THE THEATRES
ST. STEPHEN H.S. DRAMA CLUB
The two theatres in St. Stephen provided me with the first locations in which I could begin my "career" as a theatre Director. The St. Stephen High School Auditorium in the original was "home" for the years 1962 -1980 and the St. Stephen High School Theatre in the "new" High School was home from 1980 until I left St. Stephen in 1989. We were fortunate to have the two theatres not only as performance venues but as our rehearsal space as well.
The SSHS Auditorium was where the successful years of the SSHS Drama Cub began and the scene of our first ever "FULL HOUSE" for the performances of "The Sound of Music". The auditorium was a two-level seating venue with a balcony that not only housed part of our audience but our "tech" booth (including from where we "flew" objects over the audience - such as the memorable giant bat in "Dracula" that provoked many screams from the unsuspecting audience as the bat swooped from stage level -over the audience heads" and disappeared up into the theatre balcony. The auditorium's seating capacity was a little over 500. The theatre had limited tech equipment and limited scenery storage space but that didn't stop us doing some "big" productions that left the audiences wanting more. Offstage we had no purpose-built facilities such as a "green room" or makeup rooms …. these were obtained by using nearby classrooms and, in particular, the Home Ec. classroom. A shallow but usable orchestra pit fronted the stage area. It now serves the Middle School as an auditorium and theatre.
the view of the audience area from the stage
view of the stage from the balcony
The theatre at the newer SSHS opened in 1980. It had a wider stage, more lighting equipment, and purpose built scenery and costume storage areas under the theatre seating area. The new theatre had a deeper orchestra pit which was not designed to make easy equipment moving in or out of the pit! The stage was originally painted a glossy olive green colour which was a nightmare to light due to the glare off the floor surface. It was perhaps "fortunate" that the new floor was scratched and had to be re-finished in a nice dull flat black. Another strange design feature was seating areas that contained a number of seats that had "restricted" views of the stage acting area due to obstacles between the audience and stage. Yet another design issue was the low ceiling above the stage which restricted the height for scenery and usage of space above the acting area. The stage did, however, have a trap door which we utilized a few times in a production. It was easier to "sell out" production as the audience capacity in the new theatre was less than that of the "old" theatre. We sold out most shows of the big musicals including having to add an additional performance of "Wizard of Oz" which sold out in less than half an hour when the extra tickets were put on sale. I shall make no comment on the theatre's decor! It was certainly a case of what could or should have been when there was the opportunity to build a new theatre! However, we DID do some great productions in this theatre.
the new SSHS stage (opened in 1980)
PURLEY HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOYS (Old Coulsdon, England)
Purley High School for Boys was a classic "traditional" all boys' school (there was an all Girls' school nearby) in which I taught for three years in the early 1970's. As well as teaching History and related subjects, I was involved in six theatre productions - three Gilbert & Sullivan operettas (as stage Director) and three "Review" type productions (as co-stage director). The"home theatre" for these shows was the school hall. It was compact and didn't have much stage space or technical equipment. Nearby classrooms served as changing rooms, makeup rooms and so on. The theatre was nearly always full for our productions. Performances were carried out in a traditional, formal style and featured invited audience guests which included local politicians and school governors. The performances were preceded by the show's directors and the invited guests being provided with "pre-show "refreshments in the school's Headmaster's study … I admit that I enjoyed this ceremony (it was a touch of class!). The hall was also our practice area … it served us well! Note that even the small stage can be fully utilized for a performance area (see pictures below)
The Purley school hall and theatre.
the stage area "dressed" for performance 
minimal but effective scenery
YALE SECONDARY SCHOOL (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Yale Secondary School in Abbotsford, B.C. is a public secondary school which has a lot of facilities for theatre - both in terms of performance and performance preparation. There are two "Drama" areas - both of which can host small scale productions with an audience of about 100. In addition, there are other areas such as the Music Room, Band Room, and Cafeteria, all of which have been used extensively in preparation of our bigger productions. The technical preparation for these shows is also able to use carpentry and metal shops and art rooms and even the school hallways!
Here's the "old" Drama Room with its small but versatile stage.
The main performance venue for our full-scale musicals is The Abbotsford Arts Centre - a full-scale, technical well-equipped venue that seats just over 700 audience. The theatre is equipped with a fully-operational fly system, scene shop, dressing rooms, a green room and a lobby area.
Abbotsford Arts Centre exterior 
Abbotsford Arts Centre interior
ABBOTSFORD TRADITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL (Abbotsford, B.C.)
ATSS theatre started the first year that the school was in existence. Its first home utilized the school gymnasium for theatre classes and the gymnasium/church stage for performances. Classrooms and a backstage area provided supporting facilities. As the productions grew bigger, the facilities became inadequate and we moved performances to the Clark Theatre (Mission, B.C.). The school change its location but the new school buildings contained no theatre based areas - although we did use the school cafeteria and the adjacent Middle School all purpose room for some rehearsals.
ATSS original campus
ATSS gym/theatre facility
(Please see Clarke Theatre, Mission notes and photos for the later ATSS performance venue)
POPPY PLAYERS (D.W.POPPY SECONDARY SCHOOL, LANGLEY B.C.)
The Poppy Players were based mainly in the school Drama Room for the majority of their rehearsal and choreography sessions with a smaller storage/rehearsal room being used for small scene work. The orchestral preparation was done in the Band Room and Choir Room, and the tech/stagecraft group worked out of the Woodwork Shop teaching area. Musical Theatre performances were performed in the school's "Dramnasium" (a hybrid small gym and theatre area used for the main shows over a period of two weeks). Support areas for costuming, makeup, green room etc were in a variety of other classroom areas. The Dramnasium had a small but growing Lighting and Sound area but the Dramnasium floor required the application of a temporary "dance floor" over the usual gym floor - a necessary but inconvenient arrangement. Theatre projection system was added recently. In addition, a system of draw curtains provided a number of useful tracks from which to suspend scenery drapes.
the Dramnasium as converted for two Musical Theatre productions
THE CLARKE THEATRE, MISSION, B.C. (Abbotsford Traditional Secondary School and Robert Bateman Secondary School)
The Clarke Theatre is owned and operated by the Mission School District, No. 75 and is a multi-purpose facility for civic and touring events. The Clarke Theatre is a 702 balcony theatre with 496 seats on the main floor and 206 in the balcony. It features state of the art equipment, a sprung dance floor, orchestra pit and 20 trap doors in the stage. There are 4 available dressing rooms, a green room and a lobby area used for displays, concession and merchandizing sales. A theatre projection system was recently added. A scenery/technical workshop is another useful backstage work area. 
Clarke Theatre entrance
the Clarke Theatre audience area
Clarke Theatre stage area
SMASH Theatre School, White Rock, B.C.
The SMASH Theatre studios are located in White Rock, B.C. The owners have recently acquired additional studio space which give s the company more preparation, rehearsal and storage space - unfortunately there is no "audience space" available. The company has used a number of theatre spaces to present its Musical Theatre productions each year. As a result, there are as many theatre variations as there are theatres. I have only worked in two of the theatres on behalf of SMASH Theatre.
The Genesis Theatre 
Genesis Theatre (interior)
The Genesis Theatre is owned by Delta School District. Its facilities include a full fly stage, cushioned stage floor,excellent acoustics, and good lighting and sound support. It seats 388 and is equipped with dressing rooms, washrooms, box office, lobby and foyer.
SMASH has also used Surrey Arts Centre
(exterior) 
(interior)
The Surrey Arts Centre seats 402. The theatre features an orchestra pit, fly gallery, fully sprung maple floor, and a green room/warm-up room.
