The Salon of Poetry, Music and Theatre was created in 1991 by Maria Nowotarska, former actress of the Juliusz
Slowacki Theatre in Cracow, Poland, who is also the Salons artistic director, script writer, and frequently performs in
the Salon’s productions.
The Salon’s mandate is to serve the Polish community by responding to its need for Polish culture and by presenting
this culture to other Canadians and to provide community members with the opportunity to participate in the arts.
The Salon is a part of the Polish Canadian Society of Music formed in 1986. It promotes music and poetic theatre
not only in Toronto but also in North America. Although the core of the actors, musicians and stage designers
collaborating with the Salon represents the highest professional caliber, the Salon invites volunteers to participant.
The Salon has help hundreds of performances which provide an excellent overview of Polish theatre. By creating
poetry with music and dance, the Salon is creating a genre of theatre where the language of the poetry is
reinforced by movement, music and appropriate stage design.
In 2000 the Actor’s Studio of the Salon was created to train young people to participate in the Salon’s
performances. As an educator Maria Nowotarska is attracting young people to the Salon. They are systematically
trained and participate in the Salon’s performances.
The Salon is a non for profit organization which has approximately 200 members and is controlled by the Board of
Directors.