Phoenix Theatre (1981)

 

In keeping with the academic philosophy of the university's theatre program, this building was designed around three intimate and diverse theatrical spaces that might best serve the combined needs of teaching and performance. It contains a traditional proscenium-arch stage with full fly gallery (the 210-seat "Roger Bishop Theatre"), a thrust stage (the 196-seat "Chief Dan George Theatre") and a completely flexible studio space (the "Barbara McIntyre Theatre"). The backstage and above-stage working areas of all three theatres are interconnected for maximum efficiency. Surrounding these performance spaces are faculty offices, classrooms, seminar rooms, studios, design offices, scene shop and costume rooms, dressing rooms and lobby areas. The building is of structural steel construction with exterior in brick masonry and metal siding.

 

Names

Roger J. Bishop, B.A., M.A., B.LS., was founding Head of the University English Department, serving Victoria College and UVic from 1945 to 1971. His long association with the student Players' Club and his own imaginative and persistent efforts led to the establishment of the Theatre Division, later to become the Theatre Department in the Faculty of Fine Arts. He made many other important contributions to the institution, most notably in the development of the library and in the planning of the physical campus.

Chief Dan George, born on the Burrard Reservation in North Vancouver, BC, became Canada's most distinguished First Nations actor. He appeared in CBC's Cariboo Country and Breaking Smith's Quarter Horse and in the movie Little Big Man, which led to an academy award nomination and a New York film critics' award. On stage he starred in the original production of George Ryga's The Ecstasy of Rita Joe in Vancouver and Ottawa. Also a logger, longshoreman, musician, lecturer and poet, Dan George worked throughout his life for a better understanding between the First Nations and Canadian society at large.

Barbara McIntyre, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., was born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, teaching in that province before earning degrees at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pittsburgh. After service on faculty at Pittsburgh and Northwestern, she joined the UVic faculty in 1971 as a recognized expert on Theatre in Education. As Professor and Chairman of the Department during the 1970s, she gave outstanding leadership by action and example, while extending her outstanding reputation as a pioneer in her field.

Facts and Figures

Architect: Peterson & Lester

Contractor: Campbell Construction Ltd.
Structural: Willis, Cunliffe, Tait & Company Ltd.

Contract: $4,056,624 (July 18, 1980); $4,261,062
Mechanical: D. W. Thomson Consultants Ltd.
Electrical: Spratt & Associates

Gross area: 42,568 sq. ft.
Theatrical: Theatretech (Mick Way), [London, England]

Cost per square foot: $100.10
Acoustical: Barron & Associates, [Vancouver]

Official opening: November 28, 1981 (Special Convocation)

 

See UVic's maps and buildings description.