We’re back with our 2025 instalment of the Theatre Kid Holiday Gift Guide! Finding the perfect gift for the theatre kid in your life is always a challenge—this guide contains plenty of options to ensure your gift is well-received!

At Innovative Arts we reinforce the idea that not being cast in your ideal role is a part of the learning process, it does not reflect your talent or skill level, or how much the team likes having you as part of the community. Disappointment is normal in any program - sports, academics, art - however in a niche and subjective program like Musical Theatre is can be additionally prominent and difficult to navigate.

We’ve seen it in every theatre movie and TV show - the moment when the cast list is posted and everyone flocks to see who they will be playing. Although we don’t have a traditional cast list like the movies, we do know how much excitement and anxiety can come with casting announcements. We know that this can be overwhelming to process so here are a few ways to navigate the intense emotions that come with the cast list. 

Picture this: You are casting the next production of The Little Mermaid, and Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift ALL walk into your casting room. They all want to play either Ariel or Ursula and they all want to be together in the same cast - how are you possibly going to assign their roles?

We know many of our students have different priorities when it comes to casting. Some students want to be with a senior group, some want to be with their best friend, some place the greatest importance on the role, and some are easygoing about all of these things! 

Auditions and the casting process come with a lot of big feelings: anticipation, excitement, anxiety, and disappointment.  As a young performer, the casting process may feel confusing, and you may not always understand why certain decisions are made. It is our hope to demystify what conversations go on “behind the scenes” in the casting room with this guide.

Summer break doesn’t have to mean boredom! There are plenty of amazing theatre experiences in and around the city to check out! Check out some of our favourites…

Although rehearsals coming to an end may seem bittersweet, soon comes the exciting part: putting all your hard work into action in the theatre! If this is your first time performing in a musical, you might be unsure of what to expect from your days in the theatre. Returning students might already know the process, but might not have considered some ways to make the experience the best it can be! This blog post covers the best way for both seasoned pros and new Innovators to prepare for their time in the theatre.

The holiday season is upon us, and finding the perfect gifts for your loved one, however enjoyable and fullfilling can be stressful! If you have a theatre kid in your life, you might be struggling with what to give them - Our holiday gift guide contains plenty of options to make sure your gift is well-received!

If you are a student in grades 9-12, you’ve probably been asked  “Where do you want to go after high school?” more than once since the start of the year. But whether or not you are 100% confident in picking your dream school; if you’re hoping to pursue the arts, you have to start preparing earlier than your peers.

So, You Didn’t Get the Role You Really Wanted – Now What?

The audition process is both exciting and challenging right up to the point where you find out which role the Casting Director offers you. But what if it’s not the role you hoped it would be? Here are a few tips on what to do (and what not to do) when you find out you did not get the role you wanted.

For our last week of rehearsals, we wanted to provide you with some fun ideas to make the most of your final day before production! Keep reading to find out how you can make your last bit of time together as a cast super special!

Musical theatre is a pretty niche hobby! If you compare the amount of hockey teams, martial arts facilities, and dance studios in one city they likely outnumber the musical theatre programs by quite a lot. It’s no surprise that having a musical theatre kid can mean that parents feel a little out of their element, and we have always been passionate about supporting both our students and their families through musical theatre training.

Every season, after announcing the next Innovative Arts musical, students begin picturing themselves taking on their favourite characters and singing their favourite songs. It’s really a testament to good storytelling when most of our students connect with the lead characters in the show. However, this can be difficult when it comes time for casting, as every musical is a combination of leads, supporting, featured, and ensemble characters.

For all of our on-set productions this season, Innovative Arts has hired a professional photographer to capture the action! In the past, we've noticed students may have been confused on how to download and share them, either choosing to screenshot them from the site, or posting them at a low resolution, so we're here to present this comprehensive guide to saving and sharing the photos, to ensure they look AMAZING!

Both performers and parents of performers know the stress of memorization! It can be so difficult to get even a few easy lines down, especially on a deadline. If you have an audition coming up or your off-book day is creeping up fast and you are struggling to memorize your part, here are five tips to help you lock-down your lines.

Innovative Arts’ casting process has been organized to ensure that students are supported through the audition process as they learn their material and perform it for our creative team. Our “callbacks” feature audition material that is not traditionally used to cast a production, however, allows us to hear what we need from our students without taking up too much time or overwhelming students with too much material. But besides mastering the material, we asked Innovative Arts Casting Directors what the other secrets are to conquering their casting, and here is what they said.

Joining the Innovative Arts cast is a big step, especially for students who have never done a musical before. We want to ensure all our young performers have an incredible first experience, so here are a few tips that will ensure your family is yelling “Encore!” about your Innovator’s inaugural season.

It can be so disappointing when you leave an audition feeling like you didn’t do your best because you are having issues with your voice or, even worse, losing your voice right before a show! As performers, we are usually social, loud, and unapologetically enthusiastic, especially when it comes to talking, telling stories, singing and screaming, so we often don’t think about protecting our voices until it is too late. Here are a few tips to help young artists (and their parents) plan for those big vocal moments without having to compromise being our boisterous selves at events, school, or when we decide to put on one-man productions of Hamilton in the car!

Auditioning can be intimidating, especially when you are doing it for a new company or group of people. Fortunately, Innovative Arts auditions are specially designed to give performers their best chance at success. It can still be nerve-wracking, though, so here are a few tips that will help quiet those nerves, and give you the confidence to shine at your first audition with us!