update: 11.10.08

History

The MT Space was founded on July 5th, 2004 by theatre artist Majdi Bou-Matar and was incorporated on February 7th, 2005.

The name of the company, the MT Space was inspired by the homophone of "Empty" and MT. The name represents the need for a space for culturally diverse artists – a space that needs to be filled! In its first year of operation the organization, through an HRSDC (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) grant, transformed a warehouse space into an intimate black-box rehearsal studio, and drafted a 5-year business plan.

In the past four years we have created four main-stage productions and are currently in the development stage of the fifth. We have toured to Montreal, Ottawa, London and Hamilton. Our 2005 production Seasons of Immigration, was developed based on a collection of immigration stories that we have solicited from our diverse local community. The show was re-mounted at the Centre in the Square as part of the Great Canadian Play Series in March 2008. It also toured to St. John and Fredericton, New Brunswick in April 2010. Our 2007 creation Pinteresque: Exit Strategy follows the journeys of war refugees living in Canada and draws on Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize speech Art, Truth and Politics. The play was presented at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille as part of SummerWorks Theatre Festival in 2007.

In six years the MT Space has grown from a local grassroots organization into one that is gaining national and international attention. Our work has been reviewed by national specialized theatre journals (Canadian Theatre Review and alt.theatre). We have been invited to speak at national conferences about our unique processes and practices in engaging culturally diverse artists in our work and diverse communities in our audience.

In 2009, the MT Space premiered Impact, the first international theatre festival in Kitchener-Waterloo.  The festival was a success with physical shows from around the world, including Belgium, China, Hungary, and Toronto, and also local theatre companies.  The MT Space was proud to receive the Special Jury Award at the 2009 Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Awards for Impact's success and continues to plan future Impact Festivals, bringing first class international theatre to the KW region.

The MT Space has received the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Great Grant Award for the Arts and Culture Category in 2007. The MT Space also was short-listed for the Volunteer Impact Award 2007, awarded by the Volunteer Action Centre for the most effective volunteer programs in the community. At the 2009 KW Arts Awards IMPACT 09 won a special jury award.

The MT Space is an affiliate member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT).