If the story is to be believed, Kay Meek, teacher, philanthropist and longtime supporter of local arts, passed away the very same evening the theatre that bears her name put on its inaugural show.
It would make sense if it were to be true: Her work here was complete.
In 1998, Meek had established a trust with an initial donation of $1 million to help source a location for a new arts centre. In 2000, the West Vancouver School District proposed that it be built beside West Vancouver Secondary. After decades of campaigning for a more vibrant arts scene in the District of West Vancouver, Meek fulfilled her wish when the theatre opened in 2004. She was 98 years old.
“Kay was just this incredibly generous soul. She had a real determination that West Vancouver needed the arts and culture, and she was determined to see it happen,” said West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager. “It took a long time and a lot of work, but she did it. She persevered.”
Sager, whose mother had been a “dear friend” of Meek’s, said “it feels like just yesterday” that the theatre was opening its doors for the first time. Over the past two decades, he has seen it host all manner of talent and even foster some of its own, with his daughter, an opera singer, being one of many creative youths to practice and perform on its stage.
“She wanted the kids of West Vancouver to have an opportunity to actually be on a stage, understand what that means, be part of a performance, and just enrich and enlarge themselves,” said the theatre’s founding chair Maggie Pappas.
Pappas has been with the theatre since its existence was nothing more than a blueprint, one of a small few who can lay claim to seeing it through all its stages, from its beginning in 2004, to its renovations in 2021, and now, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Others include its small but mighty team of volunteers, many who would have never predicted they would still be greeting customers and handing out popcorn two decades on.
Joy Simmons, who retired from next door’s West Vancouver Secondary a few months before the theatre opened, offered to volunteer on the evening of that very first show. She remembers those moments directing guests to their chairs, and the feelings experienced being able to help, and soak up the magic of the show, that haven’t subsided since.
“I’m always amazed by what we’ve got on, always amazed. I can’t think of many performances I walked out of and thought that it wasn’t just fantastic,” said Simmons, adding how the most memorable evenings of the previous 20 years have been the theatre’s almighty fundraising galas.
For volunteer Donna Mihm, it’s the school performances that make volunteering still alluring even 20 years on.
“The young people are incredible,” she said. “Their talent always blows me away.” That, and the opportunity to truly become embedded within the local community.
‘I’m usually in the concession, because I like that personal involvement with people and getting a chance to ask them about their child who is performing, or what they like about the performer, or what their history is in the area,” she said.
“People are always willing to share those kinds of things and I find that fascinating. I love getting to know more of the locals.”
It is a comfort for the volunteers to see the same faces return each season, but it is more exciting to see newbies make an appearance, said Simmons, and there have been many of late.
“We’re getting a lot more Vancouverites coming over. They’re starting to realize that it’s so lovely here,” she said, adding how nearly all newcomers are shocked by the size of the building and the scale of its shows.
The theatre’s brief history is marked by large-scale, varied performances, from comedian Rick Mercer to Juno-award winning Alex Cuba, and with even more penned for its future, its audience is only predicted to become more varied, said Melissa Duchak.
“The internal vision is to reflect the community, but also to push the boundaries a little bit and reflect the changing community of West Vancouver,” she said, adding how she hopes to broaden the theatre’s offerings even further to appeal to audiences near and far, young and old.
Productions catered to and inspired by the thriving Persian community can be expected, she said, as can much more Indigenous programming.
Over the next two decades, she hopes the theatre will become more of a community hub, where artists of all kinds can show their works – art for sale from local painters can currently be found in the theatre’s lobby – people can pop in for a coffee or to have a chat with staff and enjoy music.
“We’ll be bringing more people in and making it a home that people feel comfortable in,” Duchak said. “My goal is to just help people realize what a jewel it is, and how much pride they should feel that they have this hall here in West Vancouver.”
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the theatre will be hosting 37 concerts across the season, from comedy theatre experience Juliet: A Revenge Comedy, to Canadian supergroup the Trans-Canada Highwaymen and 19-year-old award-winning pianist Kevin Chen.
A large-scale two-part gala, set to rival all its previous iterations, will comprise a three-course sit down dinner and concert on Nov. 23 with a separate cocktail reception to follow.
Tickets will be available to purchase on the Kay Meek website, with all funds set to go towards supporting the centre’s future arts programming.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
