User:Sjtheatre/Saint John Theatre Company

Saint John Theatre Company is a premier provider of English-language theatre in New Brunswick, producing quality live entertainment and training for audiences and theatre practitioners throughout southern New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine.

Originally established as ‘The Company’ in 1990, it was re-incorporated on May 6, 1994 as the ‘Saint John Theatre Company’. In the same year, the company presented The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca, the first production staged at the newly restored Imperial Theatre in Saint John. The play attracted an unprecedented level of corporate sponsorship, volunteers, national media coverage, and over 3500 audience members.

The following year saw the production of Macbeth, directed by Tom Kerr (former artistic director of Neptune Theatre and Stratford Young Company) and starring Julie-Kate Olivier (daughter of Sir Laurence Olivier) in the role of Lady Macbeth. The project attracted national media attention and brought over 5400 people to see the production, a number that even today this remains the highest attendance ever for a community-based production at the newly restored Imperial Theatre.

The company continued to garner critical acclaim with Amadeus (Best Live Performance in New Brunswick for 1995), The Woman in Black (Top Ten Performances of 1996), and Oleanna (Top Ten Performances of 1998), while The Diary of Anne Frank (2001) saw the company partner with the Jewish Historical Museum to bring in the largest audiences to a Saint John Theatre Company production in seven years. The Miracle Worker (2002) was the first Saint John Theatre Company production with sign language interpretation, while The Elephant Man (2001), Death of a Salesman (2003), The Crucible (2006), and To Kill a Mockingbird (2008) were artistic successes and achievements in design. The musicals Cabaret (2007) and Chicago (2008) played to sold-out houses and drew audiences from out of province, and the company continues to pursue excellence in its programming for future seasons.

In the fall of 2000, SJTC established ‘Second Stage’ to provide theatrical opportunities for both new and experienced members of the community through a balance of performance and non-performance based events. Second Stage activities have included performances of locally written one-act plays, full-length plays, improvisational exercises, festive events, play readings, evenings of monologues, acting and directing workshops, and the development of local, original scripts.

In May of 2006, the company purchased a historical building in uptown Saint John, which houses rehearsals, events, and the general operations of the company.

Today, Saint John Theatre Company offers a creative outlet with professional production standards for hundreds of New Brunswick-based performers and stage technicians. The company stages 6-10 productions a year with a base of 200 volunteers, and reaches over 10,000 people a year through its shows and community outreach projects. Saint John Theatre Company is committed to creating a thriving theatre culture in southern New Brunswick.