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The Travelling Stage offers one-time visits, multi-visit programs, lunch time programs and after school clubs in the following formats:

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Teachers are top performing Canadian artists, who have worked across various international stages. The programs were created to: enrich school curriculum, to inspire students, to increase self-esteem, and to cultivate an appreciation for the performing arts.

Programs include (but are not limited to) : Sketch Comedy, Musical Theatre Performance, Elements of Dance & The Creative Process, Global Dance Series, Behind the Scenes (Master Classes), a Collective Creation Program, West African Dance & Drumming, Devised Theatre and Improvisation. 

For more info & e-info packages, click here . 

The Travelling Stage is well established in over 5000 schools and childcare centres across North America and works with families worldwide. In addition to school boards, they work in partnership with the MINI POP KIDS, the YMCA, the Girl Guides of Canada, the Boys and Girls Club, Mirvish Productions, the Digital Human Library, and the Daytrippers Children’s Charity ( through which program funding is available for K-8 schools in need; connect to inquire ).

"We believe that everyone has innate creativity and whether working with a young child or someone looking to enter the field professionally,

we approach all of our classes with energy, enthusiasm and fun!"

BACD and Forest City Films - The Travelling Stage

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The Lehman Trilogy

John hirsch mainstage, mar 20 - apr 13, 2024.

• CAST & CREW
• PHOTO GALLERY

“Talented trio paints rich tapestry of capitalistic collapse” – Winnipeg Free Press     In the 1840s, three immigrant brothers stood out from their Alabama neighbours: their textiles shop was closed on Saturday but open Sunday, they had a sign that contrasted a black background with bright yellow letters and, most importantly, they had a penchant for business that took them on a rags-to-riches journey.   With masterful storytelling, the Lehman brothers - Henry, Emanuel and Mayer - spin a tale of opportunity, invention and capitalism as they painstakingly weave their family into the fabric of America. The epic story of a nation.   Click on the image to download the digital program:

Warnings: , running time: .

Cast & Crew

Stefano Massini

Stefano Massini is a renowned novelist and playwright, the first Italian author to receive a Tony Award. He regularly contributes to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, and he served as artistic consultant at Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa . His works, including The Lehman Trilogy, have been translated into 30 languages, and his plays have been performed in more theatres around the world than those of any other living Italian writer – produced as far as Iran and Korea, and staged by directors such as Luca Ronconi and Sam Mendes. Other select works: Intractable Woman, Ladies Football Club and 7 Minutes . He won many Italian and foreign awards, including the Premio Vittorio Tondelli, the Premio Ubu, the Tony Award, the Drama Guild Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. The Lehman Trilogy won the Selezione Campiello Prize, the Super Mondello Prize, the De Sica Prize, the Prix Médicis Essai and the Prix Meilleur Livre Étranger. He recently finished a multi-part play about the history of the atomic bomb, Manhattan Project. His rewrite based on Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf will debut this year.

Stage Adaptation

Ben Power is a writer for theatre and the screen. For the last 12 years he has worked at the National Theatre as associate director and deputy artistic director and was responsible for the temporary theatre The Shed. Work for the screen includes Munich: The Edge of War and The Hollow Crown (BAFTA nominations for Best Single Drama and Best Mini-Series). Work for the stage includes adaptations of DH Lawrence’s Husbands & Sons , Euripides’ Medea and Ibsen’s Emperor & Galilean, all for the National; A Tender Thing for the RSC and Complicite’s A Disappearing Number (Olivier and Evening Standard Awards). He was associate director of Headlong where he adapted Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author and Marlowe’s Faustus. He is currently creating a television series for Working Title and is published by Faber & Faber.

Richard Greenblatt

ROYAL MTC Director: 2 Pianos 4 Hands.

OTHER THEATRE Directed 130+ productions across Canada/abroad, mostly original Canadian and plays by Shakespeare, Shaw, Chekhov and Shepard; several in Winnipeg including: Seesaw, Kindness (MTYP); The League of Nathans (PTE/WJT); Pals – performer/co-writer w/ Diane Flacks (WJT). Recent acting: Athabasca – co-writer w/ David S. Craig; I Call myself Princess by Jani Lauzon (Native Earth & Globe).

