Update: March 1, 2022

As of today, March 1, the Government of Alberta’s Phase Two public health action came into place, and the City of Calgary has officially repealed their mask bylaw. This means that moving forward, masking is no longer mandatory, although CYPT will support individuals who choose to continue wearing their masks to class. As per the Government of Alberta’s COVID-19 Update Page: “If a person chooses to wear one, masks should fit well and be of high quality. People at risk of severe outcomes should wear medical masks when in settings with people outside of their household.”

CYPT asks that everyone continue to utilize the Daily Health Checklist. Anyone who is feeling unwell should continue to stay home.

At this time, we will continue asking class participants to keep up with best practices such as good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. This means hand washing is still the first thing every participant will do upon arrival to class!

MAIN STAGE: Friends of Mine and The Tuesday Crew runs from March 10th to 19th, 2022. As the province has now moved into Phase Two of the public health action and masking is no longer mandatory, when attending these performances masks are still very much welcome.

Update: February 14, 2022

As of today, February 14, the Government of Alberta’s Phase One public health action came into place, which effectively ended the Restrictions Exemption Program as well as mask-mandates for youth under the age of 13 in all settings. However, the City of Calgary has not repealed their mask bylaw at this time, and because the mask bylaw is limited to public spaces, and some extra-curricular classes and programs take place in public spaces and others in private spaces, there is a lack of clarity about exactly when and where youth need to be masked in Calgary. This has left CYPT in a difficult position of having to interpret bylaws and manage the health and safety of our participants and instructors with little guidance from provincial and municipal government. Further, we also know there is a wide range of comfort levels for masking and unmasking among Calgary parents right now, and everyone’s doing their best to navigate the right path for their children.

At this time, CYPT instructors will remain masked during classes (for them, it is a “work space”).

At this time, we also ask all CYPT participants to continue wearing masks to their weekly classes and rehearsals. Our hope is that we will be able to relax masking as the term progresses, and we will continue to review this request on a weekly basis. We do appreciate that there is a great deal of mask fatigue here in the middle of February of 2022 – we feel it too – but we also know how much our classes and rehearsals mean to our community, and would hate to have to shut down our classes in response to an outbreak or due to low attendance caused by COVID.

We know this isn’t a perfect solution to the uncertainty of the moment, and if you have any concerns, please do let our company leadership know by emailing Kristin at ad@cypt.ca or calling (403) 612-3667.

SUMMER CAMP: We will update our summer camp vaccination and masking policies in the months ahead. Thank you for your patience!

Update: February 9, 2022

As a result of last night’s announcement from the Government of Alberta that the restrictions exemption program (in which CYPT participates) will soon be ending, and that rules regarding masking for youth under 12 will be changing as of February 14th, CYPT will be re-examining our COVID protocols in the coming days. There is still some uncertainty about how mask mandates might be continued by The City of Calgary, and we also want to consider the effects of this change on all of our ongoing and upcoming programs (including Winter Classes, Summer Camps, spring production of The Tuesday Crew and Friends of Mine, and the upcoming Cannonball Festival) so we will take the next couple of days to get a plan in place and will announce our updated policy on this page on or before Monday, Feb 14th. Stay tuned and thanks for your ongoing support of CYPT!

Update: January 31st, 2022

Our summer camps are back in 2022, and we are hopeful we will be able to offer the full range of activities our young CYPT actors have come to expect, including stage combat, musical theatre, and improv teen specialty camps.

At this time, we are requiring that all youth age 12+ be fully vaccinated in order to attend summer camp and winter classes, and will be required to show proof of vaccination through the Government of Alberta Proof of Vaccination QR Code on the first day of camp/class.

Face masks are required for winter classes, and it is possible that masking may be required during summer drama camps, however we will announce a decision on this closer to the start of camp to accommodate changes in public health protocols.

A reminder to stay home if you have any symptoms!

We will also be requiring proof of vaccination for all audience members age 12+ for our March 2022 performances of The Tuesday Crew and Friends of Mine.

Update: June 23, 2021 – 1:00pm

Our beloved summer camps are just round the corner! Here is how we are planning on moving forward for our July Camps:

• We are following the guidelines put out by the Government of Alberta and the City of Calgary’s Face Coverings Bylaw.
• Your child will be required to wear a mask in indoor common spaces (including for check in, check out, and travelling around the building). Children will be allowed to remove their masks for drama classes and performances. Note this is CYPT’s policy and they will stay in place regardless of whether the Municipal Face Coverings Bylaw is relaxed.
• Check in and out will occur outdoors.
• CYPT will continue to prioritize activities that minimize contact.
• Classes will be held outdoors when possible.
• CYPT will continue to complete regular sanitization of washrooms and common areas throughout the day.
• Pending Stage 3: Final performances may occur indoors with socially distanced chairs. A maximum of 2 people per camp participant may attend.

