$1.3M gives MTYP starring role in green scene Theatre’s eco and accessibility upgrades to begin in June By: Ben Waldman Posted: 5:40 PM CST Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024

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This article was published 20/02/2024 (956 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Theatre for Young People will soon be greener and more accessible, thanks in large part to more than $1.3 million in federal funding, announced Tuesday afternoon at the organization’s headquarters at The Forks.

On the strength of that funding, drawn from the federal government’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program, MTYP’s 25-year-old facility will undergo major upgrades, including a total replacement of its roof, windows and HVAC system, and an expansion of accessibility to studio, backstage and washroom spaces via barrier-free doorway operators.

That ambitious set of changes is expected to begin in June, with MTYP anticipating a yearlong renovation process.

“When our facility opened its doors more than 20 years ago, it was considered a leader in accessible design,” said Suzanne Munroe, the chair of the MTYP board of directors. “Since then, standards and understandings of accessibility have evolved, and we know that our facility needs to continue to evolve (too).”

Such changes, Munroe said, require governmental support. “I’m a fundraiser,” she said. “(So I know) $1.3 million is a lot of money.”

On hand to announce the funding was Liberal MP Dan Vandal, who represents St. Boniface and St. Vital on Parliament Hill.

“Accessible infrastructure is one of the foundations of a healthy and prosperous community,” said Vandal, who was making the announcement on behalf of Sean Fraser, the federal minister of housing, infrastructure and communities. “Modernizing infrastructure to make it sustainable and accessible improves productivity and ensures usefulness for generations to come.”

“When our facility opened its doors more than 20 years ago, it was considered a leader in accessible design … Since then, standards and understandings of accessibility have evolved, and we know that our facility needs to continue to evolve (too).”– Suzanne Munroe

While roof, HVAC and window replacements serve an obvious purpose in reducing long-term expenditures, those changes — along with the introduction of overhead LED lighting — are expected by MTYP to significantly decrease energy usage.

In total, the renovations are anticipated to reduce the facility’s annual energy consumption by 82 per cent, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 288 tonnes.

A portion of the newly announced funding will also go toward making the theatre’s quiet room — where guests can watch productions at a remove from the general audience — more accessible. Currently, there are three steps ahead of the entrance.

Vandal said he has a direct connection to the MTYP from the time his son attended theatre classes there during his adolescence. “I can attest that this is a facility that can change lives,” he said.

Asked whether he had any acting experience, Vandal, a former professional boxer, surprised the audience by saying that he had co-starred in a 1986 French-language production of Frenchie at Théâtre Cercle Molière. The longtime politician had retired from the ring at 26, before being called in to play an anglophone middleweight champion named Rick Logan.

“I played a villainous boxer going up against the local hero, Frenchie (played by Mario Chioini),” recalled Vandal. “I went up there for 12 or 16 nights, lost every fight. That was the end of my acting career.”

MTYP is currently midway through its run of The Problem with Pink, a co-production with Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke, from Quebec, and La parenthèse-Christophe Garcia, from France. The show closes on Saturday.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com