Off the Wall summer workshops now available for artists of every level

Carly Morrison Hart, a student in the Off the Wall artistic welding program, works on a project during a summer workshop. Registration is now open for Off the Wall’s summer courses.

Since 2015, Off the Wall has served as a bridge between the professional artistry of the Stratford Festival and the next generation of theatre creators. The organization is an alliance of backstage artists, including prop builders, scenic painters, designers and wardrobe specialists, who are passionate about sharing their skills with students.

Off the Wall is once again offering its intensive summer workshops, with courses running one week in length. Programs include artistic welding, theatrical carpentry, stage makeup, specialty makeup, costume design, set design, puppet making and more.

Students interested in earning a certificate can do so by completing five summer courses throughout July and August 2026. The certificate offers participants a broad range of backstage theatre training, along with discounts on courses and the opportunity to apply for the Desmond Heeley Scholarship, which could significantly reduce overall costs.

Each course is designed to encourage the development of versatile skills in backstage theatre production and is taught in small class sizes.

“I suppose one of the unique characteristics of our courses is that we have a very small student to teacher ratio,” said Michele Boniface, volunteer. “This allows the teacher to do a lot of mentorship, which is where they help inspire students, give them ideas and respect their ideas, which helps them work at their own level of ability and experience.”

Led by some of North America’s top backstage theatre artists, the workshops give students the opportunity to learn how to construct and paint elaborate sets, build props ranging from faux food to flickering candles and create masks, scenic art drops and special-effects makeup.

The workshops are intensive and hands-on, taking place in a working studio environment with one-on-one mentorship from professional artist instructors. Although the classes are designed as immersive learning experiences, Michele Boniface, an Off the Wall volunteer, said the courses are open to people of all experience levels.

“They can come in as beginners, they can come in with some experience working backstage in community theatre. Sometimes we have teachers, community theatre volunteers, university students and hobbyists sign up,” said Boniface. “For the courses that use industrial equipment, like carpentry and welding, we require they be 16, but otherwise, we like to say anyone can sign up.”

For more information or to sign up for upcoming classes, visit www.stratfordoffthewall.com