History

  • The company produced a new musical, Miss Pringle’s Mini-Skirt, by Johanna Zomers, with Ish Theilheimer and Kathy Eisner, directed by Shirley Hill and Sarah Wright. The musical is based on Johanna’s experiences growing up on a pioneer farm and attending one-room schools in the 1960s. The show initially featured 11 children and youth who came… more

  • In 2023 Stone Fence Theatre toured the Valley with Tom Thomson and the Colours of Canada and raised about $10,000 for local hospitals. It launched Conspiracy Conniptions, a zany comedy set in a doughnut shop and sung in gospel music style. It’s about how the arrival in the small town of Cobtown, Ontario of unruly protestors causes a… more

  • In 2022, Stone Fence Theatre  launched a remarkable new musical about the life and death of Canada’s most famous artist: Tom Thomson & The Colours of Canada: Love, gossip and murder in Algonquin Park.  It was created by Ish Theilheimer, with Peter Brown and was directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie.  The lead role of Thomson was played… more

  • In 2021, the company produced a musical revue called How Are Ya Now? to celebrate the easing of the pandemic. For health safety reasons, it was performed mostly outdoors at Station Park in Killaloe. How are Ya Now? was about our Ottawa Valley community and culture. It is a musical comedy variety show that celebrates our sense of fun… more

  • In 2020, all performances were cancelled due to the pandemic. The company did produce an online music video that year, however, based on Ish Theilheimer’s song, “Essential Little Things.”  more

  • In 2019, Stone Fence Theatre features Up at Fred’s – Allons-y!, a new musical by Ish Theilheimer, directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie. The show revives the memory of Fred Meilleur, the beloved hotel-keeper of Chapeau, Quebec. Every performance was sold out, including a benefit in the arena in Chapeau (where the photo on the right was taken after… more

  • In 2018, Stone Fence Theatre presented a successful 19-show tour of its latest original: I Come from the Valley! Tales and Times of Joan Finnigan, by Ish Theilheimer, with Johanna Zomers, directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie. This musical brought to life some of the stories that the Valley’s most illustrious author collected and also the tumultuous times… more

  • In 2017, the company had a successful six-town, 14-show run of Stick Out Your Tongue and Say MOO, a romantic musical comedy by Ish Theiheimer featuring Evan Burgess, Danielle Bissonnette, Shirley Hill, Derek Tolhurst, Cathy Lyons and Chantal Elie-Sernoskie, who also directed the play and had her fourth baby in September, partially through the run. It… more

  • In 2016, we staged the comedy Stag and Doe, by Mark Crawford, directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie. This play, which opened at the Blyth Festival in 2014, featured, in its Stone Fence Theatre production, Danielle Bissonnette, Melissa Lindsay, and Kelley Oliver, as well as returning veterans Joshua McCoy and Stephanie Pinkerton, Chris Hoffman, Phil Hoffman and Camille McLean,… more

  • In 2015, the company produced two original musicals by Ish Theilheimer: Here Comes the Train! The Ottawa Valley Railway Story,  starring Peter Brown, Lesley Sneddon, Chantal Elie-Sernoskie, Phil Hoffman, Ambrose Mullin, Fran Pinkerton, Colin Wylie, Peter Frolander, and Ish Theilheimer, with Stephanie Pinkerton standing in for Chantal in Fall, and Valley Vic and The Christmas Temptations, starring Ambrose… more

  • In 2014, the company’s mainstage production was G’day, We’re from the Valley, EH!, a collectively-developed comic review about contemporary Ottawa Valley life, starring John Haslam, Peter Brown, Chantal Elie-Sernoskie, Phil Hoffman, Maureen McCoy, Camille McLean, Ambrose Mullin, Fran Pinkerton, Robin Pinkerton and Ish Theilheimer. Chantal Elie-Sernoskie directed the show and Ish Theilheimer was musical director and… more

  • In 2013, the company held its first-ever reading of scripts submitted through its Ottawa Valley Script Development project. More than 70 people attended the February event at The Sands on Golden Lake. The company developed two new scripts and productions in 2013:– Bonnechere River – The Future Tense, by Ish Theilheimer and Johanna Zomers, with… more

  • 2012 marked a departure for the company, its first non-musical play, and its first script by a non-company member, Schoolhouse, by Leanna Brodie. It starred Christine Helferty and Josh McCoy and was directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie, who made her Stone Fence debut in 2011. The show included original background music by Peter Brown intermission entertainment by… more

  • In 2011, the company put on a review of traditional, favourite and original musical numbers with comic vignettes called The Opeongo Opera, by Ish Theilheimer. It featured Terry McLeish, Fran Hobbs, Maureen McCoy, John Haslam, the Helferty Sisters, Stephen Helferty, Ken Ramsden and “Minny Others.” The summer program also featured four concerts: Louis Schryer in… more

  • In 2010, the company lost an important team member, business manager Joe Murray and we had other health problems to contend with, so we offered a new version of On the Air with Mac’s Melodiers, featuring Ambrose Mullin, John Haslam, Ken Ramsden and Stephen Helferty. This show, in one form or another, was ultimately performed… more

  • In 2009, the company moved to the Eagle’s Nest at the Eganville Community Centre for its greater size, convenience, accessibility and central location. We produced a review based on the history of dance halls in the Ottawa Valley called Country Sparking at Sunnydale Acres, written by Ish Theilheimer, who also starred in the show, along… more

  • In 2008 Stone Fence Theatre presented a special new variety show that featured hilarious stories and songs as told by one of Killaloe’s most beloved residents. An Ottawa Valley Kitchen Party, featuring Tales of Benny Afelskie brought to the stage some very funny people, led by Stone Fence favourites John Haslam, Ambrose Mullin and Ken Ramsden telling… more

  •  The company was forced to dramatically downsize in 2007. Attendance in 2006 was fair, but hoped-for public funding did not materialize. There’s a lot of competition for the few programs available for small theatres! Since then, the company has been run by a core of professionals working part-time, with a greater number of volunteers, with… more

  • In 2006 the company staged three original productions, all based on collaborative research and development with the local community: 1. “Barn Dance!” was an all-star musical tribute to the stars of old-time Canadian country music assembled by Ish Theilheimer, featuring Brian Hebert, Carol Kennedy, “Reverend Ken” Ramsden, Lynn Davis, Ish Theilheimer, Robin Pinkerton and the… more

  • The company began 2005 with a 10-show, four-community winter tour of Renfrew County with a newly developed, full-length show called Looking Back at Mac, by Ish Theilheimer. This show essentially adds a first act to ON THE AIR with Mac’s Melodiers and is more biographical as a result. The tour was sponsored by Renfrew County… more

  • In 2004, its second year, Stone Fence Theatre produced three original new shows that focused on the cultural heritage and history of the Ottawa Valley. The season included eight touring performances in a variety of community halls, 20 summer performances in two venues and four fall performances. Reflections of a Century-The Musical, by Ish Theilheimer… more

  • Spring In March 2003, Stone Fence Theatre produced an original variety show called Valley Irish, in conjunction with Bonnechere Little Theatre of Eganville. The show was developed and hosted by Ish Theilheimer and directed by Barry Goldie. It featured a reading by Joan Finnigan from “Songs from Both Sides of the River” and an original historical narrative… more

  • In December 2002 Stone Fence Theatre presented its first show: Ottawa Valley Christmas Past at the Wilno Tavern in Wilno, Ontario. One hundred people packed the small tavern for an afternoon of stories, song and comic monologue. The show was developed, written and hosted by Ish Theilheimer and directed by Barry Goldie. It included excerpts from Joan Finnigan… more