THEATRE IN THE COUNTRY REOPENING PLANS

As soon as we can be open for live shows we will! For now please consider taking in a Livestream show or a Zoom theatre piece. We would love to see you even if it is just online. 

After much deliberation with our team, we are able to discuss the reopening of our theatre space.

Most of this page will deal with the production side of what we are doing, but we want you to know that we are committed to ensuring the safety and health of our team and our patrons alike. 

TIC’s Commitment

• To adhere to all government guidelines as related to the services we offer.
• To prioritize the health and safety of the staff, volunteers and patrons at all times.
• To continue to provide great entertainment either at the theatre or online.
• To ensure your needs are met to the very best of our ability.

If you want more details on what TIC will be doing in terms of social distancing and other Covid related protocols you can access that information below:

TIC Online continues through the summer

June – August (every Friday & Saturday)

• Classic scripts presented on the Zoom platform
• Pay-What-You-Can Pricing from $5.
• Upcoming Shows:
  • June 5 & 6 Tartuffe by Moliere (translation by David Nicholson)
  • June 12 & 13 Curtain Raisers: Box & Cox + How He Lied To Her Husband
  • June 19 & 20 Two one-act plays by A.A. Milne
  • June 26 & 27 The 13th Chair – A closed room murder
                           

Saturday, August 8  1 – 6 PM:  TIC Open House

• See our new set-up for Socially Distant seats
• Look over our new food service area
• Ask questions
• Enjoy some of our best moments on a 12’ x 18’ Screen
• REGISTER for a time slot to drop to help reduce crowding
• Hosted by Reg & Erin Parks
• Find out about next steps for TIC and
  • Centre Stage Tours
  • TIC Academy
                        

August 20 – 22:  Downton Abbey themed Murder Mystery Weekend

• Our first live event
• Seats limited to 40 people
• Cast and Crew limited to less than 10
• Shows added if seats sell out
• Written and facilitated by local author, Elspeth Futcher
• $60 for full meal & event  
• 6 possible suspects
• Prizes for the tables that guess who the murderer is
• Tickets on sale at the end of June

2020 SEASON DATE CHANGES

• The large cast sizes and onstage proximity of these shows required them to be moved
  • Dinner With Friends: Originally Apr 2020 moved to Apr 2021
  • Catch Me If You Can: Originally June 2020 moved to June 2021
  • The Odd Couple – Female Version: Originally Sept 2020 moved to Jan 2021
  • Holiday Inn: Originally Dec 2020 moved to Dec 2021
• All tickets for these shows will be honoured in their new time slots, or can be moved to the shows in our Socially Distant Replacement Season
• Tickets for new dates will be available by the end of July 2020
• Seating Plan will shift as guidelines change from BC Health

SOCIALLY DISTANT REPLACEMENT SEASON – FALL 2020

• All shows are small cast to keep rehearsals & performances safe
• 50 people or less in the theatre during shows including TIC team members and actors
• All shows will be live streamed on the final weekend, if licencing allows

The Last Five Years – Musical (September 10 – 26, 2020)

• Small musical with a big voice. Drama Desk Winner for best music and lyrics
• 2 of TIC’s best, Rachel Stephens & Paul Kobilke take on the two lead roles
• Rachel was Esmeralda and Paul was Quasimodo in TIC’s Hunchback of Notre Dame
• Tickets for Catch Me If You Can or Holiday Inn can be transferred to this show

Sleuth – Mystery (October 15 – 31, 2020)

• Tony Winner for best play
• Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier starred in the film
• Tickets for Dinner with Friends or The Odd Couple can be transferred to this show
• Special Halloween night events

The Gift of the Magi – Musical (Dec 3 – 19, 2020)

• Delightful re-telling of the turn of the century Christmas love story by O. Henry
• A young couple in love with nothing to give each other, but the best of themselves
• Tickets for Catch Me If You Can or Holiday Inn can be transferred to this show

Below is TIC’s most current statement about preparation for reopening, and our plans for health and safety as we are presenting shows.

TIC COVID-19 Update – June 2, 2020

 What does the future of TIC hold as the province begins to open in the wake of the pandemic?

As we begin to look to the future, and the reopening of Theatre in the Country this fall we realize that theatre, and especially dinner theatre will have a different look from what it has been in the past.

