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Alex Mustakas is a Canadian actor and director. He is the founding and current Artistic Director & CEO of Drayton Entertainment, an award-winning, not-for-profit professional theatre company based in Southwestern Ontario, for 22 seasons.

Under Mustakas’ leadership, Drayton Entertainment has grown to include seven venues across the province: the original Drayton Festival Theatre in Drayton, Huron Country Playhouse and Playhouse II in Grand Bend, King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene, Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs, St. Jacobs Country Playhouse in Waterloo, and Dunfield Theatre Cambridge in Cambridge.

Background
Mustakas emigrated from Cyprus at the age of six, and as a natural performer at heart, he was drawn to the stage. Mustakas first honoured his father’s wishes to make something of himself by earning a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. He continued to keep his feet planted in artistic soil, however, by taking music courses and studying voice privately with Laurier legend Victor Martens.

After graduation, Mustakas was gainfully employed in business and corporate sectors, but seemed unable to shake his artistic desires. In a bold theatrical stroke, he handed his degree to his father and said, “This was for you. Now I want to do something for me. I’d like to become a professional actor.”

After a few years on the stage, Mustakas became interested in theatre administration and pursued a Masters Degree in Arts Administration at City University in London. While in England, Mustakas worked on a project for Gresham College where he was responsible for evaluating data concerning A Historical Examination of Industrial Support for the Arts in the United Kingdom. There his dream of a small theatre of his own where he could touch the art and touch the artists began to take shape.

Mustakas returned to Canada, and out of a tiny, virtually unused theatre built a theatrical empire that is one of the most successful in the country. Drayton Entertainment has an enormous economic and artistic impact on all the communities in which it is involved. “I really like to think that each theatre is indigenous to its community,” Mustakas has said.

Personal Life
He is married to actress Jackie Mustakas (nee Hadley), and is the father of two children, Hadley and Lucas.

References:

 * 1) Drayton Entertainment Official Cite
 * 2) Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Alex Mustakas
 * 3) Alex Mustakas
 * 4) Alex Mustakas - Laurier Alumni
 * 5) Wilfrid Laurier University School of Business and Economics: Alex Mustakas