We’re building a theatre at 877 Yonge Street!
Now that the construction of our new theatre and office space at 877 Yonge Street is well underway, things are moving quickly. We hope you love a work-in-progress as much as we do. Follow along as we post monthly updates.
December 2024
Happy New Year! Today, we bring you the December construction update, which includes details on the tech booth in the new theatre and the gorgeous colours of our new space.
Tapestry has always invested deeply in the next generation of opera creators, and we’re delighted to formalize our processes with a Residency Program at 877 Yonge Street. For our Resident Organizations, Tapestry will provide support through rehearsal and performance space, collaboration, mentorship and more. We will be announcing the first organizations shortly, so stay tuned!
We hosted a Virtual Town Hall on Monday, January 20, at 3:00 pm, focused on information for artists and renters interested in using the new theatre and venue. We reviewed the process, pricing, technical abilities, and more.
Performance Hall
Our theatre is coming to life!
You can now see the skeleton of the tech booth at the north of the space. You can already see the rectangular windows! We are thrilled to be able to have a dedicated tech booth in the theatre, as this will facilitate not only the discrete running of lighting, projections, and sound but it is also a soundproof space from which we can record professional audio.
We had a beautiful historic space in the Ernest Balmer Studio in the Distillery. As it wasn’t built to be a theatre, one of our challenges was that without a tech booth, lighting and sound were operated from a fold-out table beside audience members whenever we had public performances.
This booth will significantly improve our capacity to self-produce dynamic shows for a smooth and enjoyable audience experience!
Colours! Finishings!
We have decided on the final colours for our new space, and we’re thrilled! Clay Jones has worked his magic to share the name of the space associated with the colours.
October 2024
Construction is in full swing! Read more:
Construction is in full swing! Now that we have handled the water remediation work, we are full steam ahead with creating the new venue. The large room opposite the theatre is divided into a rehearsal studio, a green room, and Tapestry and Nightwood Theatre offices. We have exciting developments about framing, final paint, millwork, colours, and finishings.
Performance Hall
The tech booth, storage, and piano room are now framed in the theatre. After spending so much time with the floor plans, it is incredibly exciting to see these spaces emerge in three dimensions.
Office and Rehearsal Studio
This space is being turned into Tapestry and Nightwood’s offices, our rehearsal studio, and our green room. As we have only ever seen this space as a large activities room, the effect of delineating the space with framing is immense. The window section along the east wall has gotten bigger—yay, more light for our future office!
The walls and framing are up in the rehearsal studio, both private offices for Tapestry and Nightwood leadership and the green room.
Behind the scenes
We’re picking swatches!
A walkthrough with Jaime Martino shows new framing as the space takes shape.
August & September 2024
Learn about the remediation work to bring 877 to life:
We’re sharing August and September construction updates together — what even is time? In our last update, we found water everywhere, so read on to learn about the remediation work in the previous two months.
Performance Hall
Under Slab Water
After record-setting heavy rainfalls this summer, the team found evidence of water seepage under the concrete slab. While this is unwelcome news, it was better to have found it at this stage with everything demolished and not later when we have our shiny new flooring and are open. The remedial work included installing weeping tile under the slab, increasing the drainage outside the building, and a new sump pump system. Since the work took the better part of August and continued into September, our timelines have shifted slightly – but we will still be opening in early 2025, so never fear!
Insulation
The team at StructCon is currently installing insulation in the Theatre which you will see on either side of the photo below. This is exciting progress as we see the shape of the walls and the envelope of the space emerge. Incredible to think of this space full of people and art and beauty in just a few short months!
Office and Rehearsal Studio
Framing
Water remediation work took place in our Rehearsal Studio space in August and September, but it didn’t slow down the framing (much). It’s been so long as an open space we’d gotten used to it, but it is tremendously exciting to see the walls coming up to demarcate the spaces – it’s really starting to feel real. As you can see on the floor plan, there will be two private offices, and those are the spaces that you can see in this photo of the framing. This section of the floor also bore the brunt of the water work, so you can see evidence of that too!
Behind the scenes
Panoramic view of construction in full swing in the performance hall.
July 2024
Officially breaking ground. Read more:
We have officially broken ground on creating the theatre, offices and rehearsal studio at 877 Yonge Street. Having completed the demolition and asbestos removal earlier in the spring, it is full steam ahead to create the most accessible, affordable, and well-equipped theatre of its kind in Toronto.
Performance Hall
After the demolition work was completed, we found some water behind the drywall, which is to be expected with a building of this age. Classic. While we move ahead with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-ins, we’re also working hard to address the leaks, springs, and drips that have made themselves known.
Office and Rehearsal Studio
The construction team has started with replacing the ventilation system and ductwork. The team raised the pre-construction ceiling by nearly three feet, and we were delighted to discover its full height—dancers using the studio will be happy, too!
Behind the scenes
Jaime was on site last week and captured some quick cellphone videos and photos.
