Greek Theatrical Company In Toronto Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

The popular theater production company Ten Tone, based in Greektown, Toronto is celebrating its fourth birthday this year. Ten Tone, which proves itself on promoting local Greek-Canadian talent, has staged a number of successful performances in the past and has become a true pillar of the Greek community.

George Scandalis and Elisseos Kyrillou created the company as a way to bridge the communication gap and unite first-generation Greek Canadians with new arrivals.

Ten Tone has tasked itself with building a stronger Greek community and creating a greater understanding of the heritage, language and civilization of Greece through theatrical performances.

The theatrical company has done things its very own way right from the very start. Instead of scouting far and wide for performers, they chose to hold open auditions, preferring to discover and hone the talent which already existed in the local Greek community.

Instead of producing a famous Greek tragedy, which would have been a safer choice, and one most production companies would have taken in their early days, they decided to stage original works written by Greek-Canadian playwright George Scandalis — in Greek.

These risks bring us to the heart of what Ten Tone Productions attempts to do, in developing artists and performers from the ground up, thus helping Greektown, Toronto become a hub for brilliant Greek arts.

This is further shown by the celebrations they held for their third anniversary last year. The “SHE – Greek Artist Expo” was an exhibition showcasing over twenty local artists.

The show was initially planned to include a theatrical reading from Scandalis’ book of Greek poetry “Οι ερωσυλίες της Ερωφίλης” (Erofili’s Sacrilege of Love) but after being given a piece of art by a local artist, Scandalis expanded the evening to include all the fine arts.

Scandalis was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He was already an active member of the Cretan Association of Toronto at the age of three, and later became a member of the world-renowned theatrical group Nefeli Theatre Arts.

At age 18 he was a professional dance teacher of Modern and Greek Folkloric dance. In 2004 Scandalis’ passion for Greek arts and culture took him to Greece, where he became a well-known actor/entertainer. He was also a contestant on the popular “Dream Show” televised on the Alpha Channel.

Scandalis returned to Toronto in 2016 and subsequently wrote his first Greek play “Η Επιλογή” (The Choice), later to be followed by “Το όνομα μου είναι Εύα” (My Name is Eva) in 2017. Scandalis has also recently released a collection of his poetry in Athens by Λογότυπο entitled “Οι ερωσυλίες της Ερωφίλης” (Erofili’s Sacrilege of Love).

Ten Tone Productions co-founder Elliseos Kyrillou was born and raised in Cyprus. He later lived in Athens for ten years, where he studied sound engineering and became involved in the local entertainment industry. He has worked in numerous theatrical production companies as a sound and light technician, and has done audio and video editing for short videos and advertising spots.

To find out more information about Ten Tone Productions, please click this link.