SPELLING 2-5-5
Halifax Theatre for Young People had a production of Jennifer Overton's wonderful play, Spelling 2-5-5, slated for the spring that would have premiered at STAGES before setting out on a school tour. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced them to cancel the production.
When STAGES is rescheduled, we hope HTYP will be able to join with whichever fantastic production they are working on at that time.
When STAGES is rescheduled, we hope HTYP will be able to join with whichever fantastic production they are working on at that time.
ABOUT HALIFAX THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Halifax Theatre for Young People (HTYP)’s mandate is to create meaningful, engaging theatre experiences that stimulate the imaginations, hearts and minds of young people and their families.
HTYP honours the imaginations of audiences of all ages and endeavours to ignite the unlimited capacity of youth for empathy and an understanding of diverse human experience. We encourage critical thinking through the development of educational materials and workshops that explore each production’s more complex and challenging themes. Our dynamic productions and strong focus on working with playwrights to develop relevant and stimulating plays for young audiences help inspire a life-long love of theatre and the shared experience of artistic expression.
Our recent productions include Brundibar: A Children's Opera, Nine Compositions: InterActions with Art, Redfish: A Comedy about Depression, and Where Poppies Blow. We are looking forward to our next production MI'kmaq Stories: Past and Present. Please like us on Facebook to hear about this, and other exciting productions from Halifax Theatre For Young People!
Halifax Theatre for Young People (HTYP)’s mandate is to create meaningful, engaging theatre experiences that stimulate the imaginations, hearts and minds of young people and their families.
HTYP honours the imaginations of audiences of all ages and endeavours to ignite the unlimited capacity of youth for empathy and an understanding of diverse human experience. We encourage critical thinking through the development of educational materials and workshops that explore each production’s more complex and challenging themes. Our dynamic productions and strong focus on working with playwrights to develop relevant and stimulating plays for young audiences help inspire a life-long love of theatre and the shared experience of artistic expression.
Our recent productions include Brundibar: A Children's Opera, Nine Compositions: InterActions with Art, Redfish: A Comedy about Depression, and Where Poppies Blow. We are looking forward to our next production MI'kmaq Stories: Past and Present. Please like us on Facebook to hear about this, and other exciting productions from Halifax Theatre For Young People!
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History
Tessa Mendel and Chris Heide founded Halifax Theatre for Young People in 2008 to address the fact that there was no facility-based, professional theatre singularly devoted to young audiences operating within Metro Halifax. In the spring of 2009, for its first production, HTYP presented Chris Heide’s adaptation of well-known author Sheree Fitch’s novel for young adults, The Gravesavers. In the spring of 2010, HTYP produced Merlin, by Atlantic Canadian playwright Paul Ledoux . In March 2011, HTYP presented an evening of performances in theatre, spoken word, music and dance, “Celebrating Performance for Youth”, at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. In November 2011, we produced a double bill of two contrasting one-act plays, In the Fall, adapted by Chris Heide from a short story by Alistair MacLeod and In This World by Hannah Moscovitch.
In May 2012 we organized our first mini-festival of theatre for young people as part of the SuperNova Theatre Festival, in partnership with Eastern Front Theatre, which featured productions by HTYP and Carousel Theatre. In October 2012 we produced Kevin Dyer’s The Monster Under the Bed at Alderney. In the spring of 2013 we again partnered with EFT to produce Next Stages Theatre Festival for Families, focusing on new play development. In December 2013 HTYP produced Hiro Kanagawa’s The Patron Saint of Stanley Park at Alderney and in June 2014, in addition to offering a new play development program, HTYP was invited to be part of Stages/Magnetic North Festival with our production of Ron Fromstein’s Two in the Coop.
