Providence theatre program hiatus source for concern

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/02/2016 (2995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The finishing touches were being applied on Providence University College’s finest display of its theatre offerings a year ago this month. They pulled no punches. That play was an eye-opening examination of residential schools from a unique context: the nuns who carried out the wrongdoings. Hundreds took in each showing of the unflinching history lesson.

A year later, those same spotlights that brought the play to life have been turned off.

There is no full-length theatre production this year because there is no theatre program. The program was quietly wiped from Providence’s slate of classes—though the school says theatre is on hiatus and will return.

Marie Raynard, who most recently ran the faith-based institution’s theatre program, was saddened to hear the news.

She knows the program better than most. A Nova Scotian, she was pulled to the Prairies to study theatre at Providence in 2003 and stayed for the better part of 12 years. Raynard graduated in 2006 and by 2009 found herself as an adjunct professor in the program. She stuck around, eventually becoming lead instructor.

“I think that it’s a great loss in terms of what makes Providence special,” Raynard said from Halifax where she works in Dalhousie University’s theatre department. “I think the full-length production particularly, and the theatre program and all that went along with that in terms of students directing plays and performing plays throughout the year, taking theatre into high schools in Manitoba. I think that there’s a lot of creativity and heart lost there.”

Providence says theatre will return, according to spokesperson Jerrad Peters.

“Our theatre professor relocated to the east coast. We didn’t have time to find a suitable replacement, especially given the quality that we like to have associated with our productions,” he said. “What I do know is that theatre productions will continue to be a part of the Providence experience going forward.”

Peters could not say with certainty the program would return for the 2016-17 school year but said there was no decision by the board to scrap the theatre program.

Raynard presumed theatre would continue on without her when she returned to the Maritimes. She says Providence asked her for suggestions on who could take over her role.

Student enrollment has never been significant. There were about 10 students in the three-year major program last year, with three of those graduating last spring, said Raynard. She adds the remaining students either went to a different post-secondary institution to finish their schooling or remained at Providence, previously satisfying the requirements of their major.

Theatre’s influence expanded beyond the handful of students pursing the major, however. Some students took the minor option or enrolled in introductory theatre classes. A touring troupe visited high schools and dozens of students assumed various roles on stage and behind the scenes in major theatre productions, like 2015’s Sisters, a look at the residential schools crisis.

“I know that there are students who had their minds changed about whether they would stay at Prov by participating in the full-length production,” recalled Raynard. “It encouraged them to stay.”

Raynard is certainly among the program’s biggest advocates, who no doubt would like theatre to enrich the Providence community again.

“Some of the absolute best experiences of my life were had there, on that stage, or watching my students perform on the stage,” she said. “Having been in that place as a student and then to be there as a teacher was very powerful for me. I’ll never forget it.”