It’s all in the Walls: Share Your Memories of the Empress Theatre!

Photography courtesy of Jon Helm, Community Programs Co-ordinator, Empress Theatre

The Empress Theatre, in Fort Macleod, is the oldest continually operating theatre in Western Canada and undoubtedly is a building full of character and soul. Operating since 1912, the theatre has had all types of performances echo through its halls.

"When I think of all the people who have been in this theatre since 1912, the performers, the people attending dramas and town meetings, kids' pageants–it's all in the walls," says Brent Hutchinson, Executive Director of the Empress Theatre Society.

Through the years, the theatre has been host to many celebrities, from Bif Naked to Tom Jackson. Though the memories of performances are spread throughout the community and its members, it's most evident on the walls of the Empress's dressing rooms. Signed, scrawled, and ornamented with varying signatures and names, the walls truly relay part of the Empress's history.

Many people have been through the empress's doors over the past 100 years and to commemorate the Empress's Centennial, why not share some of the memories you have of performances from the theatres past? We'd love to hear them.