TV Many roles for CBC and others, including: Homefires, Sidestreet and Sibs – an MOW co-written w/ Diane Flacks adapted from their play.

TRAINING/TEACHING Trained at RADA (London, UK). Taught acting/directing/play creation at many theatre schools including NTS, U of A, TMU (fmr. Ryerson) and GBC. Directed 20+ theatre school plays.

ET CETERA Co-writer/co-performer: 2 Pianos 4 Hands (w/ Ted Dykstra); Sibs, Care and Pals (w/ Diane Flacks); Athabasca (w/ David S. Craig); solo shows: Soft Pedaling and Letters from Lehrer. Non-fiction works: Text and Context, The Operative Word ; and Two of the Best in the Neighbourhood, an Anectdotal History of 2 Pianos 4 Hands – both published by Scirocco/JG Shillingford Press. Won many Dora and Chalmers Playwriting Awards.

Gillian Gallow

Set & Costume Designer

ROYAL MTC Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), Into the Woods, The Runner (with Human Cargo), Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, A Christmas Carol, Hand to God, Million Dollar Quartet, Seminar (with Mirvish), Hirsch, Venus in Fur, God of Carnage (with VP), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (with TC).

OTHER THEATRE Selected: Hadrian and Louis Riel (COC); Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Physicists, Hirsch, The Three Musketeers (Stratford); The Shadow of a Doubt, An Octoroon, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Russian Play (Shaw); Art, August: Osage County, Idomeneus, Orlando (Soulpepper); King Lear, Stuff Happens (NAC); Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre & Shaw).

ET CETERA Awards: Gillian is the recipient of the 2021 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, the 2018 Viriginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design and she has been awarded four Doras.

Hugh Conacher

Lighting & Video Designer

ROYAL MTC (selected) Lighting & Video Designer: The Mountaintop , Vietgone, Venus in Fur. Video Designer: Network. Lighting Designer: among men (with TPM), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), The Secret to Good Tea, Into the Woods, New, Orlando, Women of the Fur Trade, Fun Home, The Color Purple (with Citadel), Kill Me Now (with NAC), Seminar (with Mirvish), Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing and many other productions since the ‘80s.

OTHER THEATRE Hugh collaborates with choreographers, visual artists and dance and theatre companies worldwide.

ET CETERA Hugh enjoys working beyond the constraints of traditional lighting design using various forms of interactive media, video and photography. His photographic work resides in private collections and has been published worldwide. Hugh is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada and L’Association des professionnels des arts de la scène du Québec. www.pellucid.me

Original Compositions & Sound Designer

ROYAL MTC among men (with TPM), Burning Mom, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Trouble in Mind, Orlando. 2022/23 National Mentorship Program.

TRAINING B.Mus (Jazz Performance) Brandon University, School of Music.

ET CETERA Ashley Au (she/they) is a Winnipeg-based bassist, composer, sound artist, arranger and queer creative. A multifaceted musician, Ashley specializes in the upright and electric basses – performing, touring and recording extensively. As a composer and sound artist, Ashley’s work can be found behind various theatre and dance productions in the city. Current and past projects include work with Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson; composer/trumpeter Chuck Copanace; and Polaris Prize-nominated hip-hop outfit Super Duty Tough Work. Ashley is the Artistic Director of Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts Festival and programs the Pride Winnipeg Festival. She recently scored her first opera, Inertia (libretto by Christene Brown), commissioned by Loose Tea Music Theatre (TO).

Jane Gooderham

Dialect Coach

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Stratford Festival (20 seasons); The Lehman Trilogy, Maanomaa My Brother, Fairview, London Road, The Syringa Tree, Rock ’n’ Roll (CS); Fall On Your Knees (NAC/CS/Neptune/Grand); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cloud Nine, The Lord of the Rings, The Producers (Mirvish); War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (RNT/Mirvish); Matilda The Musical (RSC/Mirvish); Shaw Festival; Romeo and Juliet (NAC); Oroonoko, Chair (Theatre for a New Audience, New York).

TV Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount); Hudson & Rex; Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation (Lifetime); Good Sam (CBS); Cross, Reacher (Amazon); Republic of Doyle (CBC).

