Young Centre for the Performing Arts
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The Young Centre for the Performing Arts is a theatre in the
Distillery District The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of Downtown Toronto, downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and W ...
in downtown
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada. It is a brand-new theatre built into 19th-century-era Victorian industrial buildings. It is home to the
Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...
and the
theatre school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...
at
George Brown College George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and ...
.


History

Gooderham and Worts Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged fir ...
was founded by
James Worts James Worts (c. 1792 – February 18, 1834) was one of the co-founders of the Gooderham and Worts partnership which, after his death, evolved from a simple mill into a prosperous distilling company which eventual become the largest in the worl ...
, a British immigrant, in 1832. The company became one of the world's largest distilleries, and in 1859 it constructed the largest distillery in Canada, also one of the largest in North America. This distillery is what remains today of the 'Distillery District' at the bottom of Trinity Street in Toronto, Ontario. In the first year of the new distillery, G&W produced 849,700 U.S. gallons of proof spirits, a value equivalent to one quarter of the entire Canadian production at that time. What is now known as the Young Center For the Performing Arts was originally built as tank house 9 and tank house 10, part of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The buildings were constructed in 1888 following the 1885 passage of the Canadian law which required that all
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
must be aged for two years before being consumed. Prior to this law change, whisky was often consumed quickly after it was distilled; the law change meant that Gooderham and Worts needed to increase storage space for their product. Both structures were designed by David Roberts Jr., who designed many of the Distillery's buildings.


Current use

Currently the two tank houses with their additions/renovations house a performance center which combines studio spaces with theatre spaces. The building is a partnership between the Soulpepper Theatre company and the
George Brown Theatre School The George Brown Theatre School is a drama school in Toronto, Canada. Providing training in multiple forms and practices of theatre, it is one of the highest-regarded conservatory schools for drama in the country. The school was founded in 1976 as ...
. The building houses four theaters and four studio spaces, all of which are shared by the two entities that make up the owners of the complex. In December 2000 Paul Carder, then the Dean of Business and Creative Arts at George Brown College, approached
Albert Schultz Albert Hamilton Schultz (; born July 30, 1963) is a former Canadian actor, director and the founding artistic director of Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company. He resigned his position with Soulpepper after sexual allegations against Schultz bec ...
the Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company with the suggestion that a partnership be struck between Soulpepper and the George Brown Theatre School. In November 2001, the Distillery Historic District Project was announced and the partnership of George Brown College (GBC) and Soulpepper immediately began negotiations with the Cityscape Development group to take possession of Tank Houses 9 and 10 creating what would become the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. The vision of this partnership was to create a performing arts, education and community outreach facility that would be home to George Brown Theatre School's celebrated three-year professional actor training program;
Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...
with its three-tiered mandate of performance, artist training and youth outreach; and Toronto's independent arts community. This facility, in which the performance and education of all performing disciplines would be undertaken, would be unique in the world. In 2002, the architectural firm of
KPMB Architects KPMB is a Canadian architecture firm founded by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, in 1987. It is headquartered in Toronto, where the majority of their work is found. Aside from designing buildings, the firm a ...
was hired to design the centre with Thomas Payne as the principal architect, Chris Couse as senior associate and Mark Jaffar as project architect. The design created four flexible, dedicated, indoor performance venues, an outdoor concert venue and artist garden, four studios, two classrooms, a wardrobe production facility, a student lounge, administration for GBC and Soulpepper. At the centre of the building is a soaring public space, which includes a café/bar, a bookstore and a reference library. The total cost of the facility is $14 million and GBC and Soulpepper Theatre Company have equally shared the cost. The shared dream became a reality in 2003, when David Young through the Michael Young Family Foundation contributed a lead gift of $3 million to what is now known as the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Shortly thereafter, the
Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor†...
through the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...
made a $2 million contribution and the Government of Canada through the Department of Heritage Cultural Spaces Program contributed $600,000. George Brown College and Soulpepper Theatre undertook separate capital campaigns to fund their respective shares in the project. In June 2004, Anne Sado, President of George Brown College, and Albert Schultz, Soulpepper's Artistic Director, presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. On January 15, 2006 the Young Centre for the Performing Arts officially opened to the public.


References


External links


Young Centre for the Performing Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Centre For The Performing Arts Theatres in Toronto KPMB Architects buildings