Festival Antigonish has established an inspiring legacy as a premier summer repertory theatre in Atlantic Canada. With a history that spans three decades; a patron base that includes thousands of Nova Scotians as well as regional, national, and international tourists; an acclaimed reputation as a local economic and cultural anchor; and an artistic commitment to excellence, we are proud of our successes and we are committed to growth. Each summer, we bring together the best artists from across Nova Scotia and beyond to create an award-winning Main Stage series, a Family Stage show, and other innovative artistic presentations. We are housed in the intimate Bauer Theatre on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS.
Vision
Festival Antigonish is the theatrical heart of our region. We forge creative pathways that strengthen community, inspire compassion, and spark positive change through professional, live performing arts.
Mandate
We build community through the creation and presentation of timely, professional theatre that engages, awakens, and resonates with our audiences in Antigonish and the surrounding rural communities.
Our primary focus is to produce high-quality theatre in the summer season, and we expand our creative capacity with year-round supplemental programming featuring diverse performing arts and artists from across Canada. Canadian stories are front and centre, and by including international plays our artists and audiences gain a global perspective. We offer theatre experiences for all ages, including theatre for young audiences and dynamic educational outreach programs. We nurture the next generation of theatre artists by hiring emerging artists to work alongside established artists, amplifying underrepresented voices, and providing a home for local artists.
Artistic Mission Statement
Festival Antigonish produces contemporary professional theatre that dramatizes our cultural moment in order to promote self-reflection on Canada’s place in the world and what it means to be Canadian. Our commitment to gender parity, feminist issues, diversity, and inclusion are especially important as a reflection of the type of Canadian theatre that we create. Our theatre is a safe, joyful, vibrant space where artists and arts workers from Nova Scotia and beyond can create, collaborate, develop new work and expand their artistic range.
Our work is shaped by our deep roots in our community and our strong local connections. We encourage empathy as an act of belonging through programming choices that value inclusion, transformation, imagination, friendship, and human connection. This is the foundation for our theatre to be a cultural catalyst for our community and provoke social change.
A Brief History
Established in 1987, Festival Antigonish is located at the Bauer Theatre on the campus of St Francis Xavier University. We have an air-conditioned 220-seat auditorium and an atmospheric bar. We are committed to developing the considerable theatrical talents of Nova Scotians and each year we bring together some of the best writers, actors and directors to produce a Main Stage Series and a Family Series. We sell 11,000 tickets annually and we enjoy a well-deserved reputation for high-quality work. Festival Antigonish has grown strong roots in the community and serves as an anchor attraction for regional tourism. We are a registered charity supported by the federal and provincial governments through the Canada Council for the Arts and the Nova Scotia Culture Division and by the respective Councils of the Town and County of Antigonish.
Milestones
Year |
Description |
1990 |
The Festival wins a Council for Business and Arts in Canada competition |
1994 |
The Late Night Series premieres Daniel MacIvor/Daniel Brooks’ Here Lies Henry. |
1995 |
Subscriptions double and a $700,000 Capital Campaign is launched. |
1996 |
The renovated Bauer Theatre is opened by Premier John Savage. |
1997 |
10th Anniversary with record-setting season of 9 plays, 38% increase in attendance. |
1999 |
First Operating Grant from Canada Council. New Play Reading Series, in cooperation with Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre. The Late Night Series features new works by Bryden MacDonald, Wanda Graham and a special remount of Daniel MacIvor’s Marion Bridge. |
2005 |
Under new Artistic Producer Ed Thomason and Administrator Madonna Van Vonderen, the Main Stage Series is augmented from three to four productions including a new version of Strindberg’s Miss Julie commissioned from David French. In December, the Ottawa Citizen places Festival Antigonish in the top five summer theatres across Canada. |
2006 |
With funding from ACOA and Canadian Heritage, a rehearsal space is adapted into a 60-seat studio theatre/café. Featuring visiting companies and artists, and weekly Showcase evenings for local writers and performers, Stage 2 is an immediate hit with the targeted Under-30’s audience. Two Main Stage productions, Educating Rita and Good Things travel for one week to the Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville – a successful first-time experiment, well received by the local audience. |
2007 |
The Festival Antigonish Foundation is successfully launched with inaugural pledges standing at $401,000 by season’s end. The Foundation will disburse earnings from an endowment fund annually to the theatre’s operating budget. |
2009 |
The Festival Antigonish Foundation receives $165,650.17 from Canadian Heritage’s Endowment Incentive Program, representing a 74c-to-the-dollar matching contribution on the $229,000 requested which was the amount raised by the Foundation in 2007-08. |
2010 |
A successful application to Canadian Heritage’s Cultural Spaces program partnered with ACOA provides $196,097 for a ‘state of the art’ upgrade of lighting and sound systems at the Bauer, to be completed by March 31st, 2010. |
2011 |
The Festival Antigonish Foundation receives $36,017 from Canadian Heritage’s Endowment Incentive Program, representing an 82c-to-the-dollar matching contribution |
2012 |
Festival Antigonish completes a successful 25th season and launches the ‘Encore Fund’, a flexible plan for annual donors, to sustain 25 more years of professional, high quality theatre. |
2014 |
The Festival Antigonish Foundation Endowment Fund reaches $800,000. |
2015 |
The Main Stage production of Lungs is presented at Neptune Theatre. |
2016 |
After a year of strategic planning, a new management team is hired. Andrea Boyd becomes Artistic Director, and Reema Fuller is engaged as the new Managing Director. |
2017 |
Festival Antigonish celebrates 30 years, with a 30% increase in theatre attendance, doubling of season-pass holders, and 25% increase in sponsorships. |
2018 |
Festival Antigonish’s Merritt award winning production of Little Thing, Big Thing is remounted by Neptune Theatre for its 2018-19 season. |
2019 |
Festival Antigonish produces its first ever culturally-diverse Main Stage production with A Brimful of Asha by Asha & Ravi Jain. |
2020 |
Ian Pygott retires after 33 years as Production Manager/Technical Director. Ingrid Risk joins the team as Production Manager. |
Other Relevant Information
Our commitment to nurturing up-and-coming performers, production staff and cultural managers is integral to the success of Festival Antigonish. Professional guidance in a variety of skills, including performance, set and lighting design, construction, and stage management is a key element of our undertaking. Over our twenty-five year history the roster of established professional artists who have benefited from early opportunities for development includes Daniel MacIvor, Richie Wilcox, Emmy Alcorn, Judy Joe, Zeph Williams, and Ingrid Risk. By creating opportunities for the next generation of theatre professionals, Festival Antigonish contributes not only to the success of our own company, but to the continued growth of Canada’s theatre sector.