Below is an excerpt from an Alliance for Arts and Culture press release regarding Tuesday’s budget announcement and what it means for the arts in this province.
Arts Community Leaders Disappointed by Budget
“Premier Ignored MLAs and His Own Finance Committee”
VICTORIA: Emerging from today’s budget lockup at the BC Legislature, Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Amir Ali Alibhai, Victoria Symphony executive director Mitchell Krieger, and ProArt Alliance of Greater Victoria coordinator Scott Walker expressed disappointment at the budget’s half-hearted support for the arts in British Columbia.
“Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen seem to have largely disregarded the recommendations of their own Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services and continue to ignore the importance of the creative sector ” said Mr. Alibhai.
“The Cultural Olympiad was a significant achievement for Canadian artists” Mr. Krieger added. “With this budget, however, it appears that what we have recently experienced was only a moment in time, as support for the arts continues to fall to record levels.”
“Our athletes’ achievements at the Olympics – and the phenomenal success of the Cultural Olympiad – have been a brilliant demonstration of what investing in talent does – for the individuals involved and for Canadian national pride. What an incredible return on investment” said Mr. Walker.
“The stunning spectacle of people convening in the city streets night after night – it was the musicians, artists, and street performers who made that experience work” noted Mr. Alibhai. “Art was the glue that held the Olympic experience in place for locals and visitors alike. From the major stages of the theatres and stadiums to the clubs and pubs and street corners, entertainers stepped up to the plate to ensure that the athletes and their fans had the experience of a lifetime.
“We’ve shown what we can do, and it is truly disappointing that this budget demonstrates that our government does not understand this fundamental equation.”
At first glance, the 2010/11 Budget for arts and culture does appear to fully restore funding to 2008/09 levels, as recommended by the Standing Committee.
On further exploration, however, the arts community spokesmen noted that funding for the Royal BC Museum ($12.1M) is included in the figures presented this year; previously it has not been included. There is also a “mystery” $10M allocation, which is currently not fully defined nor allocated to any existing funding organization, such as the BC Arts Council.
Read the full release here
Please also check out this great letter by local director/playwright/performer Amiel Gladstone on The Next Stage Magazine by clicking the title below:
Categories: News and Reviews
Tagged: alliance for arts and culture, bc arts, bc arts cuts, bc budget
A couple of weeks ago we gathered at Emily Cooper’s photo studio to shoot the pre-production shots for our upcoming production of Paradise Garden. Armed with LOTS of colourful petals, a bunch of fabric, and the vision of director Morris Ertman, our own Paradise Garden was created on the studio floor.
Our lovely leads, Kevin MacDonald (Day) and Lucia Frangione (Layla), were very brave as they stripped off their clothes and lay down underneath the fabric on the very chilly ground! Emily then climbed up to the second floor of the studio to shoot them from above. After some grooming of Kevin’s armpit hair (it really happened!), the addition of a space heater to warm things up, and many laughs, we ended up with photos that capture all the romance and beauty of the show. Check out the behind-the-scenes photos and final result below!
Petals
Head of Wardrobe Darryl Milot cuts up some fabric
Lucia Frangione in make-up (and before the wig!)
Director Morris Ertman and Kevin MacDonald (Day) chat about the shoot
Kevin MacDonald and Lucia Frangione (space heater to the right!)
And the final result!
Kevin MacDonald and Lucia Frangione. Photo by Emily Cooper
Categories: Behind the Scenes
Tagged: arts club theatre, emily cooper, kevin macdonald, Lucia Frangione, morris ertman, Paradise Garden, stanley theatre
Abby Creek and Charlie Carrick. Photo by David Cooper.
Tonight our touring production of David French’s Salt-Water Moon makes its first stop in North Vancouver at Capilano Unversity’s Performing Arts Theatre.
