Sector Development — Kingston Theatre Alliance

Every year since 2016, the KTA has co-presented Informing Content – a weekend-long masterclass in innovative theatrical creation – along with Queen’s University and Volcano Theatre. The KTA sponsorship has ensured that admission to all interested Kingstonians was guaranteed and free. Also, and, perhaps most significantly, Kingston artists were hired as facilitators to teach alongside some of the most acclaimed theatre artists working in Canada today.

Every year since 2016, the KTA has co-presented seven weeks of summer theatre camps for youth aged 7 – 14 years, with Theatre Kingston and the City of Kingston, Recreation and Leisure Services.

Since 2013, the KTA has produced 10 masterclasses in Kingston for theatre practitioners on diverse topics such as self-producing, social media for performers, auditioning, physical performance, acting for the camera, devising site-specific performance, and musical theatre.

To that end, the KTA launched a digital campaign in 2018 consisting of three components:

1. An online repository for reviews on live performance in Kingston, created in collaboration with local reviewers, including those engaged by the Kingston Whig Standard. This website’s purpose is to encourage excellence in Kingston theatrical practice while serving as both a promotional tool and an engine for community building.
2. A weekly calendar of productions, workshops, employment and funding opportunities for the Kingston theatre community posted on Facebook. @KingstonTheatreAlliance
3. A $75,000 marketing campaign linking four summer theatre festivals (Dan School of Music and Drama Festival of New Canadian Work, Spiderwebshow’s foldA, Theatre Kingston’s Storefront Fringe, and The Kick & Push Festival) under one regional marketing campaign.

Since 2012, the KTA has produced 90+ productions, paid 600+ artists over $300,000 to present their work here, created over 70 paid arts administration contracts, garnered the support of over 200 volunteers, and has provided over 1000 Kingston residents access to affordable, professional theatrical instruction. The KTA co-produced the first Storefront Fringe and the primary funding partner in 2018 & 2019. In 2018, the KTA donated over 200 hours of staff and volunteer support to Theatre Kingston’s Storefront Fringe and over 100 hours to Spiderwebshow’s foldA.