MDEA - New Connections and New Creations

Event is FULL - Currently not accepting registrations

FULL - Keynote - Outside Joke: The Improvised Musical

Presenters: Outside Joke



Outside Joke is a Winnipeg-based improvisational theatre company. Since forming in 2002, they have performed in festivals and theatres across Canada, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal. Inspired by genres of film, theatre and fiction, Outside Joke creates a brand new improvised musical every time they take the stage, bringing a playful energy and an open heart to their craft. Catch them at Prairie Theatre Exchange in December 2022, presenting Outside Joke’s A Christmas Carol: Big Dickens Energy.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 10:30 am - 11:30 am

Suitable for: All Educators, Administration, Student Teachers

FULL - 1A - Culture of Creativity: Part 1

Welcome to the workshop, let’s build something together! This exciting offering from Kyle Collins and Adam Charbonneau explores 21st century artistic collaboration in the drama classroom and beyond. From short scenes, full plays, a single character, or a series of tableaux. We will outline and model some of the creative processes that have been successful for our elementary and middle years students. These approaches to storytelling and playbuilding include principles of design thinking, improvisation, and devised theatre. Together and in small groups we will work through an inquiry and idea generation process, assembling themes and story fragments that will be further examined and developed in Part 2.

Presenter: Kyle Collins and Adam Charbonneau

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: Grades 5-12

FULL - 1B - Drama Across the Manitoba Curriculum

As educators, we are always trying to explore how we can engage, support, and challenge our students in new and interesting ways. Drama-based pedagogy in the classroom is no new concept, but has often been put on the back burner because it just “doesn’t fit with the course” or the reason of “I’m not a drama person”. Using Drama as a tool to elevate lessons, new concepts, and skills in the classroom can be just the thing to take your classes to the next level. This session we will be exploring how we can connect Drama-based pedagogy directly with the learning outcomes across all different subjects of the Manitoba Curriculum.

Presenter: Christina Peabody



Winnipeg born and raised, Christina Peabody has found ways to connect with the arts community through directing and performance. Having been performing in Musical Theatre and Improv since the age of 11 then leading to directing, stage managing, play writing, and performing through the U of W, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and MTYP, Christina has continually found ways to keep theatre and the arts a fundamental part of her life.

Christina has been working with youth ages 5 and up for the last 15 years though Day Camps all over Winnipeg, teaching swimming lessons, lifesaving, professional development, and program planning. Christina has spent several years teaching musical theatre and acting with MTYP and well as their drama outreach program. Through her practicum and years teaching in the classroom, Christina has found ways to incorporate the arts in all aspects to activate and elevate the learning experiences of students from grades K-12. Most recently has she been melding her love of French Language Learning and Improv to help in student fluency, accuracy, and overall confidence. Christina has also been working in connection to the University of Manitoba as a guest presenter for their Arts in Education Undergraduate program.

Currently Christina is working as a Teacher Librarian with grades 6-8 along with finishing her Masters Degree in Curriculum Development.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: K-6

FULL - 1C - Ensemble Building

In this workshop, Walk&Talk will give a crash course and provide tools to promote healthy collaboration. From how to set-up giving feedback, to getting on our feet and problem-solving as an ensemble, to empowering & promoting bravery in sharing work! As performance-makers we must observe, play, listen (to ourselves, to each other and to the world) and courageously try & fail! This workshop will provide tools from physical theatre training, devised creation/multimedia work and contemporary dance elements. We will be on our feet, playing, experimenting and improv-ing!

Presenter: Walk & Talk



Walk&Talk Theatre Company is a Manitoba-based, award winning collective creating original, multidisciplinary work that engages the heart and the brain through music, movement and writing. Since 2016 they have been creating whimsical worlds filled with love, fun and thought-provoking imagery that have connected to audiences cross-generationally. Walk&Talk has developed an aesthetic of music-theatre that blends physical & musical theatre. In their process, they utilize contemporary creation methodologies that bridge between traditional playwriting and songwriting with devised theatre practices. The three co-founders and core collaborators of Walk&Talk (Duncan Cox, Tanner Manson and Ben Townsley) have trained and worked professionally in a wide range of theatrical disciplines: acting, songwriting/composition, singing, producing, playwriting, devising, sound & light designing, directing & facilitating - congregating into quite the collection of skill sets, and when these skill sets come together, magic is created. They work collectively to support each other’s work, and to collaborate in innovative & thoughtful ways with other artists.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: Grades 7-12

