 | This article contains promotional content .(June 2013) |
| Formation | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Type | Theatre group |
| Location | |
Artistic director(s) | Brendan Healy Matthew Jocelyn (formerly) |
| Website | www |
Canadian Stage is a Canadian non-profit contemporary theatre company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The company was founded in 1988 with the merger of Centre Stage and Toronto Free Theatre. [1] Canadian Stage has produced more than 300 shows - over half of which have been Canadian plays. Canadian Stage also runs a series of development, education, and outreach programs. [2] [3]
At the end of the 2008-2009 season, Martin Bragg stepped down as artistic producer. At the time of his resignation, Bragg had been with the company for 17 years, and was the company's longest serving artistic director. [4] He cited a desire to pursue other opportunities and spend time with his family as reasons for his departure. [5]
In 2010, Canadian Stage partnered with York University's Faculty of Fine Arts to develop an MFA in Theatre – Stage Direction program, which officially launched in 2011. [6] Designed to train directors for large-scale theatrical productions, the program requires students to direct a Canadian Stage production and complete an internship. [7]
In 2023, the Dream in High Park, the company's series of William Shakespeare plays presented in an open-air amphitheatre, celebrated its 40th anniversary. [8]
The Canadian Stage Company is led by an Artistic Director and an Executive Director, as well as a Board of Directors. The current artistic director is Brendan Healy. The current executive director is Monica Esteves, who has been in the role since 2018. [9]
Canadian Stage presents performances at three venues: the 876-seat Bluma Appel Theatre; the Berkeley Street Theatres (244-seat Berkeley Downstairs Theatre and the 167-seat Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre); and a 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheatre in Toronto's High Park, where Shakespeare is performed each summer. [13] [14]
The company's main stage, The Bluma Appel Theatre, is located in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (a city of Toronto-owned building), at 27 Front Street East. The theatre has been Canadian Stage's home for over 25 years. The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts was constructed in the late 1960s as part of the city's Centennial Celebrations. Originally named "The Theatre" when it opened in February 1970, it was renovated by the Thom Partnership in 1982. [15]
The Berkeley Street Theatre complex contains two performance spaces, as well as a rehearsal space, props and wardrobe facilities, and the company's administrative offices. The Berkeley site was originally built by the Consumer's Gas Corporation in 1887 as part of a gas pumping station complex. The Berkeley Downstairs Theatre was originally a pump room and served in that capacity until 1955, when Consumer's Gas moved their production out of downtown Toronto. A wrecking firm was hired to demolish the buildings in February 1971, but the complex was renovated instead. The Berkeley Upstairs Theatre was created as part of the general 1976 renovations of the complex. This building is also owned by the City of Toronto.[ citation needed ]
Situated in the middle of Toronto's High Park, the amphitheatre can seat over 1,000 people. The first production of Shakespeare in High Park was performed in 1983 without a stage. The City of Toronto terraced the hillside of the Amphitheatre to provide seating in 1997. A permanent stage was installed in 2005.[ citation needed ]
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Canadian Stage is a three-time recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Arts, in recognition of building private sector and community support. Canadian Stage has been nominated for 296 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, receiving 62.
In March 2024, the 2024-25 season was announced: [16]
The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, the Shakespeare Festival and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. The festival was one of the first arts festivals in Canada and continues to be one of its most prominent. It is recognized worldwide for its productions of Shakespearean plays.
The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma, the theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill Glassco was the artistic director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as artistic director and remained in that role until his death in December 2001. Richard Rose was appointed artistic director in July 2002. Mike Payette assumed the role of artistic director in September 2021 upon Rose's retirement, with Lisa Li joining as Executive Director in June 2024.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary plays not limited to Shakespeare. During the Festival, between five and eleven plays are offered in daily rotation six days a week in its three theatres. It welcomed its millionth visitor in 1971, its 10-millionth in 2001, and its 20-millionth visitor in 2015.
Shakespeare by the Sea is a professional theatre company and registered charitable society in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, Buddies in Bad Times is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical expression". It's the largest and longest-running queer theatre company in the world.
Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Brown Theatre and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Playhouse.
The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the awards program was established on December 13, 1978, with the first awards held in 1980. Each winner receives a bronze statue made from the original by John Romano.
Bluma Appel, was a Canadian philanthropist and patron of the arts.
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collectively called the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts:
The Harman Center for the Arts is a complex consisting of the Michael R. Klein Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., US.
Libby Appel served as the fourth artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) from 1995 to June 2007. Appel directed more than 25 productions at OSF, and her artistic vision influenced the 11 plays presented each year during her tenure. Despite the festival's name, she placed increased emphasis on new works. “We have made major connections with world playwrights, artists whose voices we’re particularly interested in.” Appel said. “We commission playwrights, we develop plays here; we have playwrights in residence. We’re a world force now, and I’m really proud of that.”
Marin Theatre is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and professional LORT D regional theater located in Mill Valley, California. Lance Gardner is the company's Artistic Director
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of the largest professional Shakespeare companies in North America, serving over 100,000 adults and children annually. Located in Madison, New Jersey, it is the state's largest theatre company dedicated to the works of Shakespeare and other classic masterworks, including rarely-produced epics.
The Canadian Stage Company is based in Toronto, and is Canada's third-largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre company. Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, Canadian Stage is dedicated to programming international contemporary theatre and to developing and producing Canadian works.
The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is a performing arts theatre complex located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Situated on Front Street one block east of Yonge Street, it was the City of Toronto's official centennial project, commemorating the 1967 Canadian Centennial. It houses two auditoriums, the 868-seat Bluma Appel Theatre and the 499-seat Jane Mallett Theatre.
Dancap Productions was a Canadian theatrical production company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2007 by Aubrey Dan, the company presented large-scale musicals and plays in Toronto. The company initially found success with its Canadian production of Jersey Boys, which ran in Toronto for two years. After six years, Dancap Productions closed in July 2012.
Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This concept has been adapted by many theatre companies, and over time, this name has expanded to encompass outdoor theatre productions of the playwright's works performed all over the world.
The Toronto Theatre District is a part of the Toronto Entertainment District in Downtown Toronto that contains the largest concentration of stage theatres in Canada. It is the third largest English-speaking theatre district in the world, after West End in London and Broadway in New York City.
Don Shipley is one of Canada’s leading Artistic Directors, with an extensive career in Canadian and International theatre and the performing arts. He is known for leading the Arts and Culture component of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
The African-American Shakespeare Company (AASC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional regional theatre company in San Francisco, California. Since its founding in 1994 Sherri Young has been its Executive Director and in 2009 L. Peter Callender joined as its Artistic Director.
