Our Mandate
Theatre Encounter’s mandate is to create expressive alternative productions of theatre’s classic works with a focus on physical explorations and textual interpretations. Theatre Encounter enhances community development by artistic and social means through the essence of quintessential theatre.
By reinventing classic texts through a modern Canadian perspective, with a strong emphasis on provocative language and embodying movement, Theatre Encounter offers Calgarians an alternative to the mainstream view of classic dramatic literature.
Our Vision
Theatre Encounter’s vision is to create a world-class experimental theatre company and artistic & social research environment by reinventing the traditional into the contemporary, in order to push the cutting edge of artistic and social boundaries.
Our Approach
Grotowski tells us that at the core of theatre is an encounter.
Theatre may tell stories, it may not. It may speak to the real, to the banal, to the world as we know it. Or, it may reach into the surreal, the strange, the unexpected.
We practice a theatre of experimentation and collaboration. We seek out the essential truths of classic texts, and illuminate them in unexpected ways. It is demanding work; it challenges norms. It makes us question ourselves, our societies and cultures by taking these messages and placing them in new contexts.
Together with our audiences, we create a dynamic connection that only happens when bodies relate intellectually, emotionally and energetically. This is visceral; it is a happening that can only exist when we encounter each other. To use the words of Antonin Artaud, “we are not appealing to the audience’s minds or senses, but to their whole existence. To theirs and ours.”
Theatre Encounter Gratefully acknowledges the support of our sponsors and funders:
“This is a theatre for the daring, for the bold, for the irreverent and the uncompromising.
Theatre Encounter creates an audience base interested in reconnecting to quintessential work. Alternative versions attract young adult audiences craving fresh interpretations. Stimulating intellectual and physical reactions is the heart of what Theatre Encounter is trying to accomplish artistically. By doing classic works, Theatre Encounter opens itself up to a broad audience potential, which incorporates diverse cultures of Calgary, who historically have been the foundation of Western classic theatre.”
Meet our team
Michael Fenton
Artistic Director
Lauren Mazuryk
Managing Director
Val Duncan
Artistic Producer
Mike Unrau
Company Co-Founder and Artistic Associate
THEATRE ENCOUNTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- President – Jodie Schmalzbauer
- Secretary – Lauren Mazuryk
- Treasurer – Holley McNulty
- Director – Simon Sia
THEATRE ENCOUNTER STAFF
- Artistic Director – Michael Fenton
- Managing Director – Lauren Mazuryk
- Artistic Producer – Val Duncan
- Honorary Artistic Associate & Co-Founder – Mike Unrau