Canadian Stage is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

contemporary performance arts company based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, ''Canada''.

About Canadian Stage

Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre. Currently, the company has an emphasis on multidisciplinary work, work in translation, programming international contemporary theatre, and developing and producing new Canadian works. Total attendance for a season is approximately 100,000 people. Canadian Stage has produced more than 300 shows - over half of which have been Canadian plays. Canadian Stage also runs a series of artist development and education initiatives, as well as youth and community outreach programs.

Current Leadership

The current Artistic Director of Canadian Stage is Brendan Healy. Healy replaced outgoing Artistic Director, Matthew Jocelyn, in early 2018. Prior to his appointment at Canadian Stage, Healy maintained leadership positions at the Rose Theatre in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it t ...

, and

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 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 e ...

. The current Executive Director of Canadian Stage is Monica Esteves. Esteves joined Canadian Stage after a successful tenure at Crow's Theatre.

Theatres

Canadian Stage presents works at three venues: the 876-seat Bluma Appel Theatre; the

Berkeley Street Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

Theatres (244-seat Berkeley Downstairs Theatre and the 167-seat Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre); and a 1000-seat outdoor amphitheatre in Toronto's High Park where Shakespeare is performed each summer. The Bluma Appel Theatre in the

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts 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, commemorati ...

(a city of Toronto owned building) is the company's main stage. Located at 27 Front Street East, this theatre has been Canadian Stage's home for over 25 years. In the 2016-17 season, they will present eight productions at this theatre. The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts was constructed in the late 1960s, as part of the city's Centennial Celebrations. It opened in February 1970, but was then called "The Theatre". In 1982, it was renovated by the Thom Partnership. A balcony was added, the lobbies expanded, and the giant chandeliers installed before the theatre re-opened the following year as the Bluma Appel Theatre, in recognition of the generous financial contributions of arts activist Bluma Appel. The Berkeley Street Theatre complex contains two performance spaces, as well as a large 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 of destroyed thanks to the efforts of Tom Hendry, co-founder of Toronto Free Theatre. 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. 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 between two large oak trees with none of the infrastructure that exists today. The City of Toronto terraced the hillside of the Amphitheatre to provide more comfortable seating in 1997, and a permanent stage was installed in 2005.

Awards

Many of the plays developed by Canadian Stage have been awarded and nominated for Canada's most prestigious literary and performing arts honours, including Governor General's, Chalmers and

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

s. 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 addition to numerous other Canadian and international awards and nominations.

Partnership with York University

Since 2010, Canadian Stage and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

's Faculty of Fine Arts have collaborated through an MFA in Theatre – Stage Direction. The initiative was launched in 2011 to support the development of directorial talent for the national and international stage. The program develops emerging directors with advanced training in large-scale theatre directing. The first graduates of the program were Ker Wells and Ted Witzel. Students integrate their studio work at York with involvement in artistic projects at Canadian Stage. The program is customized for each student based on their experience, artistic orientation and goals. Key elements include the opportunity to direct a Canadian Stage production and an internship with a major national or international theatre. Artistic and General Director

Matthew Jocelyn Matthew Jocelyn (born 1958) is the former artistic and general director of Canadian Stage, the largest not-for-profit theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to his appointment at Canadian Stage, Jocelyn was the artistic and general director ...

and Lead Mentor, Peter Hinton serve to guide students in the MFA program, working closely with graduate faculty in York's Department of Theatre.

Artistic Leadership

Bill Glassco William Grant Glassco, (August 30, 1935 – September 13, 2004) was a Canadian theatre director, producer, translator and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he studied at the University of Toronto, Princeton ...

- Producing Director, 1988–1990 *Guy Sprung -Producing and Artistic Director 1990-1992 *Bob Baker - Artistic Director, 1992–1998 * Martin Bragg - Artistic Producer, 1998–2009 *

- Artistic & General Director, 2009–2018 *Brendan Healy - Artistic Director, 2018–Present

2013–2014 season

*''The Flood Thereafter'' - by Sarah Berthiaume *''Venus in Fur'' - by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

*''Yukonstyle'' - by Sarah Berthiaume *''DESH'' - choreographed and performed by Akram Khan *''Winners and Losers'' - written and performed by Marcus Youssef and James Long *''Needles and Opium'' - written and directed by

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...

