Carousel Theatre (also known as Carousel Theatre For Young People ) is a professional theatre company for young audiences located in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . The company stages plays for young people, families and educators at the Waterfront Theatre and Performance Works on Granville Island and tours to elementary schools across British Columbia and Canada. It was also the first Canadian theatre company to offer signing during its performances for the hearing impaired . Carousel Theatre is a member of PACT, the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.
10-717: Carousel was founded in 1974 by Elizabeth Ball , who served as Artistic Director until 2001, when she stepped down and was replaced by Chris McGregor, who departed in 2006, and Carole Higgins until her departure from the company in July 2020. Currently, the company is under significant artistic leadership changes and board reform. In its early years, Carousel garnered attention for its adaptations of Shakespeare in modern dress. Later, it shifted its focus to adaptations of classical stories and new works by Canadian playwrights. Carousel first mounted its productions in Vancouver playhouses such as
20-851: A typical mainstage season for Carousel consists of four or five productions. It offers public performances on weekends and matinees, primarily for schools, during the week. Canadian plays that premiered at Carousel Theatre include A Christmas Carol - The Musical by Mavor Moore (in 1998), Dying to be Thin by Linda A. Carson (in 1992), and Basically Good Kids by Mark Leiren-Young (in 1993). Carousel also mounted an original production of Pierre Berton 's fable The Secret World of Og , adapted under commission by Governor General's Award -winning playwright Kevin Kerr . Other Carousel productions have included Seussical and Kim Selody's adaptation of The Hobbit . Many Canadian theatre artists, including Roy Surette, and Anna Cummer have worked for Carousel Theatre in
30-907: The Arts Club Theatre Company 's old Seymour Street theatre and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. In about 1993, it relocated to Granville Island, where it has administrative offices and three rehearsal halls. Its administrative and rehearsal space is located across the street from the Waterfront Theatre, which Carousel helped to build and is where it mounts many of its productions. When Higgins took over as Artistic Director, Carousel Theatre rebranded itself as Carousel Theatre for Young People, in order to signify its focus on children and youth. Carousel has mounted premieres of several productions, some of which it had commissioned and developed. Currently,
40-678: The YWCA Woman of Distinction nominations. BC Entertainment Hall of Fame The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in Vancouver was founded on 24 July 1992 to honour British Columbians that have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Star Walk inductees are honoured with a brass plaque on Granville Street's Walk of Fame and in a Starwalk gallery in the Orpheum . Individuals and organizations can be nominated and inducted. Vancouver Civic Theatres collaborates with
50-728: The City of Vancouver's Cultural Harmony Award. Ball has served on the advisory committees for Seniors; Women; Children, Youth, and Families; the Arts and Culture Policy Council; the Hastings Institute; and Vancouver Civic Theatres. She is vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Planning, Transportation, and Environment. She established the Poet Laureate Program for Vancouver. She helped to found and serves on
60-1699: The Metro Vancouver Cultural Committee. Ball has worked with the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame , the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, the Mavor Moore Theatre Company, and the Minerva Foundation for BC Women. Ball has served on Vancouver Public Library Board; Co-chair, Mayor's Task force on Children and Childcare; Vancouver Heritage Foundation Board; Co-chair, City of Vancouver Film Task Force; Co-chair, City of Vancouver Creative Task Force; Director, Greater Vancouver Regional District Metro; Director, Metro Labour Relations Bureau; Director, Metro Parks Committee; Vice-chair, Metro Regional Cultural Task Force and Inaugural Committee; President, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame; and Executive, Minerva Foundation for BC Women. Appointments to Council committees, advisory boards and committees and regional, provincial and national bodies include: Vice-chair, Standing Committee on Planning, Transportation, and Environment; Member, City Council Nomination Sub-Committee; Hastings Institute Board; Vancouver Civic Theatres Board; Vancouver Athletic Commission; Greater Vancouver Regional District Board (Metro Vancouver); Metro Vancouver Inter-government and Finance; Regional Culture Sub-Committee; Federation of Canadian Municipalities ; Policing & Public Safety Committee; and
70-1182: The Women in Local Government Committee. She has received the Lifetime Achievement Medallion Award from the Children's Theatre Foundation of America, the Sam Payne Award for Humanity and Integrity from the Union of BC Performers (ACTRA), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Vancouver Theatre Alliance. She has been recognized by the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame StarWalk, the Granville Island Outstanding Contribution Award, and
80-444: The decades since it was founded. In July 2020, following a petition alleging the theatre company had a toxic workplace, Carousel Theatre parted ways with longtime Artistic Director Carole Higgins. In addition to producing and staging theatrical performances, Carousel operates a theatre school for young people from the ages of 3 to 17 years old. The company also operates a "Teen Shakespeare Program" for young people aged 13 to 17 during
90-473: The months of July and August, culminating in a production staged by the teen actors. Carousel Theatre and its artists have been honoured with a number of awards. Over the years, Carousel theatre received numerous Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and nominations, including: Elizabeth Ball (politician) Elizabeth Ball is a Canadian politician, actress, and founder of several theatre companies. She served on Vancouver city council 2005 to 2018. Ball
100-860: Was elected to Vancouver City Council in 2005 and re-elected in 2011 and 2014. She ran with the Non-Partisan Association (NPA). Ball did not seek re-election in 2008 . A graduate of The Playhouse Theatre, she taught Theatre in Education at the University of British Columbia for many years. She founded the Carousel Theatre Company and School and co-founded the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island . Ball has developed productions on First Nations , AIDS , eating disorders and youth violence, as well as modern-dress Shakespeare productions. She led her company to receive
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