Misplaced Pages

#351648

33-491: Approximately 700 students enroll annually in onsite acting classes, from adults to children as young as five. Classes range from acting for stage, film and TV to Improv to Theatre Production to Musical Theatre, Voice, Movement and others. Every year, the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Theatre for Young Audiences touring program performs in elementary and junior high schools, as well as for community audiences throughout

66-440: A $ 20,000 loss. In 1983, Kim McCaw was appointed artistic director. During that year, subscription packages were introduced for its three-play adult season. 200 subscriptions were sold that season. These numbers increased to over 3500 by the 1985/86 season, and PTE established a reputation as a "prairie populist" theatre, becoming one of a handful of Canadian theatres at the time to give voice to Canadian stories. The 1986–87 season

99-584: A continuous increase in theatrical material for children. In the present day, TYA production companies or groups can be found in most regions of the US and around the world. Theatre performed by or for children dates back hundreds of years. The first mention is seen in a 1784 entry in Madame de Genlis ’s Memoirs, in which she describes a performance by her two daughters to the Duke of Chartres . TYA became its own branch of theatre in

132-412: A goal of $ 2.2 million. On November 8, 2012, PTE announced that it reached its Capital Campaign goal of $ 2.5 million. With the completion of Phase 1 of the capital project in the summer of 2011, PTE was able to renovate the lobby, construct a new lounge, and upgrade its washrooms. The main theatre also received new carpeting, reupholstered seats, and fresh paint. The second phase, over the summer of 2012, saw

165-569: A result of the support given to female playwrights: The 50/50 Award from the International Centre for Women Playwrights for programming plays by women playwrights for more than 50% of the 2012–2013 season (only two other Canadian theatres received the award that year), and the Bra d'Or Award for 2013 from the Playwrights Guild of Canada's Women's Caucus, awarded each year to an individual within

198-607: A studio theatre group of local actors formed in 1974. In 1981, the workshop changed its name to the Prairie Theatre Exchange, to reflect a growing focus on presenting a season of plays for an adult audience, while maintaining its commitment to the School and its younger clientele. Gordon McCall became the artistic director that same year. 1982-1983 was an all-Canadian season of the PTE, featuring five world premieres, three of which were by Manitoba playwrights. This emphasis on local plays resulted in

231-641: Is a theater company based in Toronto , Ontario . Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. It often presents Canadian interpretations of works by noted playwrights such as Harold Pinter , Thornton Wilder , Samuel Beckett , Tom Stoppard and Anton Chekhov . Soulpepper's founding members are Martha Burns , Susan Coyne , Ted Dykstra , Michael Hanrahan , Stuart Hughes , Diana Leblanc , Diego Matamoros , Nancy Palk , Albert Schultz , Robyn Stevan , William Webster, and Joseph Ziegler . In 2005,

264-472: Is globally practiced, takes many forms, both traditional and non-traditional, and explores a wide variety of themes ranging from fairy tales to parental abuse. Originating in the 20th century, TYA takes on many functions in different settings and places around the world. In the US, for instance, it is often entertainment-centered, although its roots lie in education. Many writers and production companies have started catering specifically to TYA audiences, causing

297-586: The 20th century, first appearing in Moscow, when Russian actress Natalia Satz founded the Moscow Theatre for Children in 1918. In its early stages, the Moscow Theatre for Children viewed its goal as representing childhood needs, separating the struggles of childhood from those of adult life. Similar TYA groups were established in England, the US, France, and Czechoslovakia between World War I and World War II. Education

330-606: The Carol Shields Festival. As of April 2007, the total number of plays presented since 1973 reached 278. 131 of these were original works. On November 8, 2007, PTE marked its 35th year with a special fundraising dinner honouring the extraordinary contributions of The Honourable Mr. Charles R. Huband. Mr. Huband, a Life Member of the PTE Board of Directors, was one of the driving forces in the creation of PTE. On January 13, 2011, PTE launched its two-phase Capital Campaign with

363-602: The Honourable Joyce Bateman, M.P. for Winnipeg South Centre in recognition of "his outreach to the community with made-in-Manitoba plays and his valuable contributions to Winnipeg's theatre and performing arts community, particularly as Artistic Director of PTE." In the 2013–14 season, PTE produced the world premiere Social Studies by Trish Cooper, a member of the PTE Playwrights Unit. Prairie Theatre Exchange and Robert Metcalfe were honoured with two awards as

