The Weyburn Theatre Community Service Cooperative gave the community a peek into the currently under construction Spark Cinema, through the release of digital renderings of the interior design plans.
They worked with Dimension Design & Consulting to design the theatre and create the renderings. President of the Weyburn Theatre Community Service Co-op, Ryan Janke, says it's exciting to see their plans come to life.
“One of the comments I've heard a lot, and I share, to be honest, from people who've walked past the site is, how is it going to look when it's done? How is it going to be big enough to house all these seats and so on? And those are really good questions and it seems to me that when you can actually see the 3D renderings and the visuals from the inside, it all kind of comes together and makes it a little bit more real.”
Owner of Dimension Design & Consulting, Brandon Schatz, expresses his anticipation to share the designs, as they spared no expense making the theatre as up to date as possible. He says they wanted to create a space that would draw in movie-goers from people inside and around the community.
“The theatre group really wanted to make this comparable to the best theatres around, even like Regina and Saskatoon. So, we reached out to lots of professionals in the industry Canada-wide to get good information on audio, video equipment, even the theatre seating and stuff like that and I think it was a pretty unanimous decision to make it as good as possible and not just have an average theatre.”
Janke highlights their intention to make the theatre compatible with its location downtown, highlighting considerations including soundproofing, fireproofing, and accessibility.
“Our goal really is to make Weyburn the go-to movie place for the entire southeast portion of the province.”
An aspect of this found within the designs is the addition of an event room. Janke explains the reason for including this space is simple: birthday parties.
“If you've ever had a birthday party at a movie theatre, it's nice to have a place to eat your cake and open your presents and be loud, because once you're in the theatre you're going to be quiet.”
Still, the space will be available for a variety of uses, including corporate events, receptions, or other celebrations.
“Theatres operate a lot on the weekends and in the evenings, but it's available for rent all day during the day for any number of things.”
The facility hosts two theatres, one with a capacity of around 100 people, the other with a capacity of around 50 to 60 people. This includes barrier-free or wheelchair accessible seats.
Janke provides an update on the construction progress, saying with $1.75 million raised, they need approximately another $1 million in funds raised before financing the remaining costs. He is confident their anticipated grand opening date set for November 2026 will be met.
“With any kind of luck, we will have the slab poured later this week. That kind of depends on the weather, of course, but nothing hinges on that, we'll get that done. The steel is already on its way, and we expect to get those walls up as soon as we possibly can.”
“There's still lots of sponsorship opportunities available on the website, but they are running out, so feel free to reach out to the website, the email address there, or contact myself or anyone else on the board.”
He expresses his satisfaction working with Dimension Designs & Consulting on this important project, noting the positive responses he’s heard from the community so far.
“It's been a thrill to work with Brandon and also everybody over at DSI, to bring this to life. It was kind of a game-changing moment, for those of us who've been in this for four or five years, to actually be able to walk inside it, even in a virtual space.”
Schatz says he’s enjoyed working on the project, outlining the ease that came with the organization’s clear vision for the project.
“[The theatre group] has been really good with having all the business planning going and knowing exactly what people want to see. Honestly, bringing this to life was really easy working with this group because they really were set on what they wanted."
Take a peek into the new Spark Cinema by checking out the digital renderings below, provided by Brandon Schatz.