Stephen Tobias is a fourth-generation descendant of Lebanese immigrants who came to this country in 1895. Married to Sandra Donnelly, Stephen is the proud father to Alexander and William. 

After a career in multiple businesses, Stephen became the Executive Director and Artistic Director of the Saint John Theatre Company (SJTC). During his tenure, the SJTC has developed a broad range of brands including the Fundy Fringe Festival, The BMO Studio Theatre, the Loyalist City Shakespeare, The “Live @ The BMO Music Series”, the Atlantic Repertory Company and others. Through these production platforms, Stephen is proud to be part of the SJTC teams who are the caretaker of the largest theatre audience in New Brunswick. As Executive Producer of all SJTC projects, Stephen oversees the delivery of over 150 performances of over 40 cultural works annually for the benefit of residents in the Tri-County area of Saint John County, Kings County and Charlotte County. The Saint John Theatre Company has been named several times as Arts Organization of the year by various groups. 

Aside from his creative work as Director and Actor, Stephen chaired the $2 million Setting The Stage Capital Campaign which funded the development of the Princess Street Production facility for the SJTC. Currently, Stephen is taking a leading role in the $30 million Courthouse Stage development designed to create a much-needed midsized venue for the Greater Saint John Region.

Stephen has received a range of awards and recognitions and is a past Laureate of the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for High Achievement in the Arts. He has also been proud to serve on multiple committees and boards including the Saint John Community Arts Board, and the Provincial committee tasked with renewing the provincial Cultural Policy in 2014. Stephen has recently been named as Vice President of the International Amateur Theatre Association (AITA/IATA) which is headquartered in Belgium.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and what sparked your interest in theatre?

I grew up in a very tight knit Lebanese community in Saint John. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m also proud of the strong entrepreneurial business streak that runs through my family. When I grew up, everyone around me was a self-employed business owner. They were all resilient, self-starting individuals and those instincts became hard-wired in me very early on. 

There is also a strong cultural streak in my family. My cousin, Ken Tobias was a successful singer songwriter. My cousin, Tommy Stephen was the drummer and manager for the Jeff Healy Band. My cousin, Tony Tobias, has been a major player in the music industry in Canada. My cousin, Conan Tobias, managed a literary publication for many years. They all did well because they understood the art and the business. 

I wasn’t a theatre kid. I never imagined myself being involved in artistic pursuits when I was growing up. It was during my time at Rothesay Netherwood School that I developed a love of theatre arts. Like many people, it was an influential teacher, Rob Hook, who sparked my love of theatre. My first production was ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ in 1980, and I got ‘the bug’. As a result of his influence, I attended theatre school at Dalhousie University, now the Fountain School of the Performing Arts. The four years I spent there shaped my beliefs in theatre and many of the lessons learned have stayed with me. After that, I had a brief career as a professional actor working in theatres in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

As a founding member of the Saint John Theatre Company, what led you to start up the SJTC?

Simply put: there was a need to be filled in my community. In the late 1980s there was very little theatre culture in Saint John. Other regions were launching multiple theatres in the 1960s and 1970s and developing sophisticated industry networks. New Brunswick, unlike every other region in Canada, developed a single theatre touring monopoly which hindered province-wide theatre development for decades. 

I had worked as a professional actor in smaller communities like Cornerbrook and Glace Bay, and I was shocked to see how much more evolved these smaller communities were than Saint John in the 1980s.

Saint John was full of aspiring theatre-makers who were unable to find opportunities in their own province, and I found it odd that Saint John, so culturally evolved in so many ways, didn’t have a vibrant theatre scene. This led me to connect with some of those local aspiring theatre-makers such as Shane MacMillan, Theresa Geldart, Andrea Cunningham and others. Out of these connections came a desire to put on a show. 

At the heart of it…it was just that simple…a group of pals got together to put on a show. And then another. And then another. And here we are 35 years later as a major contributor to theatre culture in our region.

What is your vision for the Saint John Theatre Company, and the types of productions you want to help develop and present? 