SECTION 10

#1732875783352

396-663: The Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company , have been working to create and produce plays and musicals for young audiences that are more intelligent and diverse. Recent work has explored themes that include parental abuse (e.g. An Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle ), divorce (e.g. Doors , by Suzan Zeder), death (e.g. Afflicted , by Laurie Brooks), and social barriers such as racism, xenophobia, and homophobia (e.g. The Transition of Doodle Pequeño , by Gabriel Jason Dean). Soulpepper Soulpepper

429-542: The Playwrights' Unit (Sharon Bajer, Burnin' Love - March 2011, Rich Chafe, The Secret Mask - November 2011, Ellen Peterson, The Brink - October 2012, and Tricia Cooper, Social Studies - November 2013). Other new scripts developed by the members of the Playwrights Unite during the past few years have been produced across the country, including a number of Short Shots—ten minute plays specially commissioned by PTE for

462-620: The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre in Marketing and Communications. Theatre for Young Audiences Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), also youth theatre , theatre for children , and children's theatre is a branch of theatre arts that encompasses all forms of theatre that are attended by or created for younger audiences. It blankets many different forms of theatre methods and expressions, including plays, dance, music, puppetry, circus, physical theatre , and many others. It

495-1176: The Soulpepper Theater Company moved into its permanent building, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts . The joint project with the George Brown College theater school was designed by local firm KPMB Architects and is located in Toronto's historic Distillery District . In January 2018, founding artistic director Albert Schultz was publicly accused of sexual misconduct by four professional actresses who worked with him at Soulpepper. The women involved are Kristin Booth , Diana Bentley, Hannah Miller and Patricia Fagan. Lawsuits on their behalf were filed against both Schultz and Soulpepper. Schultz resigned his position as artistic director on January 4, 2018. The lawsuits were settled out of court in July 2018. Soulpepper Theatre Company aims to contribute to

528-568: The TYA movement started to gain traction, many different companies and playwrights chose to partake in this new branch of theatre. Some include early TYA playwright Constance Mackay, the Chicago company The Junior League, New York producer Clare Tree Major , The Children’s Theatre of Evanston, and many others. Today, TYA continues to thrive, with an increasing number of playwrights, performers, producers, and companies taking part in it. Most TYA productions in

561-617: The US are plays, with a fast-growing number of musicals taking second place. However, most performing arts forms have been adapted and incorporated into Theatre for Young Audiences, including physical theatre, operas, puppetry, dance, street performance, and many others. Some companies specifically cater to non-traditional theatre forms, such as the MainStreet Theatre Company and the Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta. Several major companies performing Theatre for Young Audiences exist across

594-479: The US, including but not limited to Imagination Stage , Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company , Seattle Children’s Theatre , Lexington Children’s Theatre, Adventure State Chicago, and Boston Children’s Theatre, all producing work specifically for younger audiences throughout the year, offering performances both of new work and TYA classics. Most Theatre for Young Audiences plays are written by adult playwrights, although occasional projects are led and constructed by

627-668: The Winnipeg Jazz Festival have been regular users of the facilities. PTE also rents office space to Shakespeare in the Ruins, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and Patient Puppets, pairing a very low rent with access to office equipment and staff expertise to support those endeavours. The theatre originated with the Manitoba Theatre School started by the Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) in 1960. In 1972–1973, MTC shut down

660-514: The act of creating new work. May 2013 saw the 10th annual Festival. In March 2007, the PTE Playwrights Unit was established with seven local playwrights to use PTE as a base and resource. The current roster of new and established playwrights consists of Joseph Aragon, Sharon Bajer, Rick Chafe , Ginny Collins, Tricia Cooper, James Durham, Debbie Patterson, Ellen Peterson, Marc Prescott, and Alix Sobler. As of November 2013, PTE has given professional productions to four new plays that were developed within

693-432: The appointment of Robert Metcalfe as artistic director for 2003–04, as it celebrated its 30th season. In May 2004, the theatre launched the Carol Shields Festival of New Works. The festival featured staged readings of 21 new plays by 19 Canadian playwrights, and continues to bring together not only theatre companies but also dance companies, filmmakers, visual artists, musicians, and singer-songwriters every year to celebrate

SECTION 20

#1732875783352

726-496: The completion of a new Board Room, updated offices, the completion of a new film studio in the "Annex" portion of the facility, complete with editing suite, and a new space for the Playwrights Unit that includes a library of Canadian plays, workstations, and meeting area. At the conclusion of the 2011/12 season, PTE's total number of productions increased to 310 over its history. (139 of these were new plays.) In September 2012,

