DreamRider Theatre are in two different partnerships with Telus and Centre for Digital Media to create several multimedia and online video projects. The partnerships allow the performance based theatre company to expand beyond their live shows at Lower Mainland schools, to reach kids across Canada through the web.

In times of 85% cuts to arts programs, DreamRider Theatre is growing and thriving thanks to “thinking like a business”, combined with the social mission of their arts program in educating school children about environmental issues. DreamRider’s success is largely through innovative in-kind partnerships with businesses who are looking to be connected to a “good green” brand.

• TELUS – has partnered with DreamRider for the past two years, with financial support and additional “in kind” services donation for 3 Esmeralda Planet Protector webisodes, but also provided their in-house TV production team to create the Good Green News. Included a motion graphics person, editor, producers, DOP and equipment. They want to make more with DreamRider next year. The webisodes are on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DreamRiderTheatre#p/u/2/tUC6MOz13wA &
• http://www.youtube.com/user/DreamRiderTheatre#p/u/3/dPD3BogYAKw

• Centre for Digital Media – A team of six masters students have created an interactive animation game that also measures behaviour change on climate, based on the DreamRider play, Keep Cool. CDM has provided the services free of charge. DreamRider’s fun superhero characters will have been in front of 167,000 kids by the end of this year, in multiple media: live, video, animation, video game, comic books, etc. The Centre for Digital Media partnership is an innovative combination of engagement through animation plus games, and of behaviour change measurement. The game can be viewed on: http://www.dreamridertheatre.com/KeepCool/KeepCool.html

Executive Director Vanessa LeBourdais says, “We are very pleased and grateful for the support of Telus and CDM who have helped us create some amazing video and interactive game projects. Instead of just impacting local kids, we will be reaching and affecting children across the country within the next 18 months, and soon after that, across the world.”

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