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.
The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits and writer William S. Burroughs. Wilson, in the original production, was largely responsible for the design and direction. Burroughs wrote the book, while Waits wrote the music and most of the lyrics. The project began in about 1988 when Wilson approached Waits. The story is based on the German folktale "Der Freischütz", which had previously adapted as an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. It premiered at Hamburg's Thalia Theatre on 31 March 1990, and was performed at Paris's Théâtre du Châtelet on 9 October 1990. November Theatre produced its world English-language premiere in 1998 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in Canada. Det Norske Teatret in Oslo staged a Norwegian (Nynorsk) version in 1998, with Lasse Kolsrud as Pegleg. Only the dialogue was translated by the dramaturg and key collaborator of the entire creative process, Wolfgang Wiens; the songs were performed in English.
Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. His plays typically feature a harsh yet comical view of contemporary life in Canada, including frank depictions of sexuality, drug use and violence.
Patti Stiles is an actress, director, author, playwright, teacher and improvisation artist living in Australia.
The Calgary Fringe Festival is an annual Fringe theatre festival in Calgary, Alberta.
Elizabeth Sterling Haynes was an Alberta theatre activist. Haynes was a driving force in the Little Theatre Movement in Alberta.
November Theatre is a Canadian theatre company that started in Edmonton, Alberta but is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's Artistic Producer is Michael Scholar, Jr.
Catalyst Theatre is a multi-award-winning theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Founded in 1977 as a social action theatre, it was taken over by Artistic Co-Directors Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay in 1996. Christenson and Tremblay drastically changed the company's mandate to focus on "creating original Canadian work that explores new possibilities for the theatrical art form and the process through which it is created, to exposing the work locally, nationally and internationally, and to challenging the artists and audiences who participate in the creation of that work.” Since 2002, Catalyst Theatre has been developing new work under the creative leadership of Artistic Director Jonathan Christenson in collaboration with Resident Designer Bretta Gerecke. Catalyst Theatre's artistic team has created original productions that have toured the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States.
John Hudson is a Canadian theatre producer and director, and also a politician living in Edmonton, Alberta. He ran to represent the constituency of Edmonton-McClung for the Alberta Party in the 2012 Alberta general election and the 2015 Alberta general election.
She Has a Name is a play about human trafficking written by Andrew Kooman in 2009 as a single act and expanded to full length in 2010. It is about the trafficking of children into sexual slavery and was inspired by the deaths of 54 people in the Ranong human-trafficking incident. Kooman had previously published literature, but this was his first full-length play. The stage premiere of She Has a Name was directed by Stephen Waldschmidt in Calgary, Alberta in February 2011. From May to October 2012, She Has a Name toured across Canada. In conjunction with the tour, A Better World raised money to help women and children who had been trafficked in Thailand as part of the country's prostitution industry. The first performances of She Has a Name in the United States took place in Folsom, California in 2014 under the direction of Emma Eldridge, who was a 23-year-old college student at the time.
Andrew Kooman is an author and playwright from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
Ronald Pederson is a Canadian, Métis actor, comedian and theatre director who has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the United States. He has performed at most of Canada's major theatres including The Stratford Festival, The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Arts Club, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Young Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, The Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Soulpepper and The SummerWorks Festival. Pederson is an alumnus of Toronto’s The Second City and has also worked extensively in television and may be best known for his Canadian Comedy Award-nominated work and his three seasons on Fox Television's MADtv.
The RBC Emerging Playwright Award is a national playwriting competition in Canada which gives its winner a 6-month mentorship and cash prize. This award was created in 2015. It is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada.
Nick Green is a Canadian actor and playwright. He won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2017 for his play Body Politic, a dramatization of the history of the Canadian LGBTQ newsmagazine The Body Politic. He is also the recipient of an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award, the Tom Hendry Award and BroadwayWorld.com Award.
Betty Mitchell Awards were created in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community. It is commonly called the Betty Award and is named for Calgary theatre pioneer Dr. Betty Mitchell.
Wendell Smith is a Canadian actor born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Daniel Arnold is a Canadian actor and writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is most noted as cowriter with Darrell Dennis and Medina Hahn of Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience, a stage play which was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language drama at the 2022 Governor General's Awards.
Medina Hahn is a Canadian actress and writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is most noted as cowriter with Darrell Dennis and Daniel Arnold of Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience, a stage play which was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language drama at the 2022 Governor General's Awards. Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience is a stage play about indigenous land claims which features points at which the audience can vote on the direction the story would take, requiring the actors to be prepared for at least 50 different possible permutations of the performance.
Guys in Disguise is an independent queer theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1987 by Darrin Hagen and Kevin Hendricks when they took their first show, Delusions of Grandeur, to the Edmonton Fringe. Guys in Disguise is best known for comedic and drag-based shows and has been credited for "exposing the voices of the drag and queer community to a wider audience."
Allegra Fulton is a Canadian actress, best known for Frida K, a one-woman stage show in which she portrayed artist Frida Kahlo.
