Abstract

In March 2020, protestors made their anger known when Bailey Theatre in Camrose, Alberta announced that the indie rock band Small Town Artillery would perform at their venue. This band openly supports Indigenous rights and opposes pipelines through Indigenous lands. The circumstances around this performance event serves as the basis of this article’s examination of the role of a community theater, not only as an important third place, which contributes to the cultural and political vitality of the region, but also as a site for potential disunity. In an era of increasing political polarization, third places like community theaters, once considered essential to civil society and democracy, are often finding they have become contested spaces. The research findings demonstrate that the Bailey Theatre has become an important center of activity that fosters community connection, celebrates shared values, debates differences, and explores what it means to be human. However, as this case study demonstrates, venues can also be sites for community disunity and the contestation of competing ideologies. Using qualitative methods and building on the literature on community and third places, this article argues that to ensure their role in fostering a vibrant cultural scene and creating safe spaces for the celebration of diversity and civil society, community theaters must implement practices that foster civility and serve all their communities even if they run the risk of sparking moments of community discord.