In The Community

Idea Incubator: A Playwriting and Devising Intensive – POSTPONED

Are you feeling stuck in your creative process? Whether you're in a slump or looking to spark new ideas for a project, this intensive is designed for you! Join us at the Arts Club for a dynamic series of writing and devising activities that will unlock your creativity. Gain valuable insight from your cohort as you develop concepts and discuss processes to inspire collaboration. Don’t miss this opportunity to ignite your imagination and take your artistry to the next level!

Instructors: Ashley Chodat and Sydney Marino

ASHLEY CHODAT
Ashley is a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. In these roles, she has worked for companies such as Bard on the Beach, the Arts Club, Playwright's Theatre Centre, Arts Umbrella, Theatre SKAM, Kaleidoscope, Carousel Theatre, and Green Thumb. She is passionate about using theatre for young audiences to explore speculative futures. Recent playwright credits include Camp Goneaway (Vancouver Fringe 2024 Winner Patron's Pick Award and Best of Fest Award), June Bug (Vancouver Fringe 2022 Fringe winner of TYP Family Forward Award, UpintheAir's rEvolver Festival, Theatre on the Edge), FRANK (Impulse Theatre Peek Show 14), Mother Pin (Or Festival/Fabulist Theatre), and Be(a) Tree (Unwrap Theatre/Small Curiosities). Ashley holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Theatre from UVic and a diploma in Theatre Performance from Douglas College. She is happy to be on the Board of Directors for LMDA Canada and the Co-Artistic Director of Ragamuffin Productions.

SYDNEY MARINO
Sydney Marino is a Vancouver-based playwright, director, and educator. Her plays have been produced by Story Theatre, the Or Festival, the Bryan Wade Brave New Play Rites Festival, and Killarney Theatre, and she has developed work at the Arts Club and Playwright’s Theatre Centre. As an educator, she has taught various theatre and writing courses at Arts Umbrella and the Arts Club, as well as leading writing workshops at local schools. This year, Sydney’s Theatre for Young Audiences play The Great Bloom is touring with Story Theatre, and she is developing new work as the Artist in Residence at Killarney Theatre. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from UBC.

The Arts Club makes theatre accessible to our communities through our Open Theatre program. This program offers complimentary tickets to Arts Club shows to organizations that work with equity-deserving communities who face financial barriers to enjoy live theatre.

For the 2021–2022 season, we provided over 400 Open Theatre tickets to a variety of communities. Here are some testimonials from participants:

"It was wonderful to get the opportunity to see a live play, and to be at the beautiful Stanley theatre. I felt very pampered. Thank you for a wonderful night out!"

"I would like to thank the Arts Club for making tickets available to the Kettle Society, and myself, for Made in Italy. I would not have been able to attend this performance without the generosity and community spirit of the Arts Club. It is much appreciated."

To submit an Open Theatre ticket request, please contact Mikenzie Page, Education Coordinator, at mpage@artsclub.com. Tickets are given on a case-by-case basis.

Other community engagement programs for youth include the Arts Club Drama Club, which offers students from equity-deserving communities access to drama education on their home turf, and the Grant Burnyeat Student Series, which provides VSB secondary schools with complimentary tickets to Arts Club shows.

We are incredibly excited to share the news that longtime patron Dr. Lee Grills has stepped forward with a commitment to an annual award to support a ten-week internship at the Arts Club. In partnership with Capilano University, the Arts Club will award one annual internship from either the School for Performing Arts or the Arts & Entertainment Management program. This ten-week internship allows for on-the-job experience at a professional theatre company and provides networking opportunities and references for future employment.

The annual award is named in recognition of George and Dr. Lee Grills for their incredible contribution to the Arts Club.

George and Lee first became involved as ticket buyers at the Seymour Stage and soon became subscribers, donors, and eventually, George joined the Board of Directors in 1998. George would help lay the groundwork for what the organization is today. One of his first suggestions was to eliminate the general “rush” seating that meant standing in long lines and coming at least an hour before the show to get a good seat. Having sat on other charitable boards, including for the Vancouver Playhouse, it was George who insisted that the board members pay for their seats and become donors. Up until this point, free tickets were considered a perk, but George argued that the board members were key advocates and should be supporting the organization financially. He also maintained that building a strong donor base was the only way an arts group could thrive. It was shortly thereafter that the Artistic Director’s Circle (ADC) was formed.