TRAINING/TEACHING Teaching: National Theatre School, Head of Voice; Birmingham Conservatory, Stratford Festival. Training: MA Voice, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; Acting BA, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Cora Matheson

Apprentice Director

OTHER THEATRE Actor: Charlie: Son of Man (Echo Productions); Mercury Man (Hamilton & Winnipeg Fringe); The Duchess of Malfi (Shakespeare BASH’d); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, High Fidelity (Hart House Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Flea in Her Ear, The Penelopiad (George Brown Theatre School). Director: Speed Dating (Alumnae Theatre).

FILM/TV Holiday Hotline, Hannukah on Rye (Hallmark); The Spencer Sisters (CTV); Ponysitters Club (Cineflix/Netflix).

TRAINING/TEACHING Graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and George Brown Theatre School. Cora teaches acting at The Winnipeg Actors Academy and leads acting workshops for MTYP and The Travelling Stage.

ET CETERA Over the last two years Cora has travelled to remote communities in the Northwest Territories to facilitate arts education and direct theatrical performances in schools. Cora can’t be more grateful to have had this opportunity to learn about directing at the professional level and hopes she, too, can direct a show such as The Lehman Trilogy one day.

Katriona Dunn

Assistant Lighting & Video Designer

ROYAL MTC Apprentice Lighting Designer: The Mountaintop.

OTHER THEATRE Assistant Set & Props Design: Casey and Diana, Women of the Fur Trade (Stratford). Assistant Costume Design: Murder on the Orient Express (Vertigo Theatre); Company (MacEwan University). Co-design: Pro Series II: Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy (U of C). Design: Wagonstage (U of C). Costume Design: Horse Girls (U of C). Assistant Lighting & Projection Design: Formations (U of C).

TRAINING Graduate of University of Calgary’s Drama program and Mentee through the ADC.

ET CETERA The services of Katriona Dunn were made possible through the Associated Designers of Canada Mentorship Program funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and Calgary Arts Development. 

Anika Binding

Apprentice Lighting & Video Designer

ROYAL MTC Apprentice Lighting Designer: The Mountaintop. Assistant Lighting Designer: among men (with TPM). 

OTHER THEATRE Lighting Designer: From Up Here (U of W). Costume Designer: Stupid Fucking Bird (U of W). Stage Management: Scenes from Love and Information (U of W). Assistant Lighting & Set Designer: The Prom (Dry Cold). Upcoming: Stage Management for Something Rotten! (MTYP); Lighting & Costume Design for Miss Shakespeare (WST). 

TRAINING BA Hons. in Theatre and Film from the University of Winnipeg, with specializations in Design, Stage Management & Production, and Directing.

ET CETERA Anika would like to thank Creative Manitoba for this opportunity. She also thanks her family, friends and teachers at the University of Winnipeg for their endless support.

Dr. Stephanie Hatzifilalithis

Language Consultant

Maria Syrgiannis

Arpad Szigeti

Maria Vacratsis

Dustyn Wales

Stage Manager

ROYAL MTC Yaga.

OTHER THEATRE Over 100 productions across Canada including Newsies, Mamma Mia!, The Sound of Music, Driving Miss Daisy, Kinky Boots, The Prom, Mary’s Wedding (Drayton); Once (Thousand Islands); Revolutionary Women in Jazz, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Glengarry Glen Ross, Faith Healer, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Soulpepper); Into the Woods (TiFT); Blackout, Take the Moment, The Light in the Piazza, Craigslist Cantata (Musical Stage); You Dance (National Ballet); A Man A Fish (Persephone); Musical of Musicals (Mirvish); i think i can, Blue Planet (YPT); The Rocky Horror Show, Jesus Christ Superstar, Into the Woods, The Tempest (Hart House); Soldier On (UK Toronto Tour); Pan Am Games. Upcoming: Menopause the Musical 2 (Shaggypup); Goblin:Macbeth (Northan Industries).

Katie Schmidt

Assistant Stage Manager

ROYAL MTC Assistant Stage Manager: The Sound of Music, Into the Woods, The Runner. Apprentice Stage Manager: The Cottage, A Doll’s House, Sense and Sensibility. Apprentice Costumer: Sarah Ballenden.

