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27-592: Bromley Little Theatre is a community theatre in Bromley in the London Borough of Bromley , England and is a member of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain and its president is the actor Michael York . The theatre was established in 1938 on its present site which was converted from an old Victorian bakery. The theatre has over 1,000 members split into full and audience-only groups, all

54-567: A script-oriented New Works programme and most recently, current Artistic Director Andy McKim opened the theatre's doors to anyone with new ideas for Passe Muraille's new Five-minute Pitch programme. Many successful alternative theatre companies developed within Passe Muraille's walls. Buddies in Bad Times , which is committed to supporting LBGT voices, the feminist Nightwood Theatre , Newfoundland's CODCO , Necessary Angel Company and

81-491: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Community theatre There is a certain obligation that community theatre is held to because of the personal and physical connection to its own community and the people within that community. Community theatre is understood to contribute to the social capital of a community, insofar as it develops the skills, community spirit, and artistic sensibilities of those who participate, whether as producers or audience members. It

108-577: Is a tenet of modern church theatre. In addition to performing in the church itself, many parishes have halls for performances. In the nineteenth century, Christians in European and North American often performed plays in church halls or other rented spaces, often using the proceeds from donations and tickets for charity. Soviet initiatives like the Petrograd Politprosvet and Central Agitational Studio performed improvisational theatre in

135-643: Is on Ryerson Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood of Toronto. One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Garrard , who started the company out of Rochdale College . Its intention was to create a distinctly Canadian voice in theatre. It was conceived with the notion that theatre should transcend real estate and that plays can be made and staged anywhere — in barns, in auction rings, in churches, bars, basements, lofts, even in streetcars. The company

162-483: Is used as a tool for social development , promoting ideas like gender equality , human rights , environment, and democracy. Participants might identify issues and discuss possible solutions. Such plays are rarely performed in traditional playhouses but rather staged in public places, traditional meeting spaces, schools , prisons , or other institutions, inviting an often spontaneous audience to watch. Partly inspired by Antonio Gramsci 's interpretation of culture,

189-545: The National Theatre School and were doing some very good improvisationally written shows and that sort of got me excited.” He has stated that he was also inspired by Chinese theatre he had read about. The Farm Show is arguably the most significant collective creation in TPM’s history. In 1972, Thompson and a group of actors went out into farming country around Clinton in southwestern Ontario. They lived with

216-575: The 1920s as a pedagogical project to tell stories about Marxist values and anti-capitalist enlightenment. In 1923, the Twelfth Communist Party Congress voted to support their work for the improvement of proletarian life. The performers rejected traditional forms of theatre and called themselves activists instead. Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario , Canada . It

243-487: The 19th century and presented amateur performances every year since 1867. The American Association of Community Theatre represents community theatres in the U.S., its territories, and theatre companies with the overseas U.S. military services. Canada has an extensive network of amateur theatre groups known as community players, and many belong to provincial associations, as in Ontario, where many companies are members of

270-625: The Association of Canadian Theatres (ACT-CO). The alternative theatre movement, which had a nationalist focus when it emerged in Canada in the late 1960s and early 1970s, produced a number of professional companies that focused on local communities and histories. Theatre Passe Muraille sent ensemble casts into rural communities to record local stories, songs, accents, and lifestyle. Their employment of collective creation served as an inspiration and spread across Canada. Passe Muraille facilitated

297-486: The Blyth Summer Festival, among others, all had their beginnings with TPM. Many well-known performers, writers and theatre artists, including Eric Peterson, David Fox, Mary Walsh , Rick Salutin and Linda Griffiths worked with Passe Muraille early in their careers. Writers Ann-Marie MacDonald , Michael Ondaatje , Maria Campbell and Timothy Findley have all staged plays at Passe Muraille. The building

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324-843: The Colway Theatre Trust, now known as the Claque Theatre and run by UK practitioner Jon Oram. Community theatre in the Netherlands came about either from professional radical people's theatre companies, or as an outgrowth of the theatre in education movement. The big theatre in the Netherlands which was created originally for theatre in education and subsequently community theatre, is the Stut Theatre. This theatre idea began in 1977 by Jos Bours and Marlies Hautvast, who when they first started creating plays at

351-628: The Oppressed to take theatre to the people and create productions by and for specific communities. Second generation companies, such as Mixed Theatre Company (Toronto), and Stage Left Productions in Canmore, Alberta, continue this practice in the present day. Drawing on Brechtian and Forum Theatre techniques, and “making the invisible visible,” Stage Left has a long history as a grassroots group of “diverse artists and non-artists/catalysts of change who create pathways to systemic equity – in and through

378-639: The Stut Theatre, realized this kind of community theatre had a completely different approach from theatre in education. Community theatre in the United States was an outgrowth of the Little Theatre Movement , a reform movement which began in 1912 in reaction to massive Victorian melodramatic theatre spectacles. However, the country's oldest extant community theatre venue, Gates Hall in Pultneyville, New York, has existed since