Starring Charlie Carrick as Jacob (Dakin in our 2008 production of The History Boys) and Abby Creek as Mary, it’s a timeless love story set on a moonlit porch in Coley’s Point, 1926. Salt-Water Moon is one of a quintet of semi-autobiographical plays that David French wrote about his hometown and the fictional Mercer family. The others in the series are Soldier’s Heart, 1949, Leaving Home, and Of the Fields, Lately. It’s been honoured with numerous awards – including the Chalmers Award, the Canadian Authors Association Award for Drama, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Play, and the Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics’ Award –and there have been hundreds of productions all over the world.
After tonight’s North Van performance, the cast and crew are off to the Surrey Arts Centre for a two week run before heading out to Burnaby, Mission, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, and West Vancouver.
Abby Creek and Charlie Carrick. Photo by David Cooper.
Categories: News and Reviews
Tagged: abby creek, Arts Club On Tour, charlie carrick, david french, michael fera, salt-water moon
FROM THE DESK OF BILL MILLERD
Our long-time Production Manager, Michael Wood is retiring after 33 years with the Arts Club. Michael started at Seymour Street having just landed in our city. He wandered in and said he was a carpenter, and did we have any work for him?
Michael Wood, Production Manager
His first jobs were taking down the set for Absurd Person Singular and preparing for the start of the 1976/77 season with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He was involved with the transition to the Granville Island Stage in the fall of 1979, and in the early 1980s became our Production Manager.
During his tenure, he was responsible for overseeing the opening of the New Revue Stage in 1983, the Production Centre (construction shops and design studios) in 1991, and the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage in 1998. During that time he has looked after countless designers working on over 400 productions at our theatres and on tours.
Michael Wood and Bill Millerd in the Seymour Street days
No theatre company our size, building at least a dozen new shows each season, can survive without a flexible, inventive, and farsighted person who can make sure that the creative forces are made real on stage for our audience members. But, perhaps even more important, Michael has supported my programming and helped to make real what might have seemed to some as an impossible dream. Thank you, Michael.
-Bill Millerd, Artistic Managing Director
Production Staff say goodbye
Stage Managers say goodbye
Categories: From the desk of Bill Millerd · Staff stuff
The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) is proud to present this commemorative FlagWalk poster (on sale at Chapters on Broadway and Granville Street). It includes the flags of the 83 countries participating in the Olympics in full colour to celebrate international friendship. It’s a great souvenir for friends and family and on top of that, all proceeds benefit us here at the Arts Club Theatre Company.
Sharon Townsend of the SGBIA said, “[they’re] pleased to direct all profits from the sale of these posters to support us. South Granville is home to the historic Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage which not only serves as the main stage for the Arts Club Theatre Company, but also serves as the cultural heart of the community.”
Support the Arts Club and get your FlagWalk commemorative poster at Chapters on Broadway & Granville Street for only $15 each! Available while supplies last, so get yours quick!
Categories: General
Tagged: Arts Club, chapters, flagwalk poster, south granville
Lat month, our Artistic Managing Director, Bill Millerd, was all smiles as he received a $7,500 cheque from Christie Smith, Communications and Public Affairs Manager of the Royal Bank of Canada Foundation for our LEAP: Playwrighting Intensive for Teens.
Bill said, “Thanks to generous donations such as this one from the RBC Foundation, we are able to offer all our teen students a full scholarship and LEAP is able to continue to deliver high caliber instruction, both in-person and online, with no cost to the students involved.”
What is LEAP? It’s a four-month intensive program that we offer, which gives introductory and advanced playwright classes, lectures, classroom discussions and field trips to about twenty talented young students. The program culminates in a public reading of the student’s work by professional actors who are hired to rehearse and perform student’s short plays for a live audience.
Amazing playwright and actor, Shawn Macdonald, continues to act as the program’s instructor while Bill and our Literary Manager, Rachel Ditor, along with guest artists, provide guidance and constructive criticism to the students. It’s an amazing program that we’re really proud of. Thanks to RBC for making it’s existence possible!
Categories: Putting the FUN in Fundraising
