Alessandro Costantini is a mover and shaker in Northern Ontario theatre circles. He, along with his cohorts, have re-energized theatre in Sudbury with the impending amalgamation of YES Theatre and the Sudbury Theatre Centre (in the fall of 2023).
Alessandro launched YES as a teenager in a wild adventure to provide local performers a chance to be involved in musical theatre in a professional setting.
Since joining forces, the theatre companies sold a million dollars in tickets from July 2022 to July 2023. Their production of Jersey Boys has been an unparalleled success.
In addition, YES and STC have created a three-million-dollar outdoor theatre in downtown Sudbury called the Refettorio built on an empty lot across from the YMCA. The goal is to provide all groups and artists an area to perform without it being prohibitive to put on a production.
Though barely entering his 30s, Alessandro has been involved in theatre since he was 11 years old. He’s toured across Canada and parts of the USA all the while coming back to Sudbury to nurture and expand YES.
He believes that theatre must be made relevant to people’s lives and that the concept of Citizen Artist plays a key role in providing sustainable theatre creation.
Marcel Vaillancourt has a chat with this dynamic leader who talks about his journey and that of his colleagues.