WHAT WE OFFER
Professional & Positive Programs for Youth
We specialize in developing passion, confidence and discipline while having fun making friends.
Star In A Musical Program - Audition RequiredStarring in a quality musical is life-changing. Each show, character, and cast member challenges us in different ways. Mix that in with Innovative's one-of-a-kind program and positive reinforcement; you got yourself an experience you will cherish forever.
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Saturday Training ClassesDance classes designed for theatre performers, Acting for Screen and Stage, and Voice training within our Glee-style Show Choir, you will have fun, grow fast, and be ready to rock your next big audition!
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Advanced Acting for Film
Discover the skills required to compete in the professional film/tv industry. Designed for passionate students with agents or looking to get one within the next two years. These Bi-Weekly classes are for those with a great work ethic and curiosity for the human condition. These classes will be available by invitation only or by audition.
Where to find us
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Innovative Arts Studios
Oakville Musical Theatre & Performing Arts 355 Wyecroft Road Unit D Oakville ON L6K 2H2 |
Proudly serving families from Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga, Brampton, Milton, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Acton, Etobicoke, and Toronto.
WE DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
SMALL CASTS. ALWAYS ENGAGED. POSITIVE. ORGANIZED.
Oakville Studio Manager
Kennedy Thompson |
"As your resident Theatre Mamma, I can't wait to get to know you and start our adventure together! There is no question too big or small, you are always welcome to contact me. I love theatre and I love inspiring youth, so naturally I love my job spoiling everyone rotten every day."
- Kennedy |
GUIDANCE FROM OUR FOUNDERS"Let us help you find the right next step FOR YOU!”
- Nathan and Sophie McLeod Call us today
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A BIT ABOUT US
Innovative Arts Oakville Performing Arts Studio developed it's revolutionary musical theatre rehearsal process and production concept in 2013, and brought the idea to life with FAME: The Musical. The Star In a Musical program specializes in giving quality singing, acting, and dance training, and leading role opportunities to a large amount of students by having multiple casts. Innovative Arts Oakville will continue to provide quality voice, drama, and dancing training, positive confidence building performance opportunities, innovative theatre productions, and guide students from the nearby municipalities such as Burlington, Mississauga, Hamilton, Milton, Etobicoke, and Brampton to a successful career in the Arts for many years to come.
HISTORY
Innovative Arts Inc. started as a boutique Oakville based acting studio called Innovative Acting, a sole proprietorship started by the founder, Nathan McLeod. In the summer of 2012, Nathan organized summer Acting for Film intensives to share the unique and innovative skills he had learned over the years from various teachers and personal industry experience. Soon after, Nathan and his sister Tricia McLeod saw an opportunity to provide innovative and quality programs that have never been offered before in the Oakville area. Innovative Acting started offering weekly classes on weekends at a vocal community centre while Nathan was filming as a series lead on "Life with Boys" in Toronto during the week. By February 2013, Innovative Arts obtained it's full-time lease space on Wyecroft Rd.
The first Innovative Acting Film Festival was August 18th, 2013 and was a huge success. "The festival showcased 11 short films by the acting school’s students, but the event was much more than that. Participants, whether students of Innovative Arts or not, took part in half-day workshops, were able to meet-and-greet with stars from such shows as The Next Step and Life with Boys, and the young actors received a red carpet treatment at the theatre." (Oakville Beaver) In the fall of 2013, Innovative Acting expanded into offering specialized large scale musical theatre training. FAME: The Musical took the stage at the Mattamy Theatre in November 2013. The musical rehearsals took place at The Meeting House to facilitate the unconventional rehearsal process involving many stations and several expert staff.
In 2014, Innovative Arts became the trade name for the company which was then offering two unique programs; Acting for Film and Musical Theatre. The Innovative Musical Theatre program produced The Little Mermaid and Anything Goes that year and doubled the amount of students starring as lead roles. The studio moved locations to 1428 Speers Road, Suite #6 in March 2014, and has since been offering more programs that take advantage of the larger facility. As a very busy and vibrant studio, Innovative Arts was hired to produce several special event performances such as the opening ceremonies for the U20 Womens World Cup, and the ILLUMINITE Toronto tree lighting ceremony.