FULL - 1D - Puppetry Adventures in the Early Years Classroom

Puppets are fun, good for developing oral, social, and creative skills, and appeal to multiple intelligences, right? But why are they good for all these things, and how can you deliver all these positive outcomes in your early years classroom? Sometimes the puppet workshop doesn’t produce the effect you thought it would. You tried to build verbal confidence with puppets, and you had to put a stop to a puppet show because the puppets said inappropriate things. Has this happened to you? Sometimes reality doesn’t live up to our expectations! As a participant in this workshop, you will formulate a hypothesis about what puppetry could do for your early years classroom, and you’ll put it to the test through creative experience: building a sock puppet, developing a character, preparing a performance, responding, reflecting, and raising your expectations of what you can accomplish in your class.

Presenter: Kent Suss



Kent Suss teaches Senior Years Drama to Education students at the University of Winnipeg. He has over 25 years of experience teaching puppetry and drama to students of all ages through Artists in the Schools, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, and the Winnipeg
International Storytelling on the Path of Peace Festival. He once produced a puppet show for adults about urban poverty called Talking to Strangers. He currently works for the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Winnipeg. In his spare time he writes songs and stories and tries to keep getting better at drawing and painting.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: K-4

FULL - 1E - Into the Mind of an Artistic Director

Join Royal MTC’s artistic director Kelly Thornton, as she shares her creative process and preparation for directing our upcoming production of Into the Woods. In exploring Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fascinating world of fractured fairytales, Kelly will speak to her vision for the show, how classic stories inspire contemporary work, and how her team of artists are creating an enchanted world unlike
anything you’ve seen in storybooks.

Presenter: Kelly Thornton

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: K-12

FULL - 2A - Culture of Creativity: Part 2

In Part 2 you get a rare opportunity to create some of your own theatre at MTS PD Day. Learn by experiencing it yourself and with others! Transfer and brainstorm the ideas from the inquiry in Part 1 and begin a rapid fire exploration of themes, narratives, characters, and settings. Work quickly to cross pollinate your ideas and create a short text of action and sound that can be rehearsed and performed in under 30 minutes.

Presenter: Kyle Collins and Adam Charbonneau

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Suitable for: Grades 5-12

FULL - 2B - Drama Across the Manitoba Curriculum

As educators, we are always trying to explore how we can engage, support, and challenge our students in new and interesting ways. Drama-based pedagogy in the classroom is no new concept, but has often been put on the back burner because it just “doesn’t fit with the course” or the reason of “I’m not a drama person”. Using Drama as a tool to elevate lessons, new concepts, and skills in the classroom can be just the thing to take your classes to the next level. This session we will be exploring how we can connect Drama-based pedagogy directly with the learning outcomes across all different subjects of the Manitoba Curriculum.

Presenter: Christina Peabody



Winnipeg born and raised, Christina Peabody has found ways to connect with the arts community through directing and performance. Having been performing in Musical Theatre and Improv since the age of 11 then leading to directing, stage managing, play writing, and performing through the U of W, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and MTYP, Christina has continually found ways to keep theatre and the arts a fundamental part of her life.

Christina has been working with youth ages 5 and up for the last 15 years though Day Camps all over Winnipeg, teaching swimming lessons, lifesaving, professional development, and program planning. Christina has spent several years teaching musical theatre and acting with MTYP and well as their drama outreach program. Through her practicum and years teaching in the classroom, Christina has found ways to incorporate the arts in all aspects to activate and elevate the learning experiences of students from grades K-12. Most recently has she been melding her love of French Language Learning and Improv to help in student fluency, accuracy, and overall confidence. Christina has also been working in connection to the University of Manitoba as a guest presenter for their Arts in Education Undergraduate program.

