How I started my theatre company

How I started my theatre company

I started Prairie Dog Players in 1994.

I was off work at the time having broke my leg really badly. It was a compound spiral fracture of my left tibia and talk about pain and talk about that struggle to get back into mainstream of life and employment again. But that is another story albeit a painful one.

Prairie Dog Players (PDP) was created on a whim. 

I sold an idea and an idea alone. 

I remember the very first venue, a bar/restaurant in Cochrane, Alberta. The owner asked me when we could do a show for them. I remember looking at an appointment book with lots of venue names in it, and flipping through the pages and then confidently saying “we can do a show for you in two months.” I had prepared a contract which we both signed. I remember leaving the establishment and saying to myself “what have I done?”

What I had done was promise these people that “we” would do a show for them in two months.

I had nothing else except some crazy idea to try it. I certainly had no theatre company. I sort of had some idea of what I wanted to do, some topics to cover, a possible script. Other than that, I basically had nothing. Nothing means that, nothing. I had no actors or that director to guide the performers. Nothing also means that I had no stage, no sets, no scenery, no lights and no sound equipment, no props, no costumes. I had nothing but that idea that dream and desire to start a theatre company. All based on the idea to just do it.

What I did have though an incredible determination, desire and a need to try it. What I also had and looking back a small advantage, was a background in theatre that included working in professional theatre in a pre-production capacity. I had worked as a set designer, scenic artist, stage carpenter, props maker and interim technical director. I had experience in lighting, wardrobe and had working knowledge of the operation of shows, as I had run shows. I had also taught both scenic art and prop making in two separate theatre schools. I had a small amount of experience as an actor.

What I needed and realistically needed to see, was this enough theatre knowledge to make it work? What I also needed to know was there a business out there, was there that audience? I was living in Cochrane, Alberta just west of Calgary. I had originally tried to break into the theatre scene in Calgary but found it to be a protected and very close community, so they were not going to give me any chances. That is when I heard that inner voice telling me, “They won’t let you in so why not start your own theatre company.” 

That is when I knew what I needed to do.

That was my first thought that I knew that I should go it alone. “If you are not going to let me in, then the hell with you, I will start a theatre company of my own” that was my thinking.

Going it alone though I knew that I certainly was not going to compete with an already cautious market. No, I was going to do something entirely different. I was going to operate a touring or traveling Theatre Company. I was going to operate in a 100 mile radius of Calgary, Alberta… that was my plan.

Looking at that vast area, I needed to know if there was a market out there at all. No one else was doing this. So in asking myself, is the market out there I realized that there were two possible scenarios. One possible answer to my internal question was that there was no market out there at all and this was a total waste of time,  or two, that no one had ever attempted this. No one had ever started a traveling theatre company to provide quality and professional theatre to small communities.

The internet was in its infancy so it was no real help. What I needed to do I knew, was go looking, was do some knocking on doors.

So to begin with, what I needed to do was create the name for the company. Since it was just me, it would be sole ownership. Yes a lot of name choices came up and I finally chose Prairie Dog Players partly because it was a catchy sounding name and partly because of the location of where I was. 

My business cards were a flip up kind with the title “Prairie Dog Players” on the face and when you flipped open the card it read my name with the caption underneath “Chief Gopher.”  On the face I had two small gopher cartoon characters holding a shield with the comedy/tragedy faces on them. 

Gopher related well to the area and Gopher also in theatre means a person that go’s for this or go’s for that.

I then registered the name of the company and put $100.00 in a bank account under that name and ordered cheques. I had the business cards printed up and printed off and made some letter head writing paper. Now I was really then ready to hit the road.

I also placed an advertisement in an entertainment section of the Calgary Herald, the mainstay newspaper of the time, in Calgary. 

My ad read “Actor’s (m/f) wanted for new traveling theatre” adding a phone number contact.

Day-times I drove and drove and drove and talked a lot to an amazing collection of venues, associations and yes many people. In the evening the calls came in. I had prepared a loose script of what I wanted to tell people and took contact numbers telling everyone that I would call them back with audition dates and an address. It was all very overwhelming but yes very exciting. I could not believe the interest people had in the project.

I had heard that Theatre Calgary had a mandate within their constitution to help new theatre companies out, so I contacted them. Theatre Calgary where very generous and gave me a rehearsal space for my first audition. Now I had a legitimate address, one I needed, yes needed to appear very serious.  I wanted and needed people to believe I was serious.   

I then contacted all the people that had called me and told them of the day,times and location of the audition. Some wanted another day and another time, but I was adamant that there would be one day only.

I had never actually run an audition before, but as an actor I had participated in many. I knew that I needed to find the right set of people. I asked them all to perform one piece they would bring with them. What I also asked each to do was a set of tests that I had worked out… My tests for them were in the form of theatre games which would show me the versatility they had, their imagination and the core essence of what I needed from these people.

The big day came and so came many people. I had put up posters leading through the maze of corridors from the stage door entrance of Theatre Calgary to the rehearsal room. The security people were also very helpful. I remember though one employee of Theatre Calgary saying to me… “My, you’re brave,” her words wasted in my excitement. Later in time I would realize what she meant.

I had spaced people out so that I could see individuals perform alone. Some came in early and wanted to watch, which I stopped them from doing. With the auditions all complete, I then told them all that I would be in touch. There were some people that I auditioned that hung about afterwards and I could see added enthusiasm for something they could see was very different and yes exciting. One in particular told me, if you do not choose me, I still want to work with you.

Later I chose seven people from all the hopefuls and I still had no venue. 

Prior to the audition day I had located and contacted a school that in the evenings provided adult education classes. I was able to procure a large room (free of charge) there to be used for the rehearsal process. The room was large and airy and had movable seats and tables.

The room was very versatile with its movable chairs and tables. 

We were able to tape out floor plans for the sets we would use on stage. Often times when we were rehearsing other students from other class rooms would stop by to see what we doing and provided us with an audience.

There were many actors that flowed through the scenarios of the productions that were produced. They seemed to fall into certain categories. Some were definitely on their way up struggling to get parts and to perhaps land a role that would catapult them to stardom. Others were just satisfied to perform and it was an interest and only that for them. The third group where actually actors that had made a name for themselves somewhere in life and now where on their way down, satisfying the need to perform in a quieter way. One actor I recall that worked with PDP was a stand-in for the well-known actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins. He did not look like the renowned actor at all, as stand in actors are used for distant shots or for shots where the actors face is never seen. It saves money in the film industry to use stand in actors. 

Another actor I remember had a thick Italian accent and he was so worried that it would be detrimental to his talents, while another Serbian young actor used that rich tongue he had, to such great advantage.  The old adage is it not what you have that counts, but how you use is, is so true.

In the first production we did I even acted. Realizing that I was wearing too many hats it became necessary (to keep my sanity) that I had to drop that part of my life.  I was now the Chief Gopher only. Being the Chief Gopher meant that I had to handle all handled transportation needs, design the sets, build the sets, paint the sets, hang and operate the lights. I also did all the marketing and sales and promotion and if that was not enough before each show I stood before the audience explaining a little of what PDP was all about.

Prairie Dog Players started from just a whim, that idea to do it. But what happened is that PDP soon became quite well known and all those roads trips to look for customers and for venues to do shows in, well that changed. It changed for the better as people started contacting me looking for entertainment.

It worked.

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Keystones and corner blocks