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About green thumb theatre

For over 48 years, Green Thumb has been a force within the field of theatre for young audiences

As a touring company, Green Thumb Theatre’s work often takes place throughout the traditional homelands of most of the Indigenous Nations and cultures across British Columbia and beyond. Green Thumb's offices are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam),  Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Founded in 1975, Green Thumb Theatre is a force within the field of theatre for young audiences, not only in British Columbia, but across the country and throughout the world. In our more than 47 year history, Green Thumb has performed for over 4 million people and has toured to every province and two territories in Canada, 36 US States, and 11 countries overseas. Committed to producing excellent material that is rewarding for artists and audiences alike, Green Thumb remains in high demand because we place youth engagement and artistic integrity on an even plane. 

By offering young audiences the same caliber of work a traditional theatre audience would expect, Green Thumb provides a way for young people to reflect on the kinds of issues that they may be curious about or grappling with themselves, but don’t feel comfortable broaching in a traditional classroom setting. Green Thumb believes that young Canadians face the same scope of issues, problems, concerns and interests that adults do; however, many young people are disempowered from effectively confronting difficult or complex situations as a result of societal and systemic barriers, or cultural beliefs and discriminations. As Canadian society diversifies it is more important than ever that people respect each other and each other’s differences. 

Beyond the immediacy of producing the best work possible for the audience before us, Green Thumb is also invested in contributing to Canada’s cultural landscape in a lasting way. We commission new plays with the intent that they will have a life beyond the gymnasium floor stage, working with both emerging writers as well as established playwrights like Joan McLeod, Morris Panych, and George F. Walker, all of whom have a Governor General’s Award to their name, and have received wide critical acclaim throughout their careers. We also offer opportunities and mentorship to emerging actors, designers, and arts administrators. We believe that to ensure continuing enthusiasm and support for the arts tomorrow, we must invest in the rising talent of today.

Mission Statement

Green Thumb Theatre creates and produces plays that explore social issues relevant to the lives of children, youth and young adults. We provide theatre that celebrates the language and stories of today’s generation and culture to stimulate empathy, debate and critical thinking.

Themes in our programming

Green Thumb Theatre explores contemporary issues with an emphasis on entertainment, enlightenment, and education;
issues such as: 

• bullying
• illiteracy
 • immigration
 • digital citizenship
• family relationships
• friendship and communication
• substance abuse
• self-esteem
• autism awareness
• mental illness and mental health
• environment
• AIDS awareness
• racism
• problem gambling   

Statistics about Green Thumb

• Each year we tour to school districts across British Columbia, performing for more than 50,000 children. 

• We regularly tour across Canada and the United States, and we tour abroad with some productions. 

• We have created original productions subsequently staged by 200 theatre companies worldwide and translated into Chinese, French, Spanish, Polish, German, Danish, Hebrew, Icelandic, and Japanese. 

• In our 47+ seasons of touring & main stage shows, we have performed over 15,000 times to more than 4,000,000 people in every province and 2 territories in Canada, 36 states in the United States, as well as in Ireland, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Memberships

Green Thumb is a proud member of the following organizations:

International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY)

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Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT)

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Alliance for Arts and Culture

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