Last fall, David Mirvish unveiled his plans to re develop a portion of his property portfolio. These plans include demolishing the Princess of Whales Theatre, which is only 20 years old. 

It might be hard to imagine destroying such a relatively new building, especially one of such quality. The Princess of Whales is generally thought of to be one of the best, if not THE best, designed and equipped theatres in Canada. But when you compare it to a land mark such as the Royal Alex, even though it ...
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The regional theatres of Canada were largely founded in the 60's & 70's, funded with help from the government with the purpose of bringing theatre and culture to the vast tracts of Canada. This funding allowed the construction of new, larger, dedicated venues for companies to produce professional, polished productions in. 

This was a boon to the industry. From Vancouver to Halifax, newly minted, not-for-profit companies were created and started producing professional theatre shows the caliber ...
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Arts organizations cannot live on earned revenue alone, this is common knowledge. They depend a great deal on donations and government funding. To obtain theses monies, a lot of effort, marketing and lobbying takes place, and still organizations struggle to survive, and occasionally don't.

We need a hero! 

What i mean is that the industry needs a spokesperson who is capable of swaying opinion. Take a look at this video:
 
 

That is Neil degrasse Tyson speaking on The Daily Show. NASA spending ha...
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Much like the rest of you, I have been considering the events of last week concerning the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company a great deal. The announcement of their closure hits pretty close to home for me. I work at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, NS, and there are quite a number of similarities between Neptune and VPT. 

 Both are: 

• In their 49th seasons
• Category A houses
• IATSE Houses
• Have an operating budget of about $5M
• In a deficit this season
• etc.

Thankfully, however, there are a few key difference...
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Usually, I try to keep this blog news, and fact oriented. I have been thinking a lot about this topic, as it is budget season in the government and many theatres across the country, and I can't help myself but to write here about it. 

First, I would like to point out that I have never had a job that was not involved with theatre and the performing arts. Second, I have never voted for the Conservative Party. Third, I think the Conservative Party budget is right....

Canada has weathered...
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