As you are all aware, Heather Burns’ tenure as Director of Education will come to an end on January 31st. From the outset, we knew that finding a permanent replacement in the middle of the school year presented challenges, and that we had to ensure that appropriate leadership and supports were in place through to the end of the program year.

It is our pleasure to announce the College's Interim Director of Education, Alana Hibbert. It is a landmark for any educational institution when an esteemed alumna returns in a leadership position.

Alana graduated from CCPA in 2004 and has gone on to an impressive career at some of Canada’s most prestigious theatres, including the Stratford, Shaw and the Charlottetown Festivals. In addition to her professional successes, she has remained highly committed to education as an active singing teacher. Alana holds an undergraduate degree from Simon Fraser University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto, with areas of interest in equity and mentorship in arts education.

The Search Committee is actively interviewing for the permanent position, with the anticipation for the new Director of Education to begin in the summer months and be fully in place at the beginning of the next school year.

We regret to inform you that we are unable to present public performances, in-person or livestream, for our scheduled production of If/Then. We worked very hard to negotiate livestream rights with the licenser, but due to the global shift to livestream performances, our request was left deep in their backlog. This, paired with current provincial health restrictions, has meant we are unable to share the production outside of the College community.

As the production is integral to the successful completion of the program, the creative team and studio ensemble have moved forward. We will be sharing production stills, a trailer, and interviews with you soon, to give an inside look at a production produced during an unprecedented time.

If you have any concerns regarding performance, don't hesitate to email our box office at boxoffice@ccpacanada.com.

We will be announcing our remaining productions in the coming weeks, and can confirm that we have acquired livestreaming rights for all performances until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Our Student Marketer, Kelsey Launier, has put together some great behind-the-scenes content for If/Then.

Follow their posts and stories on the 'Company C' Studio Ensemble Facebook or Instagram and see how the ensemble has adapted and risen to the challenges set out by this extraordinary year.

The College’s National Audition Tour has gone online. This year, you can audition from your own home on a digital platform!

Monday February 22, 4:00pm PST

Saturday February 27 – Friday March 5

Ever thought about being an actor, dancer or singer? How about all three?

Join us on Friday, February 5th for a glimpse of what it takes at one of the country’s top performing arts training centres!

We’ve taken our popular Spend the Day program online! Open to all prospective college students, this is an opportunity to participate in college-level movement classes, talk to current students, faculty, and the college directors.

The program will include a live movement class, a live Q&A, and an introduction to the upcoming Studio Ensemble production If/Then, directed by Sara-Jeanne Hosie.

To register, please contact us at engagement@ccpacanada.com or 250 608 3565 before Monday, February 1st, 2021. Please include: 1) name, 2) current school grade, and 3) how you heard about the Virtual Student Experience.

We would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Mel Cooper on being named Chair Emeritus of the TELUS Community Board.

Mel has been a passionate advocate of CCPA since its inception, both individually and through the TELUS Community Board. He worked generously with the College Directors, served as an Honorary Board Member, and was integral to many of the events the College, including our Dedicated to David fundraiser.

Our student kitchen is stocked! We have had an overwhelming response to our Winter Food Drive.

We are deeply grateful for the starring role our whole community has played in this campaign. Because of your outstanding support, our kitchen is now ready for term two. Not only do we have non-perishable food ready for our students, we have local grocery store gift cards for fresh food.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our students' health and wellness through these extraordinary times.

class photography and photo from West Side Story by Peter Pokorny.