FAQ
Your theatre rental covers use of the theatre and dressing room. All theatre rentals include the use of all our tech gear, including our live stream kit. Technical information and inventories can be found here.
Daily rentals and Hourly rentals also include the help of one of our in-house technicians. Member rentals do not include a technician, but technician hours can be added. Their rate is updated annually in January, as per indicated in Article 3 of our Terms & Conditions. Theatre rentals do not include the lobby, as this is a shared space with Bus Stop Staff.
You must book enough time for your event’s set up, the event itself, and clean up afterwards. You will not be permitted access to the theatre prior to the start of your rental and you will be charged for not cleaning and resetting the space after your event.
Our in-house technicians can run your event’s lighting, sound, projection and live-stream. Please let your technician know in advance of your rental what your tech requirements will be and provide them with any lighting plots, tech riders, projection slides, sound cues, etc. Please ensure your rental includes enough time to set up/tear down all of your tech elements. If you have a tech heavy event it may be necessary to have two technicians. A second technician can be added for $26.50/hr.
Our standard set up seats 75 people. Additional seating can be added on the stage/floor area if your event does not require much stage space (i.e. stand up comedy, solo musician, etc.)
The Bus Stop Theatre does not offer ticketing services, renters are responsible for setting up their own method of ticketing. The Bus Stop does not take any portion of the ticket sales.
No, you are welcome to provide your own FOH person.
Yes, both our bar and bar staff are included in all rentals. The bar can be open up to one hour before, during, and one hour after your event, and can run as a dry bar (no alcohol) if requested. You can bring your drinks into the theatre. Renters and audience members are not allowed to bring in outside alcohol.
We do not allow the use of loose glitter, cigarettes/vaporizers/etc., open flames, non-fire retardant draping, drawing on the walls/floor with chalk/chalk markers, and the excessive use of water or damp materials. All risers above 3ft tall must have railings. Permission must be obtained from BSTC staff before securing or screwing anything into the ceiling, floor or walls. All fire exits must have a 3ft clear pathway at all times.
No, we are not a production company. We are a rental venue, and you are welcome to rent the theatre and put your show on.
Our rates are already below market standards and tailored to be as accessible as possible to any non-profit or arts organisation. Our rates are further discounted for Co-op members, and still further discounted for longer rental periods. We cannot offer additional discounts to what is already available in our rate tiers.
The theatre is all on one level with power doors on the main door, theatre doors and dressing room. There is an accessible washroom in both the lobby and the dressing room. The dressing room washroom includes an accessible shower. Our lobby bar has a higher and lower level to allow patrons to order at whichever side they are comfortable. The front row of our audience risers is on the ground, and seats can be arranged to allow space for chair users. Additionally, a renter incurring costs for accessibility measures (ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, etc) may request a $100 subsidy from the BSTC in order to help defray the costs of doing so.
Rental deposits are always non-refundable. When canceling a rental, to avoid being charged the full rental fee renters must provide written notice (email is fine) as per the following:
-For 1 day bookings: notice must be given 21 days prior to the scheduled rental
-For bookings of 2-6 days: notice must be given 60 prior to the scheduled rental
-For bookings of 7+ days: notice must be given 90 days prior to the scheduled rental
The BSTC does not curate events. The space is offered to anyone on a first come, first serve basis. However, any event that is in breach of our terms and conditions of rental, and/or contravenes our co-op’s mandate, and/or is in conflict with our anti-discrimination/anti-harassment policy will not be permitted. In such a case, a rental may be refused or an already booked event may be canceled without reimbursement.