Touring the Boards at the Banff Centre

I wrote this on the way home from Blog ‘n’ Dogshttp://blogsndogs.com/, but haven’t had a chance to post it yet.

The staff at the Banff Centre were fantastic. In passing, I mentioned to somebody that I had an interest in theatre architecture. The next thing I know, I’m getting a private tour of the theatre and music buildings from Jim Oliver, Director of Customer Services.

The theatre complex is the most well-equipped I’ve seen in Canada. It’s got three theatres–two proscenium stages and a little nightclub deal. The main theatre is lovely, with a broad, deep stage and plenty of wing space. The stagecraft facilities are huge–the costume department has separate rooms for cloth dying and building hats and boots! Because the cost of storage is so high in Banff, they store the majority of their costumes in Calgary.

The music building next door is much newer, built in 1996. I snuck into the second half of a two-piano performance of Rachmaninov. I know next to nothing about classical music, but I certainly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed being in the performance space, with its high, panelled ceiling and tall windows streaming sunlight onto its parque floor. Musical facts I recall from the tour: the Banff Centre has 101 pianos, and 52 rehearsal studios (including some darling little huts).