By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 5, 2005
The most intimate performing arts theatre in the city is threatening to close its doors this winter unless it can find a benefactor willing to keep the spirit of acting alive in North Burnaby.
Jim Purcell, the Gemini-award winning actor and founder of the Burnaby Theatre and Film Acting Society, said he has until mid-January to find someone to take over his theatre's operations, or else the doors will close for good.
"It would be a shame if this closed," Purcell told the Burnaby NOW recently. "But it's hard to find someone who's willing to put all the work into this.
"I've put feelers out, but it will be hard to find someone who does what I did. I put my own money up and I do everything there," said Purcell, who chose the plays, hired the actors and was the guiding light behind the 10 professional plays presented in the space since it opened in early 2003.
"Whoever comes in to run it either has to have a big army behind him, or they have to do the kind of work that I did, and that's not easy," he said.
The theatre was originally opened as an offshoot of his theatre and acting society, giving local actors an opportunity to showcase their talents, while bringing the benefits of a community theatre to his new home in North Burnaby.
But things came to a crunch this fall when Purcell opened the Diabetic Pantry, a food store for people with the blood sugar disorder.
Due to the demands of his new business, he simply does not have the time to devote to the theatre project any longer.
While Purcell has had preliminary discussions with two different theatrical production companies from Vancouver, nothing formal has been decided yet.
Purcell believes an active community theatre can provide a valuable service to a neighbourhood like the Heights.
Purcell tells the story of what happened during one of his early productions when there were a few empty seats in the house, and he spotted a group of teens congregating around the outside of the Heights resource centre, where the small stage is located.
Against the objections of the building's janitor, who claimed the young people were "nothing but trouble," Purcell invited the kids into the show.
Unfortunately, the group of seven young people disappeared during intermission, and when the show ended, Purcell and the janitor discovered that they'd gone upstairs and scattered toilet paper and paper towels around the place.
"The janitor came up to me and said 'See, I told you so,'" Purcell recalled. "But the next week the kids came back and asked if they could see the second half of the show that they missed.
"I told them, yeah, they could come back, but they have to understand this is not like TV. If they talk the actors can hear them and it can ruin their concentration," Purcell said.
"So they sit down and they're perfect angels. Then they leave - no problem."
Purcell said the story points to the kind of everyday learning experience that a small theatre can provide.
"This is an education for most kids who don't know a thing about theatre," he said.
"Most theatres have 250 or more seats, so if you're 20 rows back, you're not going to see everything. But in this little theatre, you are right in front of the action. You are the wall.
"So most kids aren't used to seeing that kind of intimacy, and they get to feel the energy. They get to be right in the action, like they're living it.
"That's an experience they're not used to. It's something unique to small theatre."
Besides theatrical productions, Purcell has also opened the theatre to other community events such as Friday night 'classic film nights' and for meetings of local community groups.
City council has set a mid-January deadline for him to decide whether to renew his lease on the space or to make the room available for another, non-theatrical, use.
Anyone with an interest in keeping the Heights Performance Centre going can call Purcell at 604-294-4166.
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