405-589: The actors themselves. The use of collective creation at Passe Muraille began when Paul Thompson, John Palmer and Martin Kinch found themselves with many ideas for shows but no scripts. Thompson stated that “the collective-creation idea was inspired obviously by the Living Theatre , but more closely by a company called Theatre d’Aujourd’hui … There were a group of actors who had come out of the French section of

432-691: The arts,” and their activities “promote equity & diversity, provide support services for still-excluded artists and community groups, and produce radical forms of Political Art." In Western Australia , there are a substantial number of community theatre groups who have banded together to form the Independent Theatre Association. The South Canterbury Drama League is a community theatre based in Timaru , New Zealand. Ecclesiastical communities often encourage theatrical productions, be they for youth or adults. The Christmas Play

459-427: The community the show was built around saw it first and received it positively. The show premiered in the same barn the actors used for rehearsals. It was a terrific success and went on to tour. Since its inception, Passe Muraille has mentored and provided space and support to emerging theatre artists companies. In 1973, Thompson started a production-oriented "seed-show" programme. During his term, Clarke Rogers started

486-473: The farmers, worked with them, watched them and learned their stories. Then Thompson, who had been raised in farm country, required his actors to create a play, each being responsible for his or her own part. It was part of an idea that became a theme in later work: to help Canadians find new heroes and to move away from the Davy Crockett types. The impact of The Farm Show was guaranteed by the fact that

513-533: The first production of Codco , which employed personal experiences of Newfoundland culture in their shows. The 1980s witnessed an unprecedented rise in “Popular Theatre” companies, such as Headlines Theatre (Vancouver), Company of Sirens (Toronto), and the Popular Theatre Alliance of Manitoba (Winnipeg), which utilized political theatre practices such agitprop, guerilla theatre, Brecht ’s epic theatre techniques, and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of

540-799: The installation of a lighting grid. The theatre houses two stages: the "Mainspace" which seats 185 and the "Backspace" which seats 55. The space was designated a historic building in 1977 by the Toronto Historical Board under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, noting that, "the skillful use of brick and classical architectural design elements in the facade gives prominence in the neighbourhood" 2000 The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey and Alien Creature: A Visitation from Gwendolyn MacEwen by Linda Griffiths 1997 Stuck by David Rubinoff 1995 The Alistair Trilogy by Nadia Ross and Diane Cave 1993 A Play About

567-439: The novel by Margaret Laurence ; Judith Thompson's The Crackwalker ; and Lilies by Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard . The company also had success in 2001 with Michael Healey 's play The Drawer Boy , which was based on actor Miles Potter's experiences researching and developing The Farm Show . Paul Thompson brought to the company the art of “ collective creation ,” a technique in which plays are made collectively by

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594-788: The seminal theatre practitioner Augusto Boal developed a series of techniques known as the Theatre of the Oppressed from his work developing community theatre in Latin America . In Britain the term "community theatre" is sometimes used to distinguish theatre made by professional theatre artists with or for particular communities from that made entirely by non-professionals, which is usually known as " amateur theatre " or "amateur dramatics." Notable practitioners include Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop , John McGrath and Elizabeth MacLennan and their 7:84 company, Welfare State International , and Ann Jellicoe founder of

621-424: The staff, cast and crew are volunteers. The theatre's repertory members present approximately 11 shows each year as well as a number of smaller productions which are performed in the open "Bar Area". Performances run for around eight nights, apart from Sunday evenings when the theatre stage is used to showcase local or touring bands, among other events. This article about a London building or structure

648-600: The theatre for "immorality" were thrown out of court for lack of evidence. However, the success of the production was profitable enough for the company to put a down payment on a permanent theatre space. The company remains one of only a handful of non-for-profit theatres in Toronto that owns the spaces in which it performs. Other notable productions produced at Passe Muraille include O.D. on Paradise and Maggie and Pierre by Linda Griffiths ; Fire by David Young and Paul Ledoux; The Stone Angel , James Nichol's adaptation of

675-515: Was interested in the idea that theatre should endeavour to be a mirror, not a vehicle of social change. The company gained local notoriety when it was charged with obscenity for the play Futz by American playwright Rochelle Owens , about a farmer who falls in love with his pig. Jim Garrard was succeeded by Martin Kinch, who held the job of artistic director for a year (with Paul Thompson as technical director) before he went on to found Toronto Free Theatre with John Palmer and Tom Hendry . It

702-409: Was originally a bakery built in 1902 and has served several purposes over the decades. When TPM took the building over it had fallen under disrepair and large renovations were undertaken to bring the building up to the required standards. A second round of renovations began in 1983, the most important additions of which were the building of a large cruciform opening in the floor of the second storey and

729-428: Was under Thompson's directorship in the 1970s that the theatre gained its national reputation. Thompson guided the company towards a distinctive style of collective creation with plays such as The Farm Show , 1837: The Farmer's Revolt and I Love You, Baby Blue . Theatre Passe Muraille's 1975 production of I Love You, Baby Blue was seen by over 26,000 people before it was closed by the police. Charges brought against

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