ABOUT TEATRO LIVE!

Teatro Live! (formerly Teatro La Quindicina) is a theatre company based in Edmonton’s Arts District in Old Strathcona. Resident at the Varscona Theatre, we produce an annual four-play subscription series, as well as special events such as concerts, variety programs, and readings. Teatro strives to provide an environment which enables artists to grow in all capacities as theatre practitioners. Our ensemble approach extends beyond the stage and is evident in the company’s organizational model, which has seen artists involved at every level of operations, from governance to production and administration. Primarily though, the Teatro ensemble has always functioned as a source of inspiration for programming, with productions built around the particular strengths, skills, and personalities of the group. The vast majority of original plays premiered by Teatro have been written very specifically for these dedicated Edmonton artists.

For most of our four-decade existence, our programming has been centered around the original works of playwright Stewart Lemoine, a co-founder of the company in 1982. In recent seasons, the Teatro repertoire has been expanded to include the work of other authors whose work aligns with Mr. Lemoine’s particular story-telling and comedic ethos. There are two key words at Teatro, and the first of those is comedy. Comedy will always be a key component of everything we do, whether it be out-and-out farce, elegant period screwball, sweeping tales of romance and adventure, or murder mysteries and thrillers. Even the most serious plays we undertake are always leavened with an ironic perspective. The other important Teatro word is language. We cleave toward work which is articulate, witty, and specific in tone, and has dialogue between characters as its fundamental organizing principle. In recent seasons we’ve programmed work by writers Neil Simon, Ira Levin, Noël Coward, and Maxwell Anderson, as well as original works by our own ensemble members Jana O’Connor, Elyne Quon, Belinda Cornish, and Jocelyn Ahlf.

Teatro La Quindicina first came into existence in 1982, presenting the play All These Heels at the inaugural Edmonton Fringe Festival. Stewart Lemoine was one of the authors of that play and its cast included Leona Brausen, who has performed frequently with Teatro over the subsequent four decades, and who remains the company’s resident costume designer. After several seasons as a once-a-year-Fringe-only company, Teatro began to forge alliances with other local presenting companies, including the Phoenix Downtown and Workshop West. We also toured to Toronto as guests of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and Factory Theatre. Teatro has toured to Calgary, Winnipeg, and Ottawa, and our production of Pith was seen three times in New York City.

Since 1994, we’ve been one of the resident companies at the Varscona Theatre, where we’re part of the Varscona Theatre Alliance which manages the building, and we collaborated fully in the lengthy process of reimagining and rebuilding that wonderful venue. The company’s current leadership consists of Artistic Director Andrew Macdonald-Smith, General Manager Cassandra Duval, and resident playwright Stewart Lemoine.

TEATRO’S MISSION

Teatro Live! is a theatre company initially founded as a platform for the literate, stylish, and uniquely effervescent works of internationally celebrated playwright, Stewart Lemoine. We also present new comedies by Canadian playwrights that are rooted in language with a strong narrative structure as well as modern classics by playwrights of the eras from which Mr. Lemoine’s original works are inspired. Teatro also fosters the development of new comedies and musicals, encouraging the dexterous use of language with a strong narrative structure.

Teatro Fun Facts!

Where 

The Varscona Theatre, 10329 - 83 Avenue, Edmonton AB Canada T6E 2C6 (in the centre of Old Strathcona). The Varscona underwent a $7.5 million rebuild and became our 200 seat home in the late spring of 2016. Look! See! 

What

Four plays every season from October through July, plus our very own Teatro New Year's Eve, and concerts throughout the year.

Audience

Teatro sells over 9000 tickets in the course of a season. 

Ensemble

Stewart Lemoine, founder and resident playwright. He and his plays inspired the company’s principles and backbone. You gotta have a backbone, right?

Leona Brausen, actress and costume designer.... well really Leona was our first star, beloved to audiences and artists alike. She's hilarious.

