Rising costs are outpacing local theatre-providers’ abilities to pay and it’s pushing them out of larger venues across the Capital Regional District.
The potential for a grant process is just one thing the CRD is looking at – through its Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee – as local performing arts groups, and the City of Victoria feel the crunch of costs associated with venues such as the Royal Theatre and McPherson Playhouse.
The not-for-profit Royal and McPherson Theatre Society manages operations of the Royal Theatre and the McPherson Playhouse and while Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich participate in the Royal Theatre service with funding from a property value tax and fees and charges. Victoria has long lamented that it alone funds McPherson, a position reiterated recently by Mayor Maryanne Alto and Coun. Jeremy Caradonna, also CRD directors who sit on the select committee.
It’s one of two major hurdles facing regional theatres, which includes the Charlie White at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney.
Many local theatre groups have been forced to leave the CRD venues due to prohibitive costs, Ereca Hassel of Pacific Opera told the select committee during its Nov. 6 meeting, specifically citing Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People which previously utilized McPherson.
“This cost barrier has emerged because municipal funding for these theatres hasn’t kept up with inflation for many years. The impact of this underfunding is clear, regional artists are increasingly priced out of their own theatres,” Hassell said.
She urged the CRD to adopt a grant program making funds available to regional non-profit arts groups to offset civic theatre rental costs.
“This would allow local artists to compete on an equal footing with commercial productions and enable the theatres to earn revenue without sacrificing regional arts,” she said. “This investment will generate more performances, boost economic activity and deliver value to every community involved.”
In September, the select committee tasked staff with developing options with a scope including regional and sub-regional services that would scale up support for existing and potential additional performing arts facilities with regional impact, including options to ensure value for all participating jurisdictions.
The report outlined five options for a new service, including two full regional and three sub-regional, discussed by the committee during its Nov. 6 meeting.
The options range from a variety of municipalities funding a variety of theatres, two or three based on the current model, or a potential fourth pitched for the West Shore. Juan de Fuca Performing Arts Society is actively seeking to create a community-oriented arts and culture centre on the West Shore. President Judith Cullington told the select committee the society is pleased to see consideration of a future arts venue among the options outlined.
“We feel that this would be really helpful in your discussion with the West Shore communities because they will see themselves included in the model,” Cullington said.
The latest input has that group looking to create a community-centred building program incorporating a wide range of artistic interests but including something in the range of a 350-seat theatre – a similar size to the Charlie White in Sidney and significantly smaller than the 774-seat McPherson or 1,416-seat Royal. The accessible site would also incorporate a variety of smaller rooms for gathering, storage for regular users and a cafe.
“We are looking broadly throughout View Royal, Colwood, Langford,” Cullington said. The goal is to secure operating, funding and a location in working toward a grant-ready project.
The Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee subsequently recommended the CRD board seek a consultant for a cost-benefit analysis of the five proposed service options, with the freedom to recommend a mix of regional and sub-regional models within each option, in terms of their sustainability and direct value proposition to each participating jurisdiction and to the region as a whole. The resulting report will be presented to the CRD Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee in the first half of 2025 or sooner with recommendations on the next steps.
When the motion from the committee came to the CRD for potential consent during the Nov. 13 board meeting, director and Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi voiced concern over the lack of associated dollar value. While there is no value attached as yet, staff noted that the last time a consultant did public engagement on this process it included up to $150,000 in the budget.
Alto noted the topic has been debated on and off at the CRD over the years. Allowing someone to look specifically at the costs, benefits, sustainability, community alignment and value proposition for both the region and each jurisdiction, she said.
“Even if this work is done … it doesn’t preclude or fetter any future decision,” Alto said. “We could come back with a fairly thorough analysis … and still decide that it isn’t the right time.”
The board unanimously supported creating the RFP.
Find the full outline of five options on the Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee Nov. 6 meeting agenda online at crd.ca.
