About

The Full Story

The Gabriola Theatre Centre was founded by Antony Holland who was instrumental in bringing live theatre to Gabriola in the 1990’s and continued to do so until he passed away in 2015. Move forward to 2023, and his eldest granddaughter Jasmine Howes has taken the reigns to lead the Gabriola Theatre Centre into a new era of live theatre and performance on the Isle of the Arts. Like her grandfather, Jasmine fully believes artists should be financially compensated for the tremendous work they do in showcasing their artistry. Performing artists work long hours to develop their craft and when the audience can witness their work, it creates a beautiful connection between the artist and the audience, thus creating community through experience. The Gabriola Theatre Centre is fortunate to have a small living space above the theatre to host artists in residence, this will enable the theatre centre to bring visiting artists to Gabriola to share their work through performance and workshops. We are over the moon to have you join us in this journey!

Gabriola Songs Society

A registered charitable society

since 2025

The purposes of the society are to: advance the public's appreciation of the arts by presenting high-quality artistic performances, producing presentations, motion pictures and performance art(s) events, and by providing a forum for qualified artists to exhibit, present, or perform their artistic works through participation in such events, on Gabriola Island;

to advance the public’s appreciation of the arts by providing free and low-cost performances for audiences that may not be able to attend regular performances and;

to undertake activities ancillary and incidental to the attainment of the above charitable purposes.

Artistic Director

Jasmine Howes moved to Gabriola Island in September 2021 with the dream of restarting the Theatre Centre which was created by her paternal grandfather Antony Holland. Two years later and that dream is fulfilled. Jasmine brings a deep love of the theatre that sprouted when her grandfather took her regularly to theatre shows around Vancouver. It then started to bloom when, as a nine year old, Antony cast her in his production of MacBeth at Studio 58. In her teenage years Jasmine’s love of performance took the form of dance when she was fortunate enough to become part of the dance troupe formed by Jeni LeGon. Since then her theatre roots have remained dormant, but still very much alive, beneath the soil. Now they are ready to shoot forth as she re-opens the Gabriola Theatre Centre and prepares to begin a new era of theatre on the Island of the Arts.

Founder

Antony Holland lived and breathed theatre and was an inspiration for so many gifted actors. His passion for theatre began as a child and continued on throughout his lifetime. He loved to break theatre down to the bare bones so the real essence of a piece could reach the audience. He taught at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England, produced numerous productions during the Second World War, with fellow soldiers, directed inmates at the Haney Correctional Institute after coming to Canada, and founded Studio 58. He acted in professional theatres throughout Canada and also had a lively film career. He also created several small theatre companies while continuing to act and create until the end of his life. The Gabriola Theatre Centre was his final theatre home and a gift to the island. A way for Antony to easily showcase his latest work as “The Centre” was on his property, all he had to do was walk out the door. Antony ensured “The Centre’s” legacy by applying to the Islands Trust on Gabriola for “live theatre” to exist on his property and be part of the island bylaws.

Technical Director

Jonathon has been working in Canadian theatre for over 30 years as a producer, performer, technician, stage manager and designer.Jonathon studied both performance and production at MacEwan University in Edmonton, where he co-founded the independent touring theatre company, RibbitRePublic. This company now has a twenty-five year touring record around North America, and has performed at dozens of festivals including the Orlando Fringe Festival, Fresno Rouge Festival, Fringe World Perth, The Centaur Wildside Festival, Vancouver Comedy Festival and Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.As a producer, Jonathon was the Technical and Artistic Director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, NS from 2017-2020 and founded the French Quarter Hub at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in 2012.

Jonathan has co-managed 3 venues (over 20 performing acts) in French Quarter Hub every year, with attendance peaking at over 20, 000 patrons. French Quarter Hub was the first of its kind in Canada, modelling after the hub-based Fringes in Adelaide and Edinburgh. Jonathon also has over 2 dozen producing credits and over 25 years with RibbitRePublic, overseeing everything from marketing, promotions, web design, poster design, lighting design, stage managing, accounting, social media etc. In response to the pandemic, Jonathon created FringeLiveStream, an online platform for live performances which has been able to return thousands of dollars to independent artists.As a performer, Jonathon has been seen at every major Fringe Festival in North America, with over one hundred festivals and 30 years under his belt. He has also worked with Vertigo Mystery Theatre, National Stiltwalkers of Canada, Monster Theatre, Theatre Prospero, Zero Gravity Circus, Workshop West Theatre, Mayfield Dinner Theatre and Off-Broadway's Soho Playhouse. As a technician, Jon has served as the Technical Director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, Nova Scotia and Monster Theatre in Vancouver, BC. He has been a lighting technician since 2011, and has worked with Perth Fringe World, Orlando Fringe Festival, London Fringe Festival, Waterfront Theatre, Firehall Arts Centre and Silver Skate Winter Festival. Jonathon also has several years experience as a lighting designer as has most recently co-designed for Juliet: A Revenge Comedy at the Cultch in Vancouver. Jonathon currently lives in Vancouver where he works at Granville Island Theatre District, Tightrope Theatre, Heart of the City Festival and Granville Pirates.