Theatre Terrific facts for kids

Theatre Terrific is a special theatre group located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest theatre company in Western Canada that includes actors with disabilities. This group helps people with and without disabilities work together to create amazing plays.

The Start of Theatre Terrific

The idea for Theatre Terrific began in 1984. A person named Connie Hargrave wanted to create a theatre company especially for performers with disabilities.

Theatre Terrific officially started in 1985. It was one of the first theatre groups in Canada to have actors with different abilities working side-by-side. Sue Lister was hired as a teacher and soon became the Artistic Director. Their very first show was a musical called Dancing on the Head of a Pin with a Mouse in my Pocket. They performed it at the 1986 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

Reaching Out to Schools

In 1987, Theatre Terrific started a program called Direct Access. This program helped students learn about theatre and perform. In 1988, Sue Lister began putting together groups of actors for school tours. These groups included both actors with and without disabilities. They traveled all over British Columbia, performing plays for elementary and high school students.

In the early 1990s, Theatre Terrific started to get attention from other countries. In 1992, they officially became a member of the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. This showed how important they were in the theatre world.

Changes in Leadership

In 1995, Jamie Norris became the new Artistic Director. Sue Lister then moved back to the UK in 1996. Jamie Norris left in 1998, and Elaine Avila and Trevor Found took over as co-artistic directors. They focused on teaching acting skills. They left in 2000.

In 2001, Liesl Lafferty became the Artistic Director. The company had been quiet for over a year before she joined. She left in November 2004.

Susanna Uchatius became the Artistic Director in 2005. Under her leadership, the company started to explore different themes in their plays. They didn't always focus only on disability-related topics. Susanna Uchatius has also written some of her own plays for the company. One example is Hello from 2019, which told a new story about Arthur Miller's son, Daniel.

Who Has Led Theatre Terrific?

Here are the people who have been the Artistic Directors of Theatre Terrific:

• Sue Lister (1986-1995)
• Jamie Norris (1995-1998)
• Elaine Avila and Trevor Found (1998-2000)
• Liesl Lafferty (2001-2004)
• Susanna Uchatius (2005-present)

Plays They Have Performed

Theatre Terrific has put on many different plays over the years. Here are some of them:

• Dancing on the Head of a Pin with a Mouse in my Pocket by Leonard Angel (1986)
• Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On (1987)
• One on One (1988/89) - a play for high schools
• Syllabub by Kico Gonzalez-Risso (1990/91) - for elementary schools
• Good-Looking Friends by John Lazarus (1992/93) - for high schools
• Ring of Fire by Margaret Hollingsworth (1994/95) - for elementary schools
• Breeding Doubts by Sandra Ferens (1995)
• Scraping the Surface by Lyle Victor Albert (1996)
• Step Right Up by Elaine Avila and Trevor Found (1999)
• Spiralling Within by Siobhan McCarthy (2003)
• Jumpin' Jack by Lyle Victor Albert (2004)
• Error of Eros' Arrows (2004)
• Ugly (2005)
• slowrunning (2006)
• Workin' (2007)
• doGs by Susanna Uchatius (2007)
• The Glass Box (2008)
• The Secret Son (2009)
• dirty white by Susanna Uchatius (2010)
• I Love Mondays by Susanna Uchatius (2015)
• The Ridiculous Darkness by Wolfram Lotz (2017) - with other theatre groups
• Hello by Susanna Uchatius (2019)
• Digital Fracture: VOICES (2020)
• WINDOWS (2021) - an online play

Awards and Recognition

Theatre Terrific has won and been nominated for several Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. These awards celebrate excellent theatre in Vancouver.

Famous Performers

• Jan Derbyshire was an actor in the play doGs in 2007.