I believe that theatre, and art in general, is for everyone. Not just insiders or special interest groups…but absolutely everyone. This leads to a very broad-based programming philosophy. I had read that Laurence Olivier, when he was Artistic Director of the Old Vic in London, used to say, “I do four shows for the audience, and then I do one for me”. That approach to audience development has stayed with me. Theatre without an audience is just a rehearsal and it doesn’t really interest me to create works for empty theatres.

This has led us to an interesting and diverse portfolio of annual productions. One of my favorite programming juxtapositions occurred in 2018. SJTC was presenting a German language production of the Greek Tragedy, ‘Medea’ in our BMO Studio. We followed that up with a production of Annie at the big theatre. That is about a wide a gap in programming as one can get…and it worked very well. 

This drive to satisfy such a broad range of audience tastes has led to our significant audience growth. Once we get them in the theatre for one project… our job is to convince them to try something else. Expanding the tastes of our audience is an exciting and never-ending process. As our audience tastes have expanded, we are now able to offer a greater variety of work than would have been possible in years gone by.

What are some of your key responsibilities with the Saint John Theatre Company? 

Ultimately…I’m responsible for everything. When it goes well, I thank the team. 

When it goes badly, I blame myself. 

How did your training and experience help you to innovate in your role?

The majority of my training has been in business as opposed to the arts. I never went to business school, but I grew up surrounded by successful entrepreneurs, which was an amazing education. My schooling at Rothesay Netherwood School gave me an incredible head start academically. I was then fortunate enough to attend the Dal Theatre School in Halifax. I made friends and connections there that remain with me to this day.

During the growth of the SJTC I have had several overlapping careers. I spent 20 years building and managing a family retail operation. I spent 20 years in the bar and restaurant industry as an owner/manager. I have spent 30 years developing and managing commercial and residential real estate. I’ve owned other businesses as varied as bakeries and video stores. When I add it all up, I have about 120 years of management experience from overlapping careers. These extremely varied entrepreneurial experiences have certainly informed my approach to cultural management. Beyond that, I have always sought out a range of mentors to support my growth. Having lots of great advisors has been an amazing asset during my career.

As the leader of an arts organization, I have worked to avoid the trap of being rigid and conservative in my approach to organizational behavior. Entrepreneurial business is agile, rapidly responsive, flexible, and extremely creative in managing growth. I have tried to bring that same mindset to the SJTC. 

What inspires or excites you in your work?

To begin with: Everything.

Can you describe a production that you're particularly proud of, and why? 

There are several and it’s hard to choose. Our teams have managed literally hundreds of cultural events since the launch of the company in 1990. Some that stand out are:

• The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca which was the first production at the restored Imperial Theatre in 1994.
• Macbeth in 1995 which launched our Guest Artist program as we hired Laurence Olivier’s daughter, Julie Kate to come from London, England to play Lady Macbeth.
• I was really proud of our Marco Polo musical in 2010 which was performed at Harbour Station. Our first “arena show”.  It featured over 200 performers for an audience of over 5,000.
• Amadeus, directed by Tom Kerr was named by the media as the Best Live Production in NB in 1995.
• In 2019, our ARC Program toured the Canadian Classic play, Mary’s Wedding to several theatres in Germany and France, culminating in a special performance at the Canadian Embassy in Paris
• But – mostly – I am always most proud of our most recent accomplishments. We just completed a co-production (with Fredericton’s Rogue Productions) of Come From Away which generated a massive community response attracting audiences from across NB and beyond. Over 11,000 people attended the production in St Andrews and Saint John. Now that’s impact.

How do you handle challenges or unexpected issues that arise during the development/presentation of a theatre production or with managing a cultural organization?

The first and most important step is building a high-functioning team. In any of my management work, I have always hired based on talent, skill, resilience and capacity. Absolutely nothing else matters. Having a good team allows us to manage challenges. And there are always challenges. The first big lesson I learned when I started managing businesses in my mid 20s was that everything is a challenge. If we are lucky, we get to choose the challenges….but no path is trouble free. 

