Steven Schipper

Steven Schipper attended Bishop’s College and Mc Gill University before graduating from the National Theatre School in Montréal in 1978. Since then Schipper has made a mark on and behind the scenes of Canadian stages. Since 1989, he has served as artistic director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre and has been credited with bringing financial stability and artistic success to MTC. He is known to take artistic risks that have paid off. He also has championed Canadian plays and their premieres on the stage and has offered an array of classics and contemporary hits at MTC.

Schipper has played an integral role in the field of the dramatic arts in all levels on a national and provincial scale. He has directed close to three dozen plays and was the associate director at the Stratford Festival in 1984. He also is the recipient of the David Peacock Award. He has promoted the profile of local theatre and supporting local talent in all fields of the dramatic arts.

His theatrical triumphs include world premieres including local writer Maureen Hunter’s Transit of Venus (1992-93) and Atlantis (1995-96). In 1995, Schipper brought Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves to Winnipeg to play Hamlet, and has throughout his tenure cast extensively from the local acting community.  Under his leadership, MTC has been called "the most successful regional theatre in the Canada," balancing artistic risks with classics and attracting an estimable list of theatre artists creating “an artistic renaissance.”