OTHER THEATRE Stage Manager: Snow White, Frozen River, Tiny Treasures (MTYP); The Magic Flute (The Little Opera Company); The Prom (Dry Cold Productions). Assistant Stage Manager: The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow); Bad Parent, VOICE (PTE). Apprentice Stage Manager: Ghost Light (PTE). Costumer: Mary’s Wedding (TPM). Props and Set Coordinator: Much Ado About Nothing, The Player King, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, Timon of Athens, Romeo and Juliet (SIR).

TRAINING University of Winnipeg Theatre and Film.

ET CETERA Thanks and love to Mom, Dad, Raya and Felix.

Samantha Sage

Apprentice Stage Manager

OTHER THEATRE Glad to Be Here (TBTR); Space Girl (PTE); Antigone (Sick + Twisted/AA Battery); Much Ado About Nothing (SIR); Cet été qui chantait, Inédit (Théâtre Cercle Molière).

TRAINING Graduate of the University of Winnipeg.

ET CETERA Enjoy the Show!

Emanuel Lehman

ROYAL MTC Falstaff, The Sisters Rosensweig, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (with NAC), Proposals (with Mirvish), A Streetcar Named Desire (with Citadel), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (with WJT/Saidye Bronfman), The Rainmaker (with VP), Proof (with Citadel), Good People.

OTHER THEATRE Antipodes at Coal Mine and numerous appearances at Soulpepper – most recently August: Osage County . Other appearances at CS, Tarragon, Factory, Neptune, Citadel, NAC, VP, Globe, Blyth and PTE.

FILM/TV Selected: Priscilla (dir. Sofia Coppola); Maps to the Stars (dir. David Cronenberg); Molly’s Game (dir. Aaron Sorkin). Recent recurring roles on Fargo, Heartland and The Hardy Boys.

TRAINING Alumnus of U of M’s Black Hole Theatre and a BFA from the U of A.

ET CETERA Ari made his professional debut here at MTC in 1987 and his film debut in Guy Maddin’s Archangel (1990). He is thrilled to be back home amongst so many friends and family.

Jordan Pettle

Mayer Lehman

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE The Lehman Trilogy, Sunday Father, Written on Water (CS); The Effect (Coal Mine); King Lear/Queen Goneril, Betrayal, A Christmas Carol, Twelve Angry Men, Speed-the-Plow, Waiting for Godot (Soulpepper); Oslo (Studio 180/Mirvish); Sextet, The Waiting Room, Generous (Tarragon); King Lear, The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stratford); Way to Heaven, Angels in America (WJT); The League of Nathans (PTE); Romeo and Juliet (Citadel).

FILM/TV Suits, Murdoch Mysteries, American Woman, Titans, Kim’s Convenience.

TRAINING Graduate of National Theatre School (1994).

ET CETERA Jordan would like to thank his wife Shannon, and his sons Sammy and Avi, for their love and support.

Alex Poch Goldin

Henry Lehman

ROYAL MTC Bang Bang (Evie Award), Network, Trouble in Mind, King Lear, Scorched, My Name is Asher Lev (with Segal – META Award).

OTHER THEATRE Prayer for the French Republic (Segal); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Incident at Vichy (Soulpepper – Dora Award); Oslo, Disgraced (Mirvish); Angels in America (year-long run), Intimate Apparel, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest (Canadian Stage); Wit (Jessie nomination – VP); Belle (NAC/Factory); Amadeus, Possible Worlds (TIFT/Munich); Superior Donuts (Coal Mine). Playwriting: The Trial of William Shakespeare; Cringeworthy (Siminovitch nomination); This Hotel (Dora nomination).

FILM/TV Little Bird, The Porter, Rich Kid, Suits, Burden of Truth, Never Been Chris’d, Murdoch Mysteries, Cardinal, Flashpoint.

ET CETERA This performance is dedicated to my late sister Kathryn. Love to Chloe Babette! Audition Coaching at alexpochgoldin.com

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ARTS CURRICULUM

If you’re looking to book elementary or secondary school classes,  lunchtime clubs, a library program or childcare enrichment that perfectly aligns with your Arts curriculum, you’ve come to the right place. We are dedicated to providing engaging and educational experiences that cater to the unique needs of your students and institution.

