Read on about how Green Thumb Theatre got started and established. Or go straight to our list of milestones.

In 1975 the Green Thumb Players Society was founded by a group of graduates from the University of British Columbia's drama department, which included Gord McCall, John Carroll, Dennis Foon and Jane Howard Baker. The company's original mandate was to produce plays for the local community with a focus on entertaining children, with its first season featuring humourous, adventurous tales such as Hokum the Giant Spider, The Great Xmas Kidnapping and The Richmond Ditchmonster.

With Dennis Foon acting as the first Artistic Director, the first few seasons saw an expansion of the repertoire to include legends such as Heracles and The Windigo, and folk stories such as Tales from Tolstoy and Shadowdance. The company successfully established itself in the local school market and quickly changed its legal mandate to include performances "throughout British Columbia and around the world".

In 1979 Green Thumb made a major artistic breakthrough by producing Hilary's Birthday, a play about a 10-year-old girl, her divorced mother and the mother's boyfriend, who would soon be moving in with them. This was the first time that a topic such as divorce had been presented in a school setting. Some educators were outraged; others were thrilled. By today's standards, Hilary's Birthday is a somewhat tame play, but in 1979 it set the course for Green Thumb as a cutting-edge theatre company.

The following season, 1980/81, saw the creation of Green Thumb's "signature piece" New Canadian Kid by Dennis Foon, based on a concept by Jane Howard Baker. The play follows the experience of a new immigrant to Canada and his efforts to fit into a new culture with a new language. The play utilized the clever theatrical device of having the Canadian characters speaking a type of gibberish (using familiar word roots) to highlight the frustration of not being able to understand or to be understood. New Canadian Kid has been hailed as a quintessential play for young audiences and has been listed by theatre academics as the most produced Canadian play of all time!

Throughout the 1980's, Green Thumb continued its strong commitment to text-based "issue plays". Dennis Foon wrote many of the scripts himself, but also commissioned work from several playwrights including John Lazarus, Colin Thomas and David Holman. The company expanded its original market to include secondary school audiences, giving writers more freedom in terms of language and subject matter. A string of successes emerged from this period, including Foon's Skin (about racism in high schools), Liars (children of alcoholic parents), and Mirror Game (the cycle of parental abuse), Colin Thomas' One Thousand Cranes (effect of war on children), and John Lazarus' Schoolyard Games (schoolyard conflicts), Not So Dumb (learning disabilities), and Night Light (children's fears). Perhaps the best-known initiative of the company was the creation of a street-proofing program against sexual abuse entitled Feeling Yes, Feeling No, which was packaged into a participatory instructional kit and made into a film, both of which are still in demand by educators, counselors and community action groups.

In 1988 Patrick McDonald became the new Artistic Director, replacing Dennis Foon who had moved on to become a freelance writer. Patrick brought a great deal of experience developing original Canadian plays to Green Thumb, having been Artistic Director of Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. Since joining the company Patrick has commissioned scripts from high-profile writers such as Morris Panych, Joan MacLeod and George F. Walker, while veterans such as John Lazarus and Dennis Foon continue to provide the company with new and exciting work. Patrick continued the emphasis on addressing issues, while infusing the exploration of new styles and production techniques to refresh the company's mandate. Highlights of his tenure have included Ian Tamblyn's Land of Trash (a futuristic look at environmental abuse), Little Sister by Joan MacLeod (a poetic examination of eating disorders) and Jamie Norris' Showdown (using hockey as a metaphor for children's inter-relationships). Most notable has been Co$t of Living (AIDS awareness) by Morris Panych, which toured for five seasons across Canada and internationally.

In 1988 Green Thumb Theatre began to supplement its touring activities by mounting its first mainstage production at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre - a full scale production of Mirror Game. This was followed over two successive seasons of mainstage shows targeted at family audiences. Then the company changed the focus of this programming to attract an under-served portion of the public - teenagers and young adults aged 15-24. The first effort in this direction was 2 B WUT U R by Morris Panych, followed by the world premiere of George F. Walker's Tough! and a re-write of his earlier play Criminals In Love. Green Thumb began to collaborate with other companies to help build momentum for this type of series, including a co-production of Betty Quan's Fault Lines with the Gateway Theatre in Richmond BC and a co-presentation of Les Deux Mondes' Tale of Teeka with the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

Other innovative collaborations over the years have included a tour exchange program with the California Theatre Center in Sunnyvale CA with their production of Most Valuable Player and Green Thumb's production of Night Light, the co-commission of Little Sister with Theatre Direct Canada, hosting Young People's Theatre of Toronto's production of Naomi's Road on tour in BC schools, and producing George F. Walker's Problem Child in repertory with Victoria's Belfry Theatre production of Featuring Loretta and the Vancouver Playhouse's Adult Entertainment.

One of the legacies of Green Thumb Theatre's extensive script development has been a library of original Canadian works which are now produced throughout Canada and around the world. The company operates a playwrights' agency, representing five writers for young audiences, assisting professional, community and school groups with their programming. As they prepare to enter the next century, Green Thumb continues their commitment and mandate to create and produce entertaining, thought-provoking theatre for young audiences.

Milestones

2005

• Green Thumb's produciton of Rage receives the Jessie Award for "Outstanding Production".
• Michele Riml, who wrote Rage, wins the "Sydney Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Play".
• Under Significant Artistic Achievement, Kelly Metzger and Jeremy Mitchell win the Jessie for "Outstanding Collaboration of Performer and Stage manager" for The Invisible Girl.
• The Shape of a Girl debuts at the Duke theatre on 42nd street (now the New Victory Theatre) to rave reviews from the New York Times. Green Thumb is the first English Canadian children's theatre company invited to the New Victory Theatre.

