The College successfully shifted to alternative online delivery of all final classes as well as refocused the Year-End Musical into a robust Digital Performance Portfolio project, fulfilling our commitment to offer students the required 180 performance hours. This enabled the term to proceed with only a short interruption and saw the Year II students successfully graduate on schedule.
The College is moving forward with plans for a mix of in-person and digital delivery of all programs in September. This will include a built-in isolation period for international and out of province students, and a staggered and prolonged orientation period, to ensure physical distance is maintained. We have elongated the year with a flexible end date in May or June 2021 in case a temporary suspension or return to full isolation is required.
In order to address the challenges of adhering to the guidelines set out by the Provincial Health Authority, we are using this summer re-examine our facility, student culture and class schedule to create a safe socially-distanced learning environment. In addition to adjusting traffic flow in our building, reducing class sizes, and increasing sanitization, we are also creating more space for learning by relocating our administrative offices to smaller studios and creating an additional large multi-purpose studio.
We are also re-imagining our physical internet infrastructure to increase WiFi access throughout the facility and provide reliable Ethernet data drops in every classroom for dedicated livestreaming of classes. The College will also invest in tablets, monitors, webcams, and computer systems to ensure that every class can be livestreamed.
This is a significant but essential investment ($50,000+) to ensure our students access to safe in-person learning. Your support will make a significant impact in safeguarding our student’s experience.
Watch our COVID-19 update video or donate to our Breaking Through for In-Person Learning campaign.
Our 2020-21 season and subscription packages will look a little different this year. Our intent is to offer reduced capacity, socially-distanced live performances as well as livestream access. Our current subscribers will receive advance notice of our programming choices and available viewing options.
We’ll be reaching in out mid-August to our subscribers informing them of the measures and protocols we will be taking and to gather feedback on their comfort level returning to the theatre.
Please note that any performance dates and programming choices in 2020-21 are subject to change if increased restrictions are advised by the Provincial Health Authority.