Highland Arts Theatre facts for kids
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"The HAT"
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Official logo of the Highland Arts Theatre, designed by Hilary Scott.
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Highland Arts Theatre during a regional broadcast of CBC's Mainstreet for East Coast Music Week, 2016.
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| Former names | St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1910–1925), St. Andrew's United Church (1925–2013) |
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| Address | 40 Bentinck Street |
| Location | Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Coordinates | 46°08′20″N 60°11′38″W / 46.138782°N 60.194000°W |
| Public transit | Transit Cape Breton Routes 1, 5 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Owner | Highland Quality Productions Incorporated |
| Operator | Highland Arts Theatre Association |
| Type | Theatre |
| Genre(s) | live theatre, music, concerts, dance, film |
| Seating type | Soft seat, reserved seating |
| Capacity | Theatre: 400~ Concerts: up to 475 |
| Production | HAT 2020 Winter-Spring Season |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | April 14, 1910 |
| Built | 1910–1911 |
| Opened | June 25, 1911 |
| Renovated | June 3, 2014 |
| Construction cost | $62,945 CAD (1911) |
| Architect | Samuel G. Curry and William F. Sparling of Toronto (Curry & Sparling) |
| General contractor | Rhodes Curry Company |
| Official name | St. Andrew's United Church |
| Type | Provincial Heritage Property |
| Designated | 29 August 29, 2012 |
| Official name | St. Andrew's United Church |
| Type | Municipal Heritage Property |
| Designated | 18 September 2007 |
| Reference no. | 9326 |
The Highland Arts Theatre is a cool place in Sydney, Canada. It's a historic building that was first built as a church. Now, it's a busy center for arts and culture! It's often called "The HAT" by locals.
In June 2014, the building reopened as the Highland Arts Theatre. It became a place for live plays, movies, and concerts. You can find it in Sydney's waterfront area.
Contents
History of The HAT
The building, originally called St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, was built between 1910 and 1911. It was the third church for the Sydney and Mira Presbyterian community. Their earlier churches became too small for all the people who wanted to attend. So, St. Andrew's was built to hold over 1,000 people!
In 1925, St. Andrew's Church joined with other churches to form the United Church. It was then renamed St. Andrew's United Church. This was a big change, and some members left, but new ones joined. The church continued to operate until 2013. The congregation decided to close it because the heating bills for the old building were too expensive.
On July 31, 2013, the church held its final service. After that, it was ready for a new purpose.
Building Design and Style
The church's pastor, Rev. Dr. John Pringle, helped design the building. He traveled to Toronto to meet with architects Curry and Sparling. The company Rhodes and Curry Company built the church for about $41,635. The total cost, when finished, was around $62,945.
The building is made of beautiful red brick from a local brickyard in Mira. Its design is in the Gothic Revival style. This style is quite rare in the Cape Breton area. It features impressive towers and bells.
Some special parts of the building's design include its tall towers with bells. It also has arched windows and a wide staircase leading to three arched entrances. Inside, you can still see the original elements. These include the amazing pipe organ, railings, columns, and a high, curved ceiling. Ten bells with Bible verses are in the bell tower.
The Amazing Pipe Organ
The Highland Arts Theatre is home to a huge pipe organ made by Casavant Frères in Quebec. It has 2,045 pipes and three keyboards! It's the biggest organ on Cape Breton Island. The organ was bought for the church in 1911 for $5,595.
In 1946, the organ was updated. It got new parts and more pipes, bringing the total to 2,045. It has a special console with three keyboards and pedals. A powerful electric fan in the basement helps the organ make its sound. In 2008, the organ's bellows (which help push air through the pipes) were repaired.
The Chime of Bells
The theatre also has a chime of ten bells in its south bell tower. These bells were made from bronze in 1911 by the McShane Bell Foundry in Maryland, USA. You can still hear them today!
The bells are played using a special "pump handle" chimestand. Nine of the bells are fixed in place. The tenth and heaviest bell can swing or be played with a hammer. All the bells have the foundry's name on them. The smaller bells have quotes from the Bible. The largest bell weighs about 2,050 pounds (930 kg) and is tuned to an E note. The smallest bell weighs about 200 pounds (91 kg).
In 2015, a video of Glenda Watt playing the Christmas carol "Angels We Have Heard on High" on the chime became super popular. It was viewed over 1.6 million times online! You can watch videos of the chime being played by following this link: The Chimes ~ Christmas Music.
Historic Building Status
The Highland Arts Theatre is recognized as a special historic building.
- Municipal Heritage Property: In 2007, the local government officially recognized it as a protected property. This means the building and its land are important to the community's history and architecture.
