Carousel Players has been introducing children to theatre since 1972. Based out of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Catharines, we perform to an average of 25,000 children and families every year. Over the past four decades, 2.7 million students, teachers and families have experienced our productions as we have toured schools throughout Niagara and southwestern Ontario, visited many theatres across the country and offered performances at our home, the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in St. Catharines.
Pablo Felices Luna, Artistic Director of Carousel Players says: “We are looking forward to performing in the Dance/Theatre venue when the new arts centre opens. We believe all children in the Niagara region should experience high-quality, transformative theatre. Carousel Players will continue touring and reaching children in schools, but our time at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre has taught us the joy of bringing children and their families into a specialized venue and sharing our work with them in that way too.”
“The new centre will allow us to continue featuring shows that are not conceived as school touring productions, like our presentation of Roseneath Theatre’s Rocket and the Queen of Dreams which featured over 130 shadow puppets. The breadth of work we will offer our audiences will be greater and I am excited by the possibilities. We will also be better equipped to create a space that welcomes participation. I find myself longing for a space that we can transform more easily for a participation play like our 2011 production of Peg and the Yeti for children aged 4 and up. The arts centre will allow us to continue and expand the work we are currently creating. It will also provide accessibility for all those parents and grandparents who are bringing children to the theatre.”
Known for delivering artistic excellence, Carousel Players has developed award-winning shows for children. Our plays have been nominated for Dora Mavor Moore awards 14 times, receiving Dora Awards for Dinosaurs & All the Rubbish in 1993 and Patty’s Cake in 2003. Carousel Players received the Canada Council for the Arts for Theatre for Young Audiences Prize in 2003, the Great Grants Award from Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2005, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award For the Arts in 1997 and the City of St. Catharines Innovation in the Arts Award in 2009 for our Niagara Artists in the Classroom program.
Carousel Players
Pablo Felices Luna, Artistic Director of Carousel Players says: “We are looking forward to performing in the Dance/Theatre venue when the new arts centre opens. We believe all children in the Niagara region should experience high-quality, transformative theatre. Carousel Players will continue touring and reaching children in schools, but our time at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre has taught us the joy of bringing children and their families into a specialized venue and sharing our work with them in that way too.”
“The new centre will allow us to continue featuring shows that are not conceived as school touring productions, like our presentation of Roseneath Theatre’s Rocket and the Queen of Dreams which featured over 130 shadow puppets. The breadth of work we will offer our audiences will be greater and I am excited by the possibilities. We will also be better equipped to create a space that welcomes participation. I find myself longing for a space that we can transform more easily for a participation play like our 2011 production of Peg and the Yeti for children aged 4 and up. The arts centre will allow us to continue and expand the work we are currently creating. It will also provide accessibility for all those parents and grandparents who are bringing children to the theatre.”
Known for delivering artistic excellence, Carousel Players has developed award-winning shows for children. Our plays have been nominated for Dora Mavor Moore awards 14 times, receiving Dora Awards for Dinosaurs & All the Rubbish in 1993 and Patty’s Cake in 2003. Carousel Players received the Canada Council for the Arts for Theatre for Young Audiences Prize in 2003, the Great Grants Award from Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2005, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award For the Arts in 1997 and the City of St. Catharines Innovation in the Arts Award in 2009 for our Niagara Artists in the Classroom program.
To find out more about Carousel Players, visit www.carouselplayers.com
Peg and the Yeti design by Ernest Harris Jr.