Mandate
Western Gold Theatre Society is a professional company of established theatre artists committed to producing plays of the highest quality and relevance to audiences of all ages. As part of this mandate Western Gold also mentors emerging younger professional artists as they ‘share the boards’ with us.
We present both theatre classics and newly commissioned Canadian works that reflect and illuminate the rich experience of our senior community. The one thing all productions have in common and which guides our artistic choices is the all-important important theme of how all of us embrace and/or confront our lives and the passage of time.
Objectives
To create a range of opportunities for senior artists to continue their life-long work.
To mentor emerging artists in all aspects of the performing arts.
To engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds in theatrical performances by senior artists.
To encourage conversation amongst the Canadian public on the impact and joys of aging.
HISTORY
Western Gold Theatre was founded in 1994 by Joy Coghill O.C. in response to the dearth of roles for veteran professional artists in the Vancouver area. It is the only professional theatre company in Western Canada solely devoted to providing work for and supporting senior artists.
Western Gold has been helmed for the majority of its time by a number of Canada’s leading theatre artists including: Founder Joy Coghill, Artistic Directors Pamela Hawthorne, Colleen Winton, Anna Hagan and General Manager Glenn MacDonald –trail blazers all.
Tanja Dixon-Warren was appointed Artistic Director in 2019.
In the early days Western Gold toured Senior Centres. Our partnership in 2010 with PAL Studio Theatre allowed Western Gold to take up residence in Coal Harbours’s intimate theatre-in-the-sky; build on Joy’s inaugural production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1995); and successfully produce one mainstage presentation of classic work by a major playwright each year.
Under the creative vision of Anna Hagan, in 2012, Western Gold launched the highly popular On Our Feet (OOF!) Staged Reading Series , which presents two plays per year, each with all the hallmarks of a full production (intricate blocking, sets, costumes, sound etc.).
This same year we also initiated our Mentorship program and Anna coined our tagline Creativity has no Expiry Date!
Now in its third decade, Western Gold is a force to be reckoned with! Its focus on everything golden – text based classics; newly commissioned works by senior artists; intergenerational knowledge sharing; and on-going professional development makes it unique in its region, and its reputation for excellence has earned the respect of audience, critics and colleagues.
For full programming history Vintage Western Gold
OUR TEAM
Tanja Dixon-Warren
Artistic Director
[email protected]
Glenn Macdonald
General & Production Manager
[email protected]
Ellie O’Day
Publicist
Stephanie Hargreaves
Casting
Joy-Anna Leggasee
Head Hog of Fundraising!
Seamus Fera
Literary Manager
[email protected]
Kate Lancaster
Creative Marketing Manager
Contact Us
Phone: 604-363-5734
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
PO Box 93513,
Vancouver RPO Nelson Park, BC V6E 4L7
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Supported By
The McGrane-Pearson Endowment Fund,
held at Vancouver Foundation
Stewart Fund,
held at Vancouver Foundation
McLean Foundation
Community Partners
We gratefully acknowledge that we are on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam),Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. We deeply thank them for so generously allowing us to live, work, and play on their beautiful lands.
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