Currently Christina is working as a Teacher Librarian with grades 6-8 along with finishing her Masters Degree in Curriculum Development.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Suitable for: Grades 7-12

FULL - 2C - Collective Creation & Collaborative Processes

Walk&Talk will take you through task-based writing and creation exercises, jumping back and forth between creating as an individual and working as a collective. We will provide creation tools to jumpstart writing and building scenes, blending traditional playwriting with contemporary creation methodologies - working with text, images, props, dance / gesture and music.

Presenter: Walk & Talk



Walk&Talk Theatre Company is a Manitoba-based, award winning collective creating original, multidisciplinary work that engages the heart and the brain through music, movement and writing. Since 2016 they have been creating whimsical worlds filled with love, fun and thought-provoking imagery that have connected to audiences cross-generationally. Walk&Talk has developed an aesthetic of music-theatre that blends physical & musical theatre. In their process, they utilize contemporary creation methodologies that bridge between traditional playwriting and songwriting with devised theatre practices. The three co-founders and core collaborators of Walk&Talk (Duncan Cox, Tanner Manson and Ben Townsley) have trained and worked professionally in a wide range of theatrical disciplines: acting, songwriting/composition, singing, producing, playwriting, devising, sound & light designing, directing & facilitating - congregating into quite the collection of skill sets, and when these skill sets come together, magic is created. They work collectively to support each other’s work, and to collaborate in innovative & thoughtful ways with other artists.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Suitable for: Grades 7-12

FULL - 2D - Embracing Transformation through Creativity: Using Puppets to Speak

Hypothesis: while working together creatively with puppets of our own invention, we will experience enjoyment and connection even when discussing difficult topics; by using the creativity of fiction, we can create a space in which participants become brave about representing opposing points of view or discussing painful experiences. If you think drama has the potential to help you and your students address difficult topics, but you find yourself actually avoiding social issues in class, this workshop may help. Rather than presenting answers, we’ll adapt the hypothesis above to our own needs, and put it to the test. We’ll choose topics to explore through puppetry, and try to discover what makes a trusting, brave, and creative space possible. Through responding and reflecting, we’ll draw working conclusions that we can try out in the middle and senior years classroom.

Presenter: Kent Suss



Kent Suss teaches Senior Years Drama to Education students at the University of Winnipeg. He has over 25 years of experience teaching puppetry and drama to students of all ages through Artists in the Schools, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, and the Winnipeg
International Storytelling on the Path of Peace Festival. He once produced a puppet show for adults about urban poverty called Talking to Strangers. He currently works for the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Winnipeg. In his spare time he writes songs and stories and tries to keep getting better at drawing and painting.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Suitable for: Grades 7-12

FULL - 2E - Le A à Z - d'une création et production théâtrale

Vos élèves s'intéressent à créer et à produire leur pièce de théâtre. Peut-être prévoient-ils participer au Festival théâtre jeunesse ou organiser un souper-théâtre pour leur communauté? Mais par où commencer? Comment s'y prendre pour mieux les appuyer dans ce processus? Dans cet atelier, les enseignantes et les enseignants auront l'occasion de se familiariser avec des ressources pédagogiques du site « Le A à Z d'une création et production théâtrale », particulièrement du volet « Création de texte dramatique ». Les participantes et les participants mettront en pratique certaines stratégies tout en découvrant des « Trucs de pros » ainsi que des « Trucs de profs » pour appuyer le processus de création dramatique.

Presenters: Simon Miron and Alain Jacques



Simon Miron est un artiste multidisciplinaire Francophone Métis. Il s’identifie comme bispirituel. Il a fait une maîtrise au Royal Conservatoire of Scotland et a complété le programme Theatre Arts de MacEwan University. Simon a participé à plus de 100 productions professionnelles autour du Canada et du Royaume Uni. Il est un des fondateurs du programme éducatif du théâtre musical The Village Conservatory for Music Theatre.



Alain Jacques a pris sa retraite de l’enseignement en 2019. Depuis, il a accepté des postes à terme au Collège Louis-Riel et travaille comme contractuel au BEF. Alain est un comédien et metteur en scène pigiste, membre de l’Union des artistes et du Canadian Actors Equity Association.

Location: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, MB

Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Suitable for: Grades 5-12