Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia facts for kids

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is a special theatre company that started in 1972. It was founded by Evelyn Garbary, Tom Miller, and Sara Lee Lewis in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Sara Lee Lewis still helps lead the company today. In 1987, the theatre moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. They bought a big building in the town center. This building now holds their workshops, offices, and places for practice and shows. The company became a registered charity in March 1973.

Bringing Stories to Life

Mermaid Theatre's main goal is to share the fun of reading and the excitement of puppetry with young people. They travel all over Nova Scotia and even to other countries.

The company creates shows based on children's books. They have performed for more than 4.5 million people on four different continents! Since 1979, they have regularly performed in the United States. The company tours all year long. They usually put on over 400 shows for almost 200,000 people every year. Mermaid Theatre has won awards for helping the local economy and culture. These include export awards from Nova Scotia (2001) and Canada (2001, 2005). They also received an award for Best Performing Group from the Canadian Arts Presenting Association.

The company often travels across Canada and the United States. They have also represented Canada in many other countries. Since they started touring internationally, they have performed in places like Japan, Mexico, Australia, England, and South Korea.

Mermaid Theatre has two main focuses. First, their professional touring theatre helps show off talented artists from the Atlantic Region to the world. Second, their Youtheatre program helps young people in the region express themselves creatively. This program has been running for many years.

Puppetry is very important to Mermaid Theatre. Through its Institute of Puppetry Arts, Mermaid offers special puppet theatre programs. These include residencies, internships, and training for making and performing puppets. This kind of training is hard to find elsewhere in English-speaking Canada.

Awards and Recognition

Mermaid Theatre has received many awards for its amazing work:

• Two Citations of Excellence for Puppetry by UNIMA-USA in 2010
• Award for Excellence in Artist Management - Atlantic Presenters Association in 2009
• Crystal Tourism Ambassador Award - Tourism Industry of Nova Scotia in 2008
• Cultural Industries Export Award in 2005
• Nova Scotia Export Award in 2001
• Canada Export Award in 2001
• Citation of Excellence for Puppetry by UNIMA-USA in 1986 and 1989

The Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre

In 2003, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia bought the old Imperial Theatre. This theatre is located at 106 Gerrish Street in Windsor. The building was constructed between 1910 and 1920. It was first used as a movie theatre and a place for live shows. When Mermaid Theatre bought it, the building had been empty for several years.

Over the next few years, with help from local and national partners, the space was turned into a performing arts center. It was renamed the Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre, or MIPAC. Since 2008, MIPAC has hosted many shows. These include Mermaid Theatre's own productions, community shows, and performances by groups touring across the country.

See also

• Mermaid Theatre (London)