Young People's Theatre Unveils Fall Season Lineup

 Young People’s Theatre (YPT) throws open its doors this fall to stages and spaces brimming with a 7-show playbill, a newly re-imagined Drama School experience, and a brand new Indigenous workshop series led by YPT Artistic Director Herbie Barnes. Canada’s largest theatre complex for young people, YPT now spans both its historic theatre and a newly opened educational facility, offering year-round theatre programming for toddlers to teens in big, bright spaces.

This October, YPT brings the colourful underwater adventure Pop! Pop! from Carousel Players to the YPT Studio (Oct. 14-22). This playful production, featuring live music and puppetry, is designed for the theatre’s youngest audiences, ages 2-5. From the West Coast, YPT welcomes Vancouver’s Axis Theatre to the Ada Slaight Stage with its traditional Kwantlen First Nations tale, Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish (Oct. 28 – Nov. 6). In this beautiful, multi- award-winning tale, audiences will experience traditional Coast Salish and Sto:lo music, masks and imagery.

YPT Artistic Director Herbie Barnes continues to incorporate Indigeneity into the theatre’s programming, both on and off the stage. This fall, YPT announces the return of its in-demand Indigenous Artists in Schools program with a brand new workshop facilitated by Barnes – “Inquiry into Indigeneity – Creating Conversation”. In this workshop for schools, Barnes shares who he is as an Indigenous artist and encourages students to join him in exploring the First Peoples of Canada. Students in grades 2-6 will also learn about the Seven Ancestral Teachings of the Anishinaabe, the Creation Story, as well as the importance and meaning behind Land Acknowledgements.

“The more we can share with our young people about the past and about cultures outside of their own, the better we are prepared for the future,” says Barnes. “We are seeing change coming and these workshops will help to guide that change in a positive way.”

YPT kicks off the holiday season with its production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play – adapted into a vintage 1940’s radio broadcast. An ensemble cast of five retells the beloved story of George Bailey as a radio broadcast where viewers become the live studio audience. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is on stage Nov. 20 - Dec. 30 and is recommended for ages 10 and up.

The new year sees the world premiere of Kanika Ambrose’s Truth, based on the Governor General's Award-winning book “The Gospel Truth” by Caroline Pignat, and a March Break presentation of Bouge de là’s dynamic dance piece Through My Eyes. YPT is thrilled to announce that coming to the Ada Slaight Stage in April 2024 is renowned actor, comedian and star of CTV’s Corner Gas, Eric Peterson. A Governor General's Performing Arts Award recipient, Peterson will perform in the world premiere of The Fixing Girl by celebrated UK playwright Kevin Dyer, alongside Zoé Doyle and Eponine Lee. YPT’s season finale is the delightfully unexpected Unwritten: The Improv Show, directed by Barnes.

Now entering its 55th year, YPT’s Drama School begins Sept. 23, with programs for toddlers to teens. New this year, the Drama School is re-imagined for an even more immersive experience, offering students two 12-week sessions (Session 1: September – December | Session 2: February/March – June). YPT’s popular Toddler Drama Time returns on Saturday mornings. Created for ages 18 to 30 months, participants and their caregivers will sing songs, dance, read stories, play, explore and connect with other families. New this season is Scene Study and Performance Skills, a class designed to take students on a journey exploring a professional play. Classes take place at YPT’s education centre, YPT 161 Studios, as well as Etobicoke’s Assembly Hall. Registration for winter/spring classes is also open.

Tickets for the 2023.24 Season, including YPT’s Flex Pack (Buy 3 or MORE shows and SAVE 15%) can be purchased online at youngpeoplestheatre.org.