Two theatre companies at opposite ends of the province are working to improve their productions and bring enjoyment to theatre goers and visitors to the province.

The Ruby Theatre, operating in St. Lunaire-Griquet on the Northern Peninsula, used $6,250 in matching funding from the province�s Business and Market Development Program to design and produce brochures and signage.

Lighthouse Productions of Grand Bank has received $31,718 from the province�s Regional/Sectoral Diversification Fund to make leasehold improvements to the 100-year-old building it performs in. They include expansion to the stage, reception and costume areas, and a room for the actors.

"In our Comprehensive Regional Diversification Strategy we identified tourism as a sector with considerable growth potential for rural areas and these two companies have proved popular with residents and tourists on the Burin and Northern Peninsulas," said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. "We have a rich cultural heritage and funding such as this helps keep it alive while bringing economic spin-offs to the province."

The Ruby Theatre is owned and operated by Crystal Parsons and began in June 2005, portraying life in rural Newfoundland and Labrador in the early days of the fishery. It operates from June to September with two and three shows a day from an old church and in the open air. It is popular with people visiting nearby L�Anse aux Meadows.

Lighthouse Productions Inc. is governed by an eight-person board of directors and has operated for the past three years under the direction of Berni Stapleton, a well-known artist and playwright. The regional theatre is popular with residents and visitors and supported by the business community through corporate sponsorships. The theatre is supported by the Heritage Run Tourism Association and promoted through all the HRTA promotional venues.

Kel Matthews, chair of the Board of Directors of Lighthouse Productions said: "We have been working on this project for five or six years and we are totally excited that the theater is finally being renovated."

The Business and Market Development Program is designed to provide new entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses with funding to help them acquire the necessary expertise to pursue new business ideas and new markets for their products or services. The $1 million program is intended to support new growth opportunities in the economy, such as value-added manufacturing activities and export-oriented opportunities.

The Regional Sectoral Diversification Fund is a $5 million fund of the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and a component of the province�s Comprehensive Regional Diversification Strategy. The fund provides non-repayable contributions to economic development agencies for initiatives that address regional and sectoral development and diversification.

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