Bringing the curtain down on the city’s lease arrangement with Georgian Theatre could mean lights out for many users.
“The loss of Georgian Theatre is absolutely devastating to all sorts of members of the performing arts community here in Barrie,” said Kempenfelt Community Players’ (KCP) board of directors chair Lianne Romans.
“But especially so when it’s been combined with the city’s recent decision to put their plans on hold for the Fisher Auditorium project until 2022,” she added. “It’s very important that everyone understands that we are facing a long term of a city that is absent of a true, accessible, large-scale, live performance theatre for many years to come. It’s kind of a double whammy.”
As part of its 2021 operating budget, council cancelled its arrangement for the use of the Georgian Theatre to save the city $300,000 in expenditures; this is offset by lost revenue of $124,000, for a net reduction this year of $176,000. That amount is further offset by a one-time $50,000 addition to the Cultural Grants Program to provide COVID-19 relief for organizations with no revenues while audiences are restricted from gathering.
Leaving the lease also eliminates future costs related to equipment, and furniture upgrades in a facility that is not owned by the city, but by Georgian College.
City staff say approximately 30 events are held annually in the Georgian Theatre, with dance recitals representing the majority of these bookings. On March 16, 2020, Georgian College advised the city that it was suspending all bookings including those at Georgian Theatre until June 1, because of the pandemic.
That date was later extended by the college and the city was advised that bookings would not be available until January 2021. As a result, there have been no events held at the Georgian Theatre since the Mini Pop Kids on March 7, 2020.
Chrissy Baxter, executive director of Simcoe Contemporary Dancers (SCD), said the cancellation of the lease agreement between the city and Georgian Theatre does not affect her group directly as far as its own use. Her organization primarily performs at Five Points Theatre.
“Although we are not directly affected by this closure from our own usage perspective, the broader dance community in Barrie will be affected,” she said. “The Georgian Theatre is one of the only venues in the city of Barrie that is suitable for dance recitals.
“One of SCD’s mandates is to be an ambassador for our art form within our community and it’s from this perspective that we are concerned,” Baxter said. “This closure will effectively force local dance studios and their students out of the city for their performances. It would be a shame to see recitals literally driven out of town because no suitable venue remains.
“It is important to our organization that the message of ‘there are no suitable venues for dance’ not be ingrained in young dancers and potential audiences’ minds as our organization work tirelessly to show that you can have a thriving arts career in Simcoe County," she added.
Steve Major grew up in Barrie and his parents are still residents. He describes himself as a very active member of the city’s arts community and an advocate of promoting local musical talent.
Major wrote Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman a letter about shuttering Georgian Theatre.
“Where is your arts community supposed to function? Why would you pull the plug on the only theatre in the city without offering an equivalent alternative?” he asks in the letter. “Why does this city continue to disrespect the arts and make it a last priority? How many recreational facilities does Barrie have compared to performing arts spaces?
“The message your government sends to your arts community is that you don’t value (it) or care,” wrote Major, who no longer lives in Barrie.
“I appreciate Mr. Major's views and I don't disagree; a city our size should not be without at least one large performing arts space,” Lehman said.
He’s asked city staff for information on Georgian Theatre use and where the groups are being directed.
“Although with COVID, obviously there are unlikely to be live audiences until late 2021 at earliest,” Lehman said.
Dawn McAlpine, Barrie’s general manager of community and corporate services, said in an effort to achieve the budget target directed by council, a 1.95 per cent increase, and in light of the COVID-19 restrictions, staff proposed cancelling the Georgian Theatre agreement.
“The city had been utilizing the Georgian Theatre through an agreement where the city is responsible for capital upgrades and operating costs for the use of the space,” she said. “The lease had expired and the city and Georgian College have been working with a month-to-month arrangement.
“Staff advised it would work with impacted users to try to redirect their events to other facilities including the Five Points Theatre and Sadlon Arena, where possible,” McAlpine said.
Romans said Five Points Theatre really isn’t an option, as it’s too small. Georgian Theatre has a capacity of 600. Five Points Theatre, after creating a stage of any size for a KCP productions, is 100 to 120.
“Obviously, we are going to do our best to survive this, but if things stay as they are, if the status quo prevails, we are going to have to go back to ground zero and reinvent our organization,” she said. “The challenge is we have done productions at the Five Points Theatre and on both the cost, the ability to earn revenue and the expenses related to support materials that we needed, we’ve never been able to turn a profit there. Even when we sold out, we were not able to turn a profit there.”
McAlpine noted council approved an amendment to the 2021 budget to establish a theatre reserve in 2022 to be used for future theatre capital requirements, with an annual contribution of $2.5 million to be funded from the reinvestment reserve, and this reserve be capped at $15 million. This reserve was established after council abandoned its plans to refurbish the W. A. Fisher Auditorium at the former Barrie Central Collegiate site on Dunlop Street West.
Romans said KCP has as many as 24 shows in a normal year at Georgian Theatre.
The Young Company Production in November has four public shows and as many as 10 school matinees for students. The Full Company Show in February is 10 events, shows like Mamma Mia! and Shrek. This represents about 80 per cent of what KCP does, she said.
“That’s not just our earned revenue, but that’s our mandate for providing opportunities for the community to participate in theatre — on stage, back stage, sitting in the audience,” Romans said. “It’s that one (the November shows) that represents a significant cut into Barrie’s cultural programming and one that we feel strongly will have quite significant ramifications for many years to come.
“And it’s not only because the show provides that opportunity each year for dozens of young performers to get on stage and learn and grow and take their training and skills to the next level," Romans added. "We also welcomed many other young, talented artists and craftspeople behind the scenes where they have the opportunity to work with more experienced individuals in their field and again, hone their skills, but this loss gets really big when we take into account…I mean it was more than 5,000 school kids from Barrie and Simcoe County that came to these performances (annually), the 10 school matinees performances, each year, with the idea that it’s there to introduce kids to the performing arts, to inspire them, to see the possibilities that are presented there and our program very much supported learning through the Ontario curriculums.
“It is absolutely unbearable to us to think that the joy that these kids get from this program is gone,” Romans said. “Over the years we are talking tens of thousands of kids in this community that have benefitted from that production and I think that’s important to know.”
