The Citizen, 2011-03-10, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011.
Accolades poured in during the
2010 season – from the media and
from Stratford Shakespeare Festival
patrons. Theatregoers expressed
their support at the box office, on
Facebook, and with their charitable
donations, driving the Festival to a
surplus of $317,277 in 2010,
compared to a surplus of $172,367
in 2009.
To meet audience demand, eight
out of 12 productions were extended
during the season, including The
Tempest , which, during a single
encore performance, raised roughly
$200,000 for the Festival’s new play
development program. Enthusiastic
patrons bought an additional 15,747
tickets for performances on the
Festival’s stages, and Canadians
nationwide flocked to Cineplex
theatres for a one-time screening of
The Tempest with Christopher
Plummer, for which 20,000 tickets
were sold.
“Once again, thanks to the
inspired leadership of our Artistic
Director, Des McAnuff, and our
General Director, Antoni Cimolino,
we have had a season that delighted
audiences, won critical acclaim and
achieved solid box-office results,”
said Dr. Lee Myers, Chair of the
Board of Governors. “The 2010
playbill was wonderfully varied,
with everything from a young
people’s classic to a rock musical –
but at its heart, as always, were the
works of William Shakespeare.”
In addition to staging 628
performances in 2010 and screening
The Tempest across the country, the
Festival also collaborated with the
American Conservatory Theatre on
the San Francisco co-production of
Phèdre last January and with
Mirvish Productions in presenting A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way
to the Forum in Toronto this winter.
At the same time, Brian Bedford’s
production of The Importance of
Being Earnest, which originated at
Stratford and is now playing at the
Roundabout Theatre in New York,
has taken Broadway by storm and
has been extended through to July 3.
The film of Mr. McAnuff’s 2008
production of Caesar and Cleopatra
saw its U.S. première, as part of the
Detroit Institute of Arts film
program. A new documentary
entitled Des McAnuff: A Life in
Stages aired on Bravo! and had
special screenings in Toronto, New
York and Stratford, as well as at the
San Diego Film Festival.
The Festival reached out
internationally with its volunteer
project in the war-ravaged
community of Suchitoto, El
Salvador, where it is helping to
create an arts and technical school
and accompanying theatre. The
project was launched in March with
a new play developed in Suchitoto,
entitled Voices from the Hills/Voces
de los cerros. Since that time, 20
Festival artists, artisans and
technical specialists have visited
Suchitoto, leading the inaugural
class of students through their first
year of studies and helping mount
two further productions, including a
professional production of The
House of Bernarda Alba, which
played in Suchitoto and at the
National Theatre in San Salvador,
featuring professional actors and
students from Suchitoto.
The focus on education at home
continues, with 67,000 students
attending performances during the
2010 season, many of whom also
participated in or benefitted from
education enrichment programs
through the Festival, including the
Shakespeare School, Shakespeare on
Wheels, the Teaching Shakespeare
School and the annual Teachers’
Conference. Another 24,000 young
people attended the Festival through
the Family Experience program,
which offers reduced-price tickets to
children under 18 attending with an
adult. Sales to theatregoers under the
age of 18 accounted for 15 per cent
of overall sales.
The launch of the new Ontario
Schools Project expanded on the
Festival’s outreach activities,
reaching some 4,500 elementary
school students with in-class visits
by Festival artists and the
opportunity to see Peter Pan. This
new project, which was funded in its
inaugural year by the Ontario
government, is designed to build on
the desire to give every student in
Ontario the opportunity to
experience the Festival during their
school years.
The Festival’s education activities
also include offering advanced
training for classical artists. In
addition to bringing in 10 new actors
to the Birmingham Conservatory for
Classical Theatre under the direction
of Martha Henry, the Festival
introduced the Michael Langham
Workshop for Classical Direction,
which welcomed 11 mid-career
directors to the inaugural session in
2010. Sadly Mr. Langham, who was
the Festival’s Artistic Director from
1956 to 1967, died this past January.
During 2010, the Festival’s
outreach activities continued to grow
through a variety of residency
programs.
In October, eight Canadian
playwrights came to Stratford to
attend the third annual Playwrights’
Retreat and another three were in
residence during the season. Since
2008, 48 Canadian playwrights have
been part of the New Play
Department’s programs, through
residencies, workshops, readings
and commissions.
“To affirm our role as a forum for
ideas and public debate – as initially
set forth by Tyrone Guthrie – we
must foster the creation and
development of new plays that
spring directly from our own
contemporary experience,” said
McAnuff. “The classical and the
contemporary sustain each other,
infuse each other with their energies
and insights. Both have equal
currency in the modern world; both
speak to us with equal clarity here
and now, in the eternal present.”
Stratford artists also go out into
the community to do their own
residencies. In November a number
of teaching artists from the Festival
visited Michigan for an annual three-
week residency, bringing the study
of Shakespeare to 3,200 elementary,
high school and university students
in that state.
The Festival’s spectacular
productions, along with the many
education and outreach activities,
were supported by remarkable
fundraising efforts and innovative
marketing techniques that were
fuelled by government investment.
The fundraising team contributed
more than $10.5 million to operating
revenue thanks in part to a matching
gift commitment by the Lazaridis
Family Foundation, which gave $1
million to the Festival in 2010, the
first instalment of a $5-million
commitment.
Revenue for 2010 totaled $59.1
million, with box office and other
earned revenue remaining the largest
contributor to the bottom line at 66
per cent. Corporate and individual
donors contributed 18 per cent of
revenue. Government support
totalled 11 per cent. The annual
contribution from the Endowment
Foundation contri-buted three per
cent to revenue and two per cent was
derived from the amortization of
deferred capital contributions.
Surplus for the year totaled
$317,277.
The Festival’s economic impact in
2010 was assessed by the
Conference Board of Canada to be
$139.8 million, while generating
some 3,000 full-time jobs and tax
revenue of $75.6 million.
“In all, it was a hugely successful
year for our Festival,” said Mr.
Cimolino, “and one that gives us
every reason to anticipate another
season of solid success in 2011.”
The Stratford Shakespeare
Festival’s 2011 season, which begins
April 16, features The Merry Wives
of Windsor, Camelot, Twelfth Night,
The Misanthrope, The Grapes of
Wrath, Jesus Christ Superstar, The
Homecoming, Richard III, Titus
Andronicus, Shakespeare’s Will, The
Little Years and Hosanna.
Huron East Council gave two
applications for Trillium Grants the
go-ahead at its Feb. 15 meeting.
The first application will be filed
by the Municipality of Huron East,
asking for something under $15,000
(the final amount has yet to be
determined) to help make the
Brussels, Morris and Grey Pool
accessible.
The balance of the project would
be funded by donations from the
Lions and other interested parties
with the balance to be provided by
Huron East and Morris-Turnberry.
Representatives from the Brussels
Lions Club were set to propose
accessibility upgrades to the pool,
meeting with chief building official
Paul Josling late last year. The day
after the meeting, however, Brussels
Lion Henry Exel was killed in a car
collision and the issue wasn’t
pursued again for several months.
The proposed upgrades include
new tile flooring to be placed in the
change rooms, new doors for the
entrance, exit and both change
rooms and the creation of one large,
unisex washroom that would be
accessible.
Because the land is owned by
Huron East, the municipality would
officially make the application.
Huron East also approved an
application to be made by the
Seaforth Optimists Club.
This application would be made
by the Optimists for between
$25,000 and $30,000 for upgrades to
their clubhouse, specifically the
washrooms.
A motion was made and carried
for Huron East to match whatever
funds are contributed to the project
by the Optimists from the Parkland
Reserve.
Stratford Festival posts $317,000 surplus
Huron East applies
for Trillium Grants
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