LSPU Hall Photo by Paddy Barry

Resource Centre for the Arts (RCA)

Resource Centre for the Arts (RCA) operates from the historic LSPU Hall (formerly the Longshoremen’s Protective Union), affectionately referred to as The Hall – which houses a 175-198 seat theatre. Downstairs houses the Cox & Palmer Second Space where a bar and smaller event space can be found. The Hall is located in the heart of downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland.

RCA is a member of The St. John’s Board of Trade, and is governed by an elected Board of twelve (12) Directors made up of arts practitioners, artists and other professionals.

RCA Mission Statement 

RCA aims to provide accessible, supportive and well-resourced programs and venues, with a primary focus on the creation, development, and advancement of the performing arts in Newfoundland and Labrador.

RCA Theatre Company Mandate

RCA Theatre Company (RCAT), the Hall’s in house theatre company, provides resources and a supportive environment for the production and promotion of theatre in St. John’s and throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

RCA Theatre Company is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and The Association of Professional Theatres of Newfoundland and Labrador (APTNL).

A Concise History

RCA was created in 1972 as an artist-run, community-based organization that fosters the development and showcasing of Newfoundland art and artists. RCA boasts impressive accomplishments including:

  • 1972 – Resource Foundation for the Arts is incorporate on November 21. 1972.
  • 1976 – The building was bought by the Resource Foundation for the Arts (RFA).
  • 1984 – The Hall was renovated with an eye to enhancing its heritage features. For this, RCA received the 1984 Southcott Award from the Heritage NL.
  • 2008 – The Hall underwent a 2.4 million dollar renovation, funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the City of St. John’s.
  • 2010 – The LSPU Hall once again opened its doors to artists and the public with new and improved performance space, brand new theatre seats, dressing rooms, office space, box office system, air conditioning and upgraded accessibility features.
  • 1976-2019 – More than 300 original Mainstage productions
  •  A long list of professional artists who have gone on to national prominence including Mary Walsh, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey, Cathy Jones, Andy Jones, Bob Joy, Ron Hynes, Mark Critch, Jonny Harris, Susan Kent, Mark O’Brien, Sherry White, Robert Chafe and Jillian Keiley.
  • An equally long list of artists who remain committed to the Newfoundland and Labrador cultural milieu including Lois Brown, Joel Hynes, Ruth Lawrence, Des Walsh, Chris Brookes, Edward Riche, Charlie Tomlinson and Berni Stapleton.
  • Hundreds of emerging artists who have been given the opportunity to “find their voice” and develop their creative talents.

RCA Ongoing Activities

Include Mainstage Productions, Significant Other Series(SOS), Theatre Arts Workshop(TAW), New Play Development and Artist Programs as well as Presentation of Canadian plays, administered through The Department of Canadian Heritage.

Land Acknowledgement

RCA respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we currently stand, create and perform, and gather is the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, whose culture has now been erased forever. The island we call Newfoundland is the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq. Labrador is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu  of Nitassinan, the Inuit of Nunatsiavut, and the Inuit of NunatuKavut. We ask that you take a moment to reflect on whose land you are standing on, whose land you were born on, and whose land you currently live on. We ask that you reflect on how that land was taken care of, and how it is taken care of now, and finally who currently walks freely on it. If this reflection makes you uncomfortable we ask that you sit in that feeling and question it. Let it help you work towards reconciliation, something we can only achieve together. Thank you.