At The Travelling Stage, we are passionate about creating memorable and enriching arts programs that align with your school or class's Art Curriculum. Whether you're looking for in-person programming in Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, PEI, or the Northwest Territories, we've got you covered.

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Across canada.

The Travelling Studio offers in-school or virtual programs based on your provincial or territorial arts curriculum. Our diverse offerings cater to students of all ages, from infants through adults, in schools, childcare centres, Guides of Canada, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. As an approved vendor of the YMCA, we take pride in delivering high-quality and engaging arts education. Contact us to discover how we can enhance your learning journey with the magic of the performing arts.

"Good dance teachers create more than just great dancers; they inspire passion, discipline and a lifelong love for the art form." — Unknown

Arts curriculum based classes, get in touch.

Our headquarters, conveniently located 40 kilometres east of Toronto in Whitby, Ontario, is ready to assist you in designing a tailored arts experience for your students. Let’s collaborate and bring the magic of the performing arts to your educational journey.  Contact us today to get started!

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• Monday to Friday - 7 am to 6 pm
• Saturday to Sunday - Closed

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• 416-317-8950
• [email protected]
• 115 Dundas Street West Whitby, Ontario

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So sick of all the taxes

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Letters: april 26, 2024 back to video.

One billion for school lunch programs, increasing the capital gains tax on those who have sacrificed so they can have something to sell when they retire, billions going towards affordable housing and to heck with all those who have been working hard to pay full price for their homes, useless carbon taxes that do nothing but increase the cost of everything … I am so sick of paying so much tax. I do hope Mr. Poilievre and the Conservatives are listening because this Liberal government sure isn’t! Stop taking the hard-earned money of Canadians … we have paid enough.

Glen Lapenskie

A country can’t tax itself into prosperity.

Underestimated them

I think JT and Freeland have totally underestimated the younger generation’s knowledge of fiscal prudence and budget management. Anyone who has a house, apartment or is looking to move out of their parents’ basement understands the basic math that you cannot spend more than you bring in, and if you do, see how your next trip to the bank to borrow money works for you. Through no fault of their own, young Canadians have been dropped into a very deep hole with no ladder, and their only way out is to stand on the shoulders of others.

Wayne Boyce

Canada’s debt has doubled under this Liberal government (nearing $1.2 trillion) and will last beyond our grandchildren’s lives.

Food theft plain dumb idea

Theft from retail outlets, not just grocery stores, is one reason for the higher prices we see today. Now a group is asking people to steal from Loblaw stores. Well, that should lead to lower prices. Apart from the fact that stealing is not legal, who are the brainiacs that decided stealing would lead to lower prices? There is competition in the grocery business. If all stores are charging roughly the same prices, higher food prices are not due to corporate greed. Maybe we should look at marketing boards, carbon taxes, and a low Canadian dollar for the answer to higher prices.

The idiots calling for this are either too dumb to see the consequences or don’t care. Actions such as these only will hurt the employees.

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How do you solve a problem like Makar? Jets dealing with defenceman who is being compared to Bobby Orr 

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How Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey has grown into a playoff veteran — and proud foodie

There was a time in Josh Morrissey ’s life before he’d ever experienced a Winnipeg whiteout or scored a game-tying playoff goal.

Back in 2015-16, when he was a young man, still new to the city, Morrissey remembers barely being able to cook for himself.

He’d have his mom Bev and dad Tom over from Calgary, or his girlfriend Margot, and he’d take them to Pizzeria Gusto on Academy Road instead of braving the kitchen at home. He had an ambitious palate and the bad habit of forgetting staple ingredients at the grocery store so when the Jets veterans had recommended their favourite restaurants, Morrissey was keen to listen.

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Forget about Morrissey the All-Star, or the 76- and 69-point seasons he’s scored at 28 and 29 years old. Forget about him screaming “Let’s go!” to the Canada Life Centre faithful after he scored to tie Game 1 for Winnipeg — if you can.

