Thousand Islands Playhouse
Thousand Islands Playhouse is a summer theatre company in Gananoque, Ontario, operating two venues and a broad program of theatrical productions, education, and new-play development.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Thousand Islands Playhouse is a professional summer theatre company based in Gananoque, Ontario, in Canada's Thousand Islands region. Founded in 1982 by artistic director Greg Wanless together with local actors and graduates of Queen's University, the organization developed as a regional performing-arts institution serving audiences in Gananoque and across Eastern Ontario. Its programming combines commercially accessible plays and musicals with smaller-scale, experimental work, community education, artist development, and outreach. The company operates two venues. The 348-seat Springer Theatre occupies the former Gananoque Canoe Club building and is the principal venue for larger plays and musicals. The 140-seat Firehall Theatre is a black-box space intended for smaller productions and more exploratory theatrical presentations. Together, the venues allow the Playhouse to maintain a varied season ranging from mainstream repertory and musical theatre to intimate and experimental work. In addition to its public season, Thousand Islands Playhouse has developed an education and artist-development portfolio. Its programs include theatre camps and workshops, the Young Company, and the Playwrights' Unit. The Young Company was established in 1997 as a travelling theatre initiative for school-aged children. It presents programming incorporating acting, reading, singing, storytelling, and dance at schools, parks, libraries, and special events throughout Eastern Ontario. The initiative also provides professionally led workshops and master classes for young performers, with participants receiving practical exposure to the theatre profession. The Playwrights' Unit is a year-long residency intended to support promising playwrights as they develop new work. Residents create plays with the Playhouse's audiences, venues, and production resources in mind. The program includes December PlayReading workshops and free public readings, giving writers an opportunity to hear their work performed and receive audience response during development. The company expanded its production infrastructure in the 2010s. Beginning in May 2014, it renovated a 20,000-square-foot warehouse to create a centralized production facility. Completed on March 31, 2015, the facility brought together carpentry, scenic painting, props, wardrobe, rehearsal, and storage functions. Features included a sprung floor, soundproofed rooms, and rack systems for theatrical inventory. The facility strengthened the Playhouse's ability to build, rehearse, maintain, and store productions across its two venues. Wanless and assistant artistic director Kathryn Mackay retired at the end of the 2012 season, marking a leadership transition after three decades of artistic development. Since 2016, the company has been led by managing artistic director Brett Christopher. The Playhouse's brand is consequently defined less by a single commercial product than by its role as a regional cultural institution: it presents professional theatre, nurtures emerging artists, introduces young audiences to performance, and contributes to the cultural economy of Eastern Ontario.
History
Thousand Islands Playhouse was established in 1982 in Gananoque, Ontario, by Greg Wanless and a founding group that included local actors and Queen's University graduates Timm Hughes, Joan Gardiner, Mo Bock, and Kathryn Mackay. The company was created as a professional summer theatre serving the Thousand Islands area and the wider Eastern Ontario audience. Under Wanless's artistic leadership, it developed a sustained theatrical presence in the region and built a programming model that combined larger public productions with artist development and community access. The Playhouse's physical identity is centered on two venues. The Springer Theatre is housed in the former Gananoque Canoe Club building and seats 348 people. It became the company's principal space for larger plays and musicals. The Firehall Theatre, with capacity for 140, functions as a black-box venue for smaller, more experimental productions. The two-space model gives the organization room to serve different audience expectations and production scales within one seasonal operation. Education and outreach became an important part of the company's activities. The Young Company, launched in 1997, created a travelling program for school-aged children across Eastern Ontario. Its performances use reading, singing, storytelling, and dance, and have been presented in schools as well as parks, libraries, and special-event settings. The program also employs young professional performers and offers workshops and master classes, linking audience outreach with early-career training. The Playhouse later added the Playwrights' Unit, a year-long residency for promising playwrights. The unit supports the creation of new plays designed with the company's audiences and venues in mind. Its development process includes full-day workshops and free public readings during the December PlayReading series. This work expanded the Playhouse's role beyond presenting existing theatre and gave writers access to rehearsal, performance, and audience feedback resources. A major operational investment followed in the 2010s. In May 2014, the organization began converting a 20,000-square-foot warehouse into a dedicated production facility. The project was completed on March 31, 2015. It consolidated production departments including carpentry, scenic painting, props, wardrobe, and rehearsal operations, while also providing storage for sets, costumes, and theatrical inventory. The facility included a sprung floor, soundproofed rooms, and rack systems, improving the company's capacity to prepare and preserve productions for its two theatres. Wanless and assistant artistic director Kathryn Mackay retired at the end of the 2012 season. Their departure concluded a long founding-era leadership period and opened the way for a new artistic phase. Since 2016, Brett Christopher has led the company as managing artistic director. The organization remains an active regional theatre, with its identity grounded in professional productions, local cultural participation, youth programming, new-play development, and the operation of specialized performance and production facilities.
