Theatre North West invites you to come have a seat for its new season of plays. They are nice, plush theatre seats, brand new to the boutique drama company.
For the past 20 years, fans of professional productions sat upon green plastic lawn chairs - a necessary budget measure at the start, but as it enters its third decade of performances, the organization felt adding some comfort was long overdue.
"We had been wanting new seats but we hadn't officially planned on it, then a gift came our way. These chairs sort of fell from the sky," said TNW board president Deborah O'Leary. "Jack [Grinhaus, the new TNW artistic director] had a friend who was connected to a theatre in Calgary that was upgrading their seating. They offered us these ones they were taking out for a fraction of the price we were facing for brand new ones, so we snapped them up. They are such a welcome upgrade for us."
To help fund the costs of obtaining and installing the new seats, plaque tags are for sale for $150, allowing the buyer to put their name or the name of someone special (plus a small message) on the back of one of the 220 new seats.
TNW also put its lobby and box office to the hammer this summer. The foyer has new flooring, new wall features and new furniture to entice audiences to mingle and socialize more in that public welcome-space. The box office is now mobile and features blue-stained pine beetle wood (it can double as a bar).
The physical upgrades are symbolic of the success TNW has earned over its first 20 years. In that time it has become perhaps the most successful arts and culture group - including sports - in the northern two-thirds of the province. TNW boasts "the most paid attendance, the most annual performances, over 3,400 season pass holders, and an annual operating budget that ranges from $800,000 to $900,000."
At the public unveiling this week, Grinhaus said "we are deeply connected to our past and look forward to the future" with these improvements advancing the fortunes of the already successful company. He noted he was so new in his position he was still discovering the full meaning of TNW's community impacts but he already understood that today's TNW organization "is standing on the shoulders of giants" as he pointed out co-founders Ted Price and Anne Laughlin, and drew attention also to previous artistic director Samantha MacDonald.
Grinhaus also said there was a five-stage plan to add even more new features to the space, making the audience experience more pleasing even when a play was not being watched.
High audience returns are expected with the lineup of 2014-15 plays Grinhaus announced. "All are Canadian and all are going to entertain you beyond belief," he said.
The first one opens Sept. 25 and is one of the most iconic stage productions in Canadian history, focused on one of the most iconic Canadian cultural figures: First World War flying ace Billy Bishop. It was written by John Gray in collaboration with celebrated actor Eric Peterson, whose career also took off thanks to this work. He is now one of the stars of Corner Gas and is also known for This Is Wonderland, Street Legal, The Best Laid Plans and more.
TNW set designer Jennifer Goodman has constructed a biplane structure the on-stage action will centre on, with only a few actors carrying the script's load.
The Full TNW 2014-15 Season's Synopsis
Billy Bishop Goes To War
Written and composed by John Gray in collaboration with Eric Peterson
September 25 to October 15, 2014
Early in his distinguished career, Billy Bishop made a name for himself as the Royal Military College's "worst student ever." So how does a crazy Canadian kid from Owen Sound become a top World War I flying ace, the pride of the British Empire? Take flight with a Governor General's Award-winning musical adventure. Billy Bishop Goes to War delivers a payload of guts, grit, and glory as a young hero - and a young nation - come into their own.
The Patron Saint of Stanley Park
By Hiro Kanagawa
November 20 to December 10, 2014
It's Christmas Eve. One year ago, Josh and Jennifer's father disappeared in a floatplane accident at Prospect Point, where the children have come to honour his memory. As the sky darkens with the approach of a terrible storm, a bunker beneath the park begins to whir with twinkling lights and magic. What mysterious force could be at work? Aliens? Bigfoot? Santa Claus? Sweet, poignant, and suffused with the healing power of love, The Patron Saint of Stanley Park is a Christmas fable for the whole family.
The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon
By W.O. Mitchell
February 12 to March 4, 2015
Wullie MacCrimmon is a small-town shoemaker, a steady Presbyterian, and a curling fanatic who would give anything to skip a championship rink. That's right: anything. So Wullie's not surprised when a sinister stranger drops by his shop to offer a diabolical deal. Ultimately, Wullie must curl to save his soul, battling the Prince of Darkness and his accursed team in a Black Bonspiel. In this classic Canadian comedy, only one thing is certain: Wullie and his team are in for a 'hell' of a match.
The Secret Mask
By Rick Chafe
April 23 to May 13, 2015
When Ernie has a stroke, George must drop everything to become his father's caregiver - even though they've been estranged for almost 40 years. George wants to know why Ernie left him and his mother behind. But Ernie has aphasia: his speech and memory are a confused mess. He doesn't remember having a son, much less recognize him. In this comedic drama, a boatload of humour, honesty and humanity move George and Ernie across the gulf of years to find the right words and, finally, to learn to say them.
