History
The theatre was founded in 1965 as Actors' Showcase, and incorporated in 1977. In 1982, Leslee Silverman became the Artistic Director, and MTYP became a professional theatre devoted to young people. For many years, the theatre operated out of the Gas Station Theatre in theFirst season (1982/83)
* The Little Beast * Plum Pudding * You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown * School Yard Games * Crying to Laugh * Magic & the Supernatural in Shakespeare * Special Project: Feeling Yes, Feeling No: A Child Sexual Abuse Prevention ProgramPrograms
The Manitoba Theatre for Young People presents a full season of theatre for young audiences via both public and school shows, as well as two productions per year that tour both the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba. MTYP's Theatre School offers fall, winter, and spring sessions, as well as spring break and summer camps, including classes for children as young as three-years-old. The theatre school serves over 1,600 children and teens. MTYP's Theatre School provides training for absolute beginners through to pre-professionals, including annual productions performed by teen students in its Young Company and Shakespeare Company, along with various extracurricular performances. The theatre's drama outreach program presents performance workshops at the theatre and in schools province wide. MTYP offers free acting, performing, and film training classes to Winnipeg's Indigenous youth between the ages of 12 and 18. It is run by theatre artist Ian Ross and runs as an independent division of MTYP. The program sees more than 500 students and is the largest of its kind in Canada. Cultural Connections for Youth (CCAY) supplies more than half of the funding for MTYP's Aboriginal Arts Program.Finances
, the operating budget for the MTYP is $2.2 million. Fundraising accounts for 20% of revenue, government grants for 30%, and earned revenue for 50%. Earned revenue consists of theatre tuition, ticket sales, and facility rentals. The current facility cost $5.6 million to build. Although $4 million was raised in a capital campaign, the remainder wasn't completed and , the theatre has $182,000 in mortgage payments annually, as there is $1.2 million remaining debt that the theatre owes for the facility. Between 2006 and 2011, MTYP's then finance and administration manager Kathleen Owen-Hunt embezzled over $90,000 from the theatre. MTYP sued Owen-Hunt and expected to recoup a portion of the money.Awards
The theatre and its artistic director Leslee Silverman have been awarded the following honours: * In 1991, Silverman was awarded the 125th Commemorative Medal as part of Canada’s 125th Anniversary celebrations. * It was 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 Chalmers Award. * MTYP's 1998 production of Old Friends received the Chalmers Award. * In 2001, Silverman received the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in the Arts and Culture category for "her significant contribution to the well-being our community." * In 2003 Silverman received the first Arts Award of Distinction from the Manitoba Arts Council. * In 2004, Silverman was named an honorary member of the Association for Canadian Theatre Research (ACTR). * In 2007, MTYP's production of Comet in Moominland was invited to open the season at New York'sAlumni
Notable former students of MTYP's theatre school includeReferences
External links
* {{authority control Theatres in Winnipeg Theatre companies in Manitoba Children's theatre