2015 was a milestone year for Innovative Arts. The Musical Theatre department had accomplished it's goal of successfully teaching six casts at the same time (Seussical), and then doubling using the same system and staff producing 12 casts of 12 students in each cast simultaneously (Footloose). The Innovative Musical Theatre program had broken the barrier to arguably provide more leading role opportunities for youth in Oakville than the entire Greater Toronto Area's Theatre programs combined. Tricia McLeod who had been the customer service representative since 2012, and sister of Nathan McLeod, was accepted to Sheridan College's Advanced Screen Writing and producing Program and left Innovative Arts to pursue a career as a screen writer. The Acting for Film department had significantly improved the quality of it's short film productions with the films Foster and Happy Birthday which hit the big screen at Film.ca Cinemas for the Innovative Arts Film Festival. With the popularity of Innovative Arts growing exponentially, led by Nathan McLeod, the professional and caring team of staff had expanded to provide more efficient and personalized service. Scott Beaudin (Director), Joanne Chow (Associate Artistic Director), Sophie Lea (Choreographer/Producer), Jocelyn Levadoux (Stage Manager), and Jim Watson (Director of Acting for Film) were added as Innovative's Full Time staff.The team also took a group of 60 students to New York City for an unforgettable trip to the Big Apple to see Broadway Shows, work with professional performers in workshops, tour the sights and explore the city that never sleeps! The trip was a success and Innovative Arts planned to offer this life changing experience to students every other year.
Innovative Arts incorporated on January 18th, 2016. With it's maximum capacity being fulfilled (12 casts each) with it's Musical productions of Shrek and Legally Blonde, Innovative ventured to refine it's rehearsal process and production capabilities (sets, props, costumes) continually offering higher quality training and productions. As the casts grew, so did the value of what every performer received with it. With the vast experience and expertise of Joanne Chow (Juilliard, NYU), Nathan McLeod promoted Joanne to become the Artistic Director of Innovative Arts to make her impact on the company for years to come. After four years of building the business together, Nathan McLeod and Sophie Lea married July 12th 2016 and are the Co-Executive Directors and Producers. As the new studio/stage manager, Melissa Convery joined Innovative in May 2016. Innovative's Set Designer Steven Botelho was also recognized for his skill as a Director and brought on as the Assistant Director and Production Designer for Legally Blonde.
In 2017 Innovative Arts took the risk and executed one of theatre’s most difficult musicals, Into The Woods. The show title was such a popular choice that Innovative Arts opened their second location in Mississauga at The City Church. In spite of the show being so exceptionally challenging Innovative also accepted it’s first 8 and 9 year old students as previously the youngest performers were at least 10 years old. All of the students performed with such passion, emotional maturity and vocal excellence no matter their age and the show was a hit among the community. During this production Nathan and Sophie announced that they were expecting their first baby in October! The couple broke the news with an Into the Woods themed photo on Instagram of the couple dressed as the Baker and his Wife holding the four props from the show captioned “I guess Nathan and Sophie got their wish, a reminder to our students not to play with the props” as the show follows the two characters and their quest to find a cow as white as milk, the hair as yellow as corn, a cape as red as blood and shoes as pure as gold in the hopes of trading these items to a witch for a child. Innovative Arts took another group of 60 students to New York City where they saw the shows Anastasia and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory while working with actors from the shows during the day. They toured Julliard, Radio City Music Hall and enjoyed tourist spots like Chelsea Market, the Highline and Central Park. They even got to work with actors from the hit musical Hamilton and learned the choreography from the show! That summer Sophie received her Honours Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance from Sheridan College and walked the stage at 20 weeks pregnant to obtain her degree. Nathan and Sophie spent the summer in Port Hope and in Winnipeg as Sophie was performing in My Fair Lady at the Capitol Theatre and in Mamma Mia at Rainbow Stage - while she was 5-7 months pregnant! During this exciting time for the couple, Innovative Arts announced it’s upcoming show The Sound of Music! The studio was overwhelmed with students who were eager to audition and opened up it’s third location in Toronto. Innovative Arts went from having 15 casts of students performing in Into the Woods to 22 Casts of students performing in Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto. The love for the timeless classic was so overwhelming and the company had it’s most successful year performing over 44 productions of The Sound of Music for family, friends, schools, Senior groups and many others! On October 7th 2017, Wyatt Ashton McLeod was born and Sophie and Nathan welcomed their son to their incredibly loving and supportive musical theatre family. The couple brought their newest addition to the theatre for every show and introduced him to the audience a la The Lion King! The happy family of four spent their first Christmas together after an incredible year, The Sound of Music marked Innovative Arts’ nineth show and they began their 5th year of musical theatre training and production after a well deserved break.
