HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-03-15, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012.Stratford Festival posts surplus for 2011
Petition last
hope for Blyth
says Vodden
The Stratford ShakespeareFestival held its annual generalmeeting on March 10, celebrating its
2011 season – a season which not
only won resounding praise on both
sides of the Atlantic, but also ended
with a surplus of $52,995.
“At a time when arts organizations
throughout North America are
struggling financially, we can take
pride in the fact that we were able to
realize a surplus while presenting a
season of sound artistic integrity,”
says General Director Antoni
Cimolino. “Our staff and artists can
be very proud of their
accomplishments in 2011. We met a
number of fiscal challenges head on
and presented a playbill that
generated extremely enthusiastic
response across the board. We
extend our thanks to our loyal
patrons, members and sponsors
whose support is essential to our
success.”
“The 2011 season was artistically
the most ambitious season since I
started my tenure,” says Artistic
Director Des McAnuff. “It included
plays such as Pinter’s The
Homecoming, Steinbeck’s The
Grapes of Wrath, Shakespeare’s
Titus Andronicus, a non-traditional
Richard III, and in our largest venue,
Moliere’s The Misanthrope. Our
mandate as a classically-based
theatre commits us to exploring the
great works of drama, including
darker and less familiar plays – those
that we know will challenge our
artists and audiences alike. I am
pleased that 2011 saw our company
and our supporters rise to meet the
challenge. It is extremely satisfying
to end such an audacious season not
only with artistic accolades but also
with balanced books.”
“By any yardstick, 2011 was a
year of extraordinary achievement
for our Festival, both on stage and
off,” says Dr. Lee Myers, Chair of
the Board of Governors, “and I wantto offer my thanks andcongratulations to both our Artistic
Director, Des McAnuff, and our
General Director, Antoni Cimolino.
Their truly visionary leadership has
enabled us not just to weather these
turbulent economic times but to
triumph over them both artistically
and fiscally. Our artists won
international acclaim for their work
in a season that touched every aspect
of our mandate.” Revenue was $59.6
million, up from $59.1 million in
2010. Earned revenue accounted for
67 per cent of that total, or $39.8
million. Support from donors was up
an impressive 14 per cent at $13.3
million, or 22 per cent of revenue.
Government contributions totalled
$4.79 million or eight per cent or
revenue. Three per cent of revenue,
or $1.74 million, came from the
Endowment Foundation transfer.
With overall attendance of
455,044, average capacity in 2011
was 65 per cent, equal to the average
capacity attained over the nine years
since the 50th season. Anticipating a
softer sales market, the Festival set
realistic goals for the season’s
budget.
“When planning for this season,
we saw a number of issues that
would affect the bottom line,” says
Mr. Cimolino, “including the poor
economy, the introduction of the
HST in Ontario, the high Canadian
dollar and the loss of the federal
government’s Marquee Tourism
Events Program.
“As a result, we budgeted
prudently and capitalized on
opportunities to reduce expenses and
optimize revenues, while
maintaining the highest quality of
work on our stages. This careful
planning combined with the very
generous support of our donors
allowed us to record a surplus for
2011.”
As in 2010, Shakespeare playsaccounted for 30 per cent of totalticket sales, maintaining the increase
achieved over 2009, when 23 per
cent of tickets sold were for
Shakespeare titles. Shakespeare
sales to schools rose to 21,000 seats
in 2011 from 17,000 in 2010.
Of particular appeal to student
audiences – and audiences in general
– was McAnuff’s production of
Twelfth Night, the season’s strongest
selling non-musical play and one ofthe top-selling productions ofMcAnuff’s tenure to date. A CD of
the music of Twelfth Night,
composed for the production by
Michael Roth and McAnuff, was a
top seller at the theatre store.
Sales in the U.S., which had been
affected by the rising Canadian
dollar, high gas prices and the
struggling economy in Michigan, are
beginning to level out as the Festival
works to rebuild its Americanmarket. High priority is also beinggiven to strengthening sales in
Ontario.
The runaway hit of the 2011
season was McAnuff’s production of
Jesus Christ Superstar, which
thrilled first-time theatregoers and
long-time patrons alike and earned
kudos not only from the media but
also from its creators, Tim Rice and
THE EDITOR,
The Blyth community is being
treated like a rebellious community
(which we are) within a regime that
considers itself supreme (which
describes Avon Maitland District
School Board).
Blyth Public School is one of the
schools that will not remain open
until the new palace is constructed.
The board has initiated Plan B
which involves placing children here
and there temporarily for next
September prior to moving them
into the post construction school
placements (probably a year later).
Trustee Colleen Schenk explained to
council that that process is designed
to make a smooth transition into the
new configuration, so that the
children can begin to develop the
new culture which will be possible
in the new school, and so they can
gradually achieve a state of comfort
which will enable them to adjust to
the final building they will be
attending and feel welcome and
comfortable. Her message: “It’s all
about the children!” (Translation: “It
has absolutely nothing to do with the
children!”)
To me, that gobbledegook adds up
to two major adjustments for our
children when one shift would have
been adequate. Had all the children
remained in the same schools as
they now occupy until the new
school is ready, there would have
been only one transition.
The policy of AMDSB seems to
be to force Blyth to abandon all
hope of receiving any good news.
“Don’t leave that Blyth school open
for a minute past June 2012,
regardless.”
They are dividing our student
body into little pieces further
fracturing our community. More
punishment for our dissent?
According to Mike Ash’s plan, our
school and our community are about
to be sacrificed to feed a big new
school for which there is no
educational justification and one
that the province cannot afford, and
the people of Blyth are left to pick
up the pieces.
Our last hope is for the acceptance
of our petition to achieve a province-
wide moratorium on school
closures, and, at last, a reining in of
non-representative school boards
wherever they exist.
Brock Vodden.
1st Avenue,
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Letter to the Editor
Congratulations
Blyth Legion President Andy Lubbers, left, and Legion member Donna Govier, right, were at
Hullett Central Public School last week to present the participants in the annual public
speaking competition with their awards. Back row, from left: Griffin MacDonald, a junior
division participant; Connor Driscoll, second place in the intermediate division; Teresa
Atkinson, an intermediate division participant and Avery Whyte, third place in the junior
division. Front row, from left: Jeylin Riley, second place in the primary division; Kiara Driscoll,
a primary division participant; Nadia Bingham, a primary division participant and Ethan
Scrimgeour, winner of the junior division. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Continued on page 23