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Studio 180 Theatre

Theatre Company, founded in 2003 by C. Derrick Chua, Joel Greenberg, Mark McGrinder, Samara Nicholds, and Kimwun Perehinec, and based in Toronto Ontario. Initially an informal artistic collection, it has evolved into a not-for-profit charitable organization with a Board of Directors, General Manager, and producing partnerships.

The mission of Studio 180 is “to produce socially relevant theatre that provokes public discourse and promotes community engagement.” (website). It produces primarily American and British plays that tackle difficult issues and generate powerful audience and community responses. These may be Toronto, Canadian and/or North American premieres of large ensemble pieces that are contemporary, internationally renowned, but rarely produced.

Studio 180 produces one or two large-scale shows per season, sometimes in association with other Toronto theatre companies. Most of the productions are directed by Joel Greenberg. It launched with the Canadian premiere of The Laramie Project (2003, remounted in 2004 with Buddies in Bad Times). Other plays include The Passion of the Chris by Christopher Durang (2004, Toronto Fringe Festival at Tarragon Theatre); The Arab-Israeli Cookbook by Robert Soans (2006, at Berkeley St. Theatre); Offensive Shadows Canadian premiere by Paul Dunn (2007, SummerWorks at Tarragon Extra Space, dir. Michael Shamata).

Stuff Happens by David Hare (2007) was remounted by David Mirvish Productions at Royal Alexandra Theatre in 2008). The all-star Canadian cast in this play about American politicians by an English playwright included: Barry Flatman, Guy Bannerman, Paul Essiembre, David Fox, Michael Healey, Sarah Orenstein, and Nigel Shawn Williams.

In 2009, Studio 180 presented Blackbird by David Harrower, in association with Canadian Stage at the Berkeley Theatre. In 2010, Greenberg directed The Overwhelming by J.T. Rogers, in association with Canadian Stage; in 2011, Parade-- a politically engaged Broadway musical, and Our Class, the North American premiere a Polish work about the violent political polarisation of a class of Jewish and Catholic students during WWII. The Company performed The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer (with Buddies and Bad Times) in 2011 and 2012; and Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris (with Canadian Stage) in 2012 and again in 2013 in association with Mirvish Productions at the Panasonic Theatre.

Joel Greenberg directed You Will Remember Me by Francois Archambault (trans. Bobby Theodore) in 2016 in a co-production with Tarragon Theatre, starring RH Thomson and Nancy Palk.

Studio 180 supports its educational mandate with a program of Beyond the Stage activities to enhance each production with opportunities for public dialogue. It also runs an innovative education program (Studio 180 IN CLASS) that takes its work into high school classrooms.

Website: www.studio180theatre.com

Last updated 2021-01-11