Stage Wright

Welcome to “Stage Wright”, a special collection preserving and celebrating theatre history at U of T Scarborough. This archive gathers together traces of a half-century of performance at the Scarborough Campus, from the early “TV Studio One” years up to the work still happening in the theatre today. Artefacts connected to over 300 stage productions comprise a hyper local cultural history, reminding us of our continuity with the past as well as of constant cultural evolution. The archive will continue to grow and evolve with teaching and research activations. You can find a full list of theatre productions here.

The project honours a dear member of our community, Kevin Wright. Kevin was a staff member in this theatre, hired as its first full time Technical Director in 1995 and years later as its first Production Manager. For three decades he was the soul of the theatre, supporting uncountable student projects and bringing his legendary stories and big laughs to generations of students. He has been sorely missed since his passing in 2023.

Let this exhibit be a light that we keep lit for Kev, and a beacon that invites everyone who has had a special experience at our campus theatre to return once in a while.

Permalink: https://ark.digital.utsc.utoronto.ca/ark:61220/utsc92120

Remembering Kevin Wright

Kevin Mark Wright (1964-2023) was the Technical Director, and later the Production Manager, of U of T Scarborough's Leigha Lee Browne Theatre. He was hired in 1995 to support the busy annual calendar of classes and events in the campus’s then newly…

A crowd of students in the theatre face the camera

50+ Years of Student Theatre

For more than half a century, theatre at U of T Scarborough has given students space to experiment and tell stories. What began small with students using theatre as a form of expression grew into a defining element of our campus culture, with…

five staff and or faculty looking at the camera

LLBT Staff and Faculty

A community is its people, and the theatre community at U of T Scarborough has benefitted from the leadership, expertise and heart of its faculty and staff decades. In this “scene” collection of materials from the archive, you’ll find images of the…

A poster advertising the production of "Everyman and the Resounding Tinkle"

The Poster Pathway

Of the thousands of performances this theatre has seen – talks, readings, concerts, fashion shows, you name it – our research has documented over 300 full theatrical productions since it began operation as a theatre in the early 1970s. Most took place in…

Leigha Lee Browne stands outside facing students on concrete steps

Remembering Leigha Lee Browne

Leigha Jamieson, later Leigha Lee Browne, was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1945. After her family immigrated to Canada, Leigha grew up in Prince Edward Island, attending Prince of Wales College and developing a love for drama. She came to Toronto in…

Theatre Programs

One of the richest sources in our archive are the programs handed out to members of the audience. Conventionally, they provide basic information such as a note from the Director and the list of cast and crew. But they often feature less conventional…

A black and white image of the theatre under construction

TV Studio One/Leigha Lee Browne Theatre

Television Studio One was built in 1966 as part of the original buildings of “Scarborough College.” The TV Studio was fitted out with the most advanced technology of its day supporting what was imagined to be a new and (cost) effective form of teaching.…

Althea Productions, 1995-2006

In the spring of 1995, graduates of what was then called the Drama program at the University of Toronto at Scarborough formed a theatre company dedicated to the exploration and production of varied, progressive and challenging theatre. We called…

Stage Wright was co-created by Professor Barry Freeman and the digital scholarship team at the U of T Scarborough Library. It has been generously supported by The Department of Arts, Culture & Media, The Office of Vice-Principal Academic & Dean, the U of T Scarborough Accessibility Committee, and the ACM’s IDEAS Fund. Among the many people to thank for their hard work on this project are student research assistants Tailynn Smith-Vetter, Jannat Narang and Shannora Lankanathar, and the library's digital scholarship and special collections teams: Kirsta Stapelfeldt, Bennett Steinburg, Catherine Spence, Natkeeran Ledchumykanthan, Kyle Huynh, Irfan Rahman, John Yolkowski and Tanis Franco; Fran Wdowczyk and Meysam Delavari, the U of T Scarborough Print Hub’s Billi Jo Cox, Maliheh Bastami and Wellington Kandare, ACM and DMG staff David Bracegirdle, Minda Nessia, Alicia Ho, Samantha Alonzo, Erin Peck, Ann MacDonald, ACM Chair Thy Phu and Acting Chair Jas Rault; Ken Jones and Leah Takata for their years of photography; U of T Scarborough faculty past and present, including Michal Schonberg, Paula Sperdakos, Trisha Lamie, Carla Melo, Desirée Livingstone, Elliot Leffler and Scott Mealey.

Please contact barry.freeman@utoronto.ca if you have questions, corrections, or wish to contribute.

Memories of Scarborough Campus