Consider Morrissey when he was working hard to turn a Manitoba Moose pro season into an NHL career. Outside of his teammates and hockey connections, he didn’t know a lot of people in the city. In those days, Margot lived in Calgary and flew out to see him when she could. Morrissey would go on to become such good friends with people in Winnipeg that Mark Scheifele became a groomsman when Margot and Josh got married.

In the beginning, though, Morrissey was alone and his kitchen was his enemy.

“There was probably a lot of overcooked chicken and steak if I was cooking,” Morrissey says. “My bigger fails would be having to do multiple trips to the grocery store as I forgot a key ingredient in the meal. Or didn’t realize I didn’t have eggs or milk or butter — some staple that would have been needed to do the cooking.”

Morrissey’s development from first-round draft pick to centre stage in the Stanley Cup playoffs hasn’t been a straight line. There was early promise, mid-career struggles that ran concurrent with his dad Tom’s battle with cancer , and then a resurgence beyond Jets fans’ wildest dreams.

Ask Morrissey how he charted his path from eggless, milkless existence to his status as an impact player and he’ll tell you about the work he’s put in, on and off the ice. He completely revamped his approach to training heading into the 2022-23 season, leading in part to his 76-point explosion and his first appearance in an NHL All-Star Game. He’ll also talk about mentorship.

Morrissey was golfing with Scheifele when Jets head coach Rick Bowness called him for the first time in 2022. At first, Bowness just told him to go win his round, and the two reconnected later that day. Instead of leaping into his vision for the Jets, Bowness spent the conversation asking Morrissey what he thought Winnipeg needed.

“We love his creativity and he’s a threat out there,” Bowness told me before Game 1. “As I told Josh, when I first took the job and I called him, coming in here with Dallas or Tampa, we always used to say ‘We’ve got to know when Morrissey is on the ice.’ Much like we’re talking about (Cale) Makar on the ice. We always made a point of making sure that we knew where he was. We had that much respect for him. He’s got the green light and we’ll never take that away from him.”

Creativity is a word that means more to Morrissey than you might expect.

For Morrissey, creativity involves the freedom to take calculated risks. To experiment. To fail and then succeed in a new, better way because of the lessons he’s learned. Watch him dance at the offensive blue line, walking around defenders, like he did in Game 1, and there is an element of risk there. Morrissey says one of the most important lessons he’s learned in his ascension from hungry prospect to franchise cornerstone is knowing when the moment calls for something a little bit different.

He’s not just talking about his on-ice play. Morrissey pursues unique experiences in life. Teammates are enchanted by his offseason travels, saying he always picks the best and most interesting places to eat.

“He knows the spots,” says longtime partner Dylan DeMelo . “He’s dialled in and does a lot of research into it.”

This is where a potentially surprising mentorship enters Morrissey’s story.

Let’s go back to the young version — the one who overcooked his chicken, didn’t know a lot of people in Winnipeg and ordered takeout from Pizzeria Gusto so often he’s convinced they knew him by voice.

At Pizzeria Gusto, Morrissey met a restaurant manager named Bobby Mottola — a gregarious, charismatic, hospitality industry professional who’d welcome him in and make sure he got a table and had what he needed.

It’s likely budding Jets stars get unique care at restaurants as a general rule, but Mottola and Morrissey hit it off.

“I did more ordering out and takeout than I did cooking,” Morrissey says of his younger years. “I got to know Bobby, eating in his restaurant fairly frequently or calling in to the point where they probably knew it was me. That was the beginning of the friendship. Bobby would take care of me and check to see if I needed extra food for the house and most of the time I did, because I had no idea what I was doing with my groceries.”

Morrissey is 29 now. He’s firmly entrenched in the Jets leadership group, wears an “A” on his jersey and has four years left on the $6.25 million AAV contract that made him a cornerstone to build the team around. He wants to retire in Winnipeg — a committed, single-franchise player in an era of freedom and opportunity — and he frequently praises Winnipeg’s community when interviewed by national media.

When Mark Chipman went door-to-door in the city, trying to regenerate goodwill in the face of declining season ticket sales , Morrissey was first in line to go meet Jets fans. He’s not that young man with big dreams and an empty fridge anymore, but Morrissey still credits those first trips to Pizzeria Gusto with giving him his first taste of Winnipeg’s community.

