Ruth Archer is Gateway Theatre’s original volunteer. As we are celebrating this milestone 30th anniversary, we thought we’d catch up with her to get some of her thoughts about Gateway Theatre’s past, present and future.
Earlier this year, Archer was presented with a trophy for her record-setting 30 years of service volunteering at Gateway. Without dedicated volunteers such as Archer, Gateway Theatre could not function as smoothly as it does. To put it simply, we couldn’t do it without her.
Archer began volunteering at the Gateway when a friend of hers, who worked at municipal hall, got her involved. She even remembers her first volunteer duty: going down to Steveston and putting up posters for Gateway Theatre’s first ever production, Annie.
Archer says she then joined as a volunteer because it “fit in with what I like to do” and things just “got better and better” from there, before she knew it she had been here for 30 years.
“It’s hard to believe it has been 30 years, I don’t know where the 30 years have gone,” she said.
Archer has seen a lot of change over her years at Gateway Theatre. She has seen the theatre develop into Richmond’s only live professional theatre and Metro Vancouver’s second-largest theatre company. With more staff and a growing number of productions each year, she says that the changes have been “all for the better.”
As she recalls, in the beginning the volunteers took on a lot more work in the new Richmond venue.
“We really did everything.”
To this day Gateway’s volunteers still pretty much run the place, from their encyclopedic knowledge about the different shows and artists who have worked at the Gateway, to their willingness and enthusiasm to helping each and every patron individually. Just like Archer each and every one of them cares so intensely about the success of their local theatre that they have become our strongest advocates out in the community.
Archer enjoys having a theatre on her doorstep where she can introduce new people to the wonderful world of theatre. For anyone who has never been to Gateway, Archer encourages you to come and see what you’ve been missing.
“It’s always a really enjoyable evening,” she said. “You won’t know if you like it until you try it and you might discover something you wish you had years ago.”
So, what does our longest-standing volunteer look forward to most in Gateway Theatre’s future?
“Just more really good productions.”
It’s that simple. And we at Gateway Theatre are excited about bringing Ruth and the rest of Richmond some of the highest quality theatre in the Lower Mainland for the next 30 years and beyond.
When you ask Archer about her favorite memories at Gateway Theater one from the very beginning of it all sands out in her mind. “I brought my now step-daughter to the first production of Annie and she still talks about it.” Her step-daughter, then just eight-years-old, will frequently bring up that night fondly even 30 years later.
