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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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