Magnetic North Theatre Festival
Encyclopedia
The Magnetic North Theatre Festival is an annual festival celebrating theatre
and related performing arts in Canada
operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre
. The festival is held Ottawa
every two years, with it being held in other Canadian cities in the alternating years. Other cities that have hosted the festival include Edmonton
, St. John's
and Vancouver
. The festival offers not only productions and performances for the theatre-going public, but offers workshops and seminars aimed at theatre students and theatre professionals.
had travelling across Canada in her role as Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre ("NAC"). Through relationships Maraden built early in her tenure, the NAC contemplated the creation of a national theatre festival. During a theatre conference in 2002, NAC staff discovered that other theatre professionals were considering the same idea, resulting in a movement to organize such an annual festival. As the national theatre community had little desire for such a festival to be "owned" by the NAC or entrenched in Ottawa, organizers settled on having the location of the festival alternating with Ottawa.
In 2002, the Canadian Theatre Festival Society was incorporated for the purpose of operating the festival in partnership with the NAC. Mary Vingoe was appointed as the festival's first Artistic Director. The Society's mandate was to produce and promote English language
theatre in Canada of high artistic standards of a national scope. Promoted as "Canada's National Festival of Contemporary Canadian Theatre in English", the first Magnetic North Theatre Festival was held in Ottawa in 2003.
In addition to a presenting a slate of theatrical performances, the festival holds lectures, workshops, symposia, discussion panels, and opportunities to meet the performers of the various productions as well as prominent members of the Canadian theatrical community. In addition to targeting the general public, the festival's offerings include events catering to working professionals in the theatre, which include networking and community-building activities.
Total festival attendance for the 2007 Festival was over 9,000. In 2008, the festival featured 53 performances, involving 10 works in the main program at 8 venues, as well as the "Magnetic Encounters" artist talk series and the Industry networking event, bringing the total number of public events to over 80.
Ken Cameron succeeded Vingoe as Artistic Director in 2007 and served in that position until 2010. The festival's current Artistic Director is Brenda Leadlay, who was named to the position in 2011.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and related performing arts in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
. The festival is held Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
every two years, with it being held in other Canadian cities in the alternating years. Other cities that have hosted the festival include Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The festival offers not only productions and performances for the theatre-going public, but offers workshops and seminars aimed at theatre students and theatre professionals.
The festival
The impetus that resulted in the creation of Magnetic North Theatre Festival grew out of experiences Marti MaradenMarti Maraden
Marti Maraden is a Canadian actor and director.She emigrated to Canada in 1968, and became a leading actor at the Stratford Festival in the 1970s....
had travelling across Canada in her role as Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre ("NAC"). Through relationships Maraden built early in her tenure, the NAC contemplated the creation of a national theatre festival. During a theatre conference in 2002, NAC staff discovered that other theatre professionals were considering the same idea, resulting in a movement to organize such an annual festival. As the national theatre community had little desire for such a festival to be "owned" by the NAC or entrenched in Ottawa, organizers settled on having the location of the festival alternating with Ottawa.
In 2002, the Canadian Theatre Festival Society was incorporated for the purpose of operating the festival in partnership with the NAC. Mary Vingoe was appointed as the festival's first Artistic Director. The Society's mandate was to produce and promote English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
theatre in Canada of high artistic standards of a national scope. Promoted as "Canada's National Festival of Contemporary Canadian Theatre in English", the first Magnetic North Theatre Festival was held in Ottawa in 2003.
In addition to a presenting a slate of theatrical performances, the festival holds lectures, workshops, symposia, discussion panels, and opportunities to meet the performers of the various productions as well as prominent members of the Canadian theatrical community. In addition to targeting the general public, the festival's offerings include events catering to working professionals in the theatre, which include networking and community-building activities.
Total festival attendance for the 2007 Festival was over 9,000. In 2008, the festival featured 53 performances, involving 10 works in the main program at 8 venues, as well as the "Magnetic Encounters" artist talk series and the Industry networking event, bringing the total number of public events to over 80.
Ken Cameron succeeded Vingoe as Artistic Director in 2007 and served in that position until 2010. The festival's current Artistic Director is Brenda Leadlay, who was named to the position in 2011.
Festival locations
Alternating with Ottawa every second year, the Magnetic North Theatre Festival has been held in the following cities:- 2003 OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... - 2004 EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces... - 2005 Ottawa, Ontario
- 2006 St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400... - 2007 Ottawa, Ontario
- 2008 VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, B.C.British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858... - 2009 Ottawa, Ontario
- 2010 KitchenerKitchener, OntarioThe City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
and WaterlooWaterloo, OntarioWaterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, Ontario - 2011 Ottawa, Ontario
- 2012 CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta (scheduled)