Jean Robinson said in a news release.

“Each festival is a vibrant celebration of culture, creativity and connection.”

LITF features five days of performances which are usually one-act plays, along with workshops and many social events, which give audiences an opportunity to connect with the artists. Local residents are also given a chance to host the actors, writers and directors in their own homes, enhancing the cultural exchange component of the unique festival.

Amateur theatre groups can download the application form and guidelines from the festival’s
official website at www.litf.ca.

Deborah Raddall and Jean Robinson are part of the team organizing this year’s Liverpool International Theatre Festival. (Rick Conrad)

It happens every two years, it’s less than two months away and the organizers of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival want you to be part of it.

The festival is looking for local residents to open their homes and help welcome the almost 90 people coming to Liverpool from 10 different countries for the four-day event.

The volunteer-driven festival is celebrating its 16th edition from Oct. 17 to 20 at the Astor Theatre.

This year, amateur theatre troupes from Morocco, Egypt, the country of Georgia, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, Wales and the U.S. will be putting on one-act plays in an event that celebrates theatre and international friendship. Winds of Change from Liverpool will also be putting on a play at the festival.

“For those that haven’t been to the festival in the past,” says festival chairwoman Jean Robinson, “they are one-act plays and they have to be between 25 minutes long and 50 or 55 minutes long. And so, it’s a great introduction to theatre and different types of theatre.”

Deborah Raddall is in charge of LITF’s marketing and promotions. 

“LITF is a celebration of culture and theatre and community. And it’s a chance for us, meaning Liverpool, to experience the world.”

The festival relies on 40 to 60 volunteers from the community to make it happen.

Members of the theatre troupes are billeted at homes around Queens County. This year, organizers are putting an urgent call out for people to open their homes to the actors and crews coming to Liverpool.

LITF asks hosts to provide a bed and some breakfast for festival participants. The festival looks after everything else, including other meals and transportation. Hosts also get two free tickets to the play involving their guests.

Raddall and her husband Blair have hosted troupes in their home for many previous festivals.

“It’s a wonderful experience, my experience has been really great with that. We’ve been hosting almost every year and we’ve made wonderful friendships and connections. It’s quite unique for a theatre festival.”

“All you need to do is have a bed. It’s a bed and breakfast situation. What we ask of our hosts at a minimum is to provide a bed, provide a breakfast for them in the mornings and to pick them up when they arrive, if it’s a reasonable time. … At a minimum interaction, make them welcome in your home, give them something to eat in the mornings and our festival is designed to pick up all the rest of the stuff. … We’re really looking for a welcoming space and a little bit of breakfast.”

Robinson said hosts and guests have made lasting connections.

“Hosts can be as engaged in the festival as they want to be. We know that these have become lifelong friendships and also new experiences. People have gotten to go skating for the first time with their host, even being taken to the ocean to see a beach for the first time, going out on a lobster boat or things like that that have really cemented those relationships.”

Raddall says they’re still looking for space for about 40 troupe members. Troupes and potential hosts fill out questionnaires so that organizers can help make sure the experience is as positive as possible for everybody.

“It’s a process that’s not just we’re just going to chuck somebody on your doorstep without having a conversation about what works best for you and what works best for them.”

If you’re interested in becoming a host for the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, you can contact info@litf.ca , check out their website at litf.ca or message them at their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lesli Chandler in Astor Aug 1 2023. Photo Ed Halverson

The new executive director at the Astor Theatre says transitioning from the stage to the office is a welcome challenge.

Lesli Chandler says since taking over as Executive Director on July 5 she’s been reacquainting herself with Liverpool and learning what people want from their local theatre.

Born in Liverpool, Chandler’s history with the Astor Theatre goes back to the 1970s and some of the original productions of local theatre company, “Winds of Change.

“Now I was only very young, but I would accompany my mother who was involved in the shows, to many of the rehearsals on all the shows, sometimes sitting in a rehearsals that probably weren’t appropriate for a young child,” said Chandler. “But anytime I could come to the Astor or be in this magical space I would find a way and waiting to be old enough to be on stage.”

After finding that opportunity to step into the limelight with a production of Oliver, Chandler moved to Halifax as a child but returned to Liverpool in her teen years for a year of high school where she reconnected with the Astor Theatre.

“I got involved with the Winds of Change again, working backstage, doing makeup, ushering, volunteering anyway I could,” said Chandler. “And that led me to the Astor, sort of shaped my passion and desire to work in the arts, to be an actor and to be a singer, performer, so I went off to study theatre in Montreal.”

When she completed her education, Chandler spent time as coordinator for the Liverpool International Theatre Festival before enjoying a theatre career in Halifax.

Becoming the Astor’s executive director is a sort of homecoming for Chandler.

She’s grateful for the help she’s received from her predecessor, Jean Robinson-Dexter during her first month’s transition into the role.

Chandler says as she’s been familiarizing herself with the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, she’s enjoyed watching the students and instructors involved with the summer theatre program.

“I come from a background with working with a lot of youth so the work that Ashley [Rose Goodwyn] and Lincoln [Inglis] have done with the camps has been incredible. What these children, youth have done developing their own scripts, performing in five days, is really been quite impressive and I’m happy to see that,” said Chandler. “And I really am an advocate for youth experiencing the magic of this place because ultimately, we want them to be the ones that are going to have that same passion that I’ve grown up with.”

Chandler is settling in and is eager to showcase the productions, films and artists who will be on display this fall.

She looks forward to meeting the community face-to-face when the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre’s complete line up is announced at a launch party September 9.