759-691: The growth of upcoming generations of theatre artists via the Soulpepper Academy. The Academy, which began in 2006, is a full-time, paid training program. After a nationwide search, eight artists are selected to participate in a one-year residency. During this time, they refine their abilities under the guidance of esteemed theatre practitioners, advance their careers by engaging in Soulpepper productions, offer instruction in local community classrooms, act as mentors to young individuals, and collaborate on collective creative ventures. The Soulpepper Academy program

792-528: The new theatre seated 364. Later, a reconfiguration to improve sightlines resulted in the current house capacity of 323 seats. Michael Springate became artistic director in 1991, followed by Allen MacInnis in 1995. In August 2001, the Prairie Theatre Exchange performed overseas for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , with an all-aboriginal cast in a production of fareWel by Winnipeg playwright Ian Ross. In October 2002, PTE announced

825-525: The official name of the education program at PTE was changed to PTE Theatre and Film School, to reflect an increasing roster of film and TV acting classes. PTE opened its 40th anniversary season with The Brink , by Ellen Peterson of the PTE Playwrights Unit. This October 2012 production was the 140th play in the company's history. On October 29, 2012, Robert Metcalfe was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by

858-586: The province. Educational partners of the PTE include the University of Manitoba , Winnipeg School Division , and other school divisions, alternative learning centres, and community arts groups across the province of Manitoba. During the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival , two of the festival's venues are the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Mainstage and Colin Jackson Studio, and both Folklorama and

891-664: The school, and a group spearheaded by Colin Jackson and Charles Huband founded the Manitoba Theatre Workshop (MTW) to take its place. The organization operated out of the old Grain Exchange building on 160 Princess Street in downtown Winnipeg . Colin Jackson was director of MTW from 1973 to 1976. Originally the Manitoba Theatre Workshop was oriented toward a younger audience, but in 1975, the first adult productions were performed at MTW. These were presented by Confidential Exchange,

924-582: The theatre community who has actively supported and promoted the work of Canadian women playwrights during their career. In 2018, Thomas Morgan Jones became artistic director. In 2021, Lisa Li, former producer at Soulpepper , became managing director. In 2024, Li and Jones both resigned from PTE after terminating most of the theater's production crew including department heads of wardrobe, carpentry, and props, citing financial struggles. In June of 2024, PTE announced that Katie Inverarity would be taking over as managing director. Inverarity had previously worked for

957-467: The younger audiences themselves. Different schools of thought within TYA argue whether or not younger characters should be portrayed by children or by adult actors. At the present, most TYA productions in children’s companies around the country count on casts of professional adult actors to portray all roles. For instance, the Arvada Center ’s 2016 production of an adaptation of the novel Junie B. Jones

990-426: Was a milestone for the PTE. The theatre announced a balanced budget of $ 1.2 million, the first time that it had surpassed $ 1 million. From 1987 through 1989, the Prairie Theatre Exchange initiated and completed a move into Portage Place Shopping Centre, with the opening play, Village of Idiots , at the new location on October 12, 1989. The new facility cost $ 3.5 million, comprised 42,500 square feet (3,950 m), and

1023-455: Was another big influence in TYA within the US: children’s leagues were established in cities across the country, and material for younger audiences was both presented at these establishments and distributed to any interested groups. The Drama League was responsible for changing theatre for children from its originally purely educational intent into the broader Theatre for Young Audiences known today. Once

Prairie Theatre Exchange - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-640: Was produced with adult actors, including Melissa Morris, Katie Jackson, and Rachelle Wood, portraying characters who are around the age of 12. A number children’s companies in the US have designated programs, in which the children engage with workshops and experimental rehearsals in order to create a TYA production with child actors. Those are rarely, however, part of the companies’ main stage season. Many Theatre for Young Audiences productions still revolve around traditional child-friendly topics, such as fairy tales and magical quests. A number of theatre companies, such as Seattle Children’s Theatre , Imagination Stage , and

1089-469: Was the main purpose of TYA when it first arrived to the US. In 1903, Alice Minnie Herts founded The Children’s Educational Theatre, which was the first US company to produce theatrical work both with and for children. Although it did not last long, The Children’s Educational Theatre inspired both the birth of other companies around the country, as well as continuous growth in the writing and production of plays for younger audiences. The Drama League of America

#351648