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The Other Press, December 9th, /982

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Page 11

  

 

Theatre Programme : exuent ?

 

 

 

  

Dorothy Jones, last member of Theatre teaching staff.

 

 

 

The arts in Douglas College
are slowly dying. The Thea-
tre Programme, the only of
its kind in the are, is the late-
st to feel the Social Credit
scissors.

The programme’s future is
uncertain after the Spring
semester, even though $3
million were spent on con-
struction of the new theatre.

“‘TLudicrous,’’ the theatre
students say.

‘‘Douglas College is consid-
ering cancelling the progra-
mme just when the facilities
planned for it are finally
available.”’

The students have been.

working from church base-
ments, bingo halls, River-
view mental hospital, and

various college campuses
since its introduction in 1973.
The facilities will probably
be used for ‘‘general class-
room space,’’ says Jones.

‘We have not had the oppor-
tunity to develop.”’

In a recent presentation to
the Collegé-Board,. theatre
students said that an incredi-
ble sum of money was invest-
ed into the theatre itself, as
well as equipment, and to
cancel the programme would
be ridiculous.

Also presented was the pot-
ential community involve-
ment, and the opportunity
to ‘‘create a new area of art-
istic development in the city
of New Westminster.”’

When Douglas and Kwant-
len split in 1981, it was
agreed that the Performing
Arts would be assigned to
Douglas College, and the
Applied Arts would be taug-
ht in Kwantlen.

‘After next semester, we
really don’t know what’s
going to happen.”’

by Nancy Powell