Alberta Theatre Projects
A Calgary-based professional not-for-profit theatre company recognized for commissioning, developing, and producing Canadian plays.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Alberta Theatre Projects, commonly known as ATP, is a professional not-for-profit theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, the organization began as a children's theatre company whose early programming included historical plays. It subsequently developed into one of Canada's prominent producers and developers of new Canadian drama, with a particular emphasis on dramaturgy, commissioning, and giving playwrights opportunities to develop work for the stage. ATP initially operated from the 198-seat Canmore Opera House at Calgary's Heritage Park. In 1985, it moved into the 419-seat Martha Cohen Theatre in downtown Calgary. The theatre is part of Arts Commons, formerly known as the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts, and ATP remains one of the facility's resident arts organizations. The company is also recognized by the Calgary Arts Development Agency as one of Calgary's Cornerstone Arts Institutions. The company's central artistic activity is the presentation of a regular season of contemporary theatre. Its programming has included new Canadian works, adaptations, international plays, family productions, and work by visiting Canadian theatre companies. ATP has historically produced approximately six plays in a season running from fall into spring, while also supporting readings, development processes, and other activities connected with new-play creation. Its production history includes works by playwrights such as Joan MacLeod, Hannah Moscovitch, Tracey Power, Linda Griffiths, Colleen Murphy, Brad Fraser, Guillermo Verdecchia, Wendy Lill, and many others. ATP became particularly associated with the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays. Piloted in 1987 by producing director D. Michael Dobbin, the festival became a major component of Calgary's performing-arts landscape and was included in the 1988 Olympic Arts Festival. It provided a platform for world premieres and helped Canadian plays move into subsequent productions elsewhere in Canada and internationally. The festival ended in 2013, after which ATP integrated a stronger focus on new Canadian plays into its regular season rather than maintaining a separate festival model. Across its history, ATP has produced more than 288 Canadian plays and premiered more than 156 works by Canadian playwrights, according to the company's published historical account. Those works have collectively received more than 39 major awards. ATP's contribution is therefore broader than theatrical presentation: it functions as a commissioning, development, and cultural infrastructure organization for Canadian playwrights and creative teams. The company has had several long-serving artistic and producing leaders. Douglas Riske led the organization from its founding through 1983, followed by D. Michael Dobbin, who served from 1983 to 2000, and Bob White, whose tenure extended from 1999 to 2009. Vanessa Porteous became artistic director in 2009 and was the first woman to hold that position. Darcy Evans was appointed executive and artistic director in 2018, but died suddenly in 2020. General manager Kyle Russell subsequently served in an interim leadership capacity. Rohit Chokhani briefly held the combined artistic and executive leadership role in 2022, and Haysam Kadri became artistic director in 2023. ATP's identity combines regional cultural service with national artistic ambition. Its home is Calgary, but its work has circulated through Canadian theatres and, in some cases, internationally. The company's long-term importance rests on its sustained support for Canadian playwrights, its relationship with Arts Commons, and its role in bringing new work to audiences while maintaining a professional producing organization in Alberta.
History
Alberta Theatre Projects was established in Calgary in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske. Its original identity was that of a children's theatre organization, with early productions drawing on historical subjects. Over time, the company broadened its mandate and became a professional producing theatre with a strong commitment to contemporary drama and Canadian playwrights. The company's first home was the 198-seat Canmore Opera House at Calgary's Heritage Park. In 1985, ATP moved to the 419-seat Martha Cohen Theatre in downtown Calgary. The theatre is located within Arts Commons, the major performing-arts complex previously known as the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts. ATP is one of Arts Commons' resident arts companies and has also been designated one of Calgary's Cornerstone Arts Institutions by the Calgary Arts Development Agency. From the 1980s onward, ATP developed a national reputation through the commissioning, development, and production of new Canadian work. D. Michael Dobbin, who served as producing director from 1983 to 2000, founded the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays in 1987. The festival was piloted as a dedicated venue for new Canadian drama and became part of the 1988 Olympic Arts Festival in Calgary. It subsequently presented a large number of world premieres and helped works reach other theatres in Canada and abroad. The festival's programming included playwrights such as Linda Griffiths, Colleen Murphy, Mieko Ouchi, Conni Massing, Eugene Stickland, Stephen Massicotte, Joan MacLeod, Sally Clark, Wendy Lill, Brad Fraser, Guillermo Verdecchia, Janet Munsil, Sean Dixon, Michael O'Brien, Amiel Gladstone, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, and Sky Gilbert. By the 2008–09 season, the festival's published history recorded 99 world-premiere plays. Many of the works subsequently received productions elsewhere, demonstrating ATP's role as a launch point for Canadian dramatic writing. The festival ended in 2013. Rather than continue a separate festival structure, ATP decided to make the creation and presentation of new Canadian plays a more integrated part of its regular season. This represented a programming and organizational shift, but not a retreat from the company's new-play mandate. ATP generally presents a season of contemporary plays from approximately September through April. Its repertoire has included original Canadian works, adaptations, family theatre, and selected international plays. Examples cited in the company's history include Shakespeare's Dog, adapted by Rick Chafe from Leon Rooke; I, Claudia by Kristen Thomson; and Toad of Toad Hall, adapted by Philip Goulding from Kenneth Grahame. ATP has also hosted or presented work by Canadian companies including Theatre Newfoundland Labrador, Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Mammalian Diving Reflex, The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and Crow's Theatre. The company's production history includes more than 288 Canadian plays and more than 156 Canadian premieres, according to the available reference account. Those premieres have been associated with more than 39 major awards. ATP's work has therefore combined audience presentation with a substantial developmental function for Canadian theatre. Joan MacLeod's Another Home Invasion, which premiered through the 2009 Enbridge playRites Festival, received a nomination for a Governor General's Literary Award, while Hannah Moscovitch's East of Berlin, presented during the 2008–09 season, also received major literary recognition through a nomination. Leadership has changed several times across ATP's history. Douglas Riske led the organization from 1972 to 1983. D. Michael Dobbin followed from 1983 to 2000, with an overlapping transition involving Bob White, who served through 2009. Vanessa Porteous became artistic director in 2009 and was the first woman to hold that post. Darcy Evans was appointed executive and artistic director in 2018, but died suddenly in 2020. General manager Kyle Russell then served in an interim capacity. Rohit Chokhani briefly held the artistic and executive director role in 2022, and Haysam Kadri became artistic director in 2023. Music has also formed part of ATP's artistic history. Composer Allan Rae served as composer-in-residence from 1985 through 2000, and many productions during that period used his original music. Today, Alberta Theatre Projects remains a Calgary-based professional not-for-profit company whose principal cultural contribution is the production and development of Canadian theatre within a national professional context.