Here are our current plans which follow Work Safe BC, BC Health and ActSafe guidelines. As the directives change over the next few months we will monitor and implement them accordingly.

1. SHOWS: Our planned slate of shows for 2020 was as follows:

     Dinner With Friends – April 2020
     Catch Me If You Can the Musical – June 2020
     Odd Couple: The Female Version – September 2020
     Holiday Inn The Musical – December 2020

1. Keeping events under 50 people

As of the end of May 2020 the directive for groups in a space has 2 main components that we must consider in our planning at TIC.

1. All groups must be under 50 people
   1. For TIC this means patron, cast, crew, staff & catering
   2. Would likely allow for a maximum of 35-40 patrons to be in the theatre
2. All non-bubble parties must be able to remain safely distant from others.
   1. For TIC we could do this for up to 75 people right now, but will of course remain compliant with the 50 rule until it changes.

We are blessed to have a large space at TIC where Social Distancing can be achieved with a little forethought with all parties respecting the rules.

1. Smaller Shows & Streaming

Our start up production plan is as follows. These plans will remain in place unless we receive more restrictive guidelines from the government in coming months. The general plan is to produce smaller cast shows from now until December 2020, and keep our larger shows for 2021 when we anticipate greater freedom to have larger groups in the theatre.

Essentially we are lifting our larger and socially intimate shows and moving them into 2021. In their place, we are offering a Fall 2020 Socially Distant Replacement Season.

1. New Schedule:
   1. Aug 8, 2020 – Free Open House event
   2. Aug 20-22, 2020 – Downton Abbey themed Murder Mystery Night
   3. Sept 2020 – 2 person socially distant musical – The Last Five Years
   4. Oct 2020 – Small cast British mystery play – Sleuth
   5. Dec 2020 – 6 person Christmas themed musical – The Gift of the Magi
   6. Jan 2021 – Odd Couple – Female Version (Originally slated in Sept 2020)
   7. Apr 2021 – Dinner with Friends (Originally slated in Apr 2020)
   8. June 2021 – Catch Me If You Can (Originally slated in June 2020)
   9. Sept 2021 – Play TBA
   10. Dec 2021 – Holiday Inn (Originally slated in December 2020

2. Streaming of shows
   1. Provided we obtain permission from the licensing agencies we will be professionally streaming our shows whether we have a live audience or not.
3. Replacing larger shows if necessary
   1. If the 50-person restriction remains into 2020 we will revisit our larger musicals scheduled for the Spring and next Winter. The plan would be to find smaller cast shows to put into their place with lots of lead notice to our patrons, or to find a larger venue for the shows.

1. Pre-Sale Tickets & Season Passes to Postponed Shows

For those who have purchased tickets, or hold Season passes for shows that were to be performed in our 2020 Season we thank for you for the patience and kindness you have shown to us. It is much appreciated.

Here is the plan for those holding tickets to postponed shows:

1. Existing tickets will be honoured at the same show when it is remounted according to the schedule above. Your tickets will automatically be transferred to a matching date in the new schedule.
2. Due to a socially distant updated seating arrangement, you will be contacted in the order of when you bought your tickets to select new seats.
3. You can also choose to transfer your tickets to the new smaller cast shows offered in the fall if you wish.

We will be watching continually for new direction from provincial health authorities. We do anticipate a months long return to be able to use our theatre to at least half of its original capacity.

• Dining at TIC

There will be a significant number of changes to how we handle food and beverage service when Dinner Theatre events return to TIC. They include, but are not limited to:

1. Providing and maintaining an approved plan from Works Safe BC and BC Health.
2. Food service will no longer be buffet style with shared utensils, but rather a service where your food is plated to your requests by a gloved and masked catering server.
3. Coffee, Tea, sugar, cream, salt and pepper will all be single service
4. Two person tables will be arranged in advance to groups of 1-6 patrons with appropriate distances between each table.
5. All cutlery, dishes, cups and mugs will be washed at a high temperature with detergent just before use in the space.
6. Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the theatre.
7. Staying up to date with all government guidelines for food and beverage service.

TIC’s Commitment

• To adhere to all government guidelines as related to the services we offer.
• To prioritize the health and safety of the staff, volunteers and patrons at all times.
• To continue to provide great entertainment either at the theatre on online.
• To ensure your needs are met to the very best of our ability.