PRODUCTION HISTORY (click here)

MANDATE AND HISTORY:

As expressed in our constitution, the purpose of TheatreOne is to “establish and manage a professional theatre company based in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island; to bring to the citizens of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island the benefits and advantages of professional theatre; to build an audience for the future through the involvement of young people; to promote and encourage cultural development on Vancouver Island; to do all the things necessary and incidental to attaining the foregoing objectives.”

With completion of our 20th Season in June 2004, TheatreOne has presented 62 Mainstage productions as well as 33 children’s shows introducing our family audiences to theatre companies who specialize in children’s shows - award-winning companies such as Axis Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Green Thumb Theatre, and Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble. Over the years we have been instrumental in bringing high-calibre professional theatre to Nanaimo. When incorporated in 1983 as Shakespeare Plus, we became the cultural focus of the community. We remain one of Nanaimo’s primary providers of quality professional entertainment. With the Just Kidding Children’s Entertainment Series which programs at Malaspina University College Theatre, TheatreOne has been effective in developing an audience of young people and their parents. We have a commitment to provide, via Nanaimo’s Haven Society, a number of tickets to these shows for the benefit of less fortunate families.

TheatreOne has also developed a large audience base (6000 moviegoers annually) to Fringe Flicks, our series of independent and foreign films, which has been expanded to three screenings each at the Galaxy Cinema. TheatreOne is committed to the development of new and emerging playwrights. For two years in a row the company has commissioned, developed and presented at the Port Theatre new Canadian plays (Best Left Buried by Marty Chan & The Concubine's Children by Denise Chong) which reflect our history and our multi-cultural heritage. This year, as well as expanding our Mainstage series, we are again offering developmental assistance to local playwrights with a workshop scheduled for December. In addition to these events, TheatreOne presents a number of fundraising activities, which have included The Grape Escape (wine tour & tasting), The Bite of Nanaimo Gourmet Food Fair and the Gala at the Galaxy (an evening of four independent or foreign films).

From Shakespeare Plus to TheatreOne

We were first incorporated as Shakespeare Plus, with the first public presentation at The Malaspina College Theatre on July 4, 1984. Our purpose was to bring professional theatre to the people of Nanaimo and the surrounding area with a focus on the works of William Shakespeare.

After the 1988 season, and the success of “The Dunsmuirs, Part One” by Nanaimo playwright Rod Langley, the Board of Directors decided to shift the focus to develop and produce work that promoted the history and heritage of the West Coast. In 1988 Shakespeare Plus became the Nanaimo Festival Heritage Theatre Society, with a mandate to present an annual theatre festival. By 1993 we were producing more contemporary work and in 1995 we moved from a summer to a fall season to better serve our main audience, the residents of central Vancouver Island who were really the mainstay of our support. Since we were no longer a festival and had become a regional theatre, we changed our name once more. To reflect the fact that we were the premier professional theatre company in the region we became TheatreOne.

 

 

 

 

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Media Sponsors

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City Of Nanaimo

BC Arts Council

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Global Fil Festival

 

 

Red Door Yoga

VI Condo's

 

Just Kidding

RBC Foundation

Canadian Tire

Pirate Chips

Mid Island Co-op

 

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