- 2023
Haysam Kadri becomes artistic director
[1]Kadri assumed artistic leadership after a period of transition.
- 2018
Darcy Evans appointed executive and artistic director
[1]Evans took on the company's combined executive and artistic leadership.
- 2013
PlayRites festival discontinued
[1]ATP ended the standalone festival format and moved more new Canadian work into its regular season.
- 2009
Vanessa Porteous appointed artistic director
[1]Porteous became the company's first female artistic director.
- 1988
Participation in the Olympic Arts Festival
[1]The playRites festival became a leading performing-arts event within Calgary's Olympic Arts Festival.
- 1987
PlayRites festival piloted
[1]The Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays was launched as a platform for new Canadian drama.
- 1985
Move to the Martha Cohen Theatre
[1]ATP moved into its current 419-seat venue in Calgary's downtown performing-arts complex.
- 1983
Leadership passes to D. Michael Dobbin
[1]D. Michael Dobbin succeeded Douglas Riske and later became an important force behind ATP's new-play programming.
- 1972
Company founded
[1]Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske founded Alberta Theatre Projects as a children's theatre company.
Products and positioning
A Calgary-based producing and development theatre company positioned as a major Canadian platform for new plays, dramaturgy, and professional contemporary theatre.
Theatre programming · 1972
Annual contemporary theatre season
ATP's principal offering is a professional season of stage productions, historically comprising approximately six plays presented from September through April. The repertoire combines new Canadian writing with adaptations, family theatre, and selected international works. The season serves both as a public performance program and as a vehicle for developing the company's relationship with playwrights, directors, designers, and performers.
Play development · 1972
New Canadian play development and premieres
ATP develops and produces new work by Canadian playwrights, often giving plays their first professional production. Its historical record includes more than 156 Canadian premieres and more than 288 Canadian plays produced. This work is central to ATP's national identity and has helped Canadian plays reach other theatres and audiences.
Theatre festival · 1987
Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays
The playRites festival was ATP's dedicated platform for new Canadian drama. Piloted in 1987, it presented world premieres by a wide range of Canadian playwrights and became part of Calgary's 1988 Olympic Arts Festival. The festival ended in 2013, after which its new-play mandate was folded into the regular season.
Theatre programming · 1972
Family and youth theatre
ATP began with children's theatre and has continued to include family-oriented programming within its broader producing history. Its repertoire has included adaptations and productions intended to serve younger audiences alongside contemporary adult drama.
Marketing campaigns
- 1987Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays
Canada · International touring and subsequent production markets
ATP created a festival dedicated to the presentation and development of new Canadian plays. It became a significant Calgary arts event and a channel through which Canadian works moved to other theatres.
Outcome. The festival produced numerous world premieres and was discontinued in 2013 when ATP integrated new Canadian plays into its regular season.
Brand decisions
2013
Integrate new-play programming into the regular seasonStrategyBackground
After operating the playRites festival as a separate platform for many years, ATP reconsidered the festival model.
Action taken
The company ended the standalone Enbridge playRites Festival and committed to presenting more new Canadian plays within its regular season.
Aftermath
The change preserved ATP's new-play mandate while concentrating development and presentation activity within the company's core annual program.
Recent events
- 2023
Haysam Kadri becomes artistic director[1]
Leadership change
Kadri took over artistic leadership of Alberta Theatre Projects.
- 2022
Rohit Chokhani assumes artistic and executive leadership[1]
Leadership change
Chokhani briefly held the company's combined artistic and executive director role.
- 2020
Darcy Evans dies and ATP enters interim leadership[1]
Leadership change
Following Evans's sudden death, general manager Kyle Russell took on an interim leadership role.
- 2018
Darcy Evans appointed executive and artistic director[1]
Leadership change
Evans assumed combined executive and artistic leadership of the theatre company.
- 2013
Enbridge playRites Festival ends[1]
Other
ATP discontinued the standalone festival and chose to incorporate more new Canadian plays into its regular season.
- 2009
Vanessa Porteous becomes ATP's first female artistic director[1]
Leadership change
Porteous was appointed artistic director, becoming the first woman to lead the company's artistic program.
- 1987
Enbridge playRites Festival launches[1]
Campaign · Product launch
ATP piloted a festival devoted to new Canadian plays, creating a recurring platform for world premieres and playwright development.
- 1985
Alberta Theatre Projects moves to the Martha Cohen Theatre[1]
Other
The company relocated from the Canmore Opera House at Heritage Park to the 419-seat Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary's downtown performing-arts complex.
- 1972
Alberta Theatre Projects founded as a children's theatre company[1]
Other
Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske established the organization in Calgary, initially focusing on children's theatre and historical plays.
Sources2 sources
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