We have three core principles that guide our management work in challenging times:

“When in doubt…Do!”. Essentially – keep moving forward. When facing challenges, time is the most valuable asset we have. The faster we move, the faster we execute ideas – the more time we have to change our mind if the first option doesn’t work. Delay only runs out the clock. When I’m heading into meetings or rehearsals where big decisions are required, I’m coaching myself not to take longer than 30 seconds to decide once I have the available information. To paraphrase General George Patton, “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow”

‘Never let policy get in the way of doing the right thing’ The strong cultural leaders that I admire don’t rely exclusively on rules and policies. They will work to empower their teams to make decisions based on core principles and good judgement. That approach leads to early mistakes….but the team will learn from them and improve performance over time.

Execute the ‘best bad idea’ There is always a desire to find the ‘perfect’ idea. Except there is no such thing. There are always trade-offs to be accounted for. There are flaws and imperfections to be found in any plan and seeking the perfect plan can be a huge time-waster. This is true on-stage, in rehearsal, or in the board room. Sometimes to cut through the clutter I will simply ask – “Since there isn’t a good idea, let’s talk about the best bad idea”. 

What are some of the most common mistakes you see in productions? 

I worry when I see arts organizations that treat audiences as a problem to be solved – or a resource to be exploited…instead of treating them as guests and customers.

I’ve studied a range of theatres across North America. The ones that are thriving tend to be the ones that are more community-centric. And by community, I mean the entire community – not just the community of artists. Theatre is a team sport that requires an audience. When we produce work, we invite the community to spend quality time with us – which is a gift. In a busy cluttered world, our audience is giving us their time: how amazing is that? The biggest mistake is not respecting that.

What has been your biggest success and/or biggest mistake in your journey as an artist and cultural worker, and how did you grow or learn from that?

I’ve made so many mistakes that it’s difficult to select the biggest one. Doing the work that I do requires a short memory when it comes to mistakes. When I make a mistake (which is often)…I simply keep moving and try something different. 

The success I’m most proud of is the way the SJTC team managed the COVID crisis. The period of 2020 – 2023 was a period of immense turmoil. It was also a period of significant organizational growth, budget growth, staff growth, program growth, and innovation for SJTC, and we are still riding the wave of success that arose during that period. Our teams managed the crisis based on the three main principles listed above and we moved quickly to adapt our systems to manage the constant disruptions. SJTC was one of the first organizations to embrace digital programming. launching a digital concert series (Live and Alone at the BMO Studio Theatre) within weeks of shutting down for COVID. SJTC was one of the first organizations to re-open our venue to live events in the summer of 2020. 

None of this would have been possible without the incredibly resilient team that manages our operations.

How has living and working in New Brunswick helped and/or inspired you on your journey?

Saint John, New Brunswick is my home. I have a tremendous sense of pride in this place. I also have a strong desire to build something here that can last. It inspired me to help build this company. It inspired me to help develop the Princess Street Production facility and the BMO Studio Theatre. It inspires me to help create the Courthouse Stage as a new professional theatre venue for the development of theatre here in my hometown. 

I could have had some kind of cultural career in any number of cities, but I take great pride in making a permanent impact in my home city.

How do you see your work contributing to New Brunswick’s cultural landscape?

That’s a tough one as my interest is very focused on my home community. New Brunswick is such an amazing and culturally diverse province that the best way I can contribute is to build a solid and sustainable theatre industry in my little corner of NB. 

How has your journey as a cultural worker evolved over time? Were there key moments or experiences that shaped how you work and create today? 

I can’t think of many specific moments. It’s been more of a gradual evolution that has elevated my sights as to what is possible. In the early days, I was just happy that our teams could successfully produce a work. Then we started working with some incredibly talented guest artists. Then the work started getting better and resonating with a larger audience. Then we built a building. Then we started to tour throughout Southern NB. Then we started to build other brands such as Fundy Fringe and Loyalist City Shakespeare. Then we started to develop a range of international Partnerships. It’s all about constant motion and building momentum.