As Innovative Arts embarked on their tenth musical they also announced that 2018 would be the celebration of their 5 Year Anniversary. The school was excited to present School of Rock for the Spring Season and began working on the hilarious musical. School of Rock was the second musical where Innovative decided to mix up the age groups. The character of Zach, Summer, Tomika and the rest of the students were played by younger Innovative Performers, while the roles like Dewey, Ms. Mullins and Ned were performed by the older Innovative Students. The Sound of Music and School of Rock were the first musicals that Innovative Arts had executed this casting style and it was a hit among the students and audiences. Younger students were given the opportunity to take on roles written for their age group and were able to work with mature older performers who challenged them and inspired them while the older students were given the chance to become leaders and role models while performing more mature material. This new casting style opened the doors for Innovative Arts to consider many new musicals and their roster of shows expanded for future seasons. During the show Melissa Convery, the Toronto Program Coordinator and the Studio Manager for Innovative Arts welcomed her baby girl Selena to the Innovative family. Innovative said a heartfelt goodbye to Melissa as she left for maternity leave for a year to enjoy time with her gorgeous little girl. After a successful production of School of Rock Innovative Arts threw it’s first Gala in celebration of 5 incredible years of musical theatre training and performance! The evening was an elegant display of the 5 year history of Innovative Arts, where students and teachers performed one number from each of the past shows. There were special guests, performances by past Innovative Faculty Members, a special performance by Nathan and his son Wyatt (that may or may not have ended up with Wyatt in a crab costume!) and acknowledgements of students and alumni who had made lasting impressions on the company with their loyalty and success! The Gala ended with confetti cannons bursting as students performed a number from School of Rock as a live band and all attendees were invited to a huge dance party on the stage. The evening was a hit and raised over $4000 that was donated to two incredible local charities, Lighthouse Charity and Safety Net.
2018/2019 - In Progress
Continuing to lead students on the path to confidence and success, many have already booked feature films, series leads, recurring and special guest roles on the big and little screen, starred in various professional theatre productions, hired as recording artists, and pursuing their dreams in post secondary institutions. Although many students have found success in the professional world, the primary goal of Innovative Arts is to transform it's students into confident, passionate, collaborative, and compassionate artists.
Innovative Arts Oakville Performing Arts Studio developed it's revolutionary musical theatre rehearsal process and production concept in 2013, and brought the idea to life with FAME: The Musical. The Star In a Musical program specializes in giving quality singing, acting, and dance training, and leading role opportunities to a large amount of students by having multiple casts. Innovative Arts Oakville will continue to provide quality voice, drama, and dancing training, positive confidence building performance opportunities, innovative theatre productions, and guide students from the nearby municipalities such as Burlington, Mississauga, Hamilton, Milton, Etobicoke, and Brampton to a successful career in the Arts for many years to come.
HISTORY
Innovative Arts Inc. started as a boutique Oakville based acting studio called Innovative Acting, a sole proprietorship started by the founder, Nathan McLeod. In the summer of 2012, Nathan organized summer Acting for Film intensives to share the unique and innovative skills he had learned over the years from various teachers and personal industry experience. Soon after, Nathan and his sister Tricia McLeod saw an opportunity to provide innovative and quality programs that have never been offered before in the Oakville area. Innovative Acting started offering weekly classes on weekends at a vocal community centre while Nathan was filming as a series lead on "Life with Boys" in Toronto during the week. By February 2013, Innovative Arts obtained it's full-time lease space on Wyecroft Rd.
