By: Marjorie Chan Screenshot – Student proposal from TMU (Sabrina, Taeyeon, Piper, Georgia, Gary) It has been thrilling to be able to welcome you to TPM with our new lobby, and as we continue to support new art for our stages. Hoping that you will be joining us sometime this season through the red doors! As much as we are excited to share the art in our theatre, there is so much that happens behind the scenes here as well. In addition to the work that happens in our offices to keep the art going, we also welcome collaborations or initiatives that unpack theatre and the industry in new and ..read more

By: Marjorie Chan, Artistic Director and Jenn Boulay, Accessibility & Dramaturgy Intern   We’re really excited this season, as we are moving forward with our plan at Theatre Passe Muraille to make it as accessible as possible for our audiences by adopting a RELAXED ENVIRONMENT for all TPM shows.    In a relaxed atmosphere, there should be no pressure to “act” a certain way. Audiences are welcomed and encouraged to come into the space as they are. Last season, instead of doing stand alone RELAXED PERFORMANCES, we began exploring the possibility of a whole relaxed season th ..read more

It’s that time again… it’s Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators season! For those who may not know, Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators (RGTC) are grants administered by the Ontario Arts Council through various theatre companies around Ontario. Each company has their own deadline. At TPM, our deadline is October 10 2023 at 1pm. Applications must be submitted through the OAC Grant Portal. TPM will prioritize Artists of Colour, Indigenous artists, Deaf artists, artists with disabilities and Queer artists (which includes trans, gender non-conforming and gender non-binary). All genres of ..read more

February is Black History Month (or Black Futures Month), a time to honour the legacy of Black peoples and communities of Canada. The theme this year is “Ours To Tell.” At Theatre Passe Muraille, we’re proud to share two extraordinary shows by Black creators – Okay, you can stop now by Shakeil Rollock and X and Da Spirit by Donovan Hayden. Photo of Shakeil by Gessy Robyn Shumbusho | Photo of Donovan and Trinity by Jan Cruz As part of our presentations, TPM is also pleased to host a Black Out Night on February 9th – an evening for Black theatre-goers to experience theatre in a space ..read more

Interview with artist Naomi Jaye Theatre Passe Muraille is transformed into a public library in this immersive multi-media experience. Miriam’s World, based on Martha Baillie’s Giller long-listed novel, The Incident Report, is wry look into the life of librarian Miriam Gordon and a group of library patrons who frequent the branch where she works, and exposes both the dark and humorous urban life and issues.  We interviewed artist Naomi Jaye about the show, and what audiences can expect to experience! What inspired you to make this show? Naomi: I found Martha Baillie’s The ..read more

A blog from the playwright of our place. Kanika Ambrose | Playwright of our place My earliest memories of Scarborough malls and strip malls were frequenting them with my grandmother, who is incredible at bargain hunting and can strike up a conversation with anyone. She also can speak just a little bit of, just about, every language and delights in sharing that gift with people. As an adult, the strip mall became a staple in my life as I spent plenty of time in barber shops, West Indian/Asian food markets, Western Union/Money Mart, and hair/beauty supply stores.  At the time I s ..read more

Interview with the Co-Creators of The Year of the Cello Marjorie Chan and Njo Kong Kie first met as cohorts of Tapestry Opera‘s Composer-Librettist Laboratory (LIBLAB) program. Since then, the two artists have been close friends (Marjorie is an artist of Hong Kong background, and Kong Kie lived in Macau for many years). But this is the first time they are collaborating on a project together.  We interviewed the duo about the upcoming world premiere of The Year of the Cello. How did the two of you end up working together on this play? Marjorie: I’ve worked with composers as a libre ..read more

Marjorie Chan is the Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto since 2019, where she places access, community, innovation and collaboration at the forefront of the company’s approach. Born in Tkaronto (Toronto) to Hong Kong immigrants, she works variously as writer, director and dramaturge in opera and theatre as well as in the intersection of these forms and roles. Her work has been seen and performed in the United States, Scotland, Hong Kong, Russia and across Canada. Marjorie has been nominated for nine Dora Awards and is the recipient of four. She has also received t ..read more

Charlie Petch (they/them, he/him) is a disabled/queer/transmasculine multidisciplinary artist. A poet, playwright, librettist, musician, lighting designer, and host, Petch was the 2017 Poet of Honour for SpeakNorth national festival, winner of the Golden Beret lifetime achievement in spoken word with The League of Canadian Poets, and founder of Hot Damn it’s a Queer Slam. They have been featured on CBC’s Q, were long-listed for the CBC poetry prize in 2021, their poetry book “Whey I Was Late” (Brick Books) won the 2022 ReLit Award, and Petch’s libretto “Medusa’s Children” launched wit ..read more

Made in Exile takes us to the Little Tibet in Toronto Little Tibet is located in Parkdale Toronto, and has the world’s largest community of Tibetan people outside of Asia. Many people who fled the Chinese-occupied Tibet arrive in this neighbourhood. Made in Exile is an organization that helps Tibetan youth navigate exilehood through the arts. They are our community partners that you may be familiar with through our recent made in exile audio drama series (still available to listen to on our website!). Today, we asked Shavo Dorjee and Rinchen Dolma from Made in Exile to introduce us t ..read more