Concrete Theatre
From PerformanceWiki.ca
Concrete Theatre is an award winning professional theatre company committed to creating, developing and producing artistically excellent and culturally diverse Theatre for Young Audiences that explores issues relevant to the lives of young people and their families.
History
- Concrete Theatre started in 1987 and was officially registered in 1989 as a Not-For-Profit Society. It began as a collectively run, Popular Theatre company operating on a project-to-project basis. Between 1990 and 1996, Concrete Theatre began partnering with social service agencies, working in schools doing participatory theatre projects.
- In 1998, the company moved towards working exclusively as a professional Theatre for Young Audiences company. Their regular season consists of three touring productions: one for Elementary schools, one for Junior and Senior Highs, and one that cycles between a teen production/participatory show/residency.
- In January of 2005, Concrete was part of a Research Alliance that received a grant from the prestigious SSHRC CURA program for just under a million dollars to expand and explore the groundbreaking play and workshop series exploring teen sexuality called Are We There Yet? by Jane Heather.
- Annually since 2002, Concrete has produced the Sprouts New Play Festival for Kids, commissioning three playwrights each year to develop new, short, culturally diverse TYA scripts that have the potential to grow into full-length productions for the company. The full-length scripts that have come out of the Festival have included Carnival Magic by Pat Darbasie, A Promise To The Sun by Tololwa Mollel, Nami Namersson, The Viking Who Liked To Name Things, book and lyrics by Trevor Anderson, music by Bryce Kulak, Apples and Oranges by Chris Bullough, The Early Bloomer by Jana O’Connor, Paper Song by Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull, Songs My Mother Never Sung Me by Dave Clarke, The Antyssey by Joel Crichton and Richard Lee Hsi, Bello by Vern Thiessen, The Tofu Wars by Mieko Ouchi and Pia and Maria by Joshua Dalledonne and Bianca Miranda.
- The company has a very active new play development program. Commissioned plays include Carnival Magic by Pat Darbasie, A Promise To The Sun by Tololwa Mollel, Nami Namersson, The Viking Who Liked To Name Things by Trevor Anderson and Bryce Kulak, Apples and Oranges by Chris Bullough, The Early Bloomer by Jana O'Connor, Paper Song by Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull, Routes by Collin Doyle, Under Cover by Mark Haroun, The Antyssey by Joel Crichton and Richard Lee Hsi, Songs My Mother Never Sung Me by Dave Clarke, Bello by Vern Thiessen, CTL ALT DEL by Jana O'Connor, Signs by Collin Doyle and Pia and Maria by Joshua Dalledonne and Bianca Miranda.
- The company has a growing national touring schedule. Their productions of Songs My Mother Never Sung Me, Bello, The Bully Project, Apples and Oranges, Paper Song, Routes, Lig & Bittle, The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito, The Shape Of A Girl, Offensive Fouls, Smokescreen and Are We There Yet? have been presented at theatres across the country from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to Vancouver.
- Concrete Theatre is a not-for-profit society and a registered charity (no. 89738 7478 RR0001), and operates as a member of PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatres) hiring artists under the Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA). The organization operates with a Board of Directors drawn from the community, an Artistic Director, an Artistic Associate, a General Manager and a Booking Coordinator. Concrete Theatre employs professional artists on a contract basis.
Artistic Team
- Mieko Ouchi - Artistic Director
- Caroline Howarth - Artistic Associate
- Patrick Beagan - General Manager
- Heather Cornick - Booking Coordinator
Awards
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (2019)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Luc Teller (Actor) Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (2019)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Score for Dave Clarke for Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (2019)
- The Compass Award for Concrete Theatre's work in Alberta to educate youth about sexual consent
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Consent (2018)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Mieko Ouchi (Director/Playwright) Consent (2018)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Vern Thiessen & Brian Dooley (Script/Translation) Bello (2017)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Under Cover (2016)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for The Antyssey (2015)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Joel Crichton/Richard Lee Hsi (Book/Score) The Antyssey (2015)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for I Am For You (2014)
- Dora Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Routes (2011)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Routes (2010)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Jeremy Fisher (2007)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Nami Namersson, the Viking Who Liked To Name Things (2006)
- Mayor's Evening for the Arts - Syncrude Award for Innovative Artistic Direction - Concrete Theatre (2005)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Shape of a Girl (2003)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Lig & Bittle (2002)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Naomi's Road (2001)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Are We There Yet? (2000)
Nominations
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for CTRL ALT DEL (2019)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Jana O'Connor (Playwright) CTRL ALT DEL (2018)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Mieko Ouchi (Director) CTRL ALT DEL (2018)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for Richard Lee Hsi (Actor) Consent (2018)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Bello (2017)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Apples and Oranges (2014)
- Dora Award - Outstanding Production for Young Audiences for Paper Song (2014)
- The Sterling Award - Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences for David Fraser (Design) Rice: Stories With A Slant (2001)
- Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award - Writers Guild of Alberta for Rice: Stories With A Slant (2001)
