ART JOBS: Employers

Stratford Festival

Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada

The Stratford Festival, located in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, is one of the world’s leading classical repertory theaters, renowned for its exceptional productions of Shakespearean plays and a wide variety of classical and contemporary works. Founded in 1953, the festival draws audiences from around the globe to its multiple venues, including the iconic Festival Theatre. With a commitment to artistic excellence, the Stratford Festival provides outstanding performances, fosters a rich educational environment, and celebrates the power of live theater to inspire and connect communities.

“Stratford is by every measure – budget, employment, attendance, production – the largest repertory theater in North America, and likely the largest nonprofit theater, period.” – New York Times (August 13, 2024)

Opening night of the Stratford Festival’s first season in 1953 featured renowned British actor Alec Guinness as Richard III. Rapidly expanding in the next few years to become North America’s leading classical theatre company, the Stratford Festival (the Festival) includes large-scale musicals and newly commissioned plays. In addition to the main playbill, the Festival now creates a rich stream of digital content and hundreds of ancillary events are curated each year for the Meighen Forum, to enrich, inform and entertain patrons.

In addition to its public-facing activities, the Festival supports artistic development and growth, through its Birmingham Conservatory for early-career actors, and its Langham Directors’ Workshop for mid-career directors. The Festival features one of the most robust coaching programs in the industry, offering 3,000 classes in voice, movement and text each season.

The Stratford Festival has four venues: three thrust stages (the Festival with 1,800 seats, the new Tom Patterson Theatre with 600 seats, and the Studio Theatre’s 260 seats) and one proscenium arch, the Avon Theatre with 1,100 seats. Since the pandemic the Festival is earning roughly 50% of its $75-million dollar annual budget through ticket sales with the remainder coming from donors, partners, funding agencies and others. The Festival boasts an endowment of $120-million. It is on track to reach its pre-COVID attendance of approximately 500,000.