Electric Company Theatre

Boca del Lupo's Kenji Maeda and Neworld Theatre's Adrienne Wong cut cake with EC Artistic Director Jon Young in shorts behind her; fans, colleagues, and neighbours mingling in the new PL1422 Studio.  All photos by Laura Efron.

The official grand opening of our new, shared studio for theatre creation, Progress Lab 1422, went down on July 3 with a turnout of about 400 over the day.  Cake, snacks and an entertainment budget was provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage, in celebration of both the studio and Canada Day.  A garden was carved out of the gritty boulevard out on the sidewalk while burgers were flipped and speeches were given by the artistic directors of the founding companies, which also include Rumble Productions, Boca del Lupo, Neworld Theatre.

The renovation of the former garment factory at 1422 William Street reached the end of its second phase on the morning of the party.  About $500,000 in work has been completed in the past year, while some of Canada's most exciting theatre projects were being created  there.  (A bunch of them happen to be travelling through Toronto, in case you're reading this from there!: Boca's An Imaginary Look at the Uncompromising Life of Joseph Smith; Neworld's Ali and Ali: The Deportation Hearings, and Electric Co's No Exit and Studies in Motion.)

Neworld's Marcus Youssef waves hello to BC's party-crashing arts cuts and gives it up for the Bank Dogs, a local Commercial Drive band, July 3 2010.

Felix Culpa's Linda Quibell and Rumble's Craig Hall give away hot dogs at the PL 1422 launch party, Jul 3 2010.

No Exit's Lucia Frangione and daughter at the PL1422 grand opening, July 3 2010.

Everett, the son of Studies in Motion actors Juno and Michael Rinaldi, performs a stress test on the new lighting grid at PL1422, July 3 2010.