Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. As of 2021, Winnipeg had a city population of 749,607 and a metropolitan population of 834,678, making it Canada's sixth-largest city and eighth-largest metropolitan area.
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an alternative theatre festival held each year for twelve days in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
St-Boniface is a city ward and neighbourhood in Winnipeg. Along with being the centre of the Franco-Manitoban community, it ranks as the largest francophone community in Western Canada.
Leonard Joseph Cariou is a Canadian actor and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979) alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also received Tony nominations for his roles in the Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical Applause (1970), and the Sondheim A Little Night Music (1973).
The Winnipeg Film Group (WFG) is an artist-run film education, production, distribution, and exhibition centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, committed to promoting the art of Canadian cinema, especially independent cinema.
John Stephen Hirsch, OC was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother István. Hirsch survived after spending most of the Second World War years in Budapest, and came to Canada in 1947 through the War Orphans Project of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Arriving in Winnipeg, Hirsch was taken into the home of Alex (Sasha) and Pauline Shack. He remained close to the Shacks for the rest of his life, and although he lived in New York City and Toronto, maintained strong ties with the city of Winnipeg.
The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises twenty city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildings, and it is known for its intact early 20th century collection of warehouses, financial institutions, and early terracotta-clad skyscrapers.
Manitoba Centennial Centre is an arts and cultural district that covers a 34-acre area in the east Exchange District of the Point Douglas area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, linking several of Manitoba's important arts and cultural facilities. It includes the Centennial Concert Hall, the Manitoba Museum, Planetarium and Science Gallery, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Manitoba Production Centre, Artspace, three nearby surface parking lots, and the building at 11 Lily Street. Founded as an urban renewal program in 1960, the Centre now sees 930,000 patrons annually at its venues. The Manitoba Centennial Centre Corporation (MBCCC)—a Manitoba Crown corporation established in 2005—manages the centre.
Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the third floor of Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg. By the end of the 2016–17 season, PTE had presented 340 plays on its thrust stage over its 44-year history, 149 of which were world premieres, to an annual average attendance of 35,000 people.
Gary Files is an Australian-Canadian actor, theatre director and radio writer who has worked in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Resident in Australia since 1976, Files is noted for the accentual versatility of his radio-based voice acting.
Rick McNair (1942–2007), was a Canadian basketball player and coach. He was the former Director of Theatre Calgary and the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the founder of the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, he died in Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 31, 2007.
The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events regularly occurring throughout the year. Programming is available in both English and French. While most of the events occur in Winnipeg, there are also some at Brandon University and throughout the province.
Perry Rosemond, CM is a Canadian television writer, producer and director.
Manitoban culture is a term that encompasses the artistic elements that are representative of Manitoba. Manitoba's culture has been influenced by both traditional and modern Canadian artistic values, as well as some aspects of the cultures of immigrant populations and its American neighbours. In Manitoba, the Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport is the cabinet minister responsible for promoting and, to some extent, financing Manitoba culture. The Manitoba Arts Council is the agency that has been established to provide the processes for arts funding. The Canadian federal government also plays a role by instituting programs and laws regarding culture nationwide. Most of Manitoba's cultural activities take place in its capital and largest city, Winnipeg.
Tom Hendry was the co-founder of the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1958 and, in 2008, the MTC Warehouse Theatre was officially dedicated to Hendry.
Kelly Thornton is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She has served as artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and is the current artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Thornton was the co-head of Equity in Canadian Theatre: the Women’s Initiative.
Frances Koncan is an Saulteaux-Slovene journalist, theatre director, and playwright from Couchiching First Nation who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Doreen Brownstone OM was a British-born Canadian actress, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