*In the event that any of the Government of Alberta guidelines change or the City of Calgary Bylaws change, CYPT will adapt to meet those necessary restrictions. We recognize that some of our internal policies may be more strict than government requirements: as a company that works with a vulnerable population (unvaccinated youth under the age of 12) we are purposefully taking extra precautions.

Update: May 26, 2021 – 3:00pm

Today the Government of Alberta announced their Open for Summer Plan. Included in the first stage of this plan is that outdoor physical, performance and recreation activities will be allowed for up to 10 distanced people.

This means that as of June 1st, 2021 (unless otherwise stated) we will have the option to gather outside for the remainder of our Winter 2021 classes. If the weather does not permit for us to gather outside, we will host class online over Zoom.

Please note that even when we are outside for class that we must continue to socially distance by at least 2 meters as well everyone must continue to wear their masks when arriving for class.

Outdoor attendance for an in-person final performance will not occur this session, meaning there is a chance some classes may opt. to remain online over Zoom in order to record and present their performances digitally.

Update: May 5, 2021 – 1:00pm

Effective immediately all CYPT classes will be moving online over Zoom. We will reevaluate how we are best able to finish off the session after the government releases their updated restrictions in the coming weeks. As CYPT reevaluates how our Winter 2021 classes will end, we will be taking into consideration the needs of your kids, our instructors, and the venues we run out of. Throughout all of this our top priority remains to keep our participants and staff as safe as possible.

Here’s hoping that these new restrictions will make it possible to have an in-person Summer!!!

Update: April 30, 2021 – 1:00pm

Last night, it was announced that effective April 30th targeted restrictions are in effect for hot spot regions – municipalities or communities where there are at least 350 cases per 100,000 people and 250 active cases.

These restrictions will remain in place for 2 weeks, or until the region falls back below the case threshold – whichever is longer.

Currently, Calgary has 524.5 cases per 100,000 people and 7169 active cases, which means that from now until at least May 14th 2021 all of our classes will be offered outdoors as the mandatory, additional restrictions for hot spot regions states that “all youth and adult indoor sport, performance and recreation activities are prohibited. This applies to all youth activities, including for students still learning in classrooms. All indoor recreation facilities must close. Outdoor recreation amenities can be open to public access unless specifically closed by public health order.”

This means that moving forward classes will occur outdoors or online over zoom depending on the weather.

Please note that even when we are outside for class that we must continue to socially distance by at least 2 meters as well as continue to wear our masks.

Update: April 16, 2021 – 1:00pm

With regards to the Government of Alberta’s April 15th COVID-19 update:

The Government of Alberta announced that as of April 19th youth may participate in indoor group performance activities and youth development activities with the same restrictions as before, but that all in-person extra-curricular performance activities are not permitted for grade 7 to 12 youth until their in-person learning resumes.

This means that from April 19th until May 3rd (two weeks), Teen Improv will be hosted outside (if weather does not permit, we will meet for class over zoom). Although we are outside, masks are still mandatory and we will still be keeping at least 2m distance between participants.

Act 2, Act 3, and Act 4 classes are all able to continue as before, but we will likely host these classes partially outside as the weather continues to get warmer, so we encourage everyone to come to class with lots of layers!

Update: April 12, 2021 – 1:00pm

As a result of the updated CMOH 08-2021 Public Health Order released on April 9 by the Government of Alberta, CYPT is able to continue offering our Winter 2021 classes in-person at this time.

As always, we will continue to follow these restrictions and COVID-prevention measures, including the ones detailed in our April 7 Update below.

Update: April 7, 2021 – 1:00pm

With regards to the Government of Alberta’s April 6th COVID-19 update:

The Government of Alberta announced the shutdown of Adult Performance Activities; however Youth Performance & Development Activities are allowed to proceed as long as participants are 18 years old and under, which means our Winter 2021 Classes are able to continue in-person as of this moment.

We will continue to follow these restrictions and COVID-prevention measures, including:

• Class sizes will be limited to 9 participants and 1 instructor
• Masks must be worn by all
• We must strive for 3m of physical distancing between participants
• requiring all participants to pre-screen for symptoms and stay home if any arise
• regular hand-washing and sanitation procedures
• increased sanitation of the studio space before, after, and during classes

There has yet to be an updated Public Health Order released for the April 6th update and so when this becomes available we will post it here for your reference.

