Our Mission

Braver Stages Festival, first titled ‘The Plain Site Theatre Festival’ aimed to address the gap I witnessed in 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive theatre being produced during my time in Univeristy. When queer characters and stories were brought staged, seldom did you see queer folks centered in those productions.

I felt angry on behalf of my peers, who I was witnessing shrink themselves to fit into the narrow boxes that the theatrical offerings made for them, and I was becoming more aware of what little explicitly queer content I had gotten to participate in growing up.

I wondered what if we made a space where queer stories got to be written and performed by people who belonged to our community? Not a particularly radical idea, but something so vitally needed in this community. Then another thought came to me…what if we broke out of the boundaries of a traditional theatre to do so? And thus Plain Site was born. The mission was to present small site-specific plays around campus led by queer creative teams. Queer stories by queer folks out in plain sight. However, Covid 19 had other plans and so we re-framed.

Through the guidance of long-time mentor Tania Breen, and community champion Lisa Anne Ross, Plain Site reinvented itself into a festival where emerging artists could come together in solidarity, be mentored by professional artists at the top of their craft, and get to grow and work in a braver space than before. A new festival, with a new mandate:

We at Braver Stages are committed to promoting queer-focused storytelling and visibility by providing emerging artists and students a safer space to develop their craft under the guidance of established 2SLGBTQIA+ artists.

Now in partnership with St. Thomas University, and in collaboration with playwright/dramaturge Jena Mclean and performer/writer/director Lucas Gutierrez-Robert. Braver Stages Festival is blazing ahead as the new home for theatre by and for 2SLGBTQIA+ artists looking to hone their skills in a space that values their voices, their experiences, and their stories.

- Alex Rioux (They/Them), Festival Founder & Director