The folks at Massey Theatre aren’t worried about competition from the shiny new theatre in town. In fact, they’ll be helping run the new theatre at Anvil Centre.
One of the features of Anvil Centre is a new theatre, which features state-of-the-art lighting (that can be operated through a smart phone) and theatre technology, a sprung floor and versatile seating accommodating up to 364 patrons. The seats can be arranged in a number of configurations, including a theatre in the round – depending on the seating option that’s needed.
Jessica Schneider, executive director of Massey Theatre, said some of theatre’s users are taking advantage of the new theatre by adding second events to what they normally do at the uptown theatre or experimenting with a smaller event than what they would offer at the Massey. Massey Theatre will be operating the new theatre on the city’s behalf.
“We are definitely promoting to everybody to find the best venue for them and matching them up for what we know they need and what their capacity is to sell tickets as well,” she said. “It will provide a really good option.”
Massey Theatre has 1,260 seats – making it the largest performing arts theatre in New Westminster. The theatre is slated to be replaced as part of the new high school project.
“We don’t know the exact future of the Massey,” Schneider said. “There will be a time when it will be out of commission for a little while. Those users, hopefully, will have made some transitional plans to be here. It’s going to take innovation on their parts to scale down, or run longer or do more than one production and those kind of things in order to meet their different requirements.”
Having another theatre in town will be helpful to groups during the time that the Massey isn’t open, Schneider said.
“Definitely, in the theatre community, more theatres are a good thing,” she said. “There is no sense of this impinging. It’s great. It’s also a great place to grow emerging productions that can’t make the leap to something like the Massey right now, but maybe in five years from now or 10 years from now they’ll be ready for that house. By having a connection back and forth, with us here as an operator, we will be able to encourage them.”
Built in 1949, Massey Theatre is a registered non-profit society that has its own board of directors. The city is home to several other theatres, including the Bernie Legge Theatre in Queen’s Park, the Douglas College theatre and the Columbia.
A literary event will be the first event in the theatre in October, with future events including a musical theatre revue and performances related to banquets and dinners in the Anvil Centre conference centre.
