The Company
Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre is an award-winning theatre company reflecting the diverse talents and extraordinary creativity of the Montreal artistic community, presenting innovative new work with an emphasis on education and community outreach.
Our aesthetic interest is in the carnivalesque, the roughly-hewn, and the highly theatrical. Whether producing new works or adaptations from the classical repertoire, we strive for theatre to be an unruly, visceral and authentic shared experience.
History
The company’s inaugural production in 2006 was Last Call, written by and starring Montreal-based writer/actor Holly O’Brien, and directed by Alison Darcy. O’Brien won a MECCA award for Best Actress for the production.
In June 2007, the company produced The Works by Joseph Shragge at the Montreal Fringe Festival. The production was chosen as runner-up for the Centaur Theatre’s Best Production award.
In the fall of 2008, Scapegoat Carnivale produced Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s Spanish baroque classic Life Is a Dream as a part of the Centaur Theatre Company’s Brave New Looks initiative. The show was nominated for three MECCA awards.
The company’s next project was an original translation of Euripides’ Medea by Joseph Shragge and Andreas Apergis, directed by Apergis and Alison Darcy. Medea premiered at the Centaur Theatre Company’s Brave New Looks in fall 2010, breaking attendance records and receiving high praise from critics. Medea won two MECCA awards: Best Actress (France Rolland), and Best Production.
In 2011, Scapegoat Carnivale co-produced Montreal-based writer and spoken word artist Catherine Kidd’s new play, Hyena Subpoena, directed by Alison Darcy, at Les Ateliers Jean-Brillant.
In Fall 2012, the company premiered a new translation of Euripides’ Bacchae at the Centaur Theatre, directed by Andreas Apergis, based on a new translation by Joseph Shragge and Apergis. The Bacchae won nine META awards, including Best Production.
Scapegoat Carnivale was the resident company at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, where they premiered The Heretics of Bohemia, a new play by Joseph Shragge, directed by Alison Darcy, and staged a workshop production of a new adaptation of Goethe’s Faust in May 2013.
In Fall 2013, the company co-presented Shakespeare’s Othello at the Segal Centre, directed by Alison Darcy, which won two META awards.
In Spring 2014, the company premiered Blind, a new play by Lindsay Wilson about the persecution of people with albinism in Tanzania, at the MAI. Blind was nominated for four META awards including Best Production.
Staff
Alison Darcy – Co-Artistic Director
Joseph Shragge – Co-Artistic Director
Melanie St-Jacques – Co-General Manager
David Oppenheim – Co-General Manager
Andreas Apergis – Associate Producer
Board of Directors
Paul Shore – President
Liz Truchanowicz – Vice-President
Elsa Bolam – Secretary
Jon Rondeau – Treasurer
Dean Fleming – Director
Benjamin Klein – Director