Update: March 11, 2021 – 1:00pm

As a result of the updated CMOH 05-2021 Public Health Order released on March 8 by the Government of Alberta, CYPT is now able to provide updates as to the future of our programs, including our 2021 Winter Classes, 2021 Summer Camps, and 2021 Cannonball Festival below.

We are delighted to announce that 2021 Winter Classes, which were held online from March 1 – 14 will now move to an in-person format as hoped! There are still a number of restrictions that we need to follow to make this possible, including:

• Class sizes will be limited to 9 participants and 1 instructor
• Masks must be worn by all
• We must strive for 3m of physical distancing between participants

In addition, CYPT will be maintaining our additional COVID-prevention measures, including:

• requiring all participants to pre-screen for symptoms and stay home if any arise
• regular hand-washing and sanitation procedures
• increased sanitation of the studio space before, after, and during classes

At this time, final performances for our classes are not permitted to have any audience present, but we will keep our eye on those restrictions in case anything becomes possible. That said, we are absolutely confident that even within these restrictions, the kids and our instructors are going to have a blast. After four months of being cooped up inside, we can’t wait to get back to acting and playing together.

We are also proceeding with 2021 Summer Camps, and although we are currently capping registration numbers as we did last year to allow for small group sizes, we are excited by the Government timeline suggesting that every Albertan who wants a vaccine will have one by the end of June, and we think it’s going to be a terrific summer!

Unfortunately, the most recent health order did not give permission for the kinds of rehearsal conditions necessary to rehearse our 2021 Cannonball Festival productions, and as such, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel this May’s festival. Unfortunately, although masking and cast sizes for Cannonball are small enough to meet the public health order, maintaining 3m between scene partners would make most of the plays impossible to perform. We have hopes that we might be able to try again for a July/August Cannonball Festival, but we will keep you posted!

We thank you all for your patience. As you can imagine, this pandemic has been trying for all performing arts companies, and CYPT is no exception. We know the impact these health orders have had on creative kids, and we are doing our best to work within them while also providing fun and creative opportunities for our youth.

Update: February 23, 2021 – 1:00pm

Due to the uncertainty surrounding government restrictions we have chosen to move our classes online over Zoom for the first two weeks of class (March 1st to 13th). We are keeping ourselves up to date with the restrictions, and an update could very likely come on March 1st that could allow us to meet in-person; regardless of this the first two weeks will be online. CYPT runs our classes out of venues that are also being affected by these restrictions and so these two weeks will allow us to ensure our venues are prepped, sanitized, and ready for classes, as we cannot enter the premises until our programming has been given the okay to move ahead in-person.

Another update will come soon after the most up to date AHS guidelines are made available to us on March 1st detailing if in-person programming will continue after March 13th, or if we will remain online until the government announces we are in Phase 2 of relaunch.

Update: February 1, 2021 – 1:00pm

Summer Camps are now open for registration on our website. We are moving forward as if we are able to run our 2021 summer camps with the same restrictions and precautions in place as our 2020 camps.

COVID-19 Prevention Measures: Offering our camps in-person last year was made possible by diligently following the government recommendations. Below is a list of some of the ways we are meeting the COVID-19 crisis for our 2021 camps:

• Limited Enrollment
• Pick Up and Drop Off occurring outside of the facility (or as recommended by AHS)
• Regular Handwashing
• Frequent sanitization of high touch surfaces
• Sanitization of rehearsal spaces between classes
• Daily Health Assessments to be completed each morning at check in (or as recommended by AHS)
• Social Distancing Practices and Mask Wearing (or as recommended by AHS)

Note: We will always follow the most up to date AHS guidelines to keep your kids safe!

Update: January 4, 2021 – 1:00pm

Classes: We have chosen to push back the start date of all our Winter 2021 Classes to March. Our community of youth thrive in-person, which is why we have chosen to push classes back rather than hold an unknown number of classes online. Come March, class length and duration will remain the same, as well we will continue to adhere to any restrictions and precautions laid out by the government.

Cannonball: We are going to hang tight until we receive an update after January 12th. At that point we will be able to reassess and plan accordingly.

Update: November 3, 2020 – 1:00pm

On November 2nd, The Government of Alberta updated their day camps relaunch guide, this update includes a new “Alberta Health Daily Check List (For Children Under 18)”. Moving forward CYPT asks parents and participants to use this document when assessing their child’s health before each class/CYPT activity. Please note that any youth aged 18 who are in grade 12 should use the same document as children under 18 when assessing ones health. We are continuing to run our classes as their own cohort. The guidelines continue to allow for 50 people in a cohort, which includes staff and participants with a number of additional restrictions and precautions. Thanks to this guidance, CYPT is currently holding in person classes with an absolute maximum of 14 youth per class. Our classes are each taught by one instructor per 14 youth, meaning we will be running with cohorts of 15.

