Drayton Festival Theatre (Drayton, Ontario) Drayton is located 30 minutes north of Kitchener-Waterloo. The former Town Hall, built in 1902, has hosted performers such as
Beatrice Lillie. The building also housed the town offices and eventually became a complete municipal complex, which included town offices, council chambers, library, fire hall, automobile repair shop and jail. was formed to produce professional theatre and facilitate cultural and educational activities. Alex Mustakas was hired as the
Artistic Director. Mustakas enlisted the help of Canadian
director/
choreographer Alan Lund to produce the first show of the 1991 season.
Vaudeville! brought the Drayton Festival Theatre to life on
Canada Day, July 1, 1991. The first season consisted of three productions over nine weeks and attracted 14,592 visitors to the village. The first season relied on volunteers for front of house management, ushering, laundry, and technical support. The Drayton Festival Theatre sold all available tickets for its 1993 and 1994 seasons. All 36,000 available seats for the 1994 season were sold one month prior to the beginning of rehearsals. As the popularity of The Drayton Festival Theatre grew, so did each season
Hildebrand Schoolhouse Theatre St. Jacobs (St. Jacobs) The company expanded to a second stage in St. Jacobs in 1997, in the heart of
Mennonite Country. The Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs is a
renovated schoolhouse that was originally built in 1867. In the fall of 2019, the Mersynergy Charitable Foundation donated the building to Drayton Entertainment. The
inaugural production was the musical
Forever Plaid, The renovation was completed in time for the 2024 season.
King’s Wharf Theatre (Penetanguishene) In January 1999, newspapers reported that the Drayton Festival Theatre had been chosen by the
Ontario Government to assume operation of the King's Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene. in a rented big-top tent while actors and staff lived and worked out of the century-old
barn. Audiences are now entertained on two separate stages – the 660-seat Mainstage and 300-seat South Huron Stage.
St. Jacobs Country Playhouse (Waterloo) In October 2004, Drayton Entertainment announced it would be expanding its operations in Waterloo with a new performance facility that would be housed in the vacant St. Jacobs
Winery & Cidery. The expansion to a larger venue in Waterloo followed the attendance levels at the Schoolhouse Theatre and reported increases in local business activity, led to the discussion of creating a larger custom-designed theatre on the border of St. Jacobs and the city of Waterloo. The benefits of expansion in this market were numerous, including additional work for artists and administrative staff, potential for new marketing initiatives and national
sponsorships. The St. Jacobs Country Playhouse offers a variety of performances year-round, as well as providing performance space as a resource to the community. The theatre opened in the fall of 2005 with
Disney's Beauty and the Beast – completing selling out all 25,000 tickets available for the 8-week run.
Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge (Cambridge) In 2009,
Cambridge City Council passed a resolution for the development and construction of a 500-seat performing arts venue in the heart of Old Galt, to be operated by Drayton Entertainment. This complex also houses Drayton Entertainment's centralized administration and production facilities. Originally named the Dunfield Theatre Cambridge, the venue opened in the spring of 2013 with
Mary Poppins. Cambridge taxpayers paid $6 million, both the federal and city of Cambridge governments paid the same, Drayton Entertainment gave $4.5 million to the project and continually cover daily costs. The theatre has been named the Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge since January 2018. == Drayton Entertainment Youth Academy ==