Volcano is pleased to announce the appointment of the company’s first Managing Director (a new position), following a months-long international search for the ideal candidate.

Scarborough-native Andrew Adridge has accepted the position of Managing Director as of June 3, 2024, following outgoing General Manager, Ray Bramble. This is a new role, expanded to match the ambitious vision of the company over the coming years. He will share the leadership of the company with Founder and Artistic Director,

Andrew Adridge: "I'm thrilled to join Volcano Theatre as their Managing Director. This new role underscores Volcano's incredible growth over the years and cements the organization's status as a major player in the national and global theatre sector. This organization is significantly accomplished internationally, actively centres impact and equity, produces brave and ambitious theatre, and is rooted in community; the chance to help guide this great company into the future is one I will relish and put all my passion and expertise into."

About Andrew Adridge: Recently named a CBC Hot 30 under 30 Classical Artist, Andrew Adridge is an arts administrator and multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto with a passion for equity and industry reform. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto holding both a Bachelor of Music Performance in Voice and a Master of Music in Opera.

Andrew has worked as an arts administrator with such organizations as the Association for Opera in Canada, Tapestry Opera, Against the Grain Theatre and most recently, as Executive Director of the Toronto Consort. Andrew has a passion for nurturing talent and educating young artists. His commitment to EDIJA advancement in the arts sector (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, Access) has made him sought-after as a panelist, consultant and outlet contributor. In this new role, Andrew will manage the company’s operations going forward in order to execute Volcano’s vision, and ensure the company’s global presence is sustained and resilient.

Ross Manson, Founding Artistic Director: “Volcano is at a critical juncture in its nearly 30-year history, with large scale international collaborations being programmed on four continents. Andrew is the perfect match for the company, with his years-long association with us, first as a singer, then as one of the authors of our new EDIJA and equitable touring policies, and, eventually, as vice-chair of Volcano’s board - a position from which he stepped down in order to apply to co-lead the company. After an international search, Andrew was deemed the best fit. He has Executive level experience, and is attuned to the needs of the industry in Canada, and the opportunities open to a progressive company in making a better future (because that’s what we’re in the business of doing!). I know Andrew well, trust his vision, and am thrilled to have him become our first Managing Director.”

This appointment comes as Volcano builds on what has been a tremendous past year. The company’s most recent production, Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, was named one of The New York Times' top classical music performances of 2023, won the 2023 Broadway World award for Best Opera in Toronto and has recently swept the Dora Award nominations in the Opera category, having been nominated for six (Outstanding Production, Direction, Individual Performance, Ensemble Performance, Design and New Opera/Musical).

Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha’s creative team is preparing for a landmark international premiere at the Harris Theatre, in Chicago, on May 2, 2025. Other productions in development or on tour include The Book of Life (a Canada/Rwanda collaboration that has already played major festivals on three continents), I Have a Drum (a new concert/theatre collaboration between Rwanda, Uganda and Canada, co-commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival and ArtsEmerson in Boston, and featuring Ingoma Nshya, the Women Drummers of Rwanda), Inuktitut Waiting for Godot (the first-ever translation of Beckett’s masterpiece into Inuktitut) and The Agreements (a video game/classical song cycle, exploring how to live ethically in our current planetary predicament).

Connie Wansbrough, Volcano Board Chair: “We are thrilled to have Andrew join Volcano in the position of Managing Director, a role that is core to our leadership team. After an extensive global search, Andrew proved himself to be the ideal candidate. Andrew brings experience as an accomplished artist, skills as an arts administrator, and a commitment to leadership both in the company and in the arts community. We were moved by his enthusiasm for building a world class company from the inside out. We are very excited to work with Andrew.”

Visit www.volcano.ca.

Photo: Andrew Adridge.