You can read the Government of Alberta’s updated measures for day camp restrictions (as of November 2nd) HERE.

Update: September 4, 2020 – 5:00pm

We are so happy to be running our Fall and Winter classes in-person. Registration for both are currently open!

After two months of doing summer camps and creating theatre magic with kids in-person during a pandemic, we have learnt a lot! We are confident in our abilities to implement all of the necessary steps to safeguard the health of our CYPT community while still having the best time creating and engaging in drama this Fall! It’s true that there is a risk in any public activity at this time; we are doing our utmost to mitigate those risks and we hope you’ll help us in that effort!

On August 31st, The Government of Alberta updated their day camps relaunch guide which continues to allow for 50 people in a cohort, which includes staff and participants with a number of additional restrictions and precautions. Thanks to this guidance, CYPT will continue to hold classes with a maximum of 12 youth per class. Our classes will be taught by one instructor per 12 youth, which will allow us to stay well under the 50 person maximum.

The health and safety of CYPT youth continues to be our top priority, and as such, there are a number of precautions we are implementing and adhering to that might feel a bit strict, but will allow us to keep your kid safe.

You can read more about the Government of Alberta’s measures for day camp restrictions HERE and you can read more about CYPT’s Covid Prevention Measures, and how the precautions will affect classes HERE:

Update: June 12, 2020 – 5:00pm

We are delighted to announce that our popular Summer Camps WILL be taking place this summer in-person at our North, South, and West locations!

We would like to thank our community and interested camp registrants for their patience as we worked diligently to investigate the possibility of holding camps in person during this pandemic in a way that is safe, responsible, and still fun. We have worked tirelessly with our partners, host-venues, parents, instructors, and of course Alberta Health to offer camps this year that will be a bit different than normal, but still a blast.

On June 9th, The Government of Alberta updated their day camps relaunch guide to allow for 50 people in a camp cohort, which includes staff and participants with a number of additional restrictions and precautions. Thanks to this guidance, we will reduce our normal capacity of 100 youth per week to only 40 per week this summer. Along with staff, this will allow us to stay well under the 50 person maximum.

The health and safety of CYPT youth is always our top priority, and as such, there are a number of precautions we are implementing and adhering to that might feel a bit strict, but will allow us to keep your kid safe.

You can read more about the Government of Alberta’s measures for day camp restrictions HERE and you can read more about CYPT’s Covid Prevention Measures, and how the precautions will affect camp HERE:

Update: April 30, 2020 – 5:00pm

Today, the Government of Alberta announced that summer camps may be part of Stage One or Two of Alberta’s re-opening strategy. We are waiting on further information from our health officials before deciding how to proceed (or not) with CYPT summer drama camps. Please stay tuned to this website for more information.

As always, CYPT takes the safety of our youth very seriously, and we promise to make this decision carefully and under the advice of our health experts.

Update: March 26, 2020 – 10:00pm

Effective Monday, March 30, CYPT will be offering our weekly Winter drama classes ONLINE! If you are registered for these classes, check your email for additional instructions!

UPDATE: March 18, 2020 – 3:30pm

Here at CYPT, the safety and health of our performers, participants, staff, and volunteers comes first. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to take some unfortunate but necessary actions to support our medical system in fighting this virus. To date, here are the actions we have taken:

• All remaining performances of Runs in the Family are cancelled. Ticket holders are encourage to visit the ticket link on their Eventbrite page to request a refund, or to consider donating their unused ticket to CYPT if that is an option, as all arts organizations are struggling to stay afloat amidst the cancellations and closures of our theatres.
• The Cannonball Festival of Youth Theatre is cancelled, including all rehearsals and performances. Directors with reimbursements are asked to submit all receipts to Gillian for reimbursement immediately.
• Winter classes are temporarily suspended until at least March 31, 2020. We will reassess in the coming week to see if re-opening our smaller classes is an option, and will be in touch with all participants.
• We are still accepting registrations for Summer Camps, with hopes that we will be able to open again in July.

We appreciate these are trying times. Arts organizations are taking massive hits are a result of the containment measures in place, as we know many of you are, and we thank you for your patience and loyalty to CYPT. We are so grateful for our community, and look forward to seeing you all again as soon as is healthy and safe.

Please continue to check this page for updates.