THUNDER BAY – Cambrian Players has a place to call its own for the first time in its nearly 70-year existence.
The non-for-profit community theatre group on Thursday announced it has purchased the former Polish Hall building on Spring Street in the city’s east end.
“We’ve been in rented accommodation. We’ve been nomadic since 1949,” Cambrian Players president Eva Burkowski said, adding the organization sustains itself through ticket sales and donations.
“When you’re a theatre company, you acquire a lot of stuff that you don’t want to lose. That can include expensive lighting equipment and sound equipment but also costumes, props, sets, set pieces that are large and cumbersome to move. To have somewhere clean, tidy and permanent to store these is hugely comforting for us.”
The company had previously been based in a studio that it had been leasing on a month-to-month basis, a precarious situation that didn’t provide any protection if the building owner wanted to repurpose the space or sell the building.
While Cambrian Players does not currently have its own performance space, the new building isn’t planned to serve that purpose, at least not right away.
“Rehearsals and storage is the base use of the building,” Burkowski said. “Performance is something that will have to be considered down the line because there are zoning issues and permissions to be gone through and examined.”
For board members like Cheryl Silen, they immediately fell in love with nearly 90-year-old building, especially when they saw that it was already equipped with a stage.
“To have a stage to begin with is a magical thing. Whether or not it’s the right size for the stage you’re doing to perform on is a bit of a trick but you need to have the space to be able to lay that out somewhere and have the room to practice in a space that feels a bit like where you’re going to be,” Silen said.
The company worked with Northern Credit Union to secure the purchase of the building, which had been listed for a little more than $100,000.
“Just meeting with them, you could see the enthusiasm and the passion they had,” small business account manager Aaron Lagadin said.
“Being a community group and what they’ve done in the community, it made sense financially and it made sense for us to partner up with Cambrian and help them get this new home.”
The troupe's next performance, a production of Hamlet, will be held at First-Wesley United Church on Brodie Street beginning on Feb. 28.
