MTYP History
Manitoba Theatre for Young People was originally founded in 1965 as Actors' Showcase (an amateur theatre troupe formed to showcase local talent) and incorporated in January of 1977. In 1982, it was reconstituted by incoming Artistic Director, Leslee Silverman, as a professional company devoted to theatre for young people. This revitalization saw the new company assume a national profile with MTYP helping to redefine theatre for youth "...in new artistic directions away from entertainment for entertainment's sake toward a theatrical mix that includes social activism and new approaches to traditional material." (Canadian Theatre Review, 1985)
In August 1999, MTYP realized a 14-year dream; its own home. The company moved into the CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre located at The Forks in the heart of Winnipeg. This 28,000 square foot facility is the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance by countless staff and volunteers and it stand out as a unique environment unlike anything else in Canada.
Today, MTYP has grown to become one of the most respected professional theatre companies in Canada, for children or adults. Still under the direction of Leslee Silverman, the company has received numerous honours, including being the first English theatre to win the Canadian Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences Award in 1992. MTYP's 1994 production of Comet in Moominland was nominated for the prestigious Chalmers Award and, in 1998, Old Friends received this same honour. In 1992, for her contribution to Canadian theatre for young audiences, Leslee was presented with the Governor-General's Commemorative Medal, as part of Canada's 125th Anniversary celebrations and, in 2003, she received the Manitoba Arts Council Arts Award of Distinction.
"In her MTYP tenure, Leslee Silverman has elevated a ragtag company to one of Canada's leading voices in children's theatre." (Winnipeg Free Press, 2001)
Our Past Productions
* Touring Show
2007/2008
- Queen of Colours
- The Stones
- * Kindness
- Honk!
- Mayhem Poets
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Circus Incognitus
- * Cranked
- The Starkeeper
2006/2007
- Little Donkey
- * The Canada Show: The Complete History of Canada
- Hana's Suitcase
- Seussical
- Comedy 4 Kids
- The Number 14
- Hamlet
- Comet in Moominland
- * The Skinny Lie
- National Tour: (Toronto) Comet in Moominland
2005/2006
- Comet in Moominland
- Jelly Belly Makes Garbage Delight of Alligator Pie
- Cyrano
- Silverwing
- * Invisible Girl
- Sun Spirits
- * Smokescreen
- Frog and his Friends
- Typo
- Bang, Boy, Bang!
- National Tour: (Montreal) Comet in Moominland
- National Tour: (Toronto) Russell's World
2004/2005
- The House at Pooh Corner
- Lili
- * Dying to be Thin
- A Year With Frog and Toad
- George and Martha
- Bullet-Proof Comedy
- *The Big League
- Smokescreen
- Cirkus Inferno
- Russell's World
- National Tour: (Ottawa, Calgary) Russell's World
2003/2004
- Snowflake
- Mimi and Brumm
- Fire... Where There's Smoke
- The Happy Prince
- * The Power of Harriet T!
- * Night Light
- * The Big League
- The Dream Catchers
- Macbeth
- Cinderella
- The Other Side of the Closet
- Baking Time
- Where the Wild Things Are
- National Tour: (Calgary & Edmonton) Where the Wild Things Are
2002/2003
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Jest Try Not to Laugh
- * Danny, King of the Basement
- Pippi Longstocking
- Into the Ring
- Lulie the Iceberg
- * IMPROVident: The Show Where Anything Can Happen
- The Red Balloon
- Martha
- The Flaming Idiots
- National Tour: (Vancouver & Montreal) Martha
- National Tour: (Calgary, Mississauga, London) Comet in Moominland
- International Tour: (Hong Kong) Comet in Moominland - cancelled due to SARS
2001/2002
- Mur-Mur (The Wall)
- Circus
- * An Illustrated History of the Anishnabe
- The Secret Garden
- Patty's Cake
- * Mirror Game
- * The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
- The Shape of a Girl
- The Mask Messenger
- The Odyssey
2000/2001
- Comet in Moominland
- * New Canadian Kid
- Dying To Be Thin
- Peter Pan
- The Number 14
- The Illustrated History of the Anishnabe
- Romeo and Juliet
- Jake and Pete
- * Robinson Crusoe
- * Rocks
- Showcase 2001 in Mississauga: Comet in Moominland
- National Tour (National Arts Centre): The Story of the Little Gentleman
- Workshop Performance: (Banff) The Odyssey
1999/2000
- The Story of the Little Gentleman
- Snowflake
- MacHome - The Simpsons Do Macbeth
- The Hobbit
- * SeeSaw
- * The Servant of Two Masters
- Rocks
- The Star Keeper
- The Boy in The Treehouse
- National Tour: The Boy in the Treehouse
1998/1999
- * Peacemaker
- Beauty Machine
- The Rememberer
- * Square Eyes
- * Chasing the Money
- The Other Side of the Closet
- Borrowed Back
- National Tour: (Montreal & Quebec City) Old Friends
1997/1998
- * The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
- Health Class
- The Potato People Double Play
- Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
- * Baloney!