Every step of the way during this journey, we have continued to add layers to the organization; continually building on previous successes.   

Describe what you are most proud of in your career.

I have been very proud of my role in creating a strong theatre-culture in the Greater Saint John region. I have been proud of the scope of our programming which has developed an alumni base of over 3,000 people in the Greater Saint John Region that have directly participated in our programs. Beyond that, our programming has built a network of colleagues and stakeholders spanning 9 time-zones from Western Canada to Eastern Europe.

Mostly I am proud of the amazing team that we have assembled under the SJTC banner. The 10-member management and leadership team of the organization are all sharp, savvy cultural workers who are also keenly aware of the business aspects of running a large multi-faceted organization. They are 100% responsible for the continued success of the organization.

What have you learned about yourself and New Brunswick's artistic community through your work?

Southern NB is starting to develop a greater sense of cultural pride. The cultural community always had this, but general audiences have been trained to respond more to culture from away. Culturally, for decades, there has been huge investment in creating importing networks for culture. Facilities such as the Imperial Theatre, Capitol Theatre, the Fredericton Playhouse, The Avenir Center, Casino NB are all valuable facilities designed to showcase touring cultural content. However, particularly in the Anglophone sector, there has not been a similar investment in companies and facilities designed for the local manufacturing of performing arts culture. Southern NB doesn’t have venues such as Watermark Theatre or Victoria Playhouse (PEI); Ships Company Theatre & Neptune Theatre (NS); Gros Morne Festival or Stephenville Festival (NL). The NB Francophone sector has developed amazing facilities that house Théâtre populaire d'Acadie or Theatre L’Escaouette. Southern NB doesn’t have a network of professional “summer tourist theatres” that exists in all other regions. As a result of this reduced manufacturing investment, the economic impact of the Anglophone Theatre industry in NB is the lowest of any region in Atlantic Canada. Fewer professional productions per capita – which means fewer opportunities for our audiences to experience New Brunswick talent. Fewer employment opportunities have driven young artists to leave the region seeking opportunities elsewhere. 

The bright spot for me is that some organizations in Southern NB have been working in recent years to reverse that trend. This desire to boost NB-based production is part of the inspiration behind the $30 million SJTC Courthouse Stage project: creating a venue that is designed to celebrate New Brunswick theatre creation. 

In recent years, I have been greatly encouraged when I see the work being done by Marshall Button in Moncton with the productions that he is helping to create for Moncton audiences. I am a huge fan of Tony and Courtney LePage from Rogue Productions and the work they are doing, building audiences and developing artists in the Fredericton area. These teams, along with SJTC, have been moving the needle forward on creating work that features audience-friendly productions that showcase the talents of our own New Brunswick artists. 

Recently we co-produced ‘Come From Away’ with Rogue Productions in Fredericton. The overwhelming response to the production was one of great pride that this was an all-New Brunswick creative team. This, to me, is great news for the future of theatre in New Brunswick.

What are some valuable lessons you've learned along the way?

The most valuable lesson has been the realization that I needed to chart my own path. Mine has not been a typical cultural career, which may be why it has worked so well. I’ve also learned that the best art is ‘local’ – like most things. So, if I were to judge our success based on the impressions of artists in other regions, or if I try to simply copy what works in other cities or markets, it won’t work. The people whose opinions I care the most about all live within about 50 kilometers of my theatre. If they are happy, then our team has done an amazing job.

What advice would you give to an emerging theatre artist, or to someone interested in cultural work in theatre?

Find your own way.

Explore other systems and cultures.                   

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea there is a ‘right’ way to manage a career. There are many. 

I would also encourage young artists to develop a life outside of the cultural world, which can be very insular. I have known many artists in many disciplines develop their careers over many years. The ones who are the happiest and most stable over the course of a long career, are generally the ones who have a life outside the cultural bubble.

Are you, or do you know, a professional artist based in New Brunswick who is creating impactful and innovative work? We love discovering and sharing your stories! Send us a message at artsculturenb@gnb.ca.