The first Innovative Acting Film Festival was August 18th, 2013 and was a huge success. "The festival showcased 11 short films by the acting school’s students, but the event was much more than that. Participants, whether students of Innovative Arts or not, took part in half-day workshops, were able to meet-and-greet with stars from such shows as The Next Step and Life with Boys, and the young actors received a red carpet treatment at the theatre." (Oakville Beaver) In the fall of 2013, Innovative Acting expanded into offering specialized large scale musical theatre training. FAME: The Musical took the stage at the Mattamy Theatre in November 2013. The musical rehearsals took place at The Meeting House to facilitate the unconventional rehearsal process involving many stations and several expert staff.
In 2014, Innovative Arts became the trade name for the company which was then offering two unique programs; Acting for Film and Musical Theatre. The Innovative Musical Theatre program produced The Little Mermaid and Anything Goes that year and doubled the amount of students starring as lead roles. The studio moved locations to 1428 Speers Road, Suite #6 in March 2014, and has since been offering more programs that take advantage of the larger facility. As a very busy and vibrant studio, Innovative Arts was hired to produce several special event performances such as the opening ceremonies for the U20 Womens World Cup, and the ILLUMINITE Toronto tree lighting ceremony.
2015 was a milestone year for Innovative Arts. The Musical Theatre department had accomplished it's goal of successfully teaching six casts at the same time (Seussical), and then doubling using the same system and staff producing 12 casts of 12 students in each cast simultaneously (Footloose). The Innovative Musical Theatre program had broken the barrier to arguably provide more leading role opportunities for youth in Oakville than the entire Greater Toronto Area's Theatre programs combined. Tricia McLeod who had been the customer service representative since 2012, and sister of Nathan McLeod, was accepted to Sheridan College's Advanced Screen Writing and producing Program and left Innovative Arts to pursue a career as a screen writer. The Acting for Film department had significantly improved the quality of it's short film productions with the films Foster and Happy Birthday which hit the big screen at Film.ca Cinemas for the Innovative Arts Film Festival. With the popularity of Innovative Arts growing exponentially, led by Nathan McLeod, the professional and caring team of staff had expanded to provide more efficient and personalized service. Scott Beaudin (Director), Joanne Chow (Associate Artistic Director), Sophie Lea (Choreographer/Producer), Jocelyn Levadoux (Stage Manager), and Jim Watson (Director of Acting for Film) were added as Innovative's Full Time staff.The team also took a group of 60 students to New York City for an unforgettable trip to the Big Apple to see Broadway Shows, work with professional performers in workshops, tour the sights and explore the city that never sleeps! The trip was a success and Innovative Arts planned to offer this life changing experience to students every other year.
Innovative Arts incorporated on January 18th, 2016. With it's maximum capacity being fulfilled (12 casts each) with it's Musical productions of Shrek and Legally Blonde, Innovative ventured to refine it's rehearsal process and production capabilities (sets, props, costumes) continually offering higher quality training and productions. As the casts grew, so did the value of what every performer received with it. With the vast experience and expertise of Joanne Chow (Juilliard, NYU), Nathan McLeod promoted Joanne to become the Artistic Director of Innovative Arts to make her impact on the company for years to come. After four years of building the business together, Nathan McLeod and Sophie Lea married July 12th 2016 and are the Co-Executive Directors and Producers. As the new studio/stage manager, Melissa Convery joined Innovative in May 2016. Innovative's Set Designer Steven Botelho was also recognized for his skill as a Director and brought on as the Assistant Director and Production Designer for Legally Blonde.
