Thousand Islands Playhouse
theatre company in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada
The Thousand Islands Playhouse is a summer theatre company located in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada.
It was founded in 1982 by Greg Wanless and a group of local actors and graduates from Queen's University including Timm Hughes, Joan Gardiner, Mo Bock, and Kathryn Mackay. Artistic Director Wanless and Assistant Artistic Director Mackay retired at the end of the 2012 season. Since 2016, the company has been led by Managing Artistic Director Brett Christopher.
Thousand Islands Playhouse operates two theatres, the former Gananoque Canoe Club building as the 348-seat Springer Theatre in which musicals and larger plays are performed, and a black-box theatre, the 140-seat Firehall Theatre in which smaller, experimental plays are produced.
The Thousand Islands Playhouse's programming also a series of educational opportunities: camps, workshops, and the Young Company program that sees 25 local high school students attending school full time at the theatre. The company has also recently renovated a new premier production facility, a 20,000 sq ft building that houses all production departments (carpentry, scenic painting, props, wardrobe, as well as the rehearsal halls.
Playwrights’ Unit
The Playwrights’ Unit is a year-long residency program to nurture promising playwrights. The selected writers create new plays while having the Playhouse audience and resources of both the Springer Theatre and Firehall Theatre in mind. During the month of December, the Playhouse holds full day workshops during the PlayReading series; a series of free-public reading on the playwrights’ work.
“Thousand Islands Playhouse” enters the record as theatre company in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Thousand, Islands and Playhouse can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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