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Performers at the 2022 Liverpool International Theatre Festival. Photo courtesy LITF. Credit Chris LaRocque

Organizers of the 2022 edition of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival are hailing the event as a great success.

Over the weekend, audiences enjoyed performances by seven troupes from around the world.
Festival chairperson Jean Robinson-Dexter said from the outset the community rallied behind the event.

“Opening night and having the block party and sunset market on main street in front of the theatre, the town arts and culture centre. That was the work of our South Queens Chamber of Commerce and just gave a totally different kind of kick off to the festival but really engaged the community and folks are still talking about what a good time they had that evening,” said Robinson-Dexter.

Adjudicator Paul Fowler had a tough job to determine how to allocate the awards but, in the end, named The Italian Movie Factory performed by Avanzi di Scena Cultural Association as the Outstanding International Production.

Robinson-Dexter said it’s an unenviable task to be the one judging such unique talents.

“My gosh, what a difficult experience it must have been for him because the plays were so, so different.,” said Robinson-Dexter. “As he said, it’s subjective. Folks may not agree with the choices that he made but those were his choices on that day, and I would say, he got it pretty correct in terms of the choices and the awards that were presented on Sunday night.”

The festival didn’t go off without some adversity. Three of the scheduled 10 troupes booked to perform couldn’t get into Canada due to visa issues.

Robinson-Dexter said it is something they will need to keep in mind for the 2024 edition.

“I guess it’s the way of the world now in terms of folks getting visas to come to Canada. That’ll certainly be something that we’ll be looking at.”

Robinson-Dexter said the Liverpool International Theatre Festival team will take some time to review what went well, what could be improved upon and what changes they would like to see from this year as they begin to make plans for the next festival in 2024.

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Belgian troupe Lucky Leo performing their play, The Raise. Photo courtesy Liverpool International Theatre Festival

The play’s the thing once again in Liverpool.

After four years the Liverpool International Theatre Festival is returning to the Astor Theatre.

Nine acts from around the globe will walk the boards in what is considered one of the top ten amateur theatre festivals in the world.

Chairperson of LITF Jean Robinson-Dexter says given the international nature of the performers, one of the things the selection committee looks for are plays that can be understood whether acted in English or not.

“It can transcend the language barriers. We’ll often look for plays that are less verbal or not language heavy, so to speak, so that they can make that crossover so that folks can understand what’s happening,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The festival has been held every two years since it began in 1992.

The last edition of LITF was scheduled for 2020 but like so many other events, was cancelled due to COVID.

This year the festival will start Thursday October 13 with a parade of flags down Main Street leading to the opening ceremonies in the Astor Theatre.

LITF has partnered with the South Queens Chamber of Commerce to round out opening night with a block party featuring live music and events beginning at 8pm.

The weekend will be jammed with performances followed by social evenings at the Liverpool Curling Club.

The 2022 edition of Liverpool International Theatre Festival will also see the return of the ever popular “Coffee Critique” which is open to all performers and all-access pass holders.

Robinson-Dexter says the critique started as an opportunity for performers to discuss their work amongst themselves but has become one of the most unique and popular components of LITF.

“Our audience very quickly wanted to be involved in that. They wanted to hear it and they wanted to ask questions,” said Robinson-Dexter. “It’s usually a jam-packed room. People are just so engaged in learning about how theatre happens in other countries.”

Sales of the all-access passes ends Wednesday October 5, but Robinson-Dexter says there are still multi-performance packages and individual passes available through the Astor Theatre box office.

The Liverpool International Theatre Festival runs from October 13-17.

More information can be found on the festival website.

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Liverpool International Theatre Festival Logo. Contributed by LITF

Theatre lovers can firm up their calendar as the Liverpool International Theatre Festival has announced they will be returning in 2022.

LITF is usually held at the Astor Theatre in autumn but will go ahead May 12-15 next year.

The 2020 edition of the event had been postponed until October of 2021 due to COVID-19.

Chairperson Jean Robinson-Dexter says they had hoped to host the event this year but given the state of the pandemic thought it would be prudent to hold out a few months longer.

“It’s disappointing in one sense that we can’t be together in October but we’re very hopeful that by next May most of the world will be vaccinated and we’ll have good travel protocols that we’ll be able to welcome these troupes here in Liverpool next May,” said Robinson-Dexter.

For four days every two years, the LITF welcomes up to a dozen theatre troupes to Liverpool from places as far away as Russia and Africa.

Robinson-Dexter says the influence of the festival extends deep into the community.

“We have social events and the troupes visit the schools and we have workshops and a fabulous opening ceremony then a closing ceremony where we present the awards,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The Astor Theatre is home to LITF. Photo Ed Halverson

Another highlight of the festival is what they call a coffee critique where experts adjudicate a troupe’s previous night’s performance in front of an audience.

“That’s usually a full house of folks that subscribe for the whole festival and attend that and there’s lots of lively discussion,” said Robinson-Dexter.

She says on March 13 organizers spoke with most of the troupes who were scheduled to perform this year to tell them of their plans to delay the event by six months.

She says they were understanding of the precautions and expects the majority will be involved with the May 2022 festival.

As to whether an audience will be waiting for the festival to return, Robinson-Dexter says from all she has seen and heard, people are craving engagement with the arts.

“My sense is that the community will happily fill theatre seats once we’re able to do that safely and we’re moving in that way,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The 2022 edition of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival will be significant not only for its return from the pandemic. It will also mark 30 years since the event was started back in 1992.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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