We produced a new version of John Lazarus’ play David for Queen, rewritten for the present day by emerging local playwright Kristin Slaney in the fall of 2014. In the spring of 2015 HTYP produced God’s Middle Name by Jennifer Overton, adapted for young audiences, as part of Stages/Next Stages Festival, in addition to Write Stuff, our new play development program. In the fall of 2015, Two in the Coop was remounted at Alderney Landing, and toured to a number of theatres in Nova Scotia, including Ship’s Co. Parrsboro and the Chester Playhouse. Our production of Redfish, a ‘comedy about depression’ written and performed by local emerging artists Taylor Olson and Rachel Hastings, was part of Next Stages 2016 and toured to schools primarily in HRM in the fall of 2016. Hannah Moscovitch’s play about life at home during the Great War, Where Poppies Blow, was re-written to be based in Halifax and given a site-specific production at Pier 21 in November 2016. In April 2017 Two in the Coop toured to theatres in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Goose Bay, Labrador while Redfish toured throughout Nova Scotia in the fall of 2017 and again in fall 2018 and was presented by Saint John Theatre Company on a two-week tour in New Brunswick in April 2018.
In November, 2017 Nine Compositions: Interactions with Art, featuring nine new short plays by local playwrights, was presented throughout the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Three of those plays were made into a new touring show, Art Attackk!, which was presented at EFT’s Next Stages Theatre Festival in June, 2018 and toured to schools both then and again in April 2019 and September 2019, when it was also presented at Ship’s Company Theatre. In May 2019 we produced Brundibár, a children’s opera originally performed in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during the Holocaust, featuring local youth and members of Symphony Nova Scotia at Sir James Dunn Theatre.
Tessa Mendel and Chris Heide founded Halifax Theatre for Young People in 2008 to address the fact that there was no facility-based, professional theatre singularly devoted to young audiences operating within Metro Halifax. In the spring of 2009, for its first production, HTYP presented Chris Heide’s adaptation of well-known author Sheree Fitch’s novel for young adults, The Gravesavers. In the spring of 2010, HTYP produced Merlin, by Atlantic Canadian playwright Paul Ledoux . In March 2011, HTYP presented an evening of performances in theatre, spoken word, music and dance, “Celebrating Performance for Youth”, at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. In November 2011, we produced a double bill of two contrasting one-act plays, In the Fall, adapted by Chris Heide from a short story by Alistair MacLeod and In This World by Hannah Moscovitch.
In May 2012 we organized our first mini-festival of theatre for young people as part of the SuperNova Theatre Festival, in partnership with Eastern Front Theatre, which featured productions by HTYP and Carousel Theatre. In October 2012 we produced Kevin Dyer’s The Monster Under the Bed at Alderney. In the spring of 2013 we again partnered with EFT to produce Next Stages Theatre Festival for Families, focusing on new play development. In December 2013 HTYP produced Hiro Kanagawa’s The Patron Saint of Stanley Park at Alderney and in June 2014, in addition to offering a new play development program, HTYP was invited to be part of Stages/Magnetic North Festival with our production of Ron Fromstein’s Two in the Coop.
We produced a new version of John Lazarus’ play David for Queen, rewritten for the present day by emerging local playwright Kristin Slaney in the fall of 2014. In the spring of 2015 HTYP produced God’s Middle Name by Jennifer Overton, adapted for young audiences, as part of Stages/Next Stages Festival, in addition to Write Stuff, our new play development program. In the fall of 2015, Two in the Coop was remounted at Alderney Landing, and toured to a number of theatres in Nova Scotia, including Ship’s Co. Parrsboro and the Chester Playhouse. Our production of Redfish, a ‘comedy about depression’ written and performed by local emerging artists Taylor Olson and Rachel Hastings, was part of Next Stages 2016 and toured to schools primarily in HRM in the fall of 2016. Hannah Moscovitch’s play about life at home during the Great War, Where Poppies Blow, was re-written to be based in Halifax and given a site-specific production at Pier 21 in November 2016. In April 2017 Two in the Coop toured to theatres in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Goose Bay, Labrador while Redfish toured throughout Nova Scotia in the fall of 2017 and again in fall 2018 and was presented by Saint John Theatre Company on a two-week tour in New Brunswick in April 2018.
In November, 2017 Nine Compositions: Interactions with Art, featuring nine new short plays by local playwrights, was presented throughout the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Three of those plays were made into a new touring show, Art Attackk!, which was presented at EFT’s Next Stages Theatre Festival in June, 2018 and toured to schools both then and again in April 2019 and September 2019, when it was also presented at Ship’s Company Theatre. In May 2019 we produced Brundibár, a children’s opera originally performed in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during the Holocaust, featuring local youth and members of Symphony Nova Scotia at Sir James Dunn Theatre.