Prairie Theatre Exchange

Theatre venue in Winnipeg, Canada

Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the third floor of Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg. By the end of the 2016–17 season, PTE had presented 340 plays on its thrust stage over its 44 year history, 149 of which were world premieres, to an annual average attendance of 35,000 people. Approximately 700 students enroll annually in onsite acting classes, from adults to children as young as five. Classes range from acting for stage, film and TV to Improv to Theatre Production to Musical Theatre, Voice, Movement and others. Every year, the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Theatre for Young Audiences touring program performs in elementary and junior high schools, as well as for community audiences throughout the province. Educational partners of the PTE include the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg School Division, and other school divisions, alternative learning centres, and community arts groups across the province of Manitoba. During the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, two of the festival's venues are the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Mainstage and Colin Jackson Studio, and both Folklorama and the Winnipeg Jazz Festival have been regular users of the facilities. PTE also rents office space to Shakespeare in the Ruins, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and Patient Puppets, pairing a very low rent with access to office equipment and staff expertise to support those endeavours.

The theatre originated with the Manitoba Theatre School started by the Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) in 1960. In 1972–1973, MTC shut down the school, and a group spearheaded by Colin Jackson and Charles Huband founded the Manitoba Theatre Workshop (MTW) to take its place. The organization operated out of the old Grain Exchange building on 160 Princess Street in downtown Winnipeg. Colin Jackson was director of MTW from 1973 to 1976. Originally the Manitoba Theatre Workshop was oriented toward a younger audience, but in 1975, the first adult productions were performed at MTW. These were presented by Confidential Exchange, a studio theatre group of local actors formed in 1974. In 1981, the workshop changed its name to the Prairie Theatre Exchange, to reflect a growing focus on presenting a season of plays for an adult audience, while maintaining its commitment to the School and its younger clientele. and the Bra d'Or Award for 2013 from the Playwrights Guild of Canada's Women's Caucus, awarded each year to an individual within the theatre community who has actively supported and promoted the work of Canadian women playwrights during their career. In 2018, Thomas Morgan Jones became artistic director. In 2021, Lisa Li, former producer at Soulpepper, became managing director.