Question 1

What is Burro'd Theatre?

Accepted Answer

Burro'd is the scrappy, independent company that jump-started Barrie, Ontario's Indie Theatre scene in 2018 with a homegrown production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Marissa Caldwell and Iain Moggach hosted the inaugural show in their own backyard - coining the series name 'Shakespeare in the Park (Street)' - and opened up a new level of performing arts in the Barrie area.Burro'd Theatre filled a void in our community and offered opportunities to arts workers that did not exist locally at the time. Founded on the values of paying artists for their work, creating theatre in unexpected/alternative spaces, and producing classical plays that are truly accessible to everyone, past productions have also included Macbeth, Merry Wives of Windsor, SOLUS, a modern adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, and most recently a remount of their inaugural production A Midsummer Nights' Dream, opening on August 27th 2026!

Question 2

What does Burro'd Theatre do?

Accepted Answer

Our indie company provides paid acting and crew opportunities to local artists through the staging and production of high-quality, innovative, Art-forward classical and debut theatre productions. You can find out more about what's coming up next here: Shows and Tickets for Burro'd Theatre.We are also embarking on a long-term sector innovation project; "The Burros: A Strategic Analysis of Affordable, Artist-Led Venue Models". With support from the Canada Council for the Arts, this research project is aimed at developing a bold new solution to Canada’s performing arts infrastructure crisis. You can learn more about Phase One of The Burros, and contribute your input, here: The Burros Project.Finally, we also provide hands-on arts worker training through apprentice roles on our productions, as well as one-off skill-sharpening & knowledge-building workshops, webinars, and one-on-one consultations. You can find out more about our Ontario-wide learning opportunities here: Training with Burro'd Theatre.

Question 3

Where can I find Burro'd Theatre?

Accepted Answer

Burro'd was founded in Barrie, Ontario - but as an indie company, we do not have a year-round home base or office to visit.

Past productions have taken place in a Park Street backyard, and we are now lucky to have a venue partnership with the wonderful folks of Camphill Communities Ontario. Our Summer 2026 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream will take place outside Camphill's beautiful Novalis Hall in Angus, Ontario and many more future events are planned to pop up across southern Simcoe County.

Question 4

How can I learn from Burro'd?

Accepted Answer

Part of our mission is to foster a lively indie theatre scene in Simcoe County, so there are a number of ways to sharpen your skills and level-up your know-how with Burro'd Theatre:

1) Hands-on learning: Burro'd provides in-production training in an apprenticeship/internship environment for emerging and established arts workers that are looking to develop or sharpen their skills while gaining practical experience. Most notably, you will often see Assistant Directors and/or Apprentice Producers hard at work through our rehearsal processes.

2) One-on-one instruction: Artistic Director Iain Moggach offers Audition Prep, coaching sessions, and strategical guidance for arts organizations and independent artist/arts workers looking for assistance, or wishing to further refine their producing, acting, or directing skills.

3) Webinars & workshops: Burro'd also provides one-off group-learning opportunities covering all areas of theatre art and production both online and in-person. Check out our page (Training with Burro'd Theatre) to see what's coming up next!

Question 5

What are 'The Burros'?

Accepted Answer

Burro’d Theatre has received support from the Canada Council for the Arts for The Burros: A Strategic Analysis of Affordable, Artist-Led Venue Models, aimed at developing a bold new solution to Canada’s performing arts infrastructure crisis.​This project's focus will be on building an innovative infrastructure that facilitates touring, provides accessible pricing, maintains high occupancy rates, and helps reinvigorate downtown areas. 'The Burros' would provide musicians, comedians, drag artists, burlesque performers, theatre creators, and more across the province with the foundation to do more than just try to break even with the venue rental costs.Beginning in June 2026, Burro’d Theatre will conduct sector consultations, financial modelling, operational research, and partnership development to create a detailed roadmap for a new kind of cultural infrastructure.We are now in the earliest research stages to further confirm Canadian Performing Arts' needs, wants, and areas ripe for innovation. To learn more about this project, and/or to contribute your input as an arts worker or arts organization lead, please visit The Burros Project.

Question 6

What is 'indie theatre'?

Accepted Answer

Indie theatre is a level of live performance that sits in between amateur (community) and professional (mainstage) levels of production. As an artform, it is usually characterized by a strong focus on the Art over production budget, unconventional or experimental features, and a focus on the talent of actors & crew members to bring a story to life. Artists are compensated for their work, and other expenses are kept to a minimum in order to pay those involved in the production as much as possible.

As an indie theatre company, Burro'd works from a profit-share model; the actors and crew that contribute to a production are paid with an even split of all the revenue brought in by ticket sales, donations, grants, and sponsorships after any expenses are covered.

Question 7

How did you pick "Burro'd" as the company name?

Accepted Answer

Burro'd was born out of the success of our inaugural backyard production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Originally supposed to be a one-off, as soon as we decided we had to do this awesome thing over and over again, it was time to come up with a company name.

So, the meaning behind "Burro'd" has a few different levels:
1) That first production took place in a residential neighbourhood - or a borough, you might say. And it was supported by and grown directly from the goodwill of our invaluable community (our 'good neighbours', in a wider sense).
2) The show happened at all because of some scrappy, determined artists decided to dig (or burrow) in, making the very most out of what they had access to at the time.
3) It's a literal nod to our landmark first production - specifically, Bottom's magical transformation into a donkey (or burro) in A Midsummer Night's Dream. And of course, the ability to use that foundation for a myriad of donkey puns was a very strong selling point.

Question 8

Where can I see a play in Barrie?

Accepted Answer

While Burro'd Theatre hosts productions across Simcoe County, we take pride in our Barrie roots, and will be hosting two special performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Part Street backyard where it all began in August 2026.

If you're based in Barrie and looking for great entertainment, we also encourage you to explore the Simcoe County indie theatre scene, including catching our productions inside Camphill's Novalis Hall in Angus, and Theatre Georgian Bay's summer productions in Collingwood.

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