In 2017 Innovative Arts took the risk and executed one of theatre’s most difficult musicals, Into The Woods. The show title was such a popular choice that Innovative Arts opened their second location in Mississauga at The City Church. In spite of the show being so exceptionally challenging Innovative also accepted it’s first 8 and 9 year old students as previously the youngest performers were at least 10 years old. All of the students performed with such passion, emotional maturity and vocal excellence no matter their age and the show was a hit among the community. During this production Nathan and Sophie announced that they were expecting their first baby in October! The couple broke the news with an Into the Woods themed photo on Instagram of the couple dressed as the Baker and his Wife holding the four props from the show captioned “I guess Nathan and Sophie got their wish, a reminder to our students not to play with the props” as the show follows the two characters and their quest to find a cow as white as milk, the hair as yellow as corn, a cape as red as blood and shoes as pure as gold in the hopes of trading these items to a witch for a child. Innovative Arts took another group of 60 students to New York City where they saw the shows Anastasia and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory while working with actors from the shows during the day. They toured Julliard, Radio City Music Hall and enjoyed tourist spots like Chelsea Market, the Highline and Central Park. They even got to work with actors from the hit musical Hamilton and learned the choreography from the show! That summer Sophie received her Honours Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance from Sheridan College and walked the stage at 20 weeks pregnant to obtain her degree. Nathan and Sophie spent the summer in Port Hope and in Winnipeg as Sophie was performing in My Fair Lady at the Capitol Theatre and in Mamma Mia at Rainbow Stage - while she was 5-7 months pregnant! During this exciting time for the couple, Innovative Arts announced it’s upcoming show The Sound of Music! The studio was overwhelmed with students who were eager to audition and opened up it’s third location in Toronto. Innovative Arts went from having 15 casts of students performing in Into the Woods to 22 Casts of students performing in Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto. The love for the timeless classic was so overwhelming and the company had it’s most successful year performing over 44 productions of The Sound of Music for family, friends, schools, Senior groups and many others! On October 7th 2017, Wyatt Ashton McLeod was born and Sophie and Nathan welcomed their son to their incredibly loving and supportive musical theatre family. The couple brought their newest addition to the theatre for every show and introduced him to the audience a la The Lion King! The happy family of four spent their first Christmas together after an incredible year, The Sound of Music marked Innovative Arts’ nineth show and they began their 5th year of musical theatre training and production after a well deserved break.
As Innovative Arts embarked on their tenth musical they also announced that 2018 would be the celebration of their 5 Year Anniversary. The school was excited to present School of Rock for the Spring Season and began working on the hilarious musical. School of Rock was the second musical where Innovative decided to mix up the age groups. The character of Zach, Summer, Tomika and the rest of the students were played by younger Innovative Performers, while the roles like Dewey, Ms. Mullins and Ned were performed by the older Innovative Students. The Sound of Music and School of Rock were the first musicals that Innovative Arts had executed this casting style and it was a hit among the students and audiences. Younger students were given the opportunity to take on roles written for their age group and were able to work with mature older performers who challenged them and inspired them while the older students were given the chance to become leaders and role models while performing more mature material. This new casting style opened the doors for Innovative Arts to consider many new musicals and their roster of shows expanded for future seasons. During the show Melissa Convery, the Toronto Program Coordinator and the Studio Manager for Innovative Arts welcomed her baby girl Selena to the Innovative family. Innovative said a heartfelt goodbye to Melissa as she left for maternity leave for a year to enjoy time with her gorgeous little girl. After a successful production of School of Rock Innovative Arts threw it’s first Gala in celebration of 5 incredible years of musical theatre training and performance! The evening was an elegant display of the 5 year history of Innovative Arts, where students and teachers performed one number from each of the past shows. There were special guests, performances by past Innovative Faculty Members, a special performance by Nathan and his son Wyatt (that may or may not have ended up with Wyatt in a crab costume!) and acknowledgements of students and alumni who had made lasting impressions on the company with their loyalty and success! The Gala ended with confetti cannons bursting as students performed a number from School of Rock as a live band and all attendees were invited to a huge dance party on the stage. The evening was a hit and raised over $4000 that was donated to two incredible local charities, Lighthouse Charity and Safety Net.
2018/2019 - In Progress
Continuing to lead students on the path to confidence and success, many have already booked feature films, series leads, recurring and special guest roles on the big and little screen, starred in various professional theatre productions, hired as recording artists, and pursuing their dreams in post secondary institutions. Although many students have found success in the professional world, the primary goal of Innovative Arts is to transform it's students into confident, passionate, collaborative, and compassionate artists.