Our Story

Who are we?

ECHO Players has been presenting live community theatre on the Village Theatre stage for nearly 50 years! Community and connection is what we’re all about.

Our group is made up of more than 240 dedicated members from all walks of life. Many of the ECHO “Players” spend countless hours volunteering both on stage and behind the scenes each season.

We produce five Mainstage shows per season. Additionally, we host the Vancouver Island Juried One-Act Play festival every November, along with other fundraising events.

ECHO Players is a member of Theatre BC and participates in the Annual North Island Zone Festival. We have received many awards over the years both at the Zone Festivals and Mainstage Festivals.

Our History

Our original group was founded in 1934 as the E.C.H.O. Playmakers (the initials standing for “Errington, Coombs, Hilliers and Others”, as members were drawn from all the neighboring districts).  

The group disbanded during the Second World War and, during the fifties and sixties, members dispersed among a number of other local groups but came together in the founding of the Mid-Island Drama Festival that ran from 1947 to 1958. In 1974 the present group was formed under the name ECHO Players, and we have been operating continuously since then.  

The Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach was originally built in 1949 as a movie theatre and was purchased by ECHO Players in 1974 for $37,000 – a large amount of money for a small group to raise in those days. 

It was then converted into a working theatre, with major renovations required including the building of a stage, acquiring second hand seating, renovating washrooms and creating dressing rooms, all of which was undertaken by members themselves and many volunteers from the community. 

The group worked hard to have the theatre completed by a deadline of March 31, 1975 when they hosted one of the largest North Island Zone Festivals ever with nineteen one-act plays presented over eight nights.

Our Theatre

Sound Equipment

Lighting Equipment

Lighting Plan

Seating Plan

Theatre Floor Plan

Our Volunteers