News

SUDBURY, ON — The Encore Theatre Company has reached an agreement with Thorneloe University to permanently house the company’s mainstage productions at Thorneloe’s Ernie Checkeris Theatre.

The soon-to-be-renovated 157-seat theatre will house Encore’s three mainstage productions as well as special performances and offerings throughout the season.

Encore’s Founder and Artistic Director Callam Rodya said he couldn’t be happier to reach the agreement after being in negotiations with the university since early May.

“Thorneloe is the natural home for Encore,” Rodya said. “We’ve all gone through Thorneloe training. We’ve lived in this space for years. We know the theatre inside and out. It just makes sense.”

Rodya also cited the theatre’s relatively small dimensions as a major plus for the company.

“The kind of work that Encore will be focussing on really calls for an intimate space,” said Rodya. “The Ernie Checkeris Theatre is ideal because it brings the crowd closer to the action, and therefore, closer to the drama. There isn’t that same divide between performer and audience member that you find in other larger theatres.”

The Ernie Checkeris Theatre will be undergoing a major renovation in the months to come to replace the theatre’s entire seating plot with new chairs and accoutrements.

Rodya said the rehabilitation of theatre coincides perfectly with Encore’s launch.

“The theatre is undergoing a major facelift which will make it more comfortable and more hospitable for its audience,” said Rodya. “It is a major attraction for us as a new company – to be able to offer our audience a brand new, more comfortable viewing experience.”

Thorneloe University President and Provost Dr. Robert Derrenbacker expressed his own excitement at bringing a new company of Thorneloe alumni into the mix.

“Sudbury has a vibrant and important arts and theatre community,” said Derrenbacker. “I am very excited that the Encore Theatre Company will be joining this community and will be calling the Ernie Checkeris Theatre at Thorneloe University home for its inaugural season.”

The Encore Theatre Company is Sudbury’s newest live theatre company. It’s mission is to produce edgy and exciting theatre for the Sudbury audience and to foster, promote, and create professional opportunities for local theatre artists.

For more information, visit www.encoretheatre.ca.

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For more information, please contact Callam Rodya at (705) 920-9213 or email media@encoretheatre.ca. Visit Encore online at www.encoretheatre.ca. For more information on Thorneloe University or the Ernie Checkeris Theatre, call (705) 673-1730 or visit www.thorneloe.ca.