Kyler Chittick
Trevor Schmidt has never been one to play it safe. As the long-standing Artistic Director of Northern Light Theatre (NLT), he has spent more than two decades reshaping Edmonton’s theatre scene with daring, provocative, and emotionally charged productions. Whether through his original works, visionary direction, or collaborations with groundbreaking artists, Schmidt has made it his mission to challenge audiences while keeping independent theatre thriving.
Schmidt’s artistic journey is deeply intertwined with the evolution of Edmonton’s performing arts community. Originally trained as an actor, he quickly expanded his creative reach to include directing, playwriting, and design. His reputation grew through his commitment to producing work that grapples with identity, gender, sexuality, and social norms. Under his leadership, Northern Light Theatre has become practically synonymous with bold, unapologetic, and experimental programming that gives voice to underrepresented communities.
Yet, one of the earliest and most defining examples of Schmidt’s bold theatrical sensibility came before his association with NLT. In 1998, he wrote and directed Tales from the Hospital with his company, The Unconscious Collective. In the journal Theatre Research in Canada, scholar Rosalind Kerr describes the play as a “postmodern theatrical experiment” that merges storytelling, movement, and political critique into an immersive audience experience. Based on stories of institutional abuse tied to Alberta’s Protection of Life Act (1928–1973), otherwise known as the Sexual Sterilization Act, Tales consisted of four monologues by two employees and two patients of a long-term care institution, implicating the audience in the systems of power the piece exposed. Schmidt’s decision to avoid individualized psychological portrayals and instead center systemic injustice marked a crucial ideological departure from traditional theatre. As Kerr writes, following Michel Foucault, the play demonstrates how “our identities are shaped by the power-knowledge systems that assign us a place in society,” drawing spectators into the act of meaning-making and social responsibility. With its gestural stagecraft, roving scenography, and metatheatrical structure, Tales from the Hospital positioned Schmidt as a politically conscious artist unafraid to confront histories of violence and repression. Indeed, Schmidt’s theatre is particularly notable for its fierce commitment to marginalized voices, centering queer stories and feminist critique. His adaptations—like the dramatization of Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry in The World’s Wife (2008)—showcase his ability to interweave literature, politics, and experimental form into resonant theatrical experiences.
This fearless approach to theatre has defined Schmidt’s entire career. His influence extends to Guys In Disguise, the genre-defying company founded in 1987 by Darrin Hagen, where Schmidt has continued to co-create works exploring drag, queer identity, and theatrical hybridity. Recent collaborations like Microwave Coven (2024) and Puck Bunnies (2018 and 2023) carry on his commitment to stories that celebrate and subvert identity and social norms. While Schmidt’s aesthetic leans toward the daring and avant-garde, his work has also earned more mainstream recognition. Over the years, he has accumulated a substantial list of Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nominations and wins, Edmonton’s most prestigious theatre accolades.
Photo credit – Instagram/@photographer_stephanie_cragg
His awards span directing, acting, playwriting, and design—a testament to his multidimensional artistry. Among his Sterling wins: The Watermelon Girls (2001) for Outstanding New Play; Change Room (2004) for Outstanding Fringe New Work; Coffee Dad, Chicken Mom & The Fabulous Buddha Boi (2009) for Outstanding Fringe Performance by an Actor; The World’s Wife and The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide (2011) for Outstanding Direction; and finally, Flora & Fawna’s Field Trip (2015) for Outstanding Fringe New Work.
As theatre rebuilds itself in a post-pandemic cultural landscape, Schmidt remains steadfast in his belief that audiences are still hungry for theatre that takes risks. His work continues to create spaces that challenge and heal, that laugh and provoke, that break and rebuild. This is not safe theatre—it is transformative theatre, theatre that remembers, interrogates, and dreams forward. At the heart of Schmidt’s legacy is an uncompromising belief in theatre as a tool for witnessing and change. Whether through political allegory or queer coming-of-age narratives, Schmidt crafts performances that remind us why live theatre still matters.
Additional resources:
Klondykes by Darrin Hagen & Trevor Schmidt TRAILER – presented by Theatre Network
https://youtu.be/oU5wqtn1BPE?si=fQr6Tdc4R3IgFm-k
Corkboard Productions – The Breakfast Dish –
Episode 10 – Trevor Schmidt & Darrin Hagen (Guys In Disguise)
https://youtu.be/INZA9_MUalo?si=d4NvZRbXAtmZf2Xp
Funding for this story made possible by the Edmonton Heritage Council and the City of Edmonton
Kyler Chittick
Kyler Chittick is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, an instructor in the political science and women's studies programs at NorQuest College, as well as co-director of Rainbow Story Hub. From 2020 to 2022, he was part of the Edmonton Queer History Project (EQHP) at MacEwan University.
Kyler's research interests land at the intersections of queer theory and critical sexuality studies as they pertain to law, film, cultural studies, and contemporary political theory. His academic work appears in Alberta Law Review, Porn Studies, Senses of Cinema, and Synoptique. He has also contributed to Inside Higher Ed, Syndicate, and the Rainbow Story Hub website.
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