Cast members of the production of Kiss Me Kate pose for a promotional shot in 1988.

The courses comprising the Theatre Program were part of the first classes offered at Douglas College when it formally opened in September 1970. Jim Peters was tasked with designing the four initial theatre courses on offer for the Fall 1970 semester. Peters designed eleven more courses, which brought the grand total to 15 only a year after the college had opened its doors (Jones, 1994). Enrolment was strong, and the Theatre Program was off to a promising start. However, trouble was brewing on the horizon. 

In his report from 1972, Peters emphasizes a turning point in the direction of the Theatre Program. A production of Landford Wilson’s Lemon Sky in the Spring of 1971 closed only after two shows due to low attendance and harsh criticism. It seems nothing went well with this production – even the lighting equipment the department rented didn't work properly! Seeking to provide a proper educational environment, Peters used this performance to motivate the establishment of a new conceptual framework for the program. He writes: “After Lemon Sky, I decided that Theatre at our college level should be non-commercial, experimental perhaps, specifically designed to give the students a learning experience” (Peters, 1972). 

As a result of this shift, budgetary accommodations were made for a Stage Manager, Production Assistant, and other positions, allowing students to focus more on the skills of production and acting. Peters intended to give the productions the feeling of a Theatre Lab, and the philosophy of the program and the productions was changed so that they should exist explicitly to serve the students and develop foundational skills. It was also decided that future students would benefit greatly from having professional feedback, and arranged for working actors and directors to review each performance afterwards, to give them constructive feedback and extract the most experience out of the entire production process (Peters, 1972). 

A handwritten planning rubrick for the Community Theatre Program at Douglas College, circa 1972.

Unfortunately, by 1973, enrolment in the Theatre program had waned. As a result, the program was put under suspension in October 1973 while the faculty assessed its next course of action. When the remaining six theatre students learned that classes would not be offered past Christmas 1973, one of them decided to personally visit Principal George Wootton to convince him to continue instruction of the courses (Jones, 1994). The visit was successful, resulting in theatre faculty having their contracts extended so that courses could continue.  

With renewed resources, theatre instructor Dorothy Jones also took up the sizeable task of a needs assessment in the areas Douglas College served to redevelop the courses. Her involvement in this process, and the Theatre program at large, was crucial in the survival of the department. Allan Lysell, a long-serving faculty member and former Department Coordinator from 1994 to 2016, is quoted in Douglas College: The First 40 Years on Dorothy's influence: "It cannot be stressed enough that it was Dorothy who kept the Theatre Department alive during the very difficult early years of the program” (Della Mattia, p. 45). 

The needs assessment involved the formation of the Theatre Advisory Committee, comprised of both teachers and professionals from around the Lower Mainland. The objective of the committee was to guide the development of the Theatre curriculum and provide input for what skills and methods should be taught. The result of this process was a one-year Theatre program that was introduced in September 1975 that better reflected the needs of prospective students. Because of these actions, short-term curriculum stability improved; however, the program spent much of the remainder of the decade hopping between different teaching and performance locations across the Lower Mainland. 

A dramatic pose for a promotional photograph of Mariner, an epic-style play based on the voyages of Christopher Columbus, 2000.

In 1982, the college was under severe budget pressure prior to the opening of the New Westminster campus. These budgetary restrictions were also compounded by major labor unrest, which further delayed the opening of the New Westminster campus and the reimplementation of the Theatre Program. This resulted in a second suspension of the Program for another year. It wasn’t until June 1983 that the Program returned. When it did return, however, it was re-introduced as a full two-year university transfer program. The increase in educational scope and added responsibilities spurred immediate action to recruit faculty, audition students, and further course development for the curriculum (Jones, 1994). 

The anticipation of a new campus with a purpose-built theatre was also hampered by a labour dispute prior to the college’s official opening in 1983. As part of the ceremonies, the Theatre students once again displayed their zeal and enthusiasm for their craft by putting on “Douglas Cabaret”, an evening of variety entertainment. According to Dorothy Jones, this was doubly impressive due to the lack of equipment, props and costumes: “At this time, the new theatre contained only a bare stage; there were no front or side curtains, no lighting equipment, no sets, props or costumes. Everything involved with the production was either borrowed or provided by the cast” (Jones, 1994). 

Another large shift in the look of the Theatre Department occurred in 1987, when a new and separate Stagecraft program was created. This removed the technical Stagecraft courses from the Theatre program, allowing it to focus on acting and movement. The two programs have since worked in conjunction, putting on plays and musicals whose quality is closer to that of professional-level theatre productions.