The Vancouver Playhouse shuts its doors after 49 years
As someone who cover the Vancouver arts (fine arts and performing arts, both), it saddens me that the Vancouver Playhouse is shutting its doors. I was giving a talk on how to pitch bloggers at Simon Fraser University’s Public Relations Program when the news broke, so I was unable to attend the press event. But I am copying what I received in the press release below. It saddens me that this happened, but it doesn’t surprise me. Vancouver is NOT an arts mecca, whatever the BC government and the local government want to tell you. I have lived in cities worldwide with a stronger arts scene (not in terms of quality of artists, which we have by the ton, but in attendance to events). It’s amazingly difficult to bring paying customers to theatre plays, dance shows, arts exhibits.
The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company has been British Columbia’s premier regional theatre company and artistic mainstay in Vancouver for 49 seasons. The Playhouse has played a major role in the theatre community’s ecology by helping smaller arts groups and community members to grow, expand their knowledge, skills and services, and progress into larger and more complex productions. The Playhouse has also staged many major productions, including many world premieres, and provided theatre patrons with wonderful memories for several decades. Therefore, it is with much regret that the Board of Governors of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company announces that the company will commence to wind down operations March 10, 2012, at the end of Hunchback.
Through diligent efforts by the Board, management, staff, and the City of Vancouver, every effort has been made to improve a long-standing working capital deficit. This deficit arose in previous years from a combination of challenging economic times and an inefficient operating model within the downtown theatre space, and the cost of temporary production facilities. Two years ago, with the City’s generous help, the Playhouse was able to successfully restructure the operating parameters and generate renewed interest from its supporters. Over the past year, with this support and diligent operational control, the Playhouse was able to reduce its deficit. However, the Playhouse has found that in the short-term, they have been unable to get past the legacy deficit sufficiently to continue operations. Therefore, at the end of Hunchback, the Playhouse Board of Governors and the City of Vancouver will work together to wind down the operations of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company in an orderly fashion as expediently and effectively as possible so as to minimize the impact on our creditors, employees, patrons, and partners.
On my Twitter feed, I suggested that maybe Telus could takeover and rename the Vancouver Playhouse maybe as the Telus Vancouver Playhouse (instead of BC Place, and thus save the Vancouver Playhouse) or maybe Minister Ida Chong (whose Ministry apparently has $3 million dollars to spend before the end of the month) could do something. I don’t know. I just feel very sad about this development. Farewell, Vancouver Playhouse. It’s a dark day for the Canadian theatre and arts community.
Wow, not bad, perhaps Telus (who does actively claim to support the arts within their animal ad campaign) could step in and save the Playhouse. And jumping ahead, would the wine festival then be called “Telus International Wine Festival”? or is that really jumping the gun?
In any case, this wonderful organization, and the hours of pleasure it’s provided theatre-goers, will be missed. Thx for posting!
Though I certainly agree attendance at arts events in BC is pitifully low (compared to, say, attendance in Western European cities) it’s important to remember that TICKET SALES DO NOT PAY THE BILLS. It is far too expensive to mount a show (especially those of the Playhouse’s caliber) to be able to make any kind of profit on the sale of tickets alone, even if attendance was optimal.
What the government subsidizes when they fund the arts is not the artists themselves, the subsidize the AUDIENCE. If companies listed ticket prices according to what it ACTUALLY cost to make a show, precious few members of the public would be able to afford it. Yes, those at the Playhouse have lost their jobs, but in the long run, the loss is the audience’s.