Our Values

Our newly articulated values were given expression as part of our collaborative 2022 Strategic Planning process. These five core ideals have historically infused the strength of our work, and we aspire to fully embody them in all future endeavours.

CURIOSITY: We’re on the hunt for the hidden theatrical potential in the world around us. We are open and adaptive as we seek new ways to tell stories together.

CARE: Our approach to hospitality celebrates that every artist, every staff member and
every audience member has different needs and desires. We strive to be compassionate and empathetic, building a safer, more accessible, more equitable space for everyone who interacts with the company.

THRILLS: We relish the unknown, embracing joy and risk in our processes and surprise
in our artistic offerings.

CONNECTION: We consciously forge relationships between artists, collaborators,
audiences, our neighbours in Toronto, and the land we share stories on.

IMMERSION: We create epic and intimate worlds tailored to the unique needs of each
project. We see every facet of a production as a chance to deepen the storytelling
experience—from the first glance at a poster to the journey home from the show, and
everything in between.

The OtM-ifesto

Outside the March creates unforgettable immersive encounters—redefining the experience of theatre for a new generation of audiences.

For everyone who is tired of passively scrolling content, for anyone concerned that our city is becoming one indistinguishable condo block, we’re here to offer a cultural wake-up call. 

We work to harness theatre’s secret weapon—the power of presence unique to live performance that can’t be streamed or downloaded. Our immersive experiences are communal, site-engaged and fuse the epic with the intimate, all with the goal of implicating our audiences in the stories that we share. 

By expanding the canvas on which our storytelling takes place, we bring underused spaces into the public eye and welcome audiences who don’t normally find themselves at the theatre. Over the past decade, we’ve invited audiences to play with us in a Parkdale kindergarten classroom, parade with Queen Elizabeth along the Danforth, venture to Roncesvalles on an EMS call, follow a piano-tuner into living rooms across the city, weather the apocalypse in an abandoned Leslieville movie theatre, infuse a Davisville funeral home with love, unlock mysteries in a beloved Annex VHS video store, and place a call to our eccentric private investigator service. Along the way, we’ve developed a signature artistic practice and an audience base that unites hardcore theatre lovers with the newly-initiated.

Charging into our second decade we will seek out more cross-disciplinary collaborations with the makers who inspire us. We will contribute to a more sustainable world, through both our practices and our programming, recognizing that the climate crisis is the most urgent issue of our time. And we will throw open our toolshed, contributing to a more equitable industry and furnishing a new and diverse generation of creators with the tools to immerse audiences in their stories.

As we look forward to what’s next, we seek to support new voices who see every closed door—every warehouse, storefront window, café and public park—as an opportunity: a chance to amplify the vital and disparate narratives of our moment.

 

History

Outside the March was founded in 2009 by Co-Artistic Directors, Mitchell Cushman and Simon Bloom, and core artists, Amy Keating, Sebastien Heins, Katherine Cullen and Ishai Buchbinder. Katherine Devlin Rosenfeld joined the company in 2013 as the company’s first Managing Producer.

Production History
(**World Premiere *Canadian Premiere)

**Trojan Girls (upcoming 2022) co-production with Factory Theatre
**Lessons in Temperament, the Film Adaptation (2021)
StupidHead! (2021) In partnership with Talk is Free Theatre
**The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries, includes co-productions with Summerworks, Theatre Direct, Sound Off and TO Live (2020-present)
**Something Bubbled, Something Blue (OtM In Association with Talk is Free Theatre) (2020)
**The Stream You Step In (co-production with University of Windsor Drama) (2020)
**The Golem’s Mighty Swing (2019)
*The Flick (2019)
**The Tape Escape (2019)
*The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale (Progress Festival 2019, co-production with red light district)
**A Community Target (2018) co-production with Convergence Theatre
**Dr. Silver: A Celebration of Life (2018) co-production with The Musical Stage Company
*Jerusalem (2018) co-production with The Company Theatre
**Lessons in Temperament (2017, 2019, 2022) (including a run in New York, presented by Soulpepper)
**TomorrowLove™ (2016)
**That Syncing Feeling (SummerWorks Festival 2015)
*Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (2015) in association with Crow’s Theatre
**Vitals (2014), in association with Theatre Passe Muraille
Murderers Confess at Christmastime (Summerworks 2013)
*Passion Play (2013) co-production with Convergence Theatre and Sheep No Wool
*Terminus (SummerWorks, Mirvish 2012 / The Belfry, Yukon Arts Centre 2014 / Centaur 2015)
*Mr. Marmalade (SummerWorks 2011)
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (2012) in association with Theatre Passe Muraille
*Oh the Humanity, and Other Good Intentions (2010)