A Home for Performing Arts

For years, our amazing choirs have performed at the Chan Centre at UBC; the Massey Theatre in New Westminster; the Michael J Fox Theatre in Burnaby; Oakridge Centre Shopping Mall; and Fraserview Church. They've even performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. They've done videos and recorded at off-site studios. In all those years, they've not once had a performance on campus, outside of a school Liturgy.

Our student actors have taken the stage in Clue, Footloose, High School Musical and Mary Poppins. Their stage has been at Vancouver College. The last musical hosted at LFA was more than a decade ago, when we cobbled together seating, sound, and lights for Annie.

Little Flower Academy doesn't have a functional performance space. The current Auditorium remains a vibrant place in our school for liturgies and assemblies, but it is not suitable for hosting performances. Acoustic and lighting limitations aside, the Auditorium remains a thoroughfare during each class change. The seating requires students to set up and take down in their class time. There are no wings or storage. There are no dressing rooms. The view itself is obstructed by seismic reinforcement. Special machinery is needed for students with accessibility needs.

The new building will include a true theatre space at LFA! A new auditorium will sit at the center of campus. As you'd expect from careful planning, the new auditorium will remain multiuse for basketball and volleyball tournaments. Critically, there will be retractable theatre seating for more than 500. The space will have a light and sound booth. The stage will have proper wings and accommodate modern projection technology for sets, and there will be dedicated dressing rooms. Additionally, there will be a purpose-built rehearsal space for the performing arts. The drama room will include special lighting, sound, and furniture: a little black box theatre in itself. The music room will have soundproofing and be sufficiently large for the choir to rehearse as a group, while also providing smaller rehearsal rooms. There will also be dedicated storage for all the things needed in a robust and thriving performing arts program: sets, props, instruments, and a sheet music library. In short, LFA will finally be a destination and home for the performing arts; our students will find their biggest stage, right here at their own school.