Cassandra Duval, our multi-talented General Manager, can be spotted in the office or at the lobby box office, weaving through the daily machinations of running a theatre with her organizational wizardry.

Andrew MacDonald-Smith, a gifted and in-demand actor and current Artistic Director. Insists on hyphens. Only ensemble member taller than Lemoine himself.

Belinda Cornish, a talented actor, writer, and director. Saves animals, hangs on silks, and never misses an opportunity to make ya laff.

Julien Arnold, actor extraordinaire. Works everywhere but always comes home.

Cathy Derkach, actress and musician and musical director. Also magnificently funny.

Mathew Hulshof, Rachel Bowron and Jenny McKillop are indispensable performers both onstage, in the lobby, and on the phone. Meeting you all and making you feel welcome.

And so many more!!

ANTI-RACISM AT TEATRO

Teatro La Quindicina stands against the overt and systemic racism and discrimination  which has been visited upon Indigenous Peoples, Black people, people of colour, and their communities throughout history, in Edmonton, across Canada, and around the world. We acknowledge our failures, our lack of diversity and expertise, and our complacency. 

We at Teatro know that words have power, but statements are empty without genuine action. BIPOC artists and audiences have a right to distrust statements of this nature, and we commit to decisive action to earn that trust.

We commit to listen to voices that have been silenced for too long and to raise them up, and to continue our self-examination as an organization and individuals. In April of 2020, we accepted a Respectful Workplace Policy prohibiting discrimination in all forms and to continue that work we will:

  • Actively support and partake in anti-racism training through the Varscona Theatre, along with staff, board members, and the other resident companies.

  • Offer Treaty 6 land acknowledgement before every show and at every board meeting.

  • Actively work to recruit board members who are diverse in terms of ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender, and socio-economic background.

  • Continue to scrutinize the content in our existing repertoire with a contemporary eye, and make any necessary changes to reflect our ongoing anti-racist learning and intent.

  • Actively develop safe and respectful ways to engage with BIPOC artists, both those with whom we have worked in the past, and with whom we hope to work in the future, to learn how we can open our doors further to diverse artists, and to ensure that our working space is truly safe and inclusive, and the joyous, creative place we have always intended it to be.

While implementation of these actions will take time - and be subject to adaptation, adjustment, and growth as we continue to learn - we expect to be held accountable for doing better.

Our theatre, our community, and our culture have a long journey ahead. We will not be neutral or silent along the way.

- Teatro La Quindicina Board of Directors & Staff
July 23, 2020

35//50 INITIATIVE

Teatro La Quindicina and our Board of Directors recognizes and are writing to publicly express our full support of The 35//50 Initiative, a collective of artists which have asked the Alberta theatre community to commit to policy changes and organization beliefs towards a more diverse theatre community. Rooted in anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices, The 35//50 Initiative will result in a minimum 35% of staff and contractors who identify as Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and 50% of staff and contractors who identify as female or non-binary by the 2025 theatre season.

Meaningful change is necessary for the continued growth of our community and Teatro is encouraged by this initiative. We would like to thank all the individuals who put their time and effort into this call for action.

Prior to COVID-19, we began a process of restructuring which has since expanded beyond management structure and will help move us toward the goal of 35//50 representation in all facets of our organization.

OUR NEXT STEPS:

  1. Re-structuring: Over the next two years, the staff and board will work together to find new configurations to more equitably distribute decision-making and agency within Teatro La Quindicina.

  2. Education: In the coming months the staff and board of Teatro will partake in anti-racism training through the Varscona Theatre, along with staff, board members, and the other resident companies.

  3. Recruitment: Teatro is actively working to recruit board members who are diverse in terms of ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender, and socio-economic background.

Teatro Live! (Formally Teatro la Quindicina) is a professional Theatre company working under agreement with Canadian Actors' Equity Association. We are eternally grateful for our subscribers, supporters, generous donors, and especially The Edmonton Arts Council, The City of Edmonton, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Edmonton Community Foundation, and all our colleagues at The Varscona!