Trevor Barrette
queer theatremaker, performer and stage manager based in Montréal
about me
Trevor Barrette (he/him) is a queer theatremaker, director, writer/composer, performer, and stage manager of French-settler ancestry based in Montreal (Tio’tia:ke/Mooniyang). Upon graduating from Montreal's John Abbott College’s Professional Theatre program in 2011, Trevor founded KaleidoscopeMTL, an award-winning company, directing 10 productions, including four original musicals and a site-specific play, Memento Mori. His superhero musicals, Captain Aurora and its sequel, Captain Aurora II: A New Dawn, performed to sold-out houses at the Montreal Fringe Festival in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Since 2015, Trevor's work has graced stages at Centaur Theatre’s Wildside Festival, Segal Centre’s Academy, Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal’s Young Creators’ Unit's Showcase, Playshed Theatre’s WRK’N’PRGRSS, CETM Inc.'s Next Wave Festival, Freestanding Room’s Shortstanding Festival, and MainLine Theatre’s Fringe Encore Series.
For the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre, Trevor has directed their 2022 production of the Sages of Chelm and the Yiddish language premiere of The Great Divide in 2024. Trevor has also served as an assistant director for The Angel and the Sparrow (Segal Centre), Coma Unplugged (Talisman Theatre) and Les Belles Soeurs (Stratford Festival).
Trevor has performed with esteemed companies such as the National Arts Centre, the Segal Centre, Centaur Theatre, Repercussion Theatre and Scapegoat Carnivale, among others, in addition to workshops and staged readings for the National Theatre School of Canada, Playwrights' Workshop Montreal, Teesri Duniya Theatre and Infinithéâtre.
He has stage-managed productions for the Segal Centre, Centaur Theatre, Infinithéâtre, Scapegoat Carnivale, CABAL Theatre, and Troisième espace théâtre, among others.
Additionally, he is a dedicated educator at the Segal Centre Academy and Geordie Theatre School, having conducted workshops at various institutions in the Greater Montreal area, and has guest lectured at McGill University and Concordia Theatre
Trevor is currently developing two new works: A Curious Life, a new musical developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des letters du Québec, in collaboration with Playwrights' Workshop Montreal, and Erwin's Many Worlds, a digital installation piece developed with the support of the Conseil des arts de Montreal and YouTheatre.
In June 2025, he will be directing the world premiere of his queer romcom: Max and Aaron Write a Musical at the Segal Centre.
Trevor has contributed significantly to the Montreal theatre community, having served as president of the Montreal English Theatre Awards Committee and vice president of the Quebec Drama Federation. He is an alumnus of Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal’s Young Creators’ Unit.
artist statement
Memory - Legacy - Care
As a theatremaker, I approach the search for a project’s fundamental question or undeniable human truth from a holistic space. I seek projects that toy with our sense of time, space, and causality, inhabited by characters whose dreams, memories, expectations, and destinies are in tightly woven conflict.
As a director, I am a curator of moments, fascinated by the inherently metatheatrical energy of an ensemble and its ability to offer a refractive interpretation of a project's theme. My research-centered and text-based approach engenders comprehensive world-building, providing a vibrant playground for performers to explore and master.
I favor worlds that engage with a myriad of historical and cultural contexts, realities, narratives, and dramatic styles. I love the play that can be found in the grey matter between worlds!
I am committed to providing a safe creative space for my collaborators, promoting an environment where individuals are invited to bring their authentic selves, accessibility needs, varied identities, and lived experiences to the room without prejudice. I encourage a compassionate, sustainable, and challenging practice that is sacred but not precious.
My joy-forward projects promise kaleidoscopic vision, dynamic timescapes, ensemble casting, and a resourceful production design, immersing the audience in novel and exciting universes. In these spaces, intimate and sublime transformations can occur, cultivating in each patron a childlike sense of wonder, curiosity, and possibility.