User:Silverglen
Alex Mustakas is a Canadian actor and director. He is the founding and current Artistic Director & CEO of Drayton Entertainment, an award-winning, not-for-profit professional theatre company based in Southwestern Ontario, for 22 seasons.
Under Mustakas’ leadership, Drayton Entertainment has grown to include seven venues across the province: the original Drayton Festival Theatre in Drayton, Huron Country Playhouse and Playhouse II in Grand Bend, King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene, Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs, St. Jacobs Country Playhouse in Waterloo, and Dunfield Theatre Cambridge in Cambridge.
Major Directing, Producing & Performing Credits
[edit]| Director: | Official North American touring engagement of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2008 – 2009) |
| Over 100 productions with Drayton Entertainment (1991 – 2012) | |
| Twist & Shout: The British Invasion (2008) and Legends (2010), The Grand, London | |
| Productions at The Piggery in North Hatley, Quebec; Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover; Stage West in Mississauga; Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton; Waterloo Region and Toronto Gilbert & Sullivan Societies; K-W Musical Productions | |
| Producer: | Tap Dogs, Just for Laughs Festival, Montreal (2010) |
| Official North American touring engagement of Camelot (2009 – 2010) | |
| Official North American touring engagement of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2008 – 2009) | |
| Performer: | Drayton Entertainment; Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg; Charlottetown Festival; Canadian Opera Company; K-W Musical Productions; Waterloo G&S Society |
| Performer Radio: | Host of CFCA(Kitchener) Showbusiness (1991 – 1996) |
| National CBC Broadcasts |
Training
[edit]| DLitt | Honorary Doctorate, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo |
| MA | Arts Administration, City University, London, England |
| BA | Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo |
| Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (Part-Time Studies), London, England |
Professional Awards & Accomplishments
[edit]| Year | Award/Accomplishment |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 100 Alumni of Achievement, Wilfrid Laurier University
In recognition of the university’s centennial celebrations |
| Small Business Partnership of the Year, Globe & Mail Business for the Arts | |
| 2009 | Maggie Bassett Award, Theatre Ontario
In recognition of outstanding contribution to theatre in Ontario |
| 2008 | Most Excellent Innovation (Grand Prize) and Strategic Positioning Innovation Award
Ontario Innovation Excellence Awards In recognition of establishing a sustainable theatre model studied across Canada |
| 2007 | Legacy of Leaders Award, City of Waterloo
In recognition as one of the top 150 leaders in the city’s 150-year history |
| 2004 | Honorary Doctor of Letters, Wilfrid Laurier University |
| Man of the Year, United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo | |
| 6 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts
Presented to arts organizations demonstrating exceptional private sector and community support | |
| Tourism Awards
Numerous local awards from markets of Waterloo Region, Wellington County, Huron-Bruce, and Simcoe |
Background
[edit]Mustakas emigrated from Cyprus at the age of six, and as a natural performer at heart, he was drawn to the stage. Mustakas first honoured his father’s wishes to make something of himself by earning a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. He continued to keep his feet planted in artistic soil, however, by taking music courses and studying voice privately with Laurier legend Victor Martens.
After graduation, Mustakas was gainfully employed in business and corporate sectors, but seemed unable to shake his artistic desires. In a bold theatrical stroke, he handed his degree to his father and said, “This was for you. Now I want to do something for me. I’d like to become a professional actor.”
After a few years on the stage, Mustakas became interested in theatre administration and pursued a Masters Degree in Arts Administration at City University in London. While in England, Mustakas worked on a project for Gresham College where he was responsible for evaluating data concerning A Historical Examination of Industrial Support for the Arts in the United Kingdom. There his dream of a small theatre of his own where he could touch the art and touch the artists began to take shape.
Mustakas returned to Canada, and out of a tiny, virtually unused theatre built a theatrical empire that is one of the most successful in the country. Drayton Entertainment has an enormous economic and artistic impact on all the communities in which it is involved. “I really like to think that each theatre is indigenous to its community,” Mustakas has said.
Personal Life
[edit]He is married to actress Jackie Mustakas (nee Hadley), and is the father of two children, Hadley and Lucas.