Vancouver Bails out the Playhouse & Museum

whatnext · #1 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 4:54 PM**

Not sure if the move is good, bad or indifferent. Forumers thoughts?

The City of Vancouver secretly approved a bailout of more than $1-million for the struggling Vancouver Playhouse Theatre and the Museum Of Vancouver (MOV), and will provide an annual operating grant to the theatre company, which had been facing bankruptcy without the emergency help...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2169786/

agrant · #2 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 5:29 PM**

We need a museum, and we need theatre. Seems like the management of these places should be revamped. Whatever they're doing to generate money isn't working.

WaxItYourself · #3 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 5:35 PM**

Personally I think the MOV should move. It's current location isn't very close to the downtown core or transit and it seems like more of an addon to the planetarium.

SpongeG · #4 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 5:51 PM**

yes the museum is not well known, i know people who didn't even know we had one - yet they knew of the museum of anthropology and thought that was the museum

GeeCee · #5 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 6:31 PM**

I love* how any sort of grant or any sort of financial assistance is now called a bailout. Thanks, neocons!

*do not love

whatnext · #6 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 6:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by agrant

We need a museum, and we need theatre. Seems like the management of these places should be revamped. Whatever they're doing to generate money isn't working.

I agree we need a civic museum. As to theatre, we have the Arts Club and other smaller companies. Do we really need a "state" theatre? That is, one funded by the city and in a city building, in competition with the others?

jlousa · #7 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 6:58 PM**

I don't know enough about the matter to make a decision if iit was right or not. I've heard others state that Vancouver probably isn't big enough for two large theater companies and perhaps consolidation would've been a better solution.

What I understand even less is how they found $1M for this but couldn't find much less to have saved the petting zoo and then there was the Conservatory issue. Just hope that this decision can be justified independently and based on politics and that the Playhouse is able to turn things around now.

jlousa · #8 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 7:01 PM**

This is different then a grant though, the Playhouse gets grants, this was by definition a bailout.

whatnext · #9 Posted **Sep 17, 2011, 8:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlousa

This is different then a grant though, the Playhouse gets grants, this was by definition a bailout.

If I'm not mistaken, the Playhouse Theatre Co. didn't get cash grants (until now). They got free rent for the theatre from the City. The City kept the bar receipts (one good source of income), not sure who paid the unionized QE/Playhouse ushers. Probably a similar arrangement with the Vancouver Opera.

...In addition to the funds, the city gives the company a “grant” of $501,000 to pay for rent on the civic theatre. Reimer said that money is a bookkeeping exercise that allows the city to charge back to itself rent it would otherwise charge tenants. “We don’t see a dollar of that money,” he said.

Of the Playhouse’s operating budget, roughly $2 million comes from ticket sales and $1 million each from corporate donations and government support, including arts council grants. The rest comes from a variety of fundraising programs and foundation endowments, Reimer said.

The $426,000 debt to the city consisted of overtime for two technicians, GST and HST implications and a number of what Reimer called “incremental” costs not covered by the Playhouse’s lease of the civic theatre.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Cit...#ixzz1YFD6Se66

So now the private enterprise Art Club has to compete with a similar group getting free rent and cash from the City. Not fair.

IMHO the City should turn ownership of the QE complex to Vancouver Opera and the Playhouse, let them manage it, collect rental and parking fees and pay market wages. And get out of the business of operating a theatre complex. Ever wonder why that restaurant space on the plaza is empty? Apparently its because it must be staffed by unionized city employees and no way is that ever going to work financially.

delboy · #10 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 1:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpongeG

yes the museum is not well known, i know people who didn't even know we had one - yet they knew of the museum of anthropology and thought that was the museum

I agree with this. I have been here 20 years and only realