Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

In March 2020, protestors made their anger known, when it was announced that ‘Small Town Artillery,’ an indie rock band who were opposed to pipelines and supported Indigenous Rights, would be performing at the Bailey Theatre in Camrose, Alberta. This paper examines the role of a community theatre, not only as an important community hub which contributes to the cultural vitality of the region, but also as a site for potential disunity. In an era of increasing political polarization, public spaces like community theatres, once considered essential to civil society and democracy, are often finding they have become contested spaces. The research findings demonstrate that the Bailey Theatre has become an important centre of activity that fosters community connection, celebrates shared values, debates differences, and explores what it means to be human. However, as this case study demonstrates, venues can also be sites for community disunity and the contestation of competing ideologies. Using qualitative methods and building on the art worlds (Becker, 1982), music scene (Straw, 1991), and musicking (Small, 1998) literature, this paper argues that in order to ensure their role in fostering a vibrant cultural scene, enhancing tourism and the experiential economy, and creating safe spaces for the celebration of diversity (Browne, et al, 2016; Cohen, 2017), community theatres must serve all their communities even if they run the risk of creating moments of community discord.