2004

• The Invisible Girl introduces the use of flash animation as a character in the school tour.  The Creative team and play reveice numerous nominations at the Jessie Awards.
• Ivan Habel replaces long-standing General Manager Peter Zednik and the company embarks on a renewed strategic plan.

2003

• The Shape of A Girl becomes the first mainstage production to receive two national tours, playing in eight provinces and the Yukon Territory.
  

2002

• Green Thumb wins 3 of the first 6 Canada Council Prizes for Outstanding Production for Young Audiences: One in a Million (Vancouver, 2002); Derwent is Different (Vancouver, 2001); and The Beauty Machine (Toronto, 2001).
• The Shape of a Girl is sold out for two national tours and is nominated for several awards in Vancouver, Calgary & Toronto
• Green Thumb wins the inaugural Business Member of the Year Award from the Canadian Arts Presenting Organisation (CAPACOA).

• The Shape of a Girl is invited for a command performance for HRH Prince Charles farewell party in Toronto.
• Green Thumb becomes the first organization to graduate from the 5-year Vancouver Arts Stabilization Team, and the first organization in Canada to complete an arts stabilization program.

• Green Thumb turns 25 years old!

• Green Thumb wins Jessies for Outstanding Production in two categories: Problem Child sweeps in the Large Theatre Category and Leaps & Bounds in Theatre for Young Audiences category.
• The 1998-1999 annual budget surpasses $1,000,000.
• Tour Director Susan Murphy becomes the founding President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Performing Arts for Young People.

• Peacemaker and New Kid are booked for an 8-month North American tour - the longest run in Green Thumb history.
• Current Artistic Director Patrick McDonald wins a special Jessie Award for continued excellence and vision in programming Theatre for Young Audiences, while founding Artistic Director Dennis Foon wins the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance.

• Green Thumb is the lone Canadian representative at the inaugural Telon Abierto Festival in Mexico - Green Thumb's first-ever foray into the Latin American market.
• New Kid wins the Reuters Festival Choice Award as Outstanding Children's Play at the Dublin Theatre Festival in Ireland.

• Green Thumb becomes the first company to qualify for funding through the Vancouver Arts Stabilization Team. General Manager Peter Zednik is awarded the Mary Phillips Prize for Outstanding Behind the Scenes Achievement in Vancouver's professional theatre community.

• Co$t of Living becomes the first Green Thumb production for secondary students to tour in the U.S., including our first invitation to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
• Seesaw tours Ireland for 4 weeks including performances at the Dublin Theatre Festival, Arts Week in Clifden and the Activate Festival in Cork City.
• General Manager Peter Zednik becomes the President of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.

• Tough!, George F. Walker's only commissioned play for young audiences, enjoys an 11-week national tour to Great Canadian Theatre Company (Ottawa), Factory Theatre (Toronto) and Phoenix Theatre (Edmonton).
• Criminals In Love enjoys 91% attendance for a 3-week run at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

• Co$t of Living tours to the International Children's Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Green Thumb can claim to have performed in every Canadian province and both territories when Land of Trash is invited to the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, PEI.

• Co$t of Living enjoys a lengthy national tour to 7 provinces and Green Thumb's first-ever tour to the Northwest Territories; residencies include the National Arts Centre, Young People's Theatre, Grand Theatre in London, and Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

• Land of Trash tours to the U.S., including Green Thumb's first invitation from the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

• Night Light tours to the International Children's Festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with HRH Princess Margaret in attendance.

• Green Thumb launches mainstage programming with a run of Mirror Game at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

• Mirror Game performs at the Quinzaine Internationale du Theatre in Quebec City.
• Night Light is the first of many productions to be selected for International Showcase for Young Audiences, presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
• Founding Artistic Director Dennis Foon resigns, and is replaced by Patrick McDonald.

• Not So Dumb receives the first of many Green Thumb invitations to the National Arts Centre.
• Skin is made into an award-winning film by the National Film Board of Canada.
• Green Thumb's Night Light and the California Theatre Center's Most Valuable Player participate in an exchange tour.

• New Canadian Kid is selected as programming for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '86 for a sold-out run.

• One Thousand Cranes and New Canadian Kid are presented for 198 performances on a Pacific Rim tour including Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
• New Canadian Kid and Bittersweet Kid in repertory are Green Thumb's first U.S. tour, with performances in Washington State.

• One Thousand Cranes performs at International Children's Festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

• Green Thumb is invited for a 4-week residency at the Unicorn Theatre in London, England. Artistic Director Dennis Foon receives the British Theatre Award for Outstanding Children's Play for Invisible Kids.

• Green Thumb launches the internationally renowned streetproofing program against sexual abuse, Feeling Yes, Feeling No.

• New Canadian Kid, Green Thumb's signature piece, is co-written by Dennis Foon and Jane Howard Baker and goes on to become one of the most produced Canadian plays of all time.

• The Windigo and Hilary's Birthday tour to England, Germany and Sweden.

• Joe Wiesenfeld writes Hilary's Birthday, a play about the daughter of a divorced couple, generally recognized as the first "issue play" for young audiences written in Canada.

• Green Thumb Theatre is founded by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates with a mandate to perform for young people "in British Columbia and around the world".

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