Feds give MTYP $250,000 for upgrades

The federal government has allocated an additional $250,000 to the Manitoba Theatre for Young People to support the organization’s ongoing renovation and modernization projects.

Over the past two years, the Winnipeg company has undergone the most significant series of upgrades to its Forks Road site since moving there in 1999, with nearly $9 million funnelled toward expanded accessibility measures, green technologies and the opening of the Richardson Studio Theatre, a secondary professional-grade performance venue.

In that venue on Friday, Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr announced the additional tranche of funding, drawn from the federal government’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. Combined with previously announced funding from the cultural spaces fund and the green and inclusive buildings program, Carr said the federal government’s financial backing of MTYP’s most recent capital campaign totals about $2 million.

“I had a chat yesterday with some folks from Meta — those are the people that run Instagram and Facebook — talking about young people and how to protect young people, and the discussion led us a little bit to how we’re really losing in our society, in part by virtue of social media, in part by other things, connectedness, and the way that telling stories and honouring the history and culture and identity through those stories plays a significant role in the health and well-being of our society and, I would argue, our democracy,” Carr said.

“So things like this are not just entertainment. That’s certainly a key component of what the work that MTYP undertakes is about, but it’s actually really about enforcing our values as a society, and making sure that real-life connections with human beings around identity, around inclusivity, around culture is at the heart of what we do as a community.”

Debra Zoerb, MTYP’s managing director, said the funding, when allocated to the theatre this summer, proved to be “a truly affirming investment” that served as “validation of our belief that access to theatre helps develop healthy, creative, inspired and engaged young people.”

Among the specific improvements made to MTYP’s building as part of its $9-million capital campaign are acoustic upgrades to its studio spaces, a new roof, modernized heating and cooling systems, new windows, accessible washrooms and a replacement of overhead lighting with LED systems.

At Friday’s news conference, Zoerb and artistic director Pablo Felices-Luna walked guests around the Richardson Studio Theatre, a secondary performance venue that opened this fall with a run of Julia Lederer and Julie Ritchie’s play Gather.

“Above and all around us, you’ll notice a brand new truss system, made from 3,800 tonnes of custom fabricated steel, which can support a range of equipment needed to make this a true secondary performance space,” Zoerb said.

On Friday, MTYP, which also educates hundreds of Manitoban youth each year through its school program, continues its 2025-2026 season with its third professional production of the year. Adapted by Joe Tracz and Rob Rokicki from the bestselling series by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical stars Brady Barrientos, Nathaniel Muir, Stephanie Sy, Katie German, Omar Alex Khan, Alyssa Crockett and Devin Lowry.

winnipegfreepress.com/benwaldman