Outdoor theatre set to open in downtown Sudbury in 2022
The Sudbury-based performing arts group YES Theatre is set to open an outdoor theatre in the downtown core next year.
The future outdoor theatre is a $2.8 million project that will be located on Durham Street near the YMCA.
“It started really as a Covid bandaid and then it quickly became an avenue to really realizing our artistic vision and the goals that we have for the future which is to become Canada’s largest musical theatre festival,” said Alessandro Costantini, YES Theatre Artistic and managing director.
A total of $750,000 in federal money has already been secured. The performance space will be called The Refettorio, which is an old Latin term for dining hall or gathering place.
The plan is to support emerging artists and stage small scale performances, and work with other theatre art centres in the city on a multi-venue arts festival.
“We could see 8 to 10 productions happening here between the Refettorio, Place Des Arts and the Sudbury Theatre Centre,” said Costantini. “So, we are collaborating with all the other infrastructures that already exists in the city. We have the potential to welcome upwards of 1,200 patrons per day in the downtown core between the months of April of September.”
Costantini said this project would be a good economic boost for the city.
Sudbury City Councillor Deb McIntosh, along with two other councillors, brought this motion forward at a recent council meeting, where the city is looking at chipping in $50,000.
She said the YES Theatre group is worthy of this money.
"Their passion and their success so far of their productions and their fundraising and their grants that they’ve received already just proves that this is something to get behind. And I got to tel you, the production levels of these performances of YES Theatre are incredible," McIntosh said.
The goal is to break ground next year and to have the space open to the public on either August or September of 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions
'Oppenheimer' finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers' reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional.