Bygone Theatre has made the decision to commit ourselves to following the Sustainable Development Goals as laid out by the United Nations. The following is a list of the 17 goals outlined by the UN, and what we, Bygone Theatre, commit to doing to best meet those goals.

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1. No Poverty

Ticket discounts will be made available to disadvantaged and underfunded groups, both through select pay-what-you-can performances and partnerships with programs such as HipTix and CitySPECIAL. Our partnership with Value Village and their FUNDrive campaign extends this commitment to supporting those in need.

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2. Zero Hunger

Select performances will grant admission to those who make a donation to the Food Bank. All donated food will be delivered to the nearest food bank in our community. 

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3. Good Health and Well-Being

We ensure that our venues, sets, props, and costumes are free of harmful toxins and are safe to use. We endeavour to provide healthy snack alternatives when our performances include an intermission. We bring on Fight and Intimacy Directors to ensure that the physical and mental health of our performers is a top priority.

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4. Quality Education

Our education program brings theatre to the community, affording experiences to youth, seniors, and those otherwise unable to experience theatre through in-school training, workshops, and lectures. We also provide student discounts and opportunities for students to participate in talkbacks with our performers and creative team.

 

5. Gender Equality

All our productions provide equal opportunities for all genders to participate on stage and behind the scenes. When creatively viable, we explore and encourage cross-gender casting. We prioritize shows that give strong voices and full characterization to all roles and have adapted classic stories with traditionally marginalized women to be strong, independent, and equal. See our Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility for additional information.

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6. Clean Water and Sanitation

The theatre venues we select for performances all provide clean and sanitary rest room facilities for all together with clean water for drinking.

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7. Affordable and Clean Energy

We use affordable and clean hydro-electric energy during all our rehearsals and performances. We also support efforts to upgrade venues to alternate clean energies like solar and wind power, as well as encouraging the use of LED lighting and other energy-efficient means of production.

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8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

We have put together a 5-year plan that sets out to grow out company financially, paying artists first. As a small non-profit, guaranteed payment is often not an option, in which case we take care to provide profit sharing, training opportunities, and other personal growth programs that give remuneration for work done. We consider ourselves a part of a community and prioritize purchasing from local businesses and providing free or low-cost advertising to give a voice to those same businesses, all as part of our ongoing commitment to the economic growth of our community.

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9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

As members of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, we are actively involved in the performing arts industry and supporting innovative approaches to building and maintaining an infrastructure that support the Toronto theatre community at large. We are also a founding member of the Toronto Independent Theatre Coalition which strives to pool resources to provide new technologies and a infrastructural base for other small, non-profit performing arts companies.

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10. Reduced Inequalities

Our commitments to SDG1, SDG2, and SDG5 ensue that pre-existing inequalities in our community are reduced by providing accessibility to our performances for all regardless of gender, financial situation, or disability. We extend this mandate to our employment criteria for both full-time and contract workers. See our Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility for additional information.

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11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

We recognize that more than 50% of the global population live in cities. As a city-based theatre company, we strive to make our contributions to the urban environment through sustainable practices such as recycling sets, props, and costumes and through giving back to the community with our charitable and educational programs. These efforts contribute to our city’s overall sustainability and help keep our communities strong.

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12. Responsible Consumption and Production

Whenever possible, our construction materials are all biodegradable and recyclable materials. We apply the same consideration to the acquisition and manufacturing of costumes and props. We extend this mandate to our print materials using only recycled paper and never producing more than we need to maintain a zero-waste policy. We prioritize using antiques and restoring used items rather than purchasing new and we have committed to keeping anything that we cannot reuse or recycle out of landfills by partnering with Value Village’s FUNDrive program.

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13. Climate Action

Our President, Dr. Mark Terry, is a climate activist, environmental studies professor and a communications partner of the United Nations Climate Change secretariat. In this capacity we support his efforts to bring climate awareness to the world and climate action to the policymakers of the United Nations.

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14. Life Below Water

We do our part to protect marine life by reducing our use of plastics, toxic substances, and non-biodegradable materials that may otherwise poison or harm those who live in our lakes, seas, and oceans. We use reusable containers as often as possible and require our cast and crew to do the same.

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15. Life on Land

Our sustainability measures and practices with respect to zero-waste, the reduced use of non-recyclable product, and the safe disposal of potentially harmful toxins and by-products respects all life on land and contributes to a healthy environment.

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16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

We support good governance within our company, our community and our governments. We extend that support to fair and just decisions and access to all groups who work with us and for our customers.

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17. Partnerships for the Goals

We have partnered and aligned ourselves with the creative project known as the Youth Climate Report, a UN partner program that gives voice to the global community of youth who produce short documentary films under the themes of the Sustainable Development Goals.