- 2016
Brett Christopher assumes leadership
[1]Brett Christopher began leading the organization as managing artistic director.
- 2015
Production facility completed
[1]The new production facility was completed on March 31, bringing together set construction, scenic painting, props, wardrobe, rehearsal, and storage operations.
- 2014
Production-facility renovation begins
[1]The Playhouse started converting a 20,000-square-foot warehouse into a centralized production and rehearsal facility.
- 2012
Founding artistic leadership retires
[1]Founder and artistic director Greg Wanless and assistant artistic director Kathryn Mackay retired at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
- 1997
Young Company introduced
[1]The Young Company began presenting travelling theatre for school-aged children and communities across Eastern Ontario.
- 1982
Company founded
[1]Greg Wanless and a group of local actors and Queen's University graduates established Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque, Ontario.
Products and positioning
A regional professional theatre institution combining summer repertory, intimate and experimental performance, youth education, community outreach, and playwright development in Eastern Ontario.
Professional theatre
Springer Theatre productions
The Springer Theatre is the Playhouse's 348-seat main venue, located in the former Gananoque Canoe Club building. It is used for larger plays and musicals intended for broad regional audiences and forms a central part of the company's seasonal public program.
Experimental and small-scale theatre
Firehall Theatre productions
The 140-seat Firehall Theatre is a black-box venue for smaller productions and more experimental theatrical work. Its scale supports intimate performance formats and programming that may differ in tone, form, or production requirements from the larger Springer Theatre season.
Theatre education and outreach · 1997
Young Company
Young Company is a travelling theatre initiative for children and school-aged audiences. Its performances combine reading, singing, storytelling, and dance and are presented in schools, parks, libraries, and at special events throughout Eastern Ontario. The program also provides workshops and master classes led by theatre professionals.
New-play development
Playwrights' Unit
The Playwrights' Unit is a year-long residency supporting promising playwrights as they create new work. Residents can develop plays with the Playhouse's venues, audience, and production resources in mind. December workshops and free public readings provide practical development and audience feedback.
Arts education
Theatre camps and workshops
The Playhouse's educational activities include camps and workshops that introduce participants to theatrical performance and related creative practices. These activities complement the Young Company and broader community-access mission.
Brand decisions
2016
Leadership transition to Brett ChristopherStrategyBackground
Greg Wanless and Kathryn Mackay had retired from their artistic leadership roles after the 2012 season.
Action taken
Brett Christopher assumed leadership as managing artistic director.
Aftermath
The company continued its theatre, education, outreach, and new-play-development activities under new senior artistic leadership.
2014
Investment in a centralized production facilityStrategyBackground
The company needed dedicated space to support production, rehearsal, and storage for its two theatres and wider programming.
Action taken
It began renovating a 20,000-square-foot warehouse for carpentry, scenic painting, props, wardrobe, rehearsal, and inventory storage.
Aftermath
The facility was completed on March 31, 2015, increasing the organization's production and logistical capacity.
Sources2 sources
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