- Provincial Heritage Property: In 2012, it also received protection from the province. This helps make sure the theatre's history and beauty are preserved for the future.
Concerts at The HAT
Even when it was still a church, the building was known as a great place for concerts in Sydney. Its amazing sound quality and the Casavant Freres organ made it perfect for classical musicians. In the 1950s, the Halifax Symphony Orchestra often performed there. Their concerts were even broadcast on CBC Radio!
More recently, because it can hold over 1,000 people and has excellent acoustics, groups like Celtic Colours and The Barra MacNeils have performed there.
Since it reopened as the Highland Arts Theatre, many more concerts have been held. Here are some of the artists who have performed at The HAT:
- Karan Casey
- Cherish the Ladies
- J. P. Cormier
- East Coast Music Week events
- Lennie Gallant
- Terry Kelly
- Old Man Luedecke
- John McDermott
- Murray McLauchlan
- Heather Rankin
Live Theatre at The HAT
"The HAT" is the loving nickname for the Highland Arts Theatre. When the church closed in 2013, a local musician and businessman, Kevin Colford, helped turn it into a modern arts and culture center. The theatre officially opened on June 3, 2014, with a musical comedy called "The Wakowski Brothers - A Cape Breton Vaudeville."
The building got many upgrades, including new sound and lighting systems. The old church pews were replaced with 475 comfy theatre seats. A strong stage was built, along with a projection screen and video projectors. The dressing rooms were improved, a Grand Piano was added, and the pipe organ was serviced. The goal was to improve how the theatre worked, while keeping its natural beauty and great sound.
The theatre is available for rent, but it also hosts many of Cape Breton's best musicians, dancers, and entertainers. The people who run The HAT want to create a reliable place for theatre downtown. They focus on producing great shows, especially those that tell Cape Breton stories and feature local songs. The Highland Arts Theatre is now used for concerts, talks, weddings, and all kinds of performances.
They offer plays each year in the Fall, Winter/Spring, and a Summer Repertory theatre season.
Past Productions
Here are some of the plays and musicals that have been performed at The HAT:
- 2014: The Wakowski Brothers - A Cape Breton Vaudeville, A Christmas Carol
- 2015: Heart of Steel, Zadie's Shoes, No Great Mischief, Alice in Wonderland
- 2016: Dream - A 1950's Midsummer Musical, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Kitchen Party
- 2017: Next to Normal, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, She Loves Me
- 2018: The Glass Menagerie, Disco Nights, Mary's Wedding, A Christmas Carol
- 2019: The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Shop of Horrors, The Best Brothers
Current and Upcoming Shows
- Current: The Drawer Boy (January 2020)
- Upcoming: Morro and Jasp: Save the Date (February 2020), As You Like It (March 2020), Tribute to the Rotary Show (June 2020)
Movies at The HAT
The Highland Arts Theatre started showing movies in December 2014. They showed classic black-and-white films from the 1930s to the 1950s. In 2015, they had a free screening of new short films from Atlantic Canada.
In January 2016, Top Hat Pictures, a part of Highland Arts Theatre, officially launched. They focus on showing new Canadian and international films that you might not find in other cinemas. They use a powerful digital projector for their screenings. The first movie shown was Trumbo (2015).
Here are some of the films previously shown at The HAT:
- Trumbo (2015)
- Brooklyn (2015)
- Spotlight (2015) (which won an Academy Award for Best Picture!)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
Upcoming Movie Screenings
Movie Musical Sing-along Series:
- Mamma Mia!, February 2020
- Jesus Christ Superstar, April 2020
- Oklahoma!, June 2020
- Hairspray, August 2020
- Little Shop of Horrors, October 2020
- White Christmas, December 2020
Other Films:
- I Am Skylar, January 2020
- The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, February 2020
Box Office
You can find the Highland Arts Theatre's Box Office at the side door of the Theatre, located at 40 Bentinck Street.
Gallery
- Highland Arts Theatre 2,045 pipe, three-manual Casavant Frères Pipe Organ
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of the rank of metal pipes that make up the visible face of the organ.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of the Choir and Swell Stops to the left of the manuals.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of the Console, showing the Stops, the three Manuals, and the Pedals.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of the Great and Pedal Stops to the right of the manuals.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of one of the ranks of wooden pipes inside the organ.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of a number of the ranks of metal and wooden pipes inside one of the swell boxes inside the organ.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - view of several of the ranks of metal pipes inside one of the swell boxes inside the organ.
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Highland Arts Theatre Casavant Frères Organ - looking down from above at several of the ranks of metal and wooden pipes inside the organ.
