Duane Hicks
Fort Frances Little Theatre has a new home.
As of Dec. 1, the troupe not only will be able to store its props and stage equipment at Knox United Church here, but perform on the stage at McMillan Hall, as well.
Cathy Richards of Little Theatre said the group is thrilled with the new arrangement.
“I guess it all started when I saw the Kenora theatre group,” she noted.
“They are based out of a church so that’s what made me think, ‘Oh my gosh, I would love to have something like that.’
“So we started talking to Knox United because I thought it a pretty progressive church, and we started the conversation and brought our proposal to the board,” Richards added.
“Basically, in exchange for storage and a place to rehearse, we’ll be able to offer them some proceeds—whether it be the meals or the refreshments,” she explained.
“If they’re interested in providing the meal [for a dinner theatre performance], we’ll give them first crack to do a meal.”
Randy DeGagne, chair of the Knox United church council, said it’s a “win-win situation” for both parties.
“It’s nice to be able to give them a home,” he remarked.
“And we’re pretty excited about the possibilities of being able to have more of the community see the facility since it’s now pretty much handicapped-accessible with barrier-free washrooms and all of that.”
DeGagne noted Little Theatre approached Knox United initially. But by coincidence, their request fit perfectly with Knox’s ongoing efforts to open up its facility to a wider variety of users.
“We want to be able to open the facility to the community,” he noted.
“There aren’t a lot of facilities like this around that are so accessible to people.
“We are entering into it as a partnership with Little Theatre, and are hoping that we can both benefit from it in terms of community involvement and appreciation from us for the community in being able to offer a venue for them they know is there,” DeGagne added.
“It’s exciting for us to be able to make better use of our facility,” he enthused.
“We’re just hoping it blossoms into a really, really good partnership.”
DeGagne said the arrangement for a one-year trial basis to make sure it works for both parties.
“We want to work with them and help them be successful,” he noted.
The new digs are a major improvement for Little Theatre.
“Right now, we have all of our stuff stored in a garage—and the house that the garage belongs to is up for sale,” noted Richards.
“So we’ve been kind of waiting for it to sell.”
What’s more, the group has had no fixed place to rehearse or perform.
Every time Little Theatre did a production, its members would have to haul sets, lighting, and sound equipment to wherever they were performing, set it up, do the play, and then take it all down and move the gear back into storage.
Now, they’ll be able to do it all in McMillan Hall at Knox.
Not only is it a lot easier on Little Theatre members, but it will allow for greater flexibility when scheduling performances.
For example, the troupe could put on a play one weekend, then have an encore performance the following weekend.
In the past, they could perform one weekend, then had to take down all of their sets and equipment so the performance space could be used for other purposes.
This made it prohibitive to do any performance for longer than a few nights in a row.
Richards said there are almost limitless possibilities for the partnership that will benefit Little Theatre, Knox United, and the community in general.
In addition to plays and dinner theatres, Knox United could be a site for a summer drama camp or a “haunted house” next Hallowe’en.
“I think the potential is there,” Richards enthused. “We can do some really neat stuff.”
Richards noted Little Theatre is not being restricted to performing at McMillan Hall, and they could stage plays elsewhere if need be.
“Once we get our lights hung and things are more permanent, I can’t see us doing it anywhere but there, but you never know,” she conceded.
“We’ll see.”
