Arts Council of New Westminster
A Vision for Theatre in New Westminster

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Exploring the Vision - a Discussion Document

Introduction

Before one could plan to make New West a regional centre for theatre, one needs to have a vision of what such a regional centre would look like. Here are some possible ideas:

• have a recognizable name (Fraser Thespians??) and a flagship festival

• several venues of different sizes and styles, including one flagship venue  (the revived Burr??)

• annual theatre program

• annual theatre summer school (or winter school)

• annual mini theatre festival (possibly in winter)

• biennial full theatre festival (in summer)

• an organization with office and staff to look after, manage, etc

• a funding / sponsorship program

• a marketing system and program with province-wide advertising

• a theatre training program involving the local schools, Douglas College and theatres.

One thing is for sure, New West does not have a large enough population to justify the above on its own. So it is a given that most of the audiences will be attracted from neighbouring jurisdictions, as well as from elsewhere in North America and overseas. Once the reputation has been established, most of the performers and theatre companies will also not be from New West.

How does one get there?
For the sake of the discussion, let’s call this “thing” : Regional Theatre New West or RTNW.

A possible time sequence for setting up RTNW could be:

  1. Form a steering committee

  2. Do strategic planning exercise

  3. Formulate a White Paper (business plan)

  4. Obtain seed funding and establish a RTNW office, the steering committee becomes an advisory board

  5. The RTNW office sets up systems and initiates programs.

General Comments
Existing theatre companies will maintain their autonomy but will be come RTNW partners (?). RTNW will manage the overall marketing. There has to be a synergistic relationship between RTNW and the theatre companies (reciprocal representation).

One of the main outcomes of RTNW would be to make New West a destination. Hence local business and tourism would be big stakeholders. Together with the City and Province, they would form the core sources of sponsorship.

RTNW needs to ramp up reasonably fast so that it can establish its reputation in a highly competitive theatre environment, and not be “upstaged” by another lower mainland jurisdiction. Latching onto a larger event like the 2010 Olympics might be an idea to explore.

Two concepts will be key to the success of RTNW: 1) festivals and 2) theatre education

The Role of Festivals
Festivals are an essential way of becoming known on a regional basis and attracting patrons from beyond one’s borders. They will be the key to making New West a regional theatre centre. A theatre festival could be a niche or specialist type like a fringe festival, or Shakespeare festival. For a larger festival one could showcase a range of theatre types – possibilities could include playwright specific (e.g. an Agatha Christie week) theatre, some avant-garde theatre, ethnic theatre, youth theatre, political theatre, experimental theatre – the range being limited by the number of venues that are available.

A highly visible festival component would contribute to the reputation of RTNW - something that could be seen on TV and photographed for the press. Examples are street theatre, theatre on the river, open-air theatre in unique places like parks and even graveyards.

The festivals need to planned in collaboration with local business and tourism bodies to ensure that the festival is supported by proper accommodation, transport, and other touristic, shopping and culinary attractions.

Theatre Education
With so much theatre activity established, RTNW could also be a strong theatre education centre. This would also strengthen RTNW’s regional reputation.

There already is a foundation in the form of theatre programs at various public and private schools, as well as Douglas College. The education programs could be integrated with the RTNW programs. This would give students an opportunity to do practicum in a real life environment and also provide career opportunities for those who wish to live in New West. The festivals would provide further opportunities for both graduates and students. Potentially, DC could be the hub for high school students from schools in the region who would like to pursue theatre (both acting and non-acting theatre professions) as a career.

The theatre education groups will be key players in providing the annual summer/winter theatre schools.

Final Comment
This document is designed to kick-start discussions - if you agree or disagree, that is good! Let us have your views - and do come to the Gossip Teas so we can throw ideas around.