May 16 -23, 2016
The WeeFestival of Theatre and Culture for Early Years is a biennial festival organized by Theatre Direct Canada, a professional theatre for young audiences established in 1976.
The festival dedicated to very young audiences of children 0 -5 years is the first of its kind in Toronto and the second only in Canada after the Montreal Festival petits bonheurs, will feature 9 productions from leading creators of theatre and performance for early years from Europe, the UK and Canada.
In addition to performances taking place in four venues downtown Toronto, the festival will also host a symposium hosted by the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto as well as professional meetings and seminars, workshops, and roundtables to bring together artists, educators, producers, and presenters.
The full festival programme will be announced on December 7 with Delegate programme details released in early February.
The WeeFestival aims to:
• To promote and celebrate excellent theatre for children under the age of 6
• To inspire and support Canadian theatre artists creating for very young audiences
• To develop and strengthen touring cooperation and exchange related to theatre for early years
• To advocate for the provision of quality arts experiences for very young children in their first 2000 days at home, in daycares, and kindergartens.
• To celebrate very young children and families as essential audiences and stakeholders in our Canadian culture
Delegate Programme
After a successful inaugural edition in 2014, The WeeFestival returns for another great week of theatre and performance for very young audiences from May 16 -23, 2016.??We’re planning a jam-packed Delegate Programme that will engage and inform participants through activities inspired by our breathtaking line-up of international theatre for early years.??The WeeFestival Delegate Programme will have a 3 day or 5 day package, and is perfect for presenters, theatre creators & producers, teaching artists, educators, and theatre and education scholars.??In addition to tickets and post-show discussions for festival performances, delegates will enjoy a daily lunch, the festival reception and an array of social events for networking.??We’ll announce our festival line-up on December 7th and details on the Delegate Programme February 1st, so stay tuned!??Package A: May 16 –May 18, Three-Day Delegate Programme?Package B: May 16 – May 20, Five-Day Delegate Programme
