The Citizen, 1992-12-16, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16,1992. PAGE 23.
Stratford ends season
with improved results
Paper man
Stratford Festival General
Manager Gary Thomas announced
Dec. 10 that the Stratford Festival's
1992 season has concluded with an
operating loss of $224,721.
Despite a 2.5 per cent decrease in
ticket sales, this is substantially less
than the loss reported at the finish
of the 1991 season. After four
decades of operation, the Festival's
accumulated deficit now stands at
$766,651 - an amount which
compares most favourably with the
deficits carried by other major
Canadian arts organizations.
“I am pleased to report,” said
Thomas, “that, in the midst of a
very unpredictable economic
climate, we not only were able to
effect a substantial improvement in
fund raising but also to
significantly reduce operating
expenses without compromising
the level of quality our patrons
have come to expect, both on and
off stage, during the past 40
seasons.” Fund raising revenue, he
said exceeded 3.4 million, netting
$440,000 more than in 1991, while
expenses for the 1992 season
finished at almost $600,000 below
last year's level and $230,000
below budget.
1992
AN OPEN HOUSE
will be held on
Wed., December 23/92 D.V.
from 2 - 5 p.m. at the
Clinton and District
Christian School
Best Wishes Only
With praise & thanks to God,
the children of
Wobbe & Pietje Bylsma
(nee Venema)
are happy to announce their
50th Anniversary.
We pray the Lord will continue to
bless and keep you in His care.
Your family
Andrea Cardiff of Blyth uses paper to transform Jack Baillie of Wingham into a human
snowflake as part of the paper costume making for the upcoming Blyth community play. The
paper-making workshop was held Dec. 8 in the June Hill room of the Blyth Festival
administration building to develop ideas for the set of the play to be held in June.
E ntertainment
Mife- • . ......a
Remarkable recovery at Blyth
In the summer of 1992, alarm
bells were sounding in all areas of
Ontario's economy. The Blyth
Festival, like so many other
important Canadian businesses and
institutions, was facing a crisis of
previously unimagined proportions.
With a staggering deficit of over
$140,000 projected in mid-summer,
the Festival undertook an
aggressive action plan of
fundraising and cost reduction.
Operating expenses were put under
the microscope, but the backbone
of the recovery was the more than
$90,000 raised through donations
and fundraising events.
“The end results speak for
themselves,” says General Manager
Ray Salverda. “Our supporters
went beyond the call of duty; they
dug deeper than anyone should
expect in a time when a lot of them
were as tapped out as we were.”
In an incredible turn of events
driven by supporters from across
the country, the Festival's 1992
fiscal year ended on a high note.
Total revenues were down by 3.7
per cent at $1,214,394 from 1992's
$1,261,846, but the deficit
projected in July was drastically
reduced to $33,682 by year end,
Oct. 31, 1992.
“The real story here is about the
people who recognized that what
Blyth does is incredibly important
and worth maintaining,” said
Festival Artistic Director Peter
Smith at the Dec. 10 annual general
meeting. “The support wasn't only
financial: the letters poured in. In a
way it is like a play. The crisis and
adversity touched all of us and
we've emerged stronger and more
committed than ever.”
More good news at the annual
general meeting was the continuing
success of the Catch the Spirit
capital campaign which retired over
$73,000 of the capital debt during
the 1992 fiscal year.
The Blyth Festival is a leader in
Canadian new play development.
In the 18 year history of the
Festival, 89 plays have been staged,
many going on to have long lives
with other theatre companies, some
being translated for foreign
audiences, others making their way
to radio, T.V. and films. The
Festival has grown steadily through
18 seasons from a four week,
summer playhouse with a $9,000
budget, to a world class Canadian
art institution with an annual
budget of well over a million
dollars.
The Blyth Festival runs a four
month summer program of five
plays, but unlike other summer
theatres, Blyth is a twelve month a
year commitment. Play
development workshops, public
readings, touring shows, hosting
other theatre productions and
generally nurturing Canadian
theatre goes on all year round. “Our
audience, our supporters, our
corporate partners all understand
that their contributions work year
round to keep Blyth and our unique
brand of Canadian art thriving,”
says board of directors' President
Gayle Waters. “Blyth is an
experience that defines what it
means to be Canadian.”
“Blyth is a work on progress and
even as we wrap up the 1992
season people are already starting
to gather for the ’93 season,” says
Artistic Director Peter Smith.
“There is an exciting momentum
building. Playwrights, actors, and
the public are all a part of what
drives the Festival. The public
readings and the workshops are the
seeds for what happens not just in
’93 but in ’94 and ’95. This year's
season is a garden waiting to
happen.”
Forthcoming
Marriage
Stan and June Johns and
Milton and Gertroud Haines
are pleased to announce
the engagement of Lisa
Johns to Alexander Haines.
The wedding will take place
at Ontario Street United
Church, Clinton on
Saturday, December 19,
1992 at 3:30 p.m. Lisa is
the granddaughter of Bill
and Mary Manning
Self-sufficiency through literacy
in the developing world
Formore information, call 1-800-661-CODE
Blyth
Village
Christmas
Come celebrate with us
SATURDAY DEC. 19, 1992
Christmas Pageant
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Hayride & Carol Singing
Hot Chocolate & Cookies
7:30 p.m. Christmas Pageant
Blyth Memorial Hall
There will be a collection of
canned goods at the door.
All proceeds to Huron United Way
This ad generously sponsored by
Christmas & Country
A