As Public Energy Performing Arts in Peterborough readies to open its 32nd season on September 25, it’s difficult not to be excited for programming director Kate Alton.
Named to that position in the wake of Bill Kimball’s retirement last season — he had led Public Energy since founding the contemporary performance arts presenter in 1994 as Peterborough New Dance — Alton is embarking on her first full season in that role.
Alton, an award-winning dancer, choreographer, and multi-disciplinary theatre creator, is well past the big-shoes-to-fill phase. She is now fully in charge of programming and, based on what the 2025-26 season holds, is well on her way to making her own mark.
Alton, joined by Public Energy managing director Eva Fisher, revealed details of Public Energy’s upcoming season on Tuesday (September 16) at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. The launch also featured a performance by drag performer Sahira The Djinn.
From September to April, Public Energy is presenting six main stage performance works, four at the Market Hall, one at the Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space at Trent University, and one at the Art Gallery of Peterborough in downtown Peterborough. The titles and descriptions for all six shows are listed at the end of this story.
Ticket prices for each show are flexible to accommodate all income levels, with pay-what-you-can and sliding scale pricing starting as low as $10. Visit publicenergy.ca to order tickets.
In addition to the six main stage shows, Public Energy is presenting children’s programming on Friday, May 8 at Queen Mary Public School in Peterborough in the form of Finding Home: A Salmon Journey Upstream, courtesy of Theatre Direct and the Animacy Theatre Collective. Created and performed by Alexandra Simpson and Morgan Brie Johnson, the Dora award-winning play features puppetry, clown, and live music as it explores friendship, growing up, and the annual salmon run.
And a new initiative called Rough Cuts will be presented at The Theatre On King in downtown Peterborough at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 24 and again in March on a date to be determined. It will see local artists present excerpts of in-progress works of any genre — from readings to dance to circus to songs — in a “low-tech, low stakes environment.” The program will also include a slot for one out-of-town artist to foster creative exchange.
Asked by kawarthaNOW about the process that leads to the putting together a season of performances, Alton said “A puzzle is a good analogy.”
“I think of puzzles when I create a new dance piece as well, or a new theatre piece or anything I do,” Alton explained. “How do all the elements that I have work together to create a whole that is cohesive and easy to interpret?”
“There are so many factors. We’re trying to space out our shows in a way that makes sense for our capacity to market appropriately, given our limited number of employees — which is Eva and me. Then there’s the shows you want, versus the shows that are available to tour in the time frame that fits into your specific schedule, and marketing and capacity needs.”
“Then there’s our budget. While we would love to present shows on as grand a scale as Murmuration (last season’s closing performance at the Memorial Centre) every year, we have to plan around our funding limitations. And then there are the needs of the artists and the shows in terms of our technical capacity.”
Not lost on Alton are two things: that she’s fortunate to be where she is after moving to Peterborough three years ago to be closer to family, and that Peterborough’s cultural landscape is blessed to have Public Energy.
“I hoped I would be able to play a meaningful role in the local arts community, which I saw as really dynamic, engaging and interesting,” said Alton, adding that her position at Public Energy is “so perfect for me.”
“I didn’t know — at this stage of my life and with my history with Public Energy and as an artist in Canada — that all of my needs and desires at this stage of my career could be met by a position that existed right here in Peterborough.”
“Bill was remarkable in being able to do this here. Not every small city can create and sustain an organization like this … the number of artists that have come through here, the people whose careers started here — including my independent career that began here because Bill was the first presenter to present my work outside of Toronto. I receive a lot of submissions from artists, those at the beginning of their careers and those tremendously well established, wanting to perform here.”
A member of Toronto Dance Theatre from 1989 to 1995, Alton toured nationally and internationally before founding Overall Dance in 1998 to showcase her choreography as well as to commission work by leading creators.
Tributes that have come her way include four Dora Mavor Moore Awards for The Four Horsemen Project she co-created with Ross Manson. In 2001, Peterborough New Dance presented an early version of that piece before it went on tour.
In her new role at Public Energy, Alton says connections made will serve her well and, by extension, Public Energy.
“In terms of artists approaching me, even if it’s an artist I don’t know, if I know the person they’re working with, or I know the institution they trained at, or I know other people that they performed with, I can have a great idea of what the quality of the work might be. There are so many connections on so many levels that I’m able to bring to this position.”
