About Stages Youth Theatre
Stages Youth Theatre was founded by Wendy Karpuik and Teresa Drew. Highlights that occurred under their leadership include; classes extended from one small class to three, students travelled to London's West End, Company One participated in the North Island Zone drama festival, students grew and flourished, and our program became known for a safe and welcoming place. For more than a decade Stages has been educating young people in the dramatic arts in the Alberni Valley. Teresa passed the program on to Naomi Boutwell, who was honoured to carry on a legacy of holistic, ensemble based theatre education until her final season 2023-2024. Gabrielle Eyford is the current artistic director and previous Stages student. At Stages we are very much a family and once a Stages kid, always a stages kid. We are very proud of all of our students past and present, several of which have gone on to study performing arts at post secondary.

Director
Hi my name is Gabby (she/her) and I am so excited to be a part of stages again! I have always had a passion for theatre and was a student of stages from the very beginning. I got to be a part of company one for 5 years and was the assistant teacher for all other classes for 4 years and I learned so much about the art of theatre in that time so I am thrilled to be returning to the role. Some of my favourite memories are being a part of stages and I am so glad that I get to be involved this year, it truly is an amazing program. After I graduated I moved to Vancouver to attend the acting for film and television program at VanArts where I received my diploma in 2020. It was a tough year but I loved every second of it and took in all the knowledge I could and I am so excited to share all that I’ve learned to help guide this years stages students. See you all this fall!

Our Values
We acknowledge and honour the traditional keepers of this land, that we live work and play upon, the unceded territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht people.
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It is VERY important to Stages that all students are included and accommodated. We are anti-racist, we respect all gender identities, we are LGBTQ+ welcoming, basically we want everyone to feel safe, valued, and a part of a team. We do our best and are striving to learn to do better.

Our Philosophy
At the core of all Stages learning is the idea of the ensemble or team. We are working together, constantly to solve problems, and to learn together. Our goal as instructors is to teach through holistic process, meaning that students area learning all aspects of theatre and how to work as an effective team member at the same time. Our goal as instructors is to give your children the tools they need to creatively and competently take over the production and run it themselves.
