Event Details

Founded by Artistic Director Fiona Mongillo in 2012 and incorporated in 2020, Here For Now Theatre’s mandate has been to produce theatre that tells the stories of complex female protagonists, with a focus on new works. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the evolving artistic environment, Ms. Mongillo had the idea to create an open-air festival of intimate, tech-light theatre with a strong focus on storytelling as a way to bring the local community together and to provide artists with a creative platform. The Theatre produced six shows with limited runs that spanned over eight weeks for a total of 75 performances with intimate audiences (maximum 25 people per show) and sold 2,000 tickets and generated close to $50,000 in earned revenue.

This application is for “Here For Now Theatre’s 2025 Winter and Summer Seasons: Expanding Arts in Stratford Year-Round”, taking place from May 28 to December 24, 2025. HFNT is launching its most ambitious season to date, expanding into a permanent indoor venue for the first time; a brand new, micro-theatre venue in the heart of downtown Stratford, at the newly renovated historic land registry office (currently under renovation by the company). The 2025 season will feature a mix of nine mainstage productions, limited engagements, and new play development workshops with public readings.

Programming Includes:

(1) Summer season (May - September) (i) “Rebecca Northan’s New Comedy” (world premiere); (ii) “Forget About Tomorrow”, by Jill Daum; (iii) “Humour Me”, by Beverley Cooper; (iv) “Rules of Playing Risk”, by Kristen Da Silva; (v) “Apples In Winter”, by Jennifer Fawcett (co-production with Hope and Hell Theatre Company);

(2) Limited engagements: “Space Age Motel” by Booth Savage, “What Doesn’t Kill You” by James Hindman;

(3) Play development readings: featuring new works by Steve Ross, Roy Lewis, and Sarah Pittman;

(4) Winter season (November - December) (i) “Pandora” by Jessica B. Hill; (ii) “Reproduktion” by Amy Rutherford; and (iii) Mark Crawford’s New Holiday Production; and

(5) New initiatives that include: (i) Talkback Tuesdays; (ii) accessible offerings (tbd); (iii) youth and PWYC tickets; (iv) collaborative music nights / gatherings; and (v) a reading series.