A new season, meanwhile, isn’t possible without sponsors.
To that end, V Formation, Jo Pillon (Royal LePage Frank Realty), Hi Ho Silver, Vandermeulen Plumbing, WE Design Group, and the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough have stepped up, with kawarthaNOW returning as a long-time media sponsor.
Add to that government operating grants. Still, like many cultural event providers, Public Energy is never assured of the next operating dollar.
That, says Fisher, requires flexibility and a willingness to adapt to changing audience needs and wants.
“I think to be sustainable you have to embrace change and embrace the new,” Fisher points out. “That’s something Public Energy has done through the years.”
“We began as Peterborough New Dance, which was exclusively a dance presenter, and moved into a broader performing arts space. Continually learning, continually looking for new things, and embracing new things in our work should, we hope, keep us resilient.”
“I think something that makes us strong is people love their performing arts … there’s a need for that. I think that need will continue in Peterborough.”
Public Energy’s 2025-26 Season
YEBO – Pulga Muchochoma
Thursday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m. (Market Hall Performing Arts Centre)
A compelling double bill by acclaimed Mozambican-Canadian dancer and choreographer Pulga Muchochoma of Pulga Dance. NGOMA, a solo show rooted in Pulga’s ancestral lineage, takes its name from the Chuabo word for drum and poses the question “Is the drum I danced to in my mother’s womb the same beat I follow in the world as a dancer?” INKOSI, meaning king in Zulu, is a stirring ensemble work for five performers inspired by the experiences of Nelson Mandela. It explores the brutal realities of Mandela’s time in prison, and honours his unwavering perseverance, resilience, and vision for a just South Africa. (Note: Muchochoma will also be teaching an all-levels Afro Fusion Dance Class at the New Canadians Centre from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 22.)
who will save the night sky? – Phillip Geller
Sunday, November 9 (Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space at Trent University)
Curated by Indigenous Performance Initiatives and presented in partnership with Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space, who will save the night sky? blends bouffon, clown, storytelling, and spectacle. This interactive solo performance by Philip Geller reminds us of the importance of our relationship to the stars and sky world. Note: the time of the performance will be announced at a later date.
Bijuriya – Gabriel Dharmoo
Tuesday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. (Market Hall Performing Arts Centre)
Bijuriya is a jubilant exploration of Gabriel Dharmoo’s hybrid identity as both a composer/experimental vocalist and a charismatic drag artist. Constantly code switching between drag performance, original songs, and the porous space between singing and lip-syncing, this multi-faceted celebration of South Asian heritage and contemporary queer identity is set to an eclectic score.
Rinse – Amrita Hepi with Mish Grigor
Wednesday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. (Market Hall Performing Arts Centre)
Known for her fearless and inventive approach, Amrita Hepi explores the idea of beginnings with a mix of dance, storytelling, and satire. Created in collaboration with theatre-maker Mish Grigor and produced by Performing Lines, Rinse features a witty, irreverent monologue that reimagines an origin story through personal narrative. The performance touches on themes of art, feminism, desire, pop culture, and colonial history, all framed within a striking minimalist set of icy blue and white.
the village trilogy/Matryoshka Crush – Laura Taler
Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. (Art Gallery of Peterborough)
Romanian-born Canadian Laura Taler made her first film the village trilogy in 1995. Heralded by Dance International Magazine as marking the beginning of the dance film boom in Canada, it alludes to the millions of people uprooted through emigration over the past century, capturing a time and place that is beyond our grasp, but not beyond our memory. Presented in partnership with the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Taler will screen the village trilogy alongside her most recent film Matryoshka Crush, in which poison, exorcism, gender trouble, song, and dance intermingle in a darkly funny and disturbing tale of intense yearning.
Donnie and Me and the CBC – Chris Earle
Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. (Market Hall Performing Arts Centre)
In Montreal in 1974, an 11-year-old’s fiercely unconventional mother, Donnie, ditched the family TV. From that moment on, the radio was always tuned to CBC. In his funny and touching new solo show directed by Shari Hollett, acclaimed writer-actor and Second City alum Chris Earle shares the story of his ferociously loving mom and the quintessentially Canadian soundtrack to their sometimes turbulent relationship. The result is a touching, hilarious show about love, listening, and growing up in the 1970s.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
