G.D. Productions

... was a company within Fantasy Theatre for Children, which aimed to produce quality entertainment for general and mature audiences.

G.D. Productions featured performers from Fantasy Theatre for Children's mainstage, The Theatre School's adult classes, and the greater Winnipeg performing arts community.

The company was committed to giving FTC's actors and students alike the opportunity to participate in productions mounted on the adult stage.

Early Years (1990s)

The name G.D. (or 'Great Drama') Productions was one heard periodically in the Winnipeg theatre scene, and existed for more than two decades. Over the years, it was afforded to a variety of directors by FTC Artistic Director Tony Frost.

Kicking off the '90s with the comedic Winnipeg Fringe Festival hit “Love, Sex, and Innuendo at Noon” (1992, Tony Frost), the company continued to stage adult comedy through “Pasta Nite for the Arts” cabarets, which Mr Frost mounted regularly at the Macaroni Bar inside the old Mother Tucker's Restaurant.

The 1990s also saw two major productions: Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” (1996, Steven D. Stiller) and William Shakespeare's “Much Ado About Nothing” (1997, Eric Violago).

Later Years (2001 - 2011)

After a dormancy of several years, G.D. Productions returned in the new millennium with the one-act comedy “Over the Teacups” (2001, Tony Frost) at the Forrest Nickerson Theatre.

Continuing into 2002 on a more serious note, a double-feature was staged of the recognition scene from “Anastasia” (Tony Frost) and a one-act play based on events from Les Misérables entitled “The Bishop's Candlesticks” (John Chase).

Receiving acclaim from both patrons and performers in response to the company's 2001/02 revival, it was decidedly time to remedy the absence of the "Pasta Nite" comedy shows.

In February of 2003, Tony Frost (producer) and John Chase (director) staged “An Abbott & Costello Dinner Theatre for the Arts” at a new venue: the King's Head Pub.

Playing to a sold-out house, Chase's cabaret was an evening of dinner, drinks, and sketch comedy presented in the old burlesque style. The line-up featured many of FTC's foremost talents, as hosted by Chase & Hamill – Winnipeg's own "Bud Abbott and Lou Costello"!

Thereafter, FTC's adult cast retained a strong comedy repertoire, presenting regular sketch comedy shows at various cabarets in downtown Winnipeg, a special performance in Brandon, and classics such as Anton Chekhov's one-act Russian comedy “The Boor” (2008, Tony Frost), until the company's closure in 2011.