Eastern Front Theatre, Dartmouth
Profile
Formation
Eastern Front Theatre was founded in Dartmouth in 1993. Together, Mary Vingoe, Gay Hauser, and Wendy Lill, three talented women with diverse backgrounds in acting, writing, and directing for theatre and its related spheres, created the means for the expression of new work by Atlantic Canadian playwrights. Recognized as a company very closely associated with the development and fostering of new material, Eastern Front Theatre has received three Governor General’s Award nominations for works by George Boyd and Wendy Lill, producing locally born plays rooted in the social and political landscape of the province. In May of 1999, Eastern Front Theatre celebrated the opening of its new home at the Alderney Landing Theatre located on the Dartmouth waterfront, and during the week that followed, the theatre hosted the On the Waterfront and Kids on the Waterfront Festivals, featuring productions from throughout the Maritimes as well as from Ontario, Alberta, and the Yukon.
World Premieres on the Atlantic Stage
Beginning with a production of Wendy Lill’s The Occupation of Heather Rose, presented at the Dartmouth Regional Library in 1993, over time and through a succession of changes, 
Eastern Front Theatre has emerged onto the world’s stage, premiering productions such as Lill's The Glace Bay Miners' Museum, based on a short story by author Sheldon Currie about a Cape Breton mining family struggling for survival in the 1940s; the production continued on to Neptune Theatre, to Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg and to Montreal's Centaur Theatre in 1996/97. 
George Elliot Clarke's Whylah Falls, later co-produced with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and George Boyd’s Consecrated Ground, set in Africville, Nova Scotia, now find their place in the Canadian
dramatic canon. Strange Humours, by Antigonish-born artist Mary- Colin Chisholm, a play that explores the relationships between British soldiers, American mercenaries, and Mi'kmaq leaders in colonial Halifax, and Halifax artist Jackie Torrens' Fables, are among several other Eastern Front "firsts."
While the founders of Eastern Front come from a varied background in theatre, Vingoe having 
co-founded Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro and Nightwood Theatre in Toronto, and Hauser co-founding Mulgrave Road Theatre in Guysborough, the enormous strength and knowledge on the part of Vingoe, Hauser, and Lill, whose role as Member of Parliament for the NDP has been demanding, has contributed much to the theatre scene in the province. While Vingoe left the company in 2002, she comfortably handed over artistic director’s reins to Hans Böggild, who brought experience in directing, playwriting, and teaching 
in film, television, and radio to Eastern Front. Böggild is well known for having adapted a version of Alistair MacLeod's "Island"
for Eastern Front Theatre in 2001, in addition to earlier creations such as Black Sheep and A Silent Agreement, produced internationally, and his numerous directing credits in Nova Scotia including two original works, Salt Cod and Pork Scraps for Neptune Theatre, and The Satchmo Suite for Mulgrave Road Theatre.
Vision and Mission
Eastern Front Theatre's commitment to local playwrights is witnessed through their dedication to Atlantic Canadian theatre artists. Over the company's short history, many local actors, directors, designers, and technicians have been given outstanding opportunities 
to present their work and Eastern Front has been instrumental in building the careers of local artists. With the support of the creative staff, under the valued management of Leah Hamilton, who assumed the role as general manager after Hauser, dedicated to the mission to produce quality theatre, Eastern Front continues to be a valuable and important cultural organization in the province. As a registered charity, operating with a volunteer Board of Directors, Eastern Front Theatre values the vision of corporate sponsors, individual donors, and government funding organizations who recognize the importance of the performing arts and who see the value of partnership with an organization contributing to a healthy community.
Additional Resources
Eastern Front Website
