The community’s support for a new theatre for Stelly’s Secondary School will go a long way in not just the facility but the benefits it will give students into their future.
Ron Broda, president of the Society for the Community Arts Theatre at Stelly’s (SCATS) said the big focus is what the program will do for the kids.
“I’ve seen firsthand myself what it’s done for my three daughters. It’s made them much more confident and particularly my youngest, it really brought her out of her shell,” Broda told the PNR.
He said so many people lack the confidence to promote themselves in the real world.
“(It’s about) giving kids at an early age the opportunity to be part of a performance, part of a bigger team or just find their niche.”
The idea for a new theatre began with a small group of parent volunteers and teachers who believed the theatre was inadequate for the students at Stelly’s.
SCATS received their final report from phase one of their feasibility study at the end of October.
Since then, they’ve presented to the Saanich Board of Education along with a public presentation to the community at Stelly’s, letting folks know what their findings, recommendations and challenges are going forward.
“Where we’re at now is really two-fold. We’re sharing the word with as many people as we can. In the next few weeks I’m booked to make a presentation to Central Saanich council,” said Broda, adding that he will look for their formal endorsement in principal of the project.
The project is estimated to cost between $20 to $25 million, and Broda said having it complete for 2020 isn’t impossible.
“The thing we really need to do first is make sure that there is the actual support to sustain the theatre,” he said.
They will meet with all the parent advisory councils of the schools that feed into Stelly’s and the district parent advisory council over the course of the next month, letting them know where they’re at and seeking their support.
Broda said they’ve also been following closely with the work the Capital Regional District (CRD) arts councils have been doing in terms of developing their strategy. A lot of their work, he said, ties into what they’re hoping to do as well.
“So we think there’s an opportunity to co-ordinate efforts,” he said. “We’re very hopeful for that.”
After gathering support and making their presentations, they’ll be developing their major capital raising fund campaign and going forward looking for the major donors.
“Really, there’s only two ways that this project can take off and one, the most realistic, is if there’s a really good strong business case that there’s sufficient potential users in terms of people that want to rent the space for rehearsal, rent the space for performances…”
He said if in addition to doing the productions they do through the program at Stelly’s, which is the main focus, they can bring in other travelling road shows and dramatic performances to make it a viable business.
“The other way it can happen is if there’s a community angel out there, similar to the building we’re sitting in here (the Mary Winspear Centre). The Winspear Family donated a lot to help make this go.”
He said something important to consider is what the program has done already for students and the potential it can have to keep kids in school.
When the group originally got started in this project, they talked to a lot of people, but there was one in particular who had quite the story. That individual was Adam Olsen.
“The drama musical theatre program at Stelly’s saved my life. I was so fortunate to find a place on a stage,” Olsen stated in a testimonial, read by Broda. “High school was a tough time for me and I am so grateful to have teachers in a program that supported me. The stage provided me a place to be creative. I am proud to be a Stinger and fully support this program.”
The group is still in their community engagement phase and raising capital.