Associate Producer

Company Overview

HISTORY
For the past thirteen years MT Space has been fulfilling its mandate by creating, producing, touring and presenting artistic work that reflects Canada’s cultural diversity. Since 2004, MT Space has maintained a commitment to working with artists from Aboriginal, immigrant, refugee and other marginalized and racialized communities. Founded by Lebanese-Canadian Majdi Bou-Matar – who immigrated to Canada in 2003 bringing with him professional training and experience in devised intercultural theatre and dance – MT Space became a conduit for internationally trained immigrants and newcomer professionals across all disciplines. As of July 2016, Pam Patel – who has been an artistic associate with MT Space since 2008 and mentored with Majdi – has stepped into the role of Artistic Director and looks forward to ushering the organization into its next decade of powerful artistic work, bringing with her a South Asian background and Canadian upbringing.

STREAMS OF ACTIVITY
MT Space supports seven distinct yet overlapping streams of activity:

Creating, Producing and Touring New Canadian Work - MT Space develops new theatre productions through our process of research and creation workshops. One of our milestone pieces is The Last 15 Seconds which premiered in 2009 at our inaugural IMPACT Festival and went on to tour across Canada and to the Middle East where it received rave reviews. Most recently, MT Space co-produced Paradise with Gwaandak Theatre from Whitehorse, which has been performed for audiences in Kitchener and the Yukon and is being prepared for touring in 2017/2018 and beyond.

IMPACT Festival - Launched in 2009, the International Multicultural Platform for Alternative Contemporary Theatre (IMPACT) is a biennial international theatre festival and industry conference. In 2015, over 6 days, IMPACT 15 hosted 15 companies from Canada, Morocco, and Australia, performing in 37 shows for over 4000 audience members, in addition to a national industry conference and the first ever Stage & Story Market, a free family-friendly outdoor event. The IMPACT 17 festival will for the first time include a Theatre for Young Audiences component which includes several mainstage shows as well as a Family Pavilion at the historic Schneider Haus and a Youth Conference.

Presenting Series - This series enables us to offer high quality, diverse and affordable theatre programming year round, something that no one else is currently doing in our region. In the past three years, MT Space has developed into a recognizable presenter of unconventional and independent work that comes from marginalized and racialized communities and continues to develop into one of the most highly respected and sought after presenters of Indigenous and culturally diverse theatre in Canada.

Theatre for Social Change - MT Space works with schools and community organizations to create theatre productions which explore researched cultural, health and social issues within our community. Topics have included addictions, global issues, youth and volunteerism, hate crimes, mental health and stigma, immigration and displacement, and faith.

Newcomer Youth Project / Young Company - Over the past eight years, the MT Space (in partnership with YMCA Immigrant Services) has worked with over 300 immigrant and refugee youth from five high schools in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, to gain confidence and build community through the Newcomer Youth Theatre Project. This program feeds directly into the MT Space Young Company, a more in-depth theatre training program which allows students to further develop their skills as theatre artists while receiving mentorship from a local cultural community leader.

Workshops and Education - MT Space brings theatre professionals from across the globe to provide high-level professional training for members of the community. In 2015 we presented a week-long Butoh dance workshop with Natsu Nakajima, a Master of the style. Mostly recently, MT Space hosted renowned Tunisian theatre director, Fadhel Jaibi, who gave a two week advanced workshop in devised theatre.

Incubation - By providing mentorship and access to space and other resources, we have created an environment in which artists and organizations in the community are able to grow and develop; including Kitchener-Waterloo Arab-Canadian Theatre, the Kaleidoscope Collective, and Theatre Mada.

Job Description

MT Space is a multicultural theatre company based in the Waterloo Region. Our company was built off of the need to have more inclusive spaces for theatre, and we take time to learn from theatre practices around the world while immersing ourselves in rich cultural perspectives beyond the traditional theatre experience. 

Position: This is a mentorship-focused junior position and will work alongside the Company Manager, Artistic Director and IMPACT Festival Producer. 

Eligibility: Applicants must identify as IBR (Indigenous, Black and/or Racialized) in order to be eligible, as per the terms of the funding for this position and objectives at MT Space.  

Duties: The Associate Producer will assist with project coordination and management of MT Space programs and productions. This will include tasks such as: outreach to theatres and performing arts networks; communication with artists; writing contracts and schedules; and tour planning. The Associate Producer will also work with the Artistic Director and company partners to assist in the organization of the 22/23 and 23/24 Seasons. They will also be crucial in supporting the IMPACT 23 Festival, which will take place at the end of September. 

Responsibilities may include:   

• Communicating with and engaging artists as facilitators and mentors for summer programs and upcoming collaborations  
• Assisting the Company Manager with the creation of contracts for all guest artists  
• Collaborating with IMPACT Festival Producer to oversee logistics and community partnerships for IMPACT 23 
• Overseeing outreach and recruiting of tech personnel, artistic associates, stage managers, volunteers and box office support  
• Planning/facilitating auditions if needed, assisting with audition panel when appropriate 
• Assisting on the ground with errands, set-up/strike and other production logistics, including COVID protocols 
• Attending rehearsals as needed in order to support facilitators and artistic process 
• Scheduling rehearsals and booking rehearsal space; creating schedules for artistic team 
• Assisting with the organization of archival files and production inventory 
• Compile and keep organized, comprehensive databases of companies/partners/artists  
• Working with project budgets so-as to ensure all confirmations are kept within parameters  
• Other tasks as assigned 

Job Requirements: 

• Experience working with Microsoft Office and Outlook an asset 
• Organizational or producing skills from previous work with theatres and festivals an asset 
• Experience working within the arts an asset 
• Alignment with MT Space values and commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppression efforts 

 
Location: In person and remote

Note: This job will require internet access and a computer when working remotely. MT Space is dedicated to ensuring this position is accessible to all candidates, so if you do not have the above, please reach out and let us know so that we may seek appropriate accommodation. 

If you have questions, please get in touch at the email below.