At Mainstage Theatre Company, we pride ourselves on the quality productions we mount and the tremendous experience we provide Toronto’s youth by working with professional theatre artists and venues. We consistently provide relevant and superior musical theatre training that expands our company members’ appreciation for the arts and broadens their understanding of the stage. But most importantly, we invite these youth to join a family in which they feel comfortable expressing themselves and where artistic collaboration is encouraged.
I admire Mainstage Theatre Company’s ability to mentor youth. Through the experience of being essential members of our team, our youth grow into confident and creative members within their own circles. We understand that these productions aren’t necessarily the end of our cast members’ journey in theatre, and pride ourselves on offering guidance and preparation for those who choose to pursue future studies or work in the arts.
Having trained in Drama at Queen’s University, I bring a similar philosophy to Mainstage Theatre Company, in how theatre is perceived and developed through production. In a youthful and vibrant setting, I ask that every member engage with the roles they undertake so they can better develop their skills in acting, singing and dancing, and also better understand all the elements necessary in mounting a full production.
But what makes Mainstage Theatre Company truly special is the connection each cast and production team feel as they come together to create a remarkable experience that is unique and special with each production. Our alumni have gone on to do wonderful things and, having been part of their pre-professional training, we can’t help but feel great pride in their success.
I admire Mainstage Theatre Company’s ability to mentor youth. Through the experience of being essential members of our team, our youth grow into confident and creative members within their own circles. We understand that these productions aren’t necessarily the end of our cast members’ journey in theatre, and pride ourselves on offering guidance and preparation for those who choose to pursue future studies or work in the arts.
Having trained in Drama at Queen’s University, I bring a similar philosophy to Mainstage Theatre Company, in how theatre is perceived and developed through production. In a youthful and vibrant setting, I ask that every member engage with the roles they undertake so they can better develop their skills in acting, singing and dancing, and also better understand all the elements necessary in mounting a full production.
But what makes Mainstage Theatre Company truly special is the connection each cast and production team feel as they come together to create a remarkable experience that is unique and special with each production. Our alumni have gone on to do wonderful things and, having been part of their pre-professional training, we can’t help but feel great pride in their success.
Alain Richer
Artistic Director
Mission and Values
Mainstage Theatre Company (MTC) provides youth, aged 11-21, with the opportunity to experience the magic of pre-professional musical theatre. Under the guidance of some of Canada’s theatre leaders - directors, choreographers and music directors, MTC mounts two full music theatre productions and offers a number of workshops and theatre events each year. These events provide youth with diverse opportunities to audition and perform, develop their artistic abilities, learn the technical aspects of theatre production, and experience the power of delivering an outstanding production to an audience. Since its inauguration in 2008, MTC has become renowned for the quality of its productions, (talented performers, beautifully designed and crafted sets and costumes) and has become a top competitor in the Toronto theatre education industry.
Our intensive actor-training program unlocks our students’ unique and creative talents, and provides the tools that aspiring young actors need to make the most of their potential. Engaging in the process of music theatre productions also helps develop personal skills and resources that have life-long benefits, such as greater self-confidence, self-discipline, effective time-management and self-awareness.
MTC’s engagement of youth in musical theatre enables them to experience the value of ‘community’, and ‘belonging’ and the satisfaction of participating in an artistic project that enhances peoples’ lives. It allows youth to explore issues in contemporary society, and to explore their own goals, aspirations and relationship to the community at large. Music theatre also brings together diverse people with widely different experiences of life and as such, facilitates the exploration of, and sharing in, Toronto’s cultural mosaic.
Lastly, MTC provides students with a creative, nurturing, joyful and inspiring experience.
Our intensive actor-training program unlocks our students’ unique and creative talents, and provides the tools that aspiring young actors need to make the most of their potential. Engaging in the process of music theatre productions also helps develop personal skills and resources that have life-long benefits, such as greater self-confidence, self-discipline, effective time-management and self-awareness.
MTC’s engagement of youth in musical theatre enables them to experience the value of ‘community’, and ‘belonging’ and the satisfaction of participating in an artistic project that enhances peoples’ lives. It allows youth to explore issues in contemporary society, and to explore their own goals, aspirations and relationship to the community at large. Music theatre also brings together diverse people with widely different experiences of life and as such, facilitates the exploration of, and sharing in, Toronto’s cultural mosaic.
Lastly, MTC provides students with a creative, nurturing, joyful and inspiring experience.
Who We Are
Alain Richer | Artistic DirectorAlain (he/him) is a graduate of both the Queen’s University Drama Department and English Department. He is a television production designer for the Télévision Francophone en Ontario (TFO). Before arriving in Toronto, Alain spent six years studying and practicing theatre in Kingston where he co-founded and produced Collective Productions, for which he was most active in the roles of Director and Designer. For Mainstage Theatre Company, he has directed The Music Man, Sweet Charity, The Addams Family, Anything Goes, Pippin, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Sweeney Todd, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and designed Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof and Singing in the Rain. Other Toronto Credits include: Lighting Design: Espoir/Espwa, Le malade imaginaire (TFT), Death Clowns in Guantanamo Bay (Drama Centre); One Good Marriage (FLINT theatre); Set Design: Le Placard (TFT), The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (ATIC), Delicacy (Theatre Brouhaha). He has also worked as Production Manager, Technical Director and Scenic Artist.
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Emily Meilleur | AdministratorEmily (they/she) completed their Master of Arts in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory at McMaster University in 2020, where she also received her Hons. Bachelor of Arts in English and Cultural Studies. Emily will continue to deepen their Education and Cultural Studies work with queer pedagogies, children's literature, and resilience in the Bachelor of Education at York University, beginning Fall 2021. Having grown up in musical theatre and dance spaces, Emily knows firsthand the profound impact that theatre and performing arts can have on young people. She is therefore thrilled to work with Mainstage to provide opportunities for young performers to grow their skills in community with peers and professionals alike. Recently, Emily has stage managed McMaster Musical Theatre’s 37th and 38th seasons (Mamma Mia! and Reimagining Musical Theatre) and McMaster Thespian Company (LEAR). Through this theatre work, teaching, research, and community, Emily strives to be in unwavering solidarity with projects of liberation, justice, and equity to the extent possible as a white settler on unceded Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe lands.
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Board of Directors
Jennifer McGuire, President
Indrani Butany DeSouza, Vice President
Robert Barrass, Vice President
Yael Woodward Amaral, Treasurer
Vanessa Bresee
Jamarie Brown
Sara Davis
Saccha Dennis
Bridget Hoffer
Jay T. Schramek
Indrani Butany DeSouza, Vice President
Robert Barrass, Vice President
Yael Woodward Amaral, Treasurer
Vanessa Bresee
Jamarie Brown
Sara Davis
Saccha Dennis
Bridget Hoffer
Jay T. Schramek