* ''London Road'' - by Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork *''Tribes'' - by

Nina Raine Nina Raine is an English theatre director and playwright, the only daughter of Craig Raine and Ann Pasternak Slater, and a grand niece of the Russian novelist Boris Pasternak. She graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1998 with a First in Eng ...

*''Belleville'' - by

Amy Herzog Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play ''4000 Miles'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play ''Mary Jane'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Aw ...

*''The Tempest Replica'' - choreographed and directed by

Crystal Pite Crystal Pite (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian choreographer and dancer. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet BC, and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelage of William Forsythe. After leaving Ballet ...

2016–2017 season

*''Concord Floral'' - by

Jordan Tannahill Jordan Tannahill is a Canadian author, playwright, filmmaker, and theatre director. His novels and plays have been translated into twelve languages, and honoured with a number of prizes including two Governor General's Literary Awards.

, created and directed by Erin Brubacher, Cara Spooner, and

*''All But Gone: A Beckett Rhapsody'' - written by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

, directed by Jennifer Tarver, musical direction by Dáirine Ní Mheadhra *''Constellations'' - by

Nick Payne Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life and education Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is also a graduate of the Royal Court Young Write ...

, directed by Peter Hinton. *''Dollhouse'' - choreographed and performed by Bill Coleman/ Music, Audio and Visuals by

Gordon Monahan Gordon Monahan (born 1956 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian pianist and composer of experimental music. He has been active since at least 1978. Along with his own work, he has performed works by other composers such as John Cage, James Tenney, ...

*''Who Killed Spalding Gray?'' - written and performed by

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

*''Jérôme Bosch'' - choreographed by

Marie Chouinard Marie Chouinard OC (born 14 May 1955) is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and dance company director. Life and work In 1978, Chouinard presented her first work, ''Crystallization''. After 12 years as a solo performer and choreographer, Chouina ...

*''Liv Stein'' - by

Nino Haratischwili Nino Haratischwili ( ka, ნინო ხარატიშვილი; born 8 June 1983) is a Georgia born German novelist, playwright, and theater director. She has received numerous awards, including the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, the Kra ...

, directed by

*''Five Faces for Evelyn Frost'' - by Guillaume Corbeil *''Cirkopolis'' - by

Cirque Éloize Cirque Éloize is a contemporary circus company founded in Montreal in 1993 by Daniel Cyr, Claudette Morin, Jeannot Painchaud and Julie Hamelin. Since 2004, it has its headquarters and creation studio in Old Montreal inside the former Dalhousie ...

*''Kiss'' - by Guillermo Calderon *''887'' - by

''Spotlight Australia:'' *''Jack Charles v. the Clown'' - by

Jack Charles (actor) Jack Charles (5 September 1943 – 13 September 2022), also known as Uncle Jack Charles, was an Australian stage and screen actor and activist, known for his advocacy for Aboriginal people. He was involved in establishing the first Indigenous t ...

*''Blood Links'' - by Willian Yang *''Endings -'' by Tamara Yang *''Meeting'' - by

Antony Hamilton Antony Hamilton Smith (4 May 1952 – 29 March 1995) was an English-Australian actor, model and dancer. Hamilton began his career as a ballet dancer with The Australian Ballet before becoming a model. He later transitioned into acting and won h ...

*''The Return -'' created by

Yaron Lifschitz Yaron Lifschitz (born 30 March 1970) is an Australian director most notable for his involvement in the circus arts. He has directed more than 80 productions over circus, opera, physical theatre, theatre, and large-scale live events. His work ...

with Quincy Grant and the Circa Ensemble.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 43, 39, 02, N, 79, 21, 50, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Theatre companies in Toronto Organizations established in 1987