Crane Creations was founded by Andreja Kovac, a professional director, creator, and producer. She is originally from Slovenia but is now based in Mississauga. Andreja holds the equivalent of an MFA in Directing for Theatre and Radio from Slovenia’s National Conservatory for Theatre. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s directing program. Before immigrating to Canada she directed more than 40 award winning productions at state funded repertory theatres which toured internationally. She received critical acclaim as a director of classical pieces, contemporary work, opera, theatre for young audiences and devised projects. She is thrilled about having a professional theatre company in Mississauga.
February 2023
Crane Creations Theatre Company receives operational funding from the Ontario Arts Council
December 2022
Our puppets are out and about visiting Christmas Markets across Mississauga, the region of Peel and the Greater Toronto Area. See if you can spot one!
July - August 2022
In July of this year, Crane Creations travelled to Maribor Slovenia to develop a co-production of Mirror, a puppetry show for children, with Maribor Puppet Theatre. The show was developed into a 45 minute musical, with composer Erik Geddis. Using innovative technology and 3D printing, Aleksander Andželovič, built puppets from corn and bamboo. Over the course of eight weeks the show was developed from a 30 minute workshop into an hour long musical with 14 new songs, and 5 more characters. The show was directed by Andreja Kovac, written by Eugenia De Jong, and puppeteered by Aimee Poulin and Eugenia De Jong. The show premiered in Slovenia on August 21 2022 and is now touring across Canada and internationally.
May 2022
May 2022 marked the fourth iteration of Summer Ensemble, our annual program for emerging artists across Canada. We had 17 participants this year; actor’, artistic producers and stage managers. This year the participants of Summer Ensemble devised a 30 minute play about community, presented at the Four Corners in Cooksville Mississauga, with community partner, Heart Comonos.
March 2022
Our 3rd edition of Bridges Festival 2022 was a smash hit. We finally has in-person events after two years, including some in person puppetry (if it is safe to gather in person), as well as some workshops, industry events, an exhibit and more, happening all around the city of Mississauga.
November 2021
Artistic Director Andreja Kovac travelled to Slovenia for the launch of the translated plays of Ivan Cankar. This included presenting the project and the Slovenian National Playwriting Festival, where she saw the results of the two years of work on these books in person, on paper for the first time.
Crane Creations produced its first full length play for the public at the end of 2021, Terror, by Ferdinand von Schirach. With strict COVID prevention tactics in place, including rapid-testing for all artists involved, as well as masks and social distancing for the audience, this show was a success, and welcomed various MPPs and Councillors from the Mississauga area and Peel region.
August 2021
Crane Creations, with the help of playwright in residence Eugenia De Jong was able to workshop and present a small public performance of the work-in-progress, Mirror. This creation process included composing songs and lyrics, building puppets, creating the set, and pushing this piece as far as possible in the short amount of time.
July 2021
During the Summer of 2021, some of our team headed up to Saguenay to attend the Festival International des Arts de la Marionnette à Saguenay (FIAMS). This was our first in person event as a company since the beginning of the pandemic, and we were thrilled to discover many puppet shows that could be well suited for upcoming Bridges Festival.
June 2021
Having a successful program 3 year run in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Crane was able to provide more artists with this invaluable Canada Summer Jobs Grant. Working through the COVID-19 Pandemic over Zoom, and eventually in person to workshop new works and develop existing pieces that had been started the year prior.
March 2021
First the first time, Bridges Puppetry Festival has successfully completed its full three days of activities. COVID-19 stopped the first edition of the festival in it’s tracks last year, when it launched on March 13th 2020, with 3 full days of professional puppetry, an exhibit, and workshops for artists and kids all set to happen. Mississauga closed down the venues after the festival’s first live performance on March 13th, and, well we know now what 2020 had in store.
February 2021
We received operational funding from the city of Mississauga! This support is crucial to be able to support our staff as they work on the many different projects that happen throughout the year. We are beyond excited that the city supports us, and we are looking forward to continuing to build this relationship as our events and activities grow. This funding allows us to properly support administrative staff, and continue to maintain our studio despite the COVID-19 pandemic. We are able to think bigger and set our goals higher now!
JAN 2021
Taking place every third Thursday of the month, Play Date is an open to attend play reading activity. We focus on reading and discussing the relevance of the play as well as its author. We would like to thank the city of Mississauga for generously supporting this activity. Anyone is welcome to join, and read regardless of reading or language skills. The session will be followed by a discussion led by a professional theatre artist to spark conversations about the themes, style, form, and current world issues related to the selected play.
October 2020
We have joined the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (often referred to as PACT). Just like a medical association or an association of engineers, this is a member-driven organization of professional Canadian theatres, working towards the betterment of Canadian Theatre. PACT provides leadership, national representation and a variety of programs and practical assistance to member companies, empowering them to do their own creative work, and advocating for them.
JUNE 2020
After a successful program in 2019, Crane was able to provide more artists with this invaluable Canada Summer Jobs Grant. Working through the COVID-19 Pandemic over Zoom, and eventually in person to workshop new works and develop existing pieces that had been started the year prior.
MARCH 2020
On March 13, 2020 we launched a new professional puppetry festival in Mississauga. Bridges Festival was on track to present 3 indoor and 2 outdoor puppet shows, as well as 3 interactive workshops and an exhibition. Unfortunately, the festival’s launch was heavily affected by Covid 19 facilities closures and social distancing orders, canceling all but the first two shows and an exhibition, dramatically affecting attendance literally in the last minute. Despite cancellations, we achieved a lot with our first festival
October 2019 - February 2020
Crane Creations was selected as one of 15 not-for-profit organizations participating in an intensive 16-week entrepreneurship training program designed specifically for non profit organizations. This program, collaboratively run by York Entrepreneurship Development Institute and Vaughan Business Enterprise Centre, helped Crane Creations develop a professional business plan, executive summary, streamline a business model and meet valuable partners.
March 2019
Selected to participate in a series of workshop and a mentorship program focusing on development, challenges and solutions for organizations owning, leasing or acquiring a space. We started this program with an idea and ended in a partnership that helped us gain access to a studio and workspace.
