About

A historic hall, reborn for what's next.

Our story

The 1,200-seat theatre on Gerrard has been Toronto's stage for nearly a century.

Opened in 1929 and known for decades as the Ryerson Theatre, the hall reopened in 2024 as Chrysalis: a professional venue and a living classroom for The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Today it's a place where a touring company, a student crew and a downtown audience share the same night — a home for dance, music, theatre, film and community, and for the research and collaboration that push performance forward.

1968
Opens as Ryerson Theatre
A 1,200-seat proscenium house opens at 43 Gerrard Street East — one of the largest stages in the city.
1970s–2010s
Toronto's roadhouse
For decades the theatre is one of Toronto's busiest roadhouse stages for concerts, film festivals, and convocations. [Editors: refine this era with favourite moments.]
2020
The dark years
The pandemic closes the building and the stage sits dark.
Spring 2024
Chrysalis emerges
The Creative School soft-launches the reimagined venue as Chrysalis, its hub for performance innovation and R&D.
Nov 2024
Public launch
Chrysalis launches publicly.
2026
A full season
A full season of residencies, public events, and training takes the stage.

Core team

A man with a beard and mustache, wearing a red sweater, stands in front of a modern geometric window.

Owais Lightwala

Director

A woman with black shoulder-length hair, wearing a white shirt and a simple necklace. She looks away from the camera, to the right, set against a blue background.

Jasmine Au

Creative Producer

A bald man with a beard smiles warmly in a portrait against a plain white background, wearing a dark blue collared shirt

Scott Martin

Creative Technical Lead

TD Apprentices

A young man with brown hair, blue eyes, wire-rimmed glasses, a small chin goatee, and a black stud earring, looking directly into a mirror with a neutral expression.

Antel Kollenberg

Head, Stage Carpentry

A young woman with a warm smile, brown hair parted in the middle, and red lipstick, wearing a white collared shirt over a black top against a plain light background.

Dana Mortley

Head, Lighting (LX)

A close-up portrait of a smiling man with long dark hair and a thick, reddish-brown beard, set against a dark, softly lit background.

Nico Noguera

Head, Audio

Interns

A smiling young woman with long, wavy reddish-brown hair and bangs, illuminated by warm, bright backlight outdoors.

Claire Smith

Producing Assistant

A smiling young girl with long dark hair wearing a pink top and layered necklaces, posing against a plain white background.

Ella Ling

Design & Media Production Assistant

Young person with bright teal hair and a nose ring smiles warmly in an industrial setting with exposed pipes and lights.

Emma Fillingham

Sound Assistant

A young woman with long dark hair and a gentle smile is pictured against a plain background. She is wearing a dark sweater and hoop earrings.

Hannah Shia

Lighting Assistant

A young woman with light brown hair leans against a tree outdoors, softly lit by sunlight with a blurred natural background.

Sydney Walker

URO Research Assistant

Steering committee

Andrea Romero

Associate Director, Strategic Development & Hubs

Caroline O'Brien

Chair, School of Performance

Dan Greenwood

Director of Operations, The Creative School

Natalie Alvarez

Dean, The Creative School

Vicki St. Denys

Professor, School of Performance

43 Gerrard Street East, on the traditional territory of many nations.

Toronto Metropolitan University acknowledges the land on which we gather, and its responsibilities to the communities who have cared for it since time immemorial.