George and Lee, along with a small number of dedicated theatre lovers would gather at the Stanley Theatre’s Bruce Milley Lounge. While the ADC was initially no more than a dozen, it has now grown to include more than 130 households.

George was also adamant that the Arts Club needed corporate support. He introduced Vancouver business leaders to the company and put tremendous energy into persuading companies that they had a role to play in the Arts Club’s future.

Lee, who continues to be a staple at Arts Club’s events, whether it is an opening night or a fundraising dinner, said, “Our interest in theatre stemmed from childhoods where we depended on friends and neighbours for entertainment. Funding education for worthy people stemmed from our own life experiences. George from teaching math in his Peace Corps days in the Philippines. Mine from being really poor and being denied a scholarship to UBC as it would be 'wasted on a girl.' I am really pleased to be able to give a young person an opportunity to intern with the Arts Club."

The first recipient of the award is Danelle Schiele from Capilano’s Arts & Entertainment Management program. Danelle described her experience thus far: “Now in my first practicum semester, being involved in the Arts Club has been very enlightening and helpful as I have been able to put everything I have learned in this program into practice. I have discovered how much work it takes to run a theatre company and the vast amount of people who are behind the success and execution of these amazing shows. I am looking forward to continuing my growth in this position!”

The Arts Club is incredibly grateful to Lee Grills for making this opportunity possible.

Fates Fest 2024

Fates Fest was a theatre festival/celebration dedicated to the advancement of femme and non-binary voices in key creative roles. Promethean Theatre programmed three brand NEW femme works in development that were showcased at the BMO Theatre Centre. During the daytime, the ACTC Youth Committee, Bramble Theatre Collective, Momentum 180 Collective, and YVR Fat Clothing Swap offered free workshops, panels, and events for the community to engage, learn, and come together while celebrating the strength and joy of femme and non-binary voices.

Summer Workshop Series 2024

The Summer Workshop series offered AFFORDABLE pay-what-you-can workshops such as: Acting Is Embarrassing!, Desk Jokes to Survive Dark Times and Devising Theatre.

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Spring Workshop Series 2024

The Spring Workshop Series specialized class was designed to empower participants by addressing their concerns and challenges in dance auditions, ensuring a transformative learning experience.

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Fat Clothing Swap 2023

The Arts Club partnering with YVR Fat Clothing Swap and Steffanie Davis, playing Isabelle in Someone Like You, hosted a plus-sized clothing swap. Participants were able to browse and pick items from the donated clothing and browsed local size inclusive vendors.

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Summer Workshop Series 2023

The Summer Workshop series offered seven FREE workshops, taught across three days such as: Enhancing your acting skills, Channeling your inner villain, Learning how to juggle and perform magic tricks.

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Spring Workshop Series 2023

The Spring Workshop Series offered FREE theatre workshops for youth and adults: Climate theatre: embodying the world around us, Finding character in choreography, Speaking and Singing in a character voice, The director’s first steps, The generous playwright and Three-ring theatre.

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Deaf-Led Theatre Workshop

In 2023, the Arts Club was proud to offer a free workshop series for Deaf community members who wanted to learn how to create and develop work for the theatre.

This 9-week workshop was led by Christian Vasquez, a Deaf theatre maker and performer. There was a cabaret-style showcase at the Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre on July 30, 2023. Here is just one sample of the work that was shared at the showcase.

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Indigenous Stew Pot

Indigenous Stew Pot celebrated Indigenous voices at this cabaret-style event. It featured a variety of performances from local Indigenous artists, and was hosted by Gregory Coyes (Métis/Cree). This event complemented the production Rubaboo at the Granville Island Stage.

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Disability Artists Market 2023

Five local artists who live with various disabilities showcased their artwork from hour before showtime and post-show for 30 minutes in the Newmont Stage atrium for the production of Teenage Dick.

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Crip Cabaret: A Reclamation! 2023

Come experience disability art and justice as we gather to tell our stories through song, poetry, monologues, and so much more! A one-night only event of artists from the disability community showcasing their talent, this event complemented the production of Teenage Dick. It was hosted by Amy Amantea, a creator/performer who lives with legal blindness, neurodiversity, chronic illness, and pain.

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The Big Question: Barriers to Theatre Faced by the Deaf and Disability Community 2022

Why aren't there more people with disabilities/disabled people in the arts was a panel of theatre makers and creatives on how to make the theatre community more inclusive and accessible, and how we can increase representation of the Deaf and disability community in all that we do. We share our experience of barriers to all things theatre and celebrate our successes.

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Artists for Afghanistan

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