Winter 2025

(From left) Associate Artistic Director Noah Lucé, Artistic Director and Co-founder J. Matthew Gordon and Artistic Director and Co-founder Justine Stock. I n his 1968 book “The Empty Space,” British director Peter Brook wrote, “I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage.” That ethos is a guiding principle of The New Canon Theatre, an award-winning Monterey Peninsula theater company co-founded in 2022 by J. Matthew Gordon and Justine Stock. Joined by Noah Lucé, New Canon doesn’t maintain its own venue; rather, they utilize several area facilities. The genesis of the group developed when Gordon needed a break from “the actor/pro- ducer grind” in LA and relocated to Monterey. He acted in local productions, but “I wasn’t seeing a lot of new work happening, like I was used to in LA, New York and London. I started to imagine what a different kind of professional theatre group in this area would look like.” Meeting a kindred spirit in actor/ producer/arts advocate Justine Stock, the two envisioned New Canon Theatre. “We looked at the rich history of the arts here and decided that our unique vision of theatre could work,” says Stock. As for cast members, “It’s a healthy mix of really talented local artists and guest profes- sionals from out of town,” Gordon says. Stock acts as well. 2I[ 'ERSR´W ½JXL WIEWSR FIKMRW WSSR *SV QSVI MRJSVQEXMSR ZMWMX [[[ RI[GERSRXLIEXVI SVK Local Group Reimagines Theatr ical Productions B Y M I CHA E L CHAT F I E LD SHORT CUTS ARTS 78 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 Photo: Glen McDowell