KWLT LAUNCHES 2025 SEASON
On May 20, The Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre (KWLT) held its 2025 season launch event at Revive Karaoke Bar, where they celebrated their 90th anniversary and revealed this year’s theme: community and acceptance.
The event introduced KWLT’s upcoming shows and featured this season’s directors—Ryan Bassett, Eliza Grafton, and Elisabeth Wallis—who spoke about their productions, including You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; The Prince and God of Carnage.
“I’m excited to see people’s reactions to the shows we’ve picked,” Adrienne Dandy, the former president of KWLT, said.
She was also excited for people to see the artwork that local artist Trevor Clare made to celebrate KWLT’s 90th anniversary.
“He’s painted the theatre, and we’re doing a fundraiser where we’re getting a portion of the profits from the photographs of each print he sells,” Dandy said.
Gaya Bin Noon, KWLT’s artistic director, said they chose this year’s theme through the artistic steering committee, which is a group of volunteers at KWLT who review all proposals sent by directors and decide on the theme.
“We ask members of our community to submit their ideas and artistic visions. So, we review all the proposals and read all the scripts. It’s a couple of months of intense work,” Bin Noon said. “It’s a very collaborative process.”
“We’re expecting about 60 people at the event, and we bring everyone together in a room and announce any initiatives we’re trying to put together that are different from the main stage shows,” Victoria Robertson, the vice president of the KWLT, said.
She also said the season consists of three main performances and four smaller shows. Each show is a three-month commitment with nine showings. The fall show is about being lost and figuring out who you are, the middle show is about finding community and discovering personal identity, and the third show is a big celebration between friends.
“I’m excited for all three, and we’re putting together a couple of other experimental things,” Robertson said.
In addition to its mainstage season, KWLT plans to launch several initiatives to increase community engagement across Waterloo. These initiatives include March Madness (a theatre competition), Popcorn Plays and next year’s New Works Festival. These events will offer newcomers and seasoned artists opportunities to get involved in shorter productions.
For the launch event, the News Works Collective, a free community playwriting circle, worked alongside KWLT as part of this season’s studio series, where members of the collective could write and direct a play for KWLT.
“The New Works Collective is meeting regularly throughout the season, and we will stage works that our members wrote,” Morgan Anderson, co-founder of the New Works Collective, said.
As KWLT enters its 90th year, it invites community members—whether seasoned performers or curious newcomers—to participate in a season centred around connection and acceptance.
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