Artistic Managing Director

MAX REIMER is originally from Vancouver. Before leaving in 1992, Max ran his own company producing large, local events and theatrical productions. He earned an Honours Degree in Sociology and Economics from Simon Fraser University where he also became interested in dance and drama. He acted in principal roles on several American and Canadian variety and dramatic television series before dedicating himself entirely to theatre and was an actor, choreographer and associate director for two major Canadian theatre festivals – Charlottetown Festival (seven seasons) and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (three seasons). He has acted, choreographed and directed at most major regional theatres in Canada: Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, London, Hamilton, Mississauga, Ottawa and Charlottetown.

During his 16 years in Ontario, Max was the Artistic Director/General Manager of Huron Country Playhouse (Grand Bend, Ontario) during its most profitable years (1993–1996) achieving record subscription, box office and surplus records and during which time he also oversaw a major capital expansion.

Max left HCP to be the Managing Artistic Director at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Ontario (1996-2008). The Canada Council commended Max for “playing such a significant role in Hamilton’s cultural life” and expressed their strong support for the “remarkable job of business management that he has achieved.” During his administration, Aquarius resolved over $5M in debt, won a Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Business in the Arts, and had 11 consecutive operating surpluses, entirely eliminating the accumulated operating deficit of the previous administration. 

In 2008, Max became Artistic Managing Director for the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. His directorial debut at the Playhouse was the Jessie Award-winning The Drowsy Chaperone, which he revived at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton and the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Since then, he has directed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Jessie nomination – Best Director), The Love List, The Fantasticks and Brief Encounter, which was a co-production with Manitoba Theatre Centre. He has also directed the Playhouse’s Young Playwrights Showcase for the past three years. This season, Max will direct La Cage Aux Folles and Gunmetal Blues for the Playhouse.

He is deeply dedicated to professional theatre and was previously the A Category Representative on the Board of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), is a member of the performers’ associations ACTRA and CAEA (Equity), and has served as a peer assessor and juror with the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and BC Arts Council. Since returning to Vancouver, he has been a key player in the Next Generation Arts Leadership program.

Max won a Tourism Ambassador Award from the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, An Arts Community Award from the City of Hamilton and was the mentor of the Santee Smith, the first recipient of the Canada Council's John Hobday Award for business development in the arts.