EveryBODY ON Stage to Present World Theatre Day Summit Live In Toronto

EveryBODY On Stage, the world leader in advocacy for representation of all body types in the arts, has announced the inaugural World Theatre Day Summit presented LIVE at Toronto's legendary El Mocambo entertainment venue on Monday, March 27.

This summit will bring together industry professionals for World Theatre Day to address anti-fat bias in the arts, through panels, networking and performances from up and coming performers, who have struggled to find their place in an industry that is notoriously fatphobic and exclusionary. The first event of its kind in the industry, EveryBODY On Stage's event will debut their Leading Player Project cast members in an original showcase featuring never before seen performances that they have developed alongside industry experts during their intensive training.

The Leading Player Project consists of 10 plus-sized musical theater performers, who were selected from across Canada to participate in a two-week intensive program in Toronto with Canada's top educational faculty from Mirvish, Stratford and Shaw Festivals. The intensive will include a series of empowerment and artistic development workshops that will prepare them to take on leading roles, instead of the secondary roles they were trained for at the collegiate level. The purpose of this incubator is to connect artists who feel marginalized due to their bodies and prepare them to re-enter the performing arts scene with a new found confidence.

EveryBODY On Stage developed The Leading Player Project to continue their long term goal of eradicating size discrimination in professional arts organizations and address the long term effects disordered eating and body dysmorphia have on the health of artists. This is something Artistic Producer/Founder, Greg Carruthers, has experience with first hand. "The theater should be a place for everybody, but fat performers are only represented in very specific roles on stage. Our industry's standard of thinness is what forces dancers to engage in eating disorders at a rate three times higher than national average. With over a million Canadians living with an eating disorder and a mortality rate of 10-15% (the highest of any mental illness) it is time that we as a community make some noise and make space for everybody on stage"

Since its inception in November of 2020, EveryBODY On Stage has secured over $165,000 in grant funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, a Premier's Award Nomination and won The BodCon's inaugural Impact Grant from a worldwide search. EveryBODY on Stage has produced live events for Musical Stage Co, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Comedy Bar as well as short films, webseries and short form social media content, which has amassed a following of over 30,000.