Eastern Front Theatre was founded in 1993 as a Dartmouth-based company supporting the work of Atlantic Canadian playwrights. The original founders: Gay Hauser, Wendy Lill, and Mary Vingoe, brought a wealth of experience and nationally recognized talent to the company, leading the organization for nearly 10 years. Eastern Front Theatre was the original theatre company-in-residence at Alderney Landing from the time it opened in 1999 until it crossed the harbour to Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Stage in 2009. In 2020, EFT returned to its women-led roots with Artistic Director Kat McCormack and General Manager Elsa Pihl at the helm, and in 2021 they brought the company back home to Alderney Landing.
Over the past 30 years, EFT has championed and supported countless Atlantic Canadian artists through commissions, workshops, our annual STAGES Theatre Festival, and Playwrights Unit. In recent years, EFT has reemerged as a community leader with development efforts like our Design Mentorship Program, Accessibility Project and MACRO/micro Creation Series. EFT has produced or presented over 200 original Canadian plays, 32 of which were World Premieres. EFT has four Governor General Award nominations, one Nova Scotia Masterworks nomination, and 31 Robert Merritt Awards (out of 103 nominations).
