Arts Club Theatre Company
.JPG) The Arts Club's Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | |
| Address | 1585 Johnston Street Vancouver, BC Canada |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1958 |
| Website | |
| www.artsclub.com | |
The Arts Club Theatre Company is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Arts Club was founded in 1958 originally as a private club until 1964, when the group became the Arts Club Theatre Company and established itself at a theatre on Seymour Street in Downtown Vancouver. Major themes from this company are new works, comedies, musicals, drama, and revues, with an emphasis on developing Canadian talent in productions appealing to the general public.
History
The Arts Club Theatre Company, Vancouver, opened in February 1964 with a production called Light Up the Sky. The theatre was established by Otto Lowy, Yvonne Firkin and others on the second floor of a gospel hall at 1181 Seymour Street in Vancouver. It featured a flexible seating space accommodating 125-200 persons.
Through the 1960s the Arts Club presented about 6 shows annually, most of which were foreign, light comedies. It was not established as a professional company until Bill Millerd was appointed director in 1972 and initiated year-round operations.[1] Millerd achieved successes with a wide variety of plays: the classic Journey's End; Griffiths' Comedians starring Brent Carver; and a spectacularly long run with the musical Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.[2]
In 1979, the Arts Club expanded to include performances at the 450-seat Granville Island Stage on Granville Island and, in 1983, acquired a third space next door, the 250-seat Revue Theatre.[2] The Seymour Street Stage closed in 1991, but in 1998 the Arts Club took over operations at the restored 650-seat[2] Stanley Theatre (renamed the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage in 2005), a former movie theater. Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage opened with Swing, followed by Hamlet in 1998[2].
Stages
Seymour Street Stage
The 250-seat Seymour Street Stage opened in 1964 on Seymour and Davie Street[1]—upstairs above a former auto repair shop and Gospel Hall—and became an instant theatrical institution. The first production, Moss Hart's Light Up the Sky, won high praise.[3] The Seymour Street Stage was closed for demolition in 1991.[1][4]
Granville Island Stage
The 460-seat Granville Island Stage, opened as the Arts Club Mainstage in 1979 at 1585 Johnston Street on Granville Island, Vancouver. The Arts Club became one of the earliest landmarks on Granville Island and a personal triumph for Managing Director Bill Millerd who had always dreamed of having a theatre on the waterfront. Now the theatre is home base for a company with three theatres and an adjoining lounge, the Backstage Lounge. The company regularly tours its shows throughout the province.[5]
Revue Stage
The 225-seat Revue Theatre, next door to Granville Island Stage, first opened in 1983 with the show An Evening with Ruth and Leon, a concert of songs performed by local stars Leon Bibb and Ruth Nichol.[6]
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
Stanley Theatre, built in 1931, ran its last movie, Fantasia, and shut its doors on September 25, 1991. It re-opened in October 1998 under the auspices of the Arts Club Theatre with Dean Regan's hit production of Swing. Beginning with the 2000-2001 season, the Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company became a sponsor of the theatre, and on April 5, 2005 it became the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, a newly renovated art deco theatre, beautifully updated, a 650-seat house that will be home to musicals such as My Fair Lady, Swing and Sweeny Todd, revitalized classics such as Hamlet, and comedies ranging from Easy Money to Art. The restoration of the venue received a 1999 City of Vancouver Heritage Award.[4]
Organization
Artistic Managing Director
Bill Millerd
Since 1972, Bill Millerd has been the Artistic Managing Director of Vancouver's Arts Club Theatre Company. During his time with the company, he has expanded its operations to include year-round programming on two stages, as well as regional and national tours. During his tenure, over 330 plays have been produced, one hundred of which Bill himself has directed. Under his leadership, the theatre has staged over 115 Canadian works, including more than 65 premieres of new Canadian plays.
Millerd is a Governor of the National Theatre School of Canada and has received recognition with the UBC Alumni of Distinction Award, Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Career Achievement[7] and the Order of Canada in 1994. Today, he is the longest-serving artistic director in Canadian theatre.[1]
Notable Actors and Playwrights
Brent Carver, Janet Wright, Lally Cadeau, Nicola Cavendish, Morris Panych[1], Michael Bublé, Ann Mortifee, and Michael J. Fox.(Henighan, 2000)
References
- Henighan, Tom (2000). The Maclean's Companion to Canadian Arts and Culture. Raincoast Books. ISBN 1-55192-298-3.
- ^ a b c d e Wiebe, Joe. "Stage Fight", BC Business, October 2005. Retrieved on 2010-03-17.
- ^ a b c d [Page, Malcolm. "Arts Club Theatre" The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ "1964 Chronology", The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ a b "1991 Chronology", The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ "1979 Chronology", The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ "1983 Chronology", The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ "Volume VII, Issue 9 " Rumble Productions. Retrieved on 2010-03-17.
External links
- Arts Club Theatre Company - Official website
- Arts Club Theatre Company - Blog
- Granville Island
- South Granville Business Improvement Association
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