Dorothy Said Theatre! was born of the ashes of an Ottawa-based theatre collective called Fraudster Brown (1998 - 2000). Fraudster Brown consisted of Jody Hewston, Alison McElwain and Lucy Martin; a group of young artists with like ideas about the production of theatre, focusing on environmental staging and multimedia. Productions included George F. Walker's Beyond Mozambique, in Strathcona Park, Ottawa; Here Lies Henry (by Daniel MacIvor) at Thorneloe Theatre, Sudbury; The Slump in the Chair (by Jody Hewston) at The Sudbury Theatre Centre; and We Move Slowly (The Yak Story) (adapted for the stage by Alison McElwain) at the Toronto Fringe Festival. This year Alison McElwain and Jody Hewston committed to living and working in Toronto, and resumed their working relationship under a new name, Dotty Productions, soon changed to Dorothy Said Theatre!

Originally called Dotty Productions (in memory of Alison's grandmother,) when LAST HOUSE was intended to be the only show produced by the company, Jody and Alison decided that, if they were to continue on, a new -better- name was needed. Wanting to find something that was quintessentially, though not obviously, Canadian, the pair stumbled on Dorothy Said Theatre! when Jody started suggested names of songs from the band Sloan's first album...

"What about Underwhelmed Theatre?"
"No."
"What about Sugartunes Theatre?"
"No."
"What about Marcus Said Theatre?
"Hmmm..."

Canadian was one thing, but the pair also wanted something that maintain a tribute to Alison's grandmother, Dorothy, whose spirit permeates LAST HOUSE, and so Dorothy Said Theatre! was born. (The exclamation point is just because.)

1. To produce high quality theatre with Canadian artists for Canadian audiences.
2. To give emerging artists a place to work as equals with established theatre artists, and provide an arena for established professionals to try their hand at different aspects of their art.
3. To educate youth about theatre and theatre production through hands-on
   experience and an open-door policy.