In 2016, the frank celebrated its 20th incredible year with 3 mainstage shows, a continuation of our youth program, our first ever tour, and a landmark national conference.
2016 IN REVIEW
Miss Understood, legendary Vancouver poet Antonette Rea’s riveting self-portrait, played to full houses at the PuSh Festival in January, and found another deeply appreciative audience at Winnipeg’s FemFest in September (the frank’s first-ever tour out-of-province). Hot on Miss Understood’s heels was Ga Ting (Family), Minh Ly’s stirring bilingual meditation on family and loss that enjoyed a sold-out run at The Cultch.
This past spring also saw the second iteration of our youth program Telling It Bent, a 12-week writing program for queer youth in the Lower Mainland, facilitated once again by poet Amal Rana. This summer we hosted a groundbreaking, transformative conference called Q2Q in partnership with SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. Focused on queer theatre and performance in Canada and attended by prominent academics and artists from across the country, it solidified the frank’s place as a national leader through crucial discussions around greater inclusiveness and equity in theatre.
Just last month, we produced the world premiere of Walt Whitman’s Secret at North Vancouver’s Presentation House Theatre. Featuring the work of some of Western Canada’s finest actors and designers, it was hailed by the city’s toughest theatre critic, Colin Thomas, as “ambitious” and “beautifully produced and performed.”
We were a little apprehensive this time last year as we had never before undertaken such an active season, but our little company pulled through – and we couldn’t have done it without your help.
Last season, you helped us reach our annual fundraising goal of $15,000 – a 100% increase from the amount we’d raised the previous season.
As the holidays approach, we ask that you remember the frank again this year and give to our 2017 fundraising campaign, Long Live Love: our fundraising goal this season is $20,000.
We must raise $10,000 by December 31st.
2017 IN FOCUS: QUEER YOUTH
Our primary focus in 2017 is youth. For for first time ever, we opening up the program to participants from outside the Lower Mainland for the first time. Expanding the geographical scope of Telling It Bent to include more remote areas of the province where resources for queer youth tend to be scarce has been a long-standing dream for us.
To top it off, we have an extraordinarily talented and diverse group of mentors working with our youth this coming year: Molly Billows, Amal Rana and James Fagan Tait. They will be meeting weekly starting in January, and you will be able to see the result of their labours in May: the program will culminate in a public performance in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
There are very few programs like Telling It Bent in Canada, and the frank is proud to include it as a staple of our programming. Empowering and creating safe space for our community’s youth is our highest priority.
WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
Ticket sales help us offset production costs, but it truly is individual donations that support our core operations. Without these donations, none of our transformative projects would be possible.
You can help us right away by donating – it’s quick, simple and easy!
- You can click here to make your gift online:
- You can come to our office on West Hastings off Abbott on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday between the hours of 1pm and 5pm and drop your payment off with our Operations Manager Maura (please call our office first – 604.558.1440);
- You can mail a cheque to:
the frank theatre company
Suite 220, 111 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4.
Consider becoming a monthly donor – monthly gifts help the frank with cash flow and long-term planning.
The BC Arts Council has called the frank “one of the most inclusive theatre companies in the province.” We are proud of this distinction. And some of the events that transpired in the world this year offer proof that the stories we tell and the values we stand for are more relevant and vital than ever.
Your gift this holiday season will allow us to continue being frank – a theatre company that reflects the incredible diversity of our city, our province, our country and our world by telling queer stories in a queer way, through an unapologetically queer lens.
Long Live Love.
Chris, Maura, Adam, Joseph, Wendy, Tony, Sandy-Leo, Liz, Jaedyn, Alex and Mary-Woo
