PRESENTATION House Theatre is cutting back the remainder of this year's season to avoid a repeat performance of its financial problems.
"It's not that we were in trouble," said artistic director Kim Selody, "but we wanted to avoid facing a deficit this year. So we are being prudent in our response."
The theatre is cancelling its plans to present In the Wake later this month, and postponing the in-house production of My Mother's Story: North Vancouver from March to September.
Selody said ticket sales for In the Wake had been poor, and he anticipated the company would absorb about $10,000 in losses if the show went forward. That would have to be made up elsewhere, which could have compromised the staging of My Mother's Story through reduced rehearsal time or even the loss of a cast member.
"I didn't feel that was a good choice," Selody said. "I felt one of our brands that we want to promote is artistic excellence in professional theatre. It seemed more prudent to postpone it, put it into the next fiscal year, and spread the costs over two fiscal years. That way we can ensure the quality will be there. We're actually investing more money in it."
Selody said theatre companies around the Lower Mainland are facing similar financial pressures since the provincial government cancelled arts grants funded by gaming revenue. That $43,000 cheque represents almost half of the production costs for a show like My Mother's Story.
In 2010, Presentation House Theatre attempted to make up some of that loss by presenting more shows, but the company still wound up pleading for money from municipal government.
"We don't want to do that," said Selody, who joined Presentation House in September of 2011. "That's why we're taking this measure. We're not going to go through this year hoping that things work out, hoping we find those numbers."
Although the province's decision on the future of gaming grants was expected at the end of December, Selody said there has been no news from Victoria yet. Even without it though, he said the cutbacks should secure the theatre's finances for the foreseeable future.
"The main issue is long-term planning," he said. "It's not a gripey thing about us needing the money. It's about planning. If the money is going to be there we can plan for it and if it's not, we have to change our model. If the gaming money isn't restored, it's really simple - everything slows down. Money is an enabler and it causes things to happen. Artists need to find the time to create work and we need the money to hire the artists. So we just won't have as much money to hire artists. So we produce less, less gets done. There's less creation. It can be very frustrating for people who want to see stuff and want to consume art."