- * Liars
- Twelfth Night
- Saigon Water Puppet Theatre
- International Tour (Australia) & National Tour: Old Friends
1996/1997
- * Ice Cream Store and More
- The Mask Messengers
- Old Friends
- * I Am A Bear!
- The Stupendous Adventures of Don Quixote
- * Toronto at Dreamer's Rock
- Flippin' In
- Saigon Water Puppet Theatre
- National Tour: Old Friends
1995/1996
- Stuart Little
- * Dolphin Talk
- The Number 14
- The Nightingale
- * Night Light
- * Making Friends, Influencing People
- The Book of Miracles
- Crusoe and Friday
1994/1995
- * Peter and The Wolf
- A Tale of Day and Night
- Snowflake - Gale LaJoye
- Naomi's Road (children & teen series)
- * Showdown
- Comet in Moominland
- * A Day at the Improv
- Little Sister
- National Tour: Comet in Moominland
1993/1994
- * Land of Trash
- The Impossible Balance
- Pinocchio
- * Suddenly Shakespeare!
- Bill's New Frock
- * Skin
- Desequilibre - The Challenge
- Theatre Forum: How To Eat a Steering Wheel
- National Tour: Seesaw
1992/1993
- * Whispers in the Dark
- Jest in Time
- The Secret Garden
- * SeeSaw
- The Power of Harriet T!
- * The Servant of Two Masters
- National Tour: Comet In Moominland
1991/1992
- * Serafina and the Big Cat
- Mur-Mur
- The Red River Valley
- * Not So Dumb
- Singing in the Rain Forest
- * Wheelie
- Cost of Living
- National Tour: Comet in Moominland
1990/1991
- * Two Weeks, Twice a Year
- Under One Roof
- No Worries
- * Moving Day
- Terre Promise
- Mask Messengers
- * There Is No Shame
- * Mirror Game
- Burt
- Theatre Forum: Drinking & Driving
- National Tour: Robinson & Crusoe
- National Tour: Comet in Moominland
1989/1990
- * Crying to Laugh
- Once Upon A Story
- Bedtime & Bullies
- * Square Eyes
- Comet in Moominland
- Separate Development
- * Work It Out
- Mirror Game
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
- Special Project: There is No Shame
1988/1989
- * Coconut Clackers
- Clairiere
- The Last Voyage of the Devil's Wheel
- * New Canadian Kid
- The Red Bull
- Thin Ice
- * Liars
- Identical Islands
- Provincial Tour: Feeling Yes, Feeling No
1987/1988
- * I Am A Bear!
- Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
- The Potato People
- * Night Light
- Robinson & Crusoe
- * The Oath
- Liars
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
1986/1987
- * Peacemaker
- The Mystery of the Oak Island Treasure
- Just So Stories
- * Invisible Kids
- Pigiami
- * Skin
- Peace Project
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
1985/1986
- Not So Dumb
- Of Mimes & Clowns
- * Alligator Pie
- * Little Victories
- Peter and The Wolf
- * Getting Wrecked
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
- National Tour: Of Mimes & Clowns
1984/1985
- Separate Doors
- The Little Prince
- Alligator Pie
- The Bittersweet Kid
- L'Umiak
- Everyday Heroes
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
1983/1984
- * The Dream Eater
- Trummi Kaput
- * New Canadian Kid
- Je Suis Un Ours! (I Am A Bear)
- * How I Wonder What You Are
- * Feeling Yes, Feeling No
1982/1983
- The Little Beast
- * Plum Pudding
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- * School Yard Games
- Crying to Laugh
- * Magic & the Supernatural in Shakespeare
- * Speical Project: Feeling Yes, Feeling No: A Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program