“With the exception of your teammates and people you meet through the game, often you don’t really know too many people in the city (when you’re new)” said Morrissey. “Early on, it almost felt like Bobby almost had me under his wing in a way. When our family would eat at the restaurant, I’m sure my parents felt good about Bobby’s presence — ‘Hey, if you need any food or if he needs anything, I’ll take care of him.’”

That’s why Morrissey was all ears when Mottola approached him about opening a pop-up restaurant in time for the playoffs.

“I’m a big foodie. I have big interests. I’m always travelling and love food,” Morrissey says. “I wasn’t in the position — nor am I now — to be running a restaurant, nor do I know the first thing about doing that. He presented the opportunity to me where we could collaborate: I could help with the menu and it would be a cool way to interact with the city and with Winnipeggers.”

Enter “The 44” — a pop-up restaurant at Hargrave St. Market that will be open throughout the playoffs as well as next season. Morrissey’s No. 1 focus is on the ice — he’s handed things off for now — but he’s been in conversation with Mottola and chef Jesse Friesen for over a year to get things off the ground.

The menu is based on Morrissey’s favourite sporting foods that Mottola and Friesen have taken in creative directions.

“We’re doing prime rib sliders,” Morrissey offers, before explaining the process. “I’d just said ‘sliders’ and they went out with the prime rib and the au jus and the fancy sauce and aioli, all the different stuff where you’re like ‘OK, this went from nice comfort food to being really delicious and a little more elevated.’

“Or we’re doing a chilli using Canadian Wagyu beef as the base. Again, that’s not something I would have thought of at the store but they do that and it goes from good to amazing. Even our grilled cheese, we’re doing in-house sourdough and local Manitoba cheese, ham from a deli here in the city.”

Morrissey sees this pop-up as one more way to integrate himself into the community of Winnipeg. He says he understands that game tickets are expensive and that there’s a large number of Jets fans who will be watching at home, so he’s proud to have partnered with Skip The Dishes — a company with Winnipeg origins. A percentage of proceeds will go to the True North Youth Foundation, with opportunities for The Dream Factory and other charitable initiatives to benefit in the long run.

“It’s been almost 11 years since I was drafted here,” Morrissey says. “I’ve been coming here for a long time and living here for the last nine years. I’ve really felt like I am part of the city. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know people, getting to know the DNA of the city. For this, I guess it’s always possible to invest in something or be a behind-the-scenes partner and not be connecting with anyone, but this opportunity … While it doesn’t allow a fan to meet me face-to-face, per se, the menu is curated by me. There will be merch available as prizes and through purchase, with some money going to the True North Youth Foundation through Skip The Dishes. Hopefully people feel like this is truly a ‘Winnipeg’ dining experience.”

His mom Bev and wife Margot had a chance to go to “The 44” before Game 1 in Winnipeg and were touched to see Morrissey’s vision realized.

Morrissey jokes that Margot is still waiting for him to cook her a proper meal but it’s clear he’s come a long way since his early days in Winnipeg. He doesn’t overcook his chicken anymore — he smokes it, as he was taught by Dustin Byfuglien and Matt Hendricks. He doesn’t stifle his on-ice creativity anymore, either — he pushes up ice and takes the calculated risks that help the Jets win.

He’s not afraid to show fans his personality, either — and feels that this is one more step in his growing connection with people in Winnipeg.

“It’s been exciting for me to show my interests and creativity outside of hockey,” he says. “It’s fun to show my creativity and personality in a different way on the ice or in the postgame and pregame interviews. You can be creative on the ice — which I love — and I really enjoy that piece. But this is a different space. It’s fun to change where your mind is at in your free time while supporting the charities in the city that are close to my heart, starting these playoffs with the True North Youth Foundation. It’s cool because there aren’t necessarily rules about what you have to do or design — we can do what we want and be creative and hopefully people like it.”

(Top photo: Jonathan Kozub / NHLI via Getty Images)

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Murat Ates blends modern hockey analysis with engaging storytelling as a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Winnipeg. Murat regularly appears on Winnipeg Sports Talk and CJOB 680 in Winnipeg and on podcasts throughout Canada and the United States. Follow Murat on Twitter @ WPGMurat