Dufault to take over at Carousel Players
Niagara theatre veteran Monica Dufault will take the reins of Carousel Players in January.
Dufault, who has been artistic director of Essential Collective Theatre in St. Catharines since 2014, will replace Jessica Carmichael at Carousel. The announcement was made at the company’s fundraising event Thursday night.
“Her strong ties to the Niagara Region put her in an ideal position to lead us,” said Carousel board chairwoman Carolyn Mackenzie. “We are very excited to work with Monica as she expands our audience base and horizons.”
The St. Catharines-based theatre for young people performs most of its shows in schools throughout the region and beyond, with select performances at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Dufault will be the company’s seventh artistic director following a three-year stint by Carmichael, who leaves in January for a position as assistant professor in the Theatre Department at Montreal’s Concordia University. She’ll still be involved as a dramaturge for two Carousel productions in 2018.
Dufault brings extensive theatre experience to her new gig. She has performed with the Shaw Festival and Theatre Aquarius, and began her directing career in 2006 as assistant director on Carousel Players’ production of Kim Selody’s Wimp.
She has taught acting and scriptwriting at Brock University, and taught drama workshops in schools across Niagara.
Her latest production at Essential Collective Theatre, The Welland Canal Play, wrapped up a Niagara region tour Sunday.
She calls it “bittersweet” leaving the company, but plans to develop works of “innovative, professional theatre” when she joins Carousel Players.
“In many ways, the community building work that I have been engaged in at ECT will continue with Carousel Players,” she says. “I hope that our audiences of children and their caregivers and teachers will feel that they can all be part of the Carousel Players family in the years ahead.”