Today was our first full day in Toronto, and full it was. We started at the Younge Centre, seeing the venue Soulpepper uses for its season. Andrew Leeke (Technical Director) gave us the grand tour through the spaces. He showed us the Michael Young Theatre, the Baille Theatre (Where they were doing lighting focus for "The Last Wife") and a peek into the Tank House Theatre. We saw their shops and admin offices and were amazed to find how many NTS grads were working for the company.
We went for lunch at the St. Lawerence Market and headed over to the Sony Centre were Allen Ross (Senior Production Manager) gave us a tour of the largest house in the country. Coming in at over 3000 seats, the theatre was absolutely massive. We were drawn through the crazy maze that was the giant facility and really got a sense of what a different kind of theatre the place was. We weren't going to be producing any plays here, but the sheer scale of what they do here really makes one dream.
We quickly made our way down the street to Young People's Theatre (YPT). Rick Banville (Director of Production) greeted us and gave us a quick history of himself, the theatre and the company. Daniel then proceeded to take us on a guided tour, as he had interned there during the school year. We saw their whole building, from their ancient dimmers to their fantastical costume and prop shops, to the classrooms and studio space. What struck me about YPT is that, while their audiences change every 5 years, they don't save shows to do them again. They remake every show they do for the benefit of all the actors, directors and designers involved. They try to keep the art alive and new, and I greatly appreciate that.
We finished the night with the opening of Crow's Theatre's hilarious production of "The Wedding Party" at their brand new venue. The house was packed and the show kept me laughing for the entire duration. After the show, Monica Estevens (Managing Director) took us on a tour and regaled to us the pros and cons of embedding a theatre space in a condo. We saw backstage, the main space and the still under construction studio space. Their facility is state of the art and some amazing work is being produced there.
Day four is over and while we have a later start to tomorrow, it's no less full!
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| Prop storage at Soul Pepper |
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| Some art in the Distillery District |
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| Sony Centre |
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| Pano of a dark Sony Centre |
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| Cast and Crew of "Hana's Suitcase" at YPT |
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| !!!!!! |
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