Formation | 1975 |
---|---|
Type | Theatre group |
Purpose | Theatre for Young Audiences |
Location |
|
Artistic director(s) | Anita Rochon |
Notable members | Patrick McDonald, Dennis Foon, Ivan Habel, Nadine Carew, Peter Zednyk |
Green Thumb Theatre (also known as the The Green Thumb Players Society and simply as Green Thumb) is a Canadian children's theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1975 [1] by playwrights Dennis Foon and Jane Howard Baker. In addition to writing plays produced by the theatre, Foon served as artistic director from 1976 until 1988.
The company is known for developing original Canadian plays that explore contemporary issues faced by young people. Their work has been produced by 200 theatre companies worldwide and translated into "Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Hebrew and Japanese." [2] The company has also taken their own productions on tours.
The pair wanted to develop original works for young audiences that would treat difficult contemporary issues. The company has become known worldwide not only for its works but for its own touring productions. Its plays have been translated into numerous languages, including "Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Hebrew and Japanese." [2] Some 200 theatre companies have produced Green Thumb's plays.
Foon and Baker co-wrote New Canadian Kid (1981), which became the company's signature play. It is about a young immigrant boy who struggles with culture shock and bullying after settling in Canada with his family. It won a British Theatre Award for Best Children's Play in 1985. The play has been produced worldwide for close to 40 years. [2]
Green Thumb operates in a former school house located in East Vancouver. [3] In 1980, Green Thumb produced Feeling Yes, Feeling No , [4] as part of a sexual abuse prevention program. [5]
Green Thumb performed the premiere of Colin Thomas's play One Thousand Cranes (1983). [6] Morris Panych has written several plays for the company that have also toured internationally. [7]
Patrick McDonald is the second artistic director of Green Thumb, serving in that position from 1988 to 2020. [8] The company's production of Celestial Being received the 2015 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for outstanding production for young audiences. [9] Also that year, Green Thumb performed George F. Walker's Moss Park. [10]
Rachel Aberle was the third artistic director of Green Thumb, serving in the role from January 2021 to December 2023.
Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in The Vancouver Sun described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world."
The Arts Club Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1958. It is the largest urban not-for-profit theatre company in the country and the largest in Western Canada, with productions taking place at the 650-seat Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, the 440-seat Granville Island Stage, the 250-seat Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre, and on tour around the province. The company celebrated its 50th season in 2014 and produced its 600th production in 2017.
Marie Clements is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. She was the founding artistic director of Urban Ink Productions, and is currently co-artistic director of Red Diva Projects, and director of her new film company Working Pajama Lab Entertainment. Clements lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. As a writer she has worked in a variety of media including theatre, performance, film, multi-media, radio and television.
Antony Holland was an English actor, playwright and theatre director who until his death in 2015 lived on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Kathryn Shaw is a Canadian director, actor, and writer living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From 1985 to 2020 she was the Artistic Director of Studio 58, a boring acting and production training school at Langara College.
Dennis Foon is a Canadian playwright, producer, screenwriter and novelist.
Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of Canadian works. Since 2016, the Artistic Director has been Roy Surette, who previously held the position in the 1990s. Former Artistic Directors are Ian Fenwick, Gordon McCall, John Cooper and Katrina Dunn, who served in that position from 1997 to 2016.
John Paterson is a Canadian director, devisor, dramaturg, translator, actor and theatre creator who works across Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. His favourite credits include directing the installation of The List (BoucheWHACKED!), the site-specific The Women of Troy and F. Garcia Lorca’s The Love of Don Perlimplin for Belisa ; production dramaturgy on the English language premiere of H. Muller’s Macbeth: nach Shakespeare; and playing Adolf Hitler and Walt Disney in The Blue Light and Scheffler in The Ugly One.
Carousel Theatre 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.
The Jessie Richardson Theatre Award is given to recognize achievement in professional theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Jessies are presented by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society, at an annual ceremony. The awards are named after Jessie Richardson, co-founder of the Playhouse Holiday Theatre, local actor, director and designer.
Jennifer Lines is a Canadian theatre and television actress.
Persephone Theatre is a regional theatre company in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company was founded in 1974 by director Brian Richmond and sisters Janet Wright and Susan Wright and named after the Greek goddess Persephone. The first season performances were held at the Mendel Art Gallery, with the second season at the University of Saskatchewan's Greystone Theatre and the third season at the St. Thomas Wesley Church hall.
Aaron Bushkowsky is a Canadian writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Virtual Stage is a professional multimedia theatre company based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2000 by Artistic Director Andy Thompson, The Virtual Stage focuses on the investigation of emerging technologies in theatre and often utilizes cinematic techniques and elements of film in its live productions.
David Diamond is a founding member of the Vancouver based theatre company Theatre for Living. He is the originator of Theatre for Living techniques. He was Artistic Director of the theatre company from 1984 until 2018 when, with the support of the board of directors and Staff he decided to 'devolve' the organization. Diamond continues to offer Theatre for Living workshop processes on many issues with communities who invite him to do so and also offers training workshops in Theatre for Living techniques. He is also a keynote speaker, author and actor.
Andy Thompson is a Canadian actor, theatre artist, filmmaker and teacher.
Feeling Yes, Feeling No is a film series produced and distributed by the National Film Board of Canada to teach children between the ages of six and twelve to avoid being sexually assaulted by people they trust, family members, and strangers. The films consist of recordings of a play that began development in 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Green Thumb Theatre. Dennis Foon, Wendy Van Reisen, and Fran Gebhard finished writing the play in 1982. Initially performed in workshops with children, the play was very successful. The filmed version of the play consists of four films directed by Moira Simpson and released in 1984 along with accompanying printed matter intended to be used together as a sexual assault prevention program. The program is six hours long and explains the difference between good and bad physical intimacy. The series uses the terms 'yes' feelings and 'no' feelings and focuses on role-playing. The program was first implemented in primary schools in British Columbia and later spread to other Canadian provinces. In a 1991 study, 286 children in grades three and four went through the program and another 113 children were used as a control group. The study found that the children who went through the program had greater knowledge about sexual assault than the control children, and that the children who went through the program were slightly better than the control children at distinguishing between safe and unsafe situations.
Peter Anderson is a Canadian-American playwright.
Realwheels Theatre is a Canadian disability theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Realwheels was founded in 2003 by James Sanders and has since received multiple Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and nominations.