Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People has been the driving force behind professional family entertainment on Vancouver Island for 50 years.
Through a season of mainstage productions featuring the onstage talents of professional adult artists, KTYP inspires young audiences through our innovative, imaginative, and original theatrical experiences.
Young People ages 4 through 18 can discover their creativity through classes in Musical Theatre, Acting, and Voice with instruction at Kaleidoscope’s Performing Arts Studio, the premiere theatre training school for young people in Victoria.
Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People is a Professional Theatre Company, a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, and a Charitable Not-for-Profit organization.
Kaleidoscope Theatre is dedicated to these core values:
The mission of Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People is to create original, innovative, and relevant theatre experiences that stimulate and inspire young people to think critically about the world around them.
Founded in 1973, Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People has served as Victoria’s premier producer of Theatre for Young Audiences for 50 years.
The company was born when journalist Barbara McLauchlin and actor Paul Liittich sat down together in Victoria in 1973 to write an application for assistance in offering free theatre workshops to children. Since then, Kaleidoscope has survived and endured as an important force in the arts community on Vancouver Island.
Kaleidoscope’s first project, in 1973, was a free drama workshop consisting of introductory classes for children in acting, set design, and costumes. Later that year, Kaleidoscope toured two short plays, The Pirate Show and The Magic Stone, to local schools.
Elizabeth Gorrie officially joined Kaleidoscope as our first Artistic Director toward the end of our first season, in 1974.
Kaleidoscope’s artistic mandate, formulated in 1974 and faithfully upheld to this day states that the company’s raison for being is to “provide innovative and exploratory drama for young people”. Kaleidoscope’s goal is to make theatre that surprises, challenges, and engages young people, both intellectually and aesthetically.
Kaleidoscope quickly developed a reputation for fascinating audiences of all ages and has performed around the world in Japan, Singapore, Israel, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Washington State. The company has toured across Canada, performing in Toronto, Ottawa (including the National Arts Centre), London, Winnipeg, Montreal, Vancouver, and every city and town in British Columbia.
Since 2011, Kaleidoscope has premiered over 20 original adaptations / productions for Victoria Audiences.
KTYP has produced over 241 plays, many of which are world premieres, and have entertained, inspired and educated over 3 million children around the world.
View a comprehensive list of productions presented at Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People from our inception in 1973 through present day.
View Production History
The Kaleidoscope Arts Centre is built on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen People. The Lekwungen People hunted and gathered here for thousands of years before European exploration, carefully managing the land through controlled burning and food cultivation.
The building that is now home to the Kaleidoscope Arts Centre was built in 1906 for J. Raymond and Sons’ Rosebank Lime Co warehouse and building materials store. The building continued to be used as a showroom and office space until the early 1950’s. From the 1950’s through 2013, the building had many tenants and occupants, including the Victoria Trades and Labor Union Headquarters from 1954-1963, and the Victoria Conservatory of Music through 1969.
Other past occupants include the Victoria City Social Welfare Department, the City of Victoria Parks Department, City Archives, the Greater Victoria Celebrations Society, the Victoria Tall Ships Society, and the Provincial Capital Commission until 2013. From 2019-2021 the building was occupied by MokSana Yoga Centre, who transformed it into the beautiful studio space it is today.
Elizabeth Gorrie was a major force in young people’s theatre in Canada. She began singing and acting at an early age and quickly moved into a directing role, writing more than 50 original scripts and adaptations. As founding artistic director of Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People, she helped develop the company from a small touring group to an established theatre company with a theatre school program. Gorrie’s awards and honours included the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal for her contributions to Canadian theatre for young audiences, and CFAX Radio’s Arts Person of the Year for Victoria. Her imaginative productions often put classic works in contemporary context — for example, one adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set Shakespeare’s tragic love story in the West Bank. Her productions have been performed by companies across Canada and as far away as the National Theatre in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Kaze-No-Ko in Tokyo. With Kaleidoscope, she worked with local performance institutions, including the Victoria Symphony and dancer choreographer Lynda Raino. She used movement and imagery together to give her productions strong visual elements. She held a drama diploma from the Banff School of Fine Arts and an associate degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and an English and arts degree from St. John’s College at the University of Manitoba. Gorrie worked and performed with several theatres across the country, including the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre, Kelowna’s Sunshine Theatre, Victoria’s Bastion Theatre and Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage. Elizabeth Gorrie was Kaleidoscope’s Artistic Director from 1974 through 1999.
Kaleidoscope is a regular member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, The Professional Arts Alliance of Greater Victoria, and Union internationale de la marionnette.
