Théâtre des Petites Lanternes

What Théâtre des Petites Lanternes does

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes (TPL) is a non-profit professional creation and research theatre (OBNL) founded in approximately 1999 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, operating from the Centre des arts de la scène Jean-Besré. The company stages participatory landscape theatre (théâtre de paysage) in natural and urban environments — including the Marais Réal D. Carbonneau wetlands and public streets — and produces the annual Rivières de Lumières lantern festival, which has completed 11 editions in Sherbrooke and is migrating to Magog in October 2026 for its 12th edition. Its portfolio includes L'ami de l'étranger (citizen-storytelling on hospitality), Territoires (four-year landscape theatre project), Tiss'âges (11-workshop series for adults aged 50+), Projet Monarques (healing theatre for veterans with PTSD), Quatre-Quarts, Hiver de Lumières, and school workshops for K-12 students. The company also published the methodology book 'Promenades théâtrales en ville' in December 2024.

The organization is led by co-artistic directors Angèle Séguin (founder, 20 years) and Cyril Assathiany (international physical theatre artist, LaboKracBoom co-founder), alongside co-artistic director Kristelle Holliday (UK-trained, GLI MBA in Artistic Innovation 2024) who founded Rivières de Lumières over a decade ago. Operations are administered by Directrice générale Véronique Barbara Viens and Directrice administrative Andrée-Anne Pellerin, with a 1-10 employee base supported by volunteers.

The revenue model is a hybrid of public grants (CALQ, Canada Council for the Arts, Patrimoine canadien, Ville de Sherbrooke, Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, CEAD), donations and memberships via Zeffy, free community events (Rivières de Lumières listed as GRATUIT), a small number of ticketed productions, and book sales through Librairie Appalaches and Musée d'histoire de Sherbrooke. A $75,000 grant from Veterans Affairs Canada in July 2023 supports Projet Monarques. Distribution is primarily through direct public-space performances, community organization partnerships (FADOQ, Service d'aide aux Néo-Canadiens, DIRA-Estrie), and academic channels including UQAM. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes

Legal name

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes

Website

https://petiteslanternes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes is a non-profit professional landscape theatre company in Sherbrooke, Quebec, producing participatory outdoor performances, the annual Rivières de Lumières lantern festival, and seniors and veterans programs for regional Quebec communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Theatre / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD)

Keywords

• Community theatre productions
• Landscape theatre performances
• Lantern festival events
• Participatory arts workshops
• Non-profit performing arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Sherbrooke

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The theatre actively solicits donations via the Zeffy platform and encourages community membership, positioning supporters as direct contributors to the realization of productions.
2. Government and Cultural Funders Grants: Primary funding from public cultural agencies including Ville Sherbrooke, CALQ, Conseil des arts du Canada, Patrimoine canadien, Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, and CEAD, which collectively subsidize artistic production, community programming, and operational costs.
3. Ticket Sales: Some productions charge admission (e.g., 'MMMMMMM comme des oiseaux' tickets sold via Zeffy platform), while others such as Rivières de Lumières are free entry, with the free model supported by sponsorship and grants.
4. Book Sales: Sale of the published book 'Promenades théâtrales en ville' through local retailers (Librairie Appalaches, Musée d'histoire de Sherbrooke) and potentially online, generating ancillary revenue from the Quatre-Quarts artistic research project.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes is a non-profit professional theatre that creates and stages participatory landscape theatre productions, an annual public lantern festival (Rivières de Lumières), and structured community workshops in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Its work immerses audiences in natural and urban outdoor settings and engages citizens as co-creators rather than passive spectators. Productions include Territoires, L'Ami de l'étranger, Projet Monarques, and the Quatre-Quarts research project.

Product overview

Théâtre des Petites Lanternes is a professional creation and research theatre based in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The company offers a portfolio of theatrical productions (L'Ami de l'étranger, Territoires, Projet Monarques, Quatre-Quarts), an annual lantern festival (Rivières de Lumières), seasonal light events (Hiver de Lumières), creative workshops for seniors (Tiss'Âges), and school educational programs. The core offering centers on community-engaged theatre and landscape theatre that transforms public spaces, particularly noted for their lantern festivals and outdoor performances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rivières de Lumières Annual outdoor lantern festival featuring participatory lantern-making workshops, a nighttime illuminated walking parade, performances, and a night market that transforms public streets and parks into a luminous theatrical landscape for citizens of Sherbrooke and Magog.
• Territoires Landscape theatre creation exploring sense of belonging to land, the relationship with nature, and humans' role in the environment through outdoor performances staged in natural settings such as the Marais Réal D. Carbonneau wetland.
• L'Ami de l'étranger Theatre production combining stage performance with citizen participation to collect stories and reflections on hospitality and welcome across the Estrie community.
• Tiss'âges Series of 11 creative workshops per edition designed for adults aged 50 and over that explore identity, personal expression, mask-making, physical theatre, and poetry, culminating in a public vernissage/cabaret.
• Projet Monarques Healing theatre project for veterans and military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress that breaks isolation through theatrical expression.
• Quatre-Quarts Landscape theatre research project exploring theatrical walks in urban spaces, culminating in the published methodology guide "Promenades théâtrales en ville" co-authored with Ney Wendell of UQAM.
• Hiver de Lumières Winter-themed community light event featuring lantern workshops and community activities staged during colder months.
• School Workshops Educational workshops for K-12 school groups that inspire individual creativity while fostering reflection on students' roles in society.
• MMMMMMM Comme des oiseaux Ticketed outdoor theatre performance at Marais Réal D. Carbonneau, directed by Dave Jenniss and written by André Gélineau, exploring the story of a great blue heron that once lived in the region, as part of the Territoires project.
• Promenades théâtrales en ville (book) Published methodology book co-authored with Ney Wendell of UQAM that shares the company's theatrical walking and landscape theatre techniques with other artists, municipalities, and cultural institutions internationally, sold at Librairie Appalaches de Sherbrooke and Musée d'histoire de Sherbrooke.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 editions of Rivières de Lumières lantern festival completed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and minor.

• Ville de SherbrookecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner providing ongoing operational and project-level support to the theatre. The city's logo is prominently displayed on the theatre's website as a key institutional supporter.
• Centre des arts de la scène Jean-BesrécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared arts facility housing the theatre's headquarters and operations. Multiple team members serve on the centre's board of directors (Cyril Assathiany since 2020).
• CEAD (Centre des auteurs dramatiques)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational dramatists' centre whose members (Angèle Séguin, Amélie Bergeron) collaborate on co-writing and dramaturgical development of productions such as Projet Monarques.
• FADOQmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuebec seniors' organization partnering in the Tiss'Âges program for adults 50+, marking a first collaboration between the theatre and FADOQ in 2024.
• Service d'aide aux Néo-CanadienssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSettlement organization for new Canadians in Sherbrooke, contacted to expand Tiss'Âges programming to newcomer seniors and immigrant communities.
• DIRA-EstriesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional cultural organization contacted to expand reach of senior and intercultural programming.
• ISDC (Institut de la statistique du Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContacted for potential collaboration on the Tiss'Âges program for future editions.
• UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) - Service aux collectivitésmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner that provided funding support for the co-authored book 'Promenades théâtrales en ville' developed by Ney Wendell (UQAM professor) and Kristelle Holliday.
• Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation (GLI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational professional development network providing MBA-level training in arts innovation. Supported Kristelle Holliday's completion of her MBA and enabled international exchange at summits in Chile and New York.
• Librairie Appalaches de SherbrookesupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal book retailer serving as a distribution point for the Promenades théâtrales en ville book, alongside the Musée d'histoire de Sherbrooke.
• Musée des beaux-arts de SherbrookesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue that has hosted photo and poetry exhibitions by artists associated with the theatre (e.g., Sonia Bolduc and Annick Sauvé's 'pauses' exhibition in 2022).
• Université de SherbrookesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional university whose students and professors have collaborated with the theatre. Angèle Séguin was named Ambassadrice by Université de Sherbrooke FLSH in 2005.
• Conseil de la Culture de l'EstriemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional arts council. Angèle Séguin co-initiated the États généraux des arts et de la culture en Estrie with the CCE in 2011 and chaired until 2016. Cyril Assathiany served on CCE's board (2021-2023).
• Cégep de SherbrookesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional college whose students have been involved in theatre productions and where associated artists have studied.
• Festival cinéma du monde de SherbrookesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilm festival co-founded by Malika Bajjaje; the theatre and festival share community-building goals and cross-promotional relationships in Sherbrooke's cultural ecosystem.
• Théâtre du Double signesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeaf theatre company in Sherbrooke. Multiple connections: Sonia Bolduc now works there; the company shares facilities at Jean-Besré; André Gélineau previously served as artistic director there.
• LaboKracBoomsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterdisciplinary circus and theatre collective co-founded by Cyril Assathiany, with ongoing creative collaborations including Rivières de Lumières. Étienne Leclerc is Executive Director of LaboKracBoom.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Necessary Angel Theatre Company: Canadian independent theatre producing experimental and contemporary work with a focus on artistic innovation. Comparable as a Canadian non-profit producing innovative theatre with similar reliance on public arts funding.
• Mammalian Diving Reflex: Toronto-based experimental theatre company creating socially engaged, participatory performances involving non-actors and community members. Highly comparable to Petites Lanternes' participatory, citizen-engaged theatrical methodology.
• One Trunk Theatre: Small Canadian independent theatre producing original work with community engagement focus. Comparable as a small-team, grant-funded professional theatre company with a participatory artistic approach.

Broad incumbents

• Ex Machina (Robert Lepage): Quebec-based theatre company founded by Robert Lepage, internationally renowned for site-specific and technologically innovative productions. Comparable to Petites Lanternes as a Quebec francophone theatre producing experimental, visually distinctive work, though operating at significantly larger scale with global touring reach.
• Théâtre de la Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation: Quebec-based professional improv theatre organization touring across Canada. Comparable as a francophone non-profit professional theatre with touring productions and CALQ/Canada Council funding relationships.

Direct peers

• Théâtre de Quat'Sous: Montreal-based independent theatre company producing contemporary and experimental plays since 1955. Comparable as a Quebec francophone professional theatre focused on innovative dramaturgy and community-engaged contemporary work.
• Théâtre du Rideau Vert: Long-established Montreal professional theatre producing a mix of contemporary and classical works. Comparable as a Quebec-based non-profit theatre company with similar grant-dependent revenue model and institutional funding relationships.
• Wildworks (Cornwall, UK): UK outdoor theatre company producing site-specific performances in natural landscapes and community settings. Directly comparable — Kristelle Holliday herself completed an artistic residency there — and the closest methodological peer for landscape theatre practice.
• Théâtre du Double Signe: Sherbrooke-based deaf theatre company sharing facilities at the Centre des arts de la scène Jean-Besré with Petites Lanternes. Direct geographic and ecosystem peer within the same Sherbrooke arts infrastructure.
• LaboKracBoom: Sherbrooke-based interdisciplinary circus and theatre collective co-founded by Cyril Assathiany, Petites Lanternes' current artistic director. Direct operational peer with overlapping leadership and collaborative projects including Rivières de Lumières.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tpl_lanternes
• Facebookfacebook.com/PetitesLanternes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Théâtre des Petites Lanternes