---
title: "New creative and production space opens in Railtown on November 18"
description: "Counterlight Studio, a 5,500-square-foot flexible production and performance space, opens at 347 Alexander Street in Vancouver's Railtown neighbourhood with its first production running November 18 to 29."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/counterlight-studio-railtown-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-10T12:56:34.349Z"
---

A new creative and production space opens in Vancouver's Railtown neighbourhood on November 18. Counterlight Studio at 347 Alexander Street is a 5,500-square-foot flexible venue built to keep costs low for smaller productions, according to its founder.

Counterlight Studio, at 347 Alexander Street, is built around the idea that producers should not have to pay for things they do not need. Vancouver Is Awesome reported November 9 that founder Alex Skinner designed the space without a fixed lighting stock or mandatory crew. Producers bring their own teams and rent lighting separately, which Skinner says keeps the entry cost down for smaller shows, solo performers and independent filmmakers.

"We try to keep our overhead costs low off the top," Skinner told Vancouver Is Awesome. "If someone wants to do a one-man show, they don't need all the bells and whistles."

The building at 347 Alexander Street is about 5,500 square feet and is split into two sections: a 2,000-square-foot flex area and a performance space fitted with professional sound and lighting infrastructure. Skinner describes it as a giant white warehouse with skylights, built to adapt to theatre, music video shoots, photography studios and other productions. He says he looked at similar flexible venues in New York, Chicago and London before settling on the model.

Skinner says the space was found by accident. While looking at a different building, he and his team stopped at Pallett Coffee next door and noticed the space beside it was being cleared out. By the time they finished their coffee the doors were closed, but they were able to track down the leaseholder and strike a deal.

## First production: An Early History of Fire

The opening production is An Early History of Fire, an intimate and immersive show that Skinner will direct and star in. He read more than 100 scripts to find the right one for the space. The play follows a young man from a low-income small-town family who works toward a larger life, in a story Skinner describes as sitting between Good Will Hunting and Death of a Salesman.

The audience will be seated within a couple of feet of the performers. "They'll never experience theatre like this anywhere else," Skinner told Vancouver Is Awesome.

An Early History of Fire runs November 18 to 29. Tickets are $35 and are available through Eventbrite. Weekday performances start at 7:30 pm, with matinees at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

## Attending

Counterlight Studio is at 347 Alexander Street in Railtown, in the same block as Pallett Coffee. Tickets for An Early History of Fire are available on Eventbrite at $35 each. The run ends November 29.

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