Green Thumb Theatre

Discipline: Theatre
Homebase: Vancouver
Regions Available: Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley &, Howe Sound, Vancouver Island Lower, Vancouver Island Mid, Vancouver Island North, Interior, North, Remote, Kootenays
Languages: English
Themes: Mental Health, LGBTQ2SIA+, Anti-Bullying
Grant Eligibility: Eligible for 70% AIE

For over 45 years, Green Thumb Theatre has been creating and producing plays that explore social issues relevant to the lives of children, youth, and young adults. They provide theatre that celebrates the language and stories of today's generation, stimulating empathy, debate, and critical thinking. Green Thumb is one of Canada's foremost creators of theatre for young audiences. They have performed throughout Canada, the US, and 11 countries overseas.

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Green Thumb's offices are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. 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.

Performance(s)

500 Words by Jamie Norris

School Year: 24-25
Discipline: Theatre
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: K - 7
Duration: 50 min. + 10 min. Q&A
Capacity: 600
Tech Requirements: Performing space minimum 25 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 12 feet high, adequate light in the performance area, two electrical outlets,1 table, 2 chairs, set up 1 hour prior to start time, and 45 minutes strike after performance.
Available Formats: In Person

Touring in Spring 2025! Lance is the smartest kid in grade six, and he never misses an opportunity to show off his vocabulary. Sylvia is a daydreamer in grade three, who is always coming up with fantastical worlds, but doesn’t always have the words to bring her stories to life. When Lance’s teacher assigns him Sylvia as a reading buddy, he would rather spend the time focusing on writing a prize-winning entry for the school’s story competition. But when Lance can’t think of a story on his own, it’s Sylvia’s vibrant imagination that creates a whole world of magic for him to draw inspiration from. Learning together, the unlikely pair create something neither of them could have come up with on their own. In the end, Sylvia starts to overcome her fear of reading, and Lance learns that the biggest word isn’t always the smartest word, and that you really can’t judge a person until you get to know them. Grade Recommendation: K – 7 Curriculum Connections: Creative Thinking, Collaboration, Personal Awareness and Responsibility. Themes: Friendship, Literacy, Creativity, Learning Disabilities.

The Mixolydian by Ashley Cook

School Year: 24-25
Discipline: Theatre
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: K - 7
Duration: 50 minutes + 10 minute Q&A
Capacity: 600
Tech Requirements: Performing space minimum 25 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 12 feet high, adequate light in the performance area, two electrical outlets,1 table, 2 chairs, set up 1 hour prior to start time, and 45 minutes strike after performance.
Available Formats: In Person

Touring Fall 2024! Bellevue, an 11-year-old Anishinaabe/Metis girl, is on a journey through the woods. Reconnecting with her culture and language, Bellevue is accompanied by her “imaginary friend”, a shapeshifter named Thomas. Having recently lost her grandfather (Shoom), Bellevue feels out of touch with the stories and words her Shoom used to share. Luckily, with some help from ancestor Nokomis, Bellevue learns that Shoom’s knowledge lives on in her, and there is more to her friend Thomas than meets the eye. Grade Recommendation: K – 7 Curriculum Connections: Positive Personal and Cultural Identity, Creative Thinking, Social Awareness and Responsibility Themes: Indigenous Culture, Tradition, and Identity.

The Shape of a Girl by Joan MacLeod

School Year: 24-25
Discipline: Theatre
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: 8 - 12
Duration: 50 minutes and 10 minutes Q&A
Capacity: 600
Tech Requirements: Performing space minimum 25 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 12 feet high, adequate light in the performance area, two electrical outlets,1 table, 2 chairs, set up 1 hour prior to start time, and 45 minutes strike after performance.
Available Formats: In Person

Touring in Fall 2024! What does it mean to be part of the in-crowd? In an imaginary letter to her absent older brother, Braidie struggles to understand news stories about the torture and murder of a local teenage girl and how the brutality she sees in the headlines is reflected in her own friend group. Revisiting memories, Braidie tracks her own complicity and participation in the bullying of one girl, and considers what it means to go too far. THE SHAPE OF A GIRL challenges audiences to interrogate their capacity to both help and harm others and to be brave when standing up for what is right. Curriculum Connections: Personal Awareness and Responsibility, Social Awareness and Responsibility, Communication, Critical and Reflective Thinking. Themes: Bullying, Group Dynamics, Teen Violence, Asking for Help. Audience: Grade 8+

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Testimonials & Reviews

I have always found Green Thumb Theatre to be excellent and thought-provoking. The theatre isn't always easy, and it allows for moments of discomfort- it provides authentic, timely, relevant fuel for the discussions and activities that teachers follow-up with. Mika Livingston, Vice-Principal, Manoah Steves Elementary

It was both educational and entertaining. The children enjoyed the performance and the messages embedded in the story were real and appropriate for the children. Very much in keeping with the current atmosphere in our culture. A quality production. Thank you for your hard work and the joy you bring to the children. Grade 4 Teacher, Vancouver

Fantastic performance, students appreciated the honesty and lack of sugar coating, it was engaging and informative, the range of the actor was impressive, the content very relevant. Heidi Rogers, Drama Teacher, Sir Charles Tupper Secondary (speaking about CRANKED: THE REMIX)

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