When Gregory H. Simpson was hired to run the drama program at Ottawa private school Ashbury College, he brought with him a very simple premise:

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If you taught kids to think, there would be a revolution in education. 

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That premise—plus a few years, more than a few scandalously unfiltered plays, and a whole bunch of wonderful students—would create the internationally-acclaimed Theatre Ashbury. Mr. Simpson demanded critical thought, intense work, and commitment from those kids, and what he got was decades of showstopping, educational, and attention-grabbing theatre.​​