Arts and Entertainment

‘Jumping into the deep end of the pond’: Jennifer Stewart begins leading role at Theatre Orangeville

July 3, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Theatre Orangeville’s new artistic director Jennifer Stewart’s journey to that post has been long, but that journey has come to an end – as of July 1.

Earlier this week, she took time to speak with the Citizen about what is next immediately and her vision of what theatre is.

The priority of her attention right away is Theatre Orangeville’s Young Company’s show this summer, which Stewart is directing.

“It’s been lots of prep. There are 18 theatre teens. They have all their scripts,” she said.

Aaron Eyre is her choice as music director, a well-known musical theatre coach.

“My job is to teach them how to act through the characters. First is the table read of the text so they get a sense of the show,” she said.

Tickets are selling well, and the show is still on Broadway in New York and in the West End of London, England. This specific show has a media ban on the title and details as part of the licensing agreement, but the Youth Advisory Committee wanted this enough to be strict about the conditions.

One girl is coming from California. Her grandmother lives here, and she auditioned through Zoom and got a part.

“This makes it an international cast,” Stewart said, pleased with the idea. 

She commented that she feels “good, after taking notes, asking questions during a give and take with David [Nairn].”

Nairn, Theatre Orangeville’s former artistic director, has been pulling back, and he is ready for his summer off. His emeritus role with Theatre Orangeville starts in September. There are workshops for the panto that the theatre is performing in the summer.

Jennifer Stewart is feeling ready, happy with the six months of planning and talking. She is getting to know people in town and made note of Young Company’s production of “The Never-Ending Story,” which is the show for August.

Coming new to Orangeville, to a job that really requires residing in town, Stewart was happy to announce that she has bought a house and some furniture, added to what she already owns. She is madly trying to get the house together for when her partner and their son arrive from Spain, where all three have been living for some years. She is very happy about that.

Back to the theatre, Stewart said, “It is so exciting when you have a good play, it will crack open [many] conversations. You have to put everything into it. If you don’t, it’s a waste; you just have to jump into the deep end of the pond and it will be what it will be.”

Philosophically, she commented, “The theatre is like life; it is life. We worry too much about the what-if.”

She told a story about her father, “When my dad passed away about 10 years ago, I said ‘What are we going to do without you?’ He reminded me to focus on living – these important opportunities come and you can’t pass them up.”

The moment turned briefly to the office she had taken over from Nairn, its former occupant. In a few moments, Nairn cleaned his office out, all the posters, gifts and such a lot of things. Now, “It’s a blank canvas.”

Meanwhile, Stewart is trying to get her house ready, and she has invited the staff to a first reading of the play at the rehearsal hall. She and the cast are going to jump right in; they have sung through the musical with a lot of harmonies, learning a rough outline of the piece, how to put the words with the actions of the body, with Aaron Eyre instructing.

So many “thought bites” to consider: character development – what are they fighting for; who is your audience, and why are you telling this story?

Directors want to challenge the young thespians-in-the-making and entertain their audiences.

“Young Company has not just the show but it’s also teaching them for their own possibilities in theatre. They have so many opportunities,” she made the point.

Stewart went on to praise Orangeville, saying it is really great that residents support what the theatre is doing, as that support spreads back out to the community. For Young Company is the title recognition of this show. The Board of Directors really listened to what they wanted.

Her initial ambition is to come in with your own ideas and listen to the staff, and grow the company. Constantly creating something out of nothing and understanding that there is no one answer, and the ingredients matter.

Then, it’s alchemy and the people you have available make the production. All these skills are transferable to real life.

She said, “Theatre is real life. Tech will break down; the best is that it’s live. The Opera House is beautiful for a live experience that we need more than ever. We need to get off our phones.”

The experiences and events invite everyone to come to the theatre and have a good time; bring your family and friends.

Stewart was so enthusiastic: “I’m excited to get back into the creative work and I cannot wait to get into the rehearsal room. I’ve missed it and been busy with learning the admin – I am so ready for the creative side.”

For details and to purchase tickets, go to theatreorangeville.ca or call the box office at 519-942-3423.

You can pay the box office a visit at 87 Broadway as well.

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