Rising from the ashes
Chester Playhouse projected to reopen in May 2023 following fire
Amy Vinnedge was eight-years-old when she climbed the stairs to the Chester Playhouse stage for the first time as a caroler in a Christmas production.
“I volunteered because I was curious. I really loved the experience,” Vinnedge said during a recent interview.
“I remember in rehearsals just climbing up on the stage for the first time. Being in a space that, sometimes when you see a play it's hard to imagine yourself up there. And then when you are finally up there it almost feels for a second that you are not supposed to be there. But then you catch yourself and say no, I am supposed to be here. This is where I think I am meant to be.”
Vinnedge took part in her first full play at age nine.
“That's when I really caught the bug,” Vinnedge said.
“I didn't have the typical interests at other children. When I learned about this alternative chance to express myself and feel really great. That's what catching the bug is.”
“It's that feeling that is really great and really empowering.”
Vinnedge said her mother accurately described her as a "theatre rat" because she did volunteer and paid work at the Chester Playhouse over almost 30 years with the children's youth theatre and as an actor, stage manager and various technical positions.
“A theatre rat to me is somebody who caught the acting bug and I spent as much time as I possibly could in all capacities in the theatre,” Vinnedge said.
Years in the music and theatre scene eventually led to a career as a musician. Today, Vinnedge is about to graduate from NSCC after studying child and youth care.
“When the pandemic happened and I lost all of my jobs, I re-evaluated. I saw how much I loved helping young people feel empowered through music and theatre, so that's how I got into child and youth care,” Vinnedge said.
“The Playhouse had a very big role in exactly who I am today and what I am doing. It was that discovery of that form of expression and acceptance within a community that made me realize I had a voice in the capacity I do as a musician, as an artist, as a creative person. It was the catalyst for the work I am doing now. And the career I hope to have,” Vinnedge said.
“Starting there has brought me to where I am today.”
Like so many people who have a history with the landmark performing arts venue, which opened in 1938, Vinnedge was anxiously looking forward to the completion of a restoration project announced in September 2020.
Just weeks before completion of the project, however,
village residents and the theatre and arts community were shocked when a fire severely damaged the structure on June 11, 2021.
“I honestly felt devested and was in shock when I heard about the fire and the internal destruction (of the building). I was thinking back and having flashbacks to this very seminal spot for me. And was kind of heart broken. But then of course I knew Chester is a very special place and I know how much the theatre means to everybody. So, I knew they would be able to adapt and that is exactly what they did,”
Vinnedge said.
Andrew Chandler, the executive director of the Playhouse, remembers receiving a text the day of the fire while working from home.
“I didn't believe it for the first minute or two. I was very much in shock, and it took a couple of minutes to process the reality of that,” Chandler said.
“Jumping in the car and driving down Duke Street, seeing the big plume of smoke rising up to the sky quickly put the reality into perspective. And then seeing the fire and seeing the fire crews working so hard to extinguish the blaze really drove it home,” he remembered.
“We had a really robust summer season planned, including tours of the new venues and opportunities to welcome artists to try it out,” Chandler said. “COVID was still a huge factor in all this of course but we were preparing to welcome people back inside to live performance in our community for the first time in two years.”
The cause of the fire has not been determined. Chandler said the restoration was expected to cost $1.3 million. He said three levels of government had committed $800,000, with another $500,000 coming from individual donors.
“We are really optimistic, and we are confident that the three levels of government we have approached can come through and fill the gap between the insurance policy that covered the playhouse and where we need to get to fully rebuild," Chandler said in a recent interview.
“It's been a wild unprecedented time for everyone,” Chandler said of his time since taking over the role of executive director. “It's been a huge challenge. It's been a huge learning curve.”
Chandler was only on the job six weeks when he contracted COVID 19 and was hospitalized for nine days before weeks recovering at home.
When plans to reopen the Playhouse went up in smoke, Chandler and his staff came up with the idea to do Playhouse Without Walls, to honour commitments to artists and performers and
offer live shows to audiences who hadn’t seen arts and culture performances during a pandemic.
Playhouse Without Walls is a program of live theatre, live music, poetry presentations, speaker series, film screenings, comedy, dance, puppets and community gatherings in other venues in Chester and in New Ross, Chester Basin and Hubbards.
“Boy, you take baptism with fire literally!” friends are said to have quipped to Chandler.
“I believe the work is important. I believe in the power of live arts and culture to uplift us, to change lives and to inspire us. To elevate us, and I think so many of us need that now. So, it’s good to have work that matters and that is what has driven me through, what is on paper, a ridiculous set of challenges.”
Chandler said the Playhouse is a meeting place in the community.
“We are stewards of culture in our community. We bring people together to experience incredible performances of live art, of hearing stories, of new perspectives. Of having this experience where we are collectively lifted up out of ourselves and brought together,” Chandler said.
“It’s been talked about a lot that when folks see a show together, they start breathing at the same time. It literally synchronizes hearts and brings people together. That’s our calling. That’s our passion. That’s what we do for the community,” he said.
Suzan Fraser, owner of the historic Mecklenburgh Inn in Chester, also has fond childhood memories of time spent at the Playhouse.
“I used to go there as a kid and watch movies for a quarter,” Fraser said, recounting pleasant childhood memories.
“It was like this warm hug when you sat down in those lovely chairs purchased from an old theatre in Halifax,” Frazer said. “Then the lights went down, and the curtain went up and you just got lost in time. It was terrific.”
“I look forward to having my butt in a seat at the Playhouse and bringing great talent back to Chester,” Fraser said. She is also looking forward to the reopening attracting visitors to Chester.
“Without the Playhouse, my business took a big hit because that was a lot of my summer trade,” Fraser said.
Chandler said the projected date for reopening the Chester Playhouse is May 2023.