Festival Antigonish Theatre Academy (FATA) is dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of theatre by providing inclusive, process-driven education for youth and adults. Guided by professional teaching artists, we offer classes, camps, and workshops year-round. Our programs support students as they push beyond their limits to discover their unique voices and build communication skills through imaginative play.
At FATA, we believe creativity is a vital skill cultivated through artistic risk-taking and guided processes. By prioritizing exploration participants feel empowered to experiment, make mistakes, and grow personally and artistically without fear of judgment. Theatre education develops essential life skills such as problem-solving, resilience, emotional intelligence, and self-worth that extend far beyond the stage.
Antigonish & Pictou County
6-8 | 8-11 | 10-12 | 13-18 | 15-19
Adult Classes | March Break | PD Days
For more information or to register visit our ticketing website here.
For more details about our camps, email boxoffice@festivalantigonish.com
WINTER 2026
Acting Out: Pictou County (Ages 6-8)
w Kate Basile
A bridge from imagination to stage
Join us for a Friday afternoon of fun and creativity! New and returning students will play, create, and act while developing confidence and learning the essentials of theatre. Classes are a blend of theatrical games and performance practice as we create characters and short plays. The journey concludes in a presentation for friends and family, showing off the skills they’ve grown over ten weeks. Location: Frank H. Academy.
January 16 – March 27 | Fridays 3:00-4:30pm | $165.00+hst
Acting Out (Ages 6-8)
w Kate Basile
A bridge from imagination to stage
Start the weekend off with a morning of fun and creativity! New and returning students will play, create, and act while developing confidence and learning the essentials of theatre. Classes are a blend of theatrical games and performance practice as we create characters and short plays. The journey concludes in a presentation for friends and family, showing off the skills they’ve grown over ten weeks.
January 10 – March 14 | Saturdays 10:30am-12:00pm | $165.00+hst
Drama Club (Ages 8-11)
w Kate Basile
Creation through collaboration
Get ready for a fun and creative journey! Drama Club is excellent for new or returning students who are looking for social connection and building confidence onstage. Through an ensemble theatre approach we explore characters, story structure, diving into the rehearsal process in a way that is intuitive and natural. Using these techniques, students are guided through collective creation of their own scripted play, ending with an in-class performance for friends and family.
January 15 – March 26 | Thursdays 3:00-5:00 | $200.00+hst
Mini Company (Ages 10-12)
w Kate Basile
Building technique on creativity
Fun meets skill in this engaging 10 week class! Mini Company students will strengthen their creative instincts as they develop their acting technique. By delving into character, theatre games, visual storytelling and rehearsal process, the class will prepare a short scripted play. This ten-week course is recommended for students who want to grow their abilities on stage. Students share their work in an in-class performance for friends and family.
January 13 – March 24 | Tuesdays 3:00-5:00pm | $200.00+hst
Youth Ensemble: (Ages 13-17)
w Kate Basile
Your stage, your voice
Lights, imagination, action! Over 10 weeks, students will delve into the world of ensemble theatre; refining technique while connecting creatively and expressing themselves. This class is ideal for new and returning teen actors seeking growth in performance, social connection, and artistic expression. The course concludes with an in-class performance for friends and family of their ensemble’s original theatre piece.
January 14 – March 25 | Wednesdays 3:00-5:00pm | $200.00+hst
Advanced Youth Company (Ages 15-19)
w Kate Basile
Stepping into the spotlight
Take your acting to the next level! This new 10-week course is designed for students eager to delve deeply into their acting technique. With a rigorous focus on vocal and physical technique, actors will work closely on scenes and monologues to find emotional connection and meaning to their performance. This class is best suited for all students who are interested in developing their individual skill level for performance or auditions. The class concludes with an in-class performance for friends and family.
January 14 – March 25 | Wednesdays 6:00-9:00pm | $275.00+hst
PD DAY CAMPS & MARCH BREAK
PD Day Camp Series (Ages 6-8)
w Kate Basile
Looking for a fun and educational option for professional development days? We’ve got you covered with fun and engaging theme days full of theatre games, crafts and story telling.
Camps sell out fast! Select the PD Day Camp Package to save on both registrations.
★ April 2nd – Pirate Shipmates – Y’arr, avast me Maties! Campers will have swash-buckling fun creating their own Pirate characters and working together to find the lost treasure!
★ April 29th – Superhero Mashup – Campers come to the rescue with their own creative Superhero (or supervillain) characters. Together, they can save the day through epic imagination.
April 2 & 29 | 9:00am-3:00pm | $60.00+hst each | $100.00+hst for both
March Break Day Camps
Ages 6-8 | Ages 9-12
Spend March Break on stage!
If your student is an entertainer at heart or is looking for a space to gain confidence, day camp is the perfect environment for them to immerse themselves in theatre for a full week! Students can make leaps and bounds in confidence and sharpen skills through theatrical games, improv, character work and more! Friends and family will be welcomed to a showing of their work on Friday afternoon. Camps are suitable for new and returning students alike!
March 16-20 | 9:00am-3:00pm | $275.00+hst
ADULT CLASSES
Actor’s Studio w/ Jenn Priddle (18+)
Play, express, connect
Join local director and instructor Jenn Priddle for a 10 week class to deepen your acting process in a welcoming group. Whether you’re comfortable on the stage or looking to develop confidence through performance, all experience levels are welcome. Through scene study and character work, students will build up their technical capacity while deepening their connection to scene partners.
January 11 – March 15 | Sundays 6:00-8:00pm | $200.00 ($175.00)+hst
Jenn Priddle (she/her) has been making the stage a part of her world for over thirty years. Community theatre grabbed a hold of Jenn’s heart at the age of eight and never let go. With a deep passion for musical theatre, she has performed with Theatre Antigonish and Festival Antigonish in a number of productions over the years (Chicago, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, Miss Julie), and is the Artistic Director of Music of the Night (RENT, School of Rock, Elf, Hairspray). Alongside her work with MOTN, she has been a dramatic arts educator for 18 years, teaching foundational drama, script study, and playwriting in both English and French.
Musical Theatre w/ Meredith Zwicker (18+)
Expressing character through song
Take the stage and sing your heart out! During this 10 week course you’ll explore what it feels like to embrace the world of musical theatre while strengthening your skills as an actor so you can express yourself like never before! This class welcomes Adults at every experience level.
January 12 – March 30 | Mondays 7:00-9:00pm | $200.00 ($175.00)+hst
Meredith Zwicker is an actor, music director, and arts educator. Her very first professional acting job was at Festival Antigonish where she had the true joy of playing a singing bug, and since then she has performed and taught across the country for over two decades. She has taught voice and acting at institutions across Canada including the Canadian College of Performing Arts, York University, Laurentian University, the Sudbury Theatre Centre, and Neptune Theatre. A few favourite shows include: The Secret Garden of An Sithean (FAST); The Sound of Music (Western Canada Theatre); Mamma Mia (Chemainus); A Christmas Carol (Orillia); Spamalot, Chicago, Noises Off (Stephenville); and Gypsy (Neptune). Meredith holds an M.F.A. in Acting from York and a B.A. with Combined Honours in Theatre and Music from Dalhousie. She brings a warm, encouraging style that builds confidence, creativity, and skill at every level. www.meredithzwickerstudio.ca
HOW TO REGISTER
1. Register online. Navigate to our website HERE
2. Select the course of your choice and checkout
3. Open email receipt from ‘universitytickets.com’ follow link in email to enter your student’s information
4. Or register in person or over the phone (902-867-3333), Tuesday-Friday 8:30-3:30. Not sure which class is the best fit? Email Kate with your questions: kbasile@stfx.ca
Festival Antigonish Theatre Academy (FATA) is dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of theatre by providing inclusive, process-driven education for youth and adults. Guided by professional teaching artists, we offer classes, camps, and workshops year-round. Our programs support students as they push beyond their limits to discover their unique voices and build communication skills through imaginative play.
At FATA, we believe creativity is a vital skill cultivated through artistic risk-taking and guided processes. By prioritizing exploration participants feel empowered to experiment, make mistakes, and grow personally and artistically without fear of judgment. Theatre education develops essential life skills such as problem-solving, resilience, emotional intelligence, and self-worth that extend far beyond the stage.
CLASSES LED BY KATE BASILE
Kate Basile
Instructor
Kate (she/her) is a teaching artist based in Nalikitquniejk/Antigonish. A professional actor, theatre creator, and multidisciplinary artist, Kate trained as an actor at Humber College in Toronto, with a focus on devised theatre. As a teacher she is committed to inspiring youth to embrace their creativity and refine their artistic voice. As Director of FATA, Kate hopes to grow educational and community-based programing; strengthening the connection between professional and community arts.
Recent FAST credits: Assistant dir. Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson Apt. 2B, cast member of The Adventures of the Little Girl and The Wind (2023) and The Hobbit (2022).
kate@festivalantigonish.ca
902-867-3333