Offbeat comedy, classic cello or smooth jazz, storytelling and hip hop workshops or showing love for Skinnamarinky dinky do - no matter taste or age, there’s something dazzling for everyone to see this coming season at The Bailey Theatre.
And for the first time, every household in the Lower Columbia and Castlegar will have a heads up via their mailbox when the Trail and District Arts Council (TDAC) sends out its performance lineup in the next few weeks.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” says theatre manager Nadine Tremblay, mentioning the ambitious mail-out campaign was made possibly by grant money from Columbia Basin Trust, the Lower Columbia Community Development Team Society and a partnership with Tourism Rossland. “And we have something everyone will enjoy whether it’s families seeing the Teck Children’s Series or if you just need a night out - the shows are just such very fulfilling experiences for people to come to, hear, and fill up their well of creativity.”
The theatre has come a long way since the arts council began a partnership with the facility’s service provider, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, back in 2013. Now that TDAC’s business plan has almost doubled the number of shows and its marketing strategy has updated the brand to “The Bailey” - mailing out the lineup is another way to increase the theatre’s visibility throughout the region.
And this summer, with help from the regional district, another big advance was made - tickets can now be purchased on line.
“We have a new online ticketing system,” says Tremblay. “We are still working out the kinks after eight days of training. But now people can buy tickets whenever it suits them - 24/7 online.”
To purchase tickets, the process is simple. Visit trail-arts.com and click on any performance listed under “Upcoming Events,” scroll down and click on “Buy Tickets” and choose your seats.
“This new online ticketing system is a marketing tool as well,” Tremblay noted. “It collects mailing addresses so that next year, with permission, we will only mail to the targeted (based) on the programming you bought.
“But this year, we are hitting up every single household to ensure that everybody knows what we have to offer.”
Adding polish and shine to The Bailey
After seeing a whirlwind of performances at trade shows like Pacific Contact in Vancouver, Tremblay has booked artists that range from iconic Canadian musicians like Sharon and Bram to B.C. comedian Mike Delamonte and his one-man show “God is a Scottish Drag Queen” to a puppet show for adults called “A Baker’s Dozen,” a play on “12 Angry Men.”
There’s also highly accomplished musicians for Jazz at the Griff, like Michael Occhipinti and The Sicilian Jazz Project or a Quartette Christmas a showcase of traditional songs by four of Canada’s finest voices, Cindy Church, Caitlin Hanford, Gwen Swick, and Sylvia Tyson.
“These shows are catered to soft seat venues in theatres like The Bailey,” said Tremblay. “They may not be big name acts, but these artists are world class artists.”
For date night or girls night out, she suggests the Friday night performances in the E2 Experiments series.
“The Mike Delamonte show is going to be kind of epic,” she said. “If you like comedy, music, and if you are not really used to going to the theatre, then this is the best series to come to.”
For those with young ones, Tremblay says the Sunday matinee shows called Teck Children’s Series are a great and affordable way for families to bond - a family of four can check out all four shows for $144.
“It’s a crazy good deal that will give them that theatre experience together,” she added. “And it’s something they can do as a family on the weekend, on a regular basis.”