Origin Story

In July of 2002, Derek Rein and Samantha MacDonald, in collaboration with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Kamloops (GALA), began a tradition of new, exciting theatre with a production of The Laramie Project. That tradition was continued in the summer of 2003 with a two-play production, Out of Bounds, which included In On It by Daniel MacIvor and Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach by Paul Rudnick. Now, the creators behind those three incredible productions have united, incorporated, and become Project X Theatre Productions.

For the last 15 years we have brought innovative, audacious theatre to Kamloops; first with our summer 2004 production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, produced outdoors in a Japanese garden, then with Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor's The Soldier Dreams in February 2005 (set in the beauty of St. Andrew's On The Square).  Then we swept audiences away with Shakespeare's The Tempest, setting it in the 1800s circus era.  In January 2006 we did something no one else has ever done - we produced all 6 of George F. Walker's Suburban Motel series - to great success.  And in the summer we made history again, producing the Interior of British Columbia's first-ever outdoor summer Shakespeare festival, X Fest 2006.

X Fest continues to be the only outdoor summer theatre festival in the Interior of BC. Each year, through X Fest, Project X Theatre brings two high quality theatre productions to Prince Charles Park, creating opportunities for cultural enrichment of the city of Kamloops as well a fun opportunity for families to enjoy time together outdoors.

In 2011, we presented our first production geared specifically towards families and young audiences. The response from the community was so overwhelming it was clear that Project X was filling a void in our community’s cultural needs. Both shows in X Fest 2013 were family oriented and the result was again the same overwhelming response. X Fest significantly increased its attendance for the second year in a row. Due to such popular demand from our audiences, young audience and family programming has become the cornerstone of X Fest. In 2020, in order to better serve our audience and reflect our programming, X Fest was renamed Theatre Under the Trees. With this new name we hope to continue to grow! 

If X is the variable, you just never know where we'll end up.

Our Mandate:

Project X is passionate about creating and producing innovative, audacious theatre works that explore non-traditional venues and forms of theatre. We are committed to expanding the creative development of emerging artists in our area, as well as bringing new theatrical, artistic and educational experiences to the widest audience possible.