MONTREAL
DUMMIES THEATRE

Several years ago, Montrealer Anna Papadakos returned to her home from New York, where she spent the bulk of her youth, including a stint studying theatre. Her old neighbourhood, however, had been radically transformed. Many businesses and stores, which had catered to the particular needs of the less affluent, were abandoned and decrepit. Trendy young adults had replaced working class residents.

To help cope with these changes, Anna decided to marry the old and the new, and started the Dummies Theatre Company to dress up dilapidated store front windows while at the same time bringing street theatre to the community. The stores are the setting, the street serves as a backdrop and pedestrians become characters. Making people aware of their surroundings is the first step toward building community.

Anna and her colleagues, including fellow actor Carlo Alacchi and filmmaker Pascal Maeder, stage dramatic productions in vacant stores along St. Laurent Blvd. (the Main). The productions play to packed crowds and are influenced by historical information about the building and former owners and neighbours. Admission is free because Anna's team convinces business and government alike to contribute funding or gifts-in-kind required to mount the performances.

Dummies Theatre Company
4152b Clark Street
Montreal, QC H2W 1W9