Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1975 - 13

NEW THEATRES ON THE NIAGARA RIVER: ART PARK
AND THE SHAW FESTIVAL THEATRE
INDIANA UNIVERSITY

TONY COURTADE
The area on both sides of the Niagara River has always
been known for the richness of its North American
history as well as by its international reputation among
honeymooners. Recently, significant advancements in the
cultural prowess of the area have been made. In the past,
the small localities in this area had only their proximity to
the large metropolitan centers of Buffalo and Toronto to
enrich their cultural life. They now serve as a seasonal
epicenter of culture for Western New York and Ontario's
Niagara Peninsula.
Two new theatres, separated by the international
boundary which is the Niagara River but almost within
sight of each other, represent the cultural diversity now
resident on the Niagara Frontier. These two theatres show
an amazing contrast both in concept and in purpose.
The Shaw Festival Theatre was built for an ongoing
producing organization which has very specific needs. The
Shaw Festival, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, has been
presenting the plays of George Bernard Shaw and other
playwrights of his era in repertory for eleven summers
with outstanding critical success. Their desire for a new
playhouse stemmed from several needs. The Shaw Festival
had been producing in an old court house in the town
with support facil ities existing in borrowed garages and
rooms. As the Festival's following and production needs
increased, the inadequacies of these spaces became ever
more apparent.
The Artpark Theatre in Lewiston, New York, was built
with a much wider cultural purpose. Originally conceived
by the New York State Department of Parks and
Recreation as an outdoor pageant theatre which would

USITT

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FALL.1975

house a historical play about the lower Niagara River.
this theatre evolved into an enclosed performing arts
center in the midst of a park dedicated to and providing
facilities for all the arts. The new theatre was meant to
serve as a summer home for the Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra as well as a performance space for such
important, and culturally diverse, artists as the Moiseyev
Dance Company, Gordon Lightfoot and the City Center
Acting Company.
An examination of the locations chosen for each site
underlines the striking contrast. As the Artpark Theatre
proceeded through the planning stages, there became no
doubt that the clients, led by the Majority Leader of the
New York State Senate, wanted the building to be the
"crowning jewel" of the state-supported cultural park
which surrounds it. Lewiston community leaders envisioned a performing arts center which would rival those at
Saratoga and Wolftrap Farm in fame and beauty.
In Niagara-on-the- Lake, however, there is much less
civic pride in the Shaw Festival. Provincial attitudes
toward theatre, unfriendliness toward outsiders and strong
religious convictions combined to present a design
restriction for the new Festival Theatre. A new building to
house the Festival had to bury itself in the Victorian
rusticity of the town.
Bound by the restrictions of purpose and location,
Ronald J. Thorn, a Toronto architect, conceived a low
building of cedar and brick which well serves the Shaw
Festival staff and does not disturb the visual serenity of
the town (Figure 1). Since the Festival staff had worked
together for years, they knew exactly what type of

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1975