A new performance space opened its doors on January 7th, 2013 to a standing room only audience: The Theatre on King.
Ryan Kerr and his company Fleshy Thud along with Linda Kash and her company The Peterborough Academy of Performing Arts (PAPA) have joined forces to open an intimate 30 – 40 seat black box theatre. Located just west of King and George, The Theatre on King is an intimate, simple, low maintenance space that is easily transformable to allow for many types of presentations: classes, readings, workshops, dances, rehearsals, performances and more. It is an experiment, a laboratory where both professional and amateur artists will be able to explore, learn and hone their skills, encourage and inspire each other, and create a sense of community.
The goal of PAPA has always been to provide the highest caliber of education in the performing arts to students of all ages and experience, so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, and community members. Fleshy Thud was founded as an attempt to bring a number of independent local artists together under one company and to create, produce and promote new experimental artistic works of excellence by regional artists living and working in Peterborough and its surrounding communities. The joining of these two companies to create The Theatre on King will once again provide the city’s artistic community with a performance space where artists of all skill ranges can experiment, learn, and afford to fail.
The Theatre on King has also recently formed an association with Theatre Trent as a step towards incorporating more of the downtown into the student experience. Theatre Trent is a levied student-run executive body at Trent University that administers funding for theatre and theatre-related projects (workshops, films, productions, etc) for Trent students and alumni. In the past, Theatre Trent has funded such student organizations as Anne Shirley, The TTC, The Classics Drama Group, Off Book, Famous Couch, and Teatre Korzenie. Theatre Trent has a storage space at Sadleir House where donated and purchased costumes and props are available for re-use. Those interested can join the executive or submit funding proposals for their projects and events. Application forms and more information are available on their website: www.theatretrent.ca.
Any Trent students or Trent alumni interested in applying for funding to assist in the production costs of an upcoming theatrical event are encouraged to get in touch with Theatre Trent (theatretrent@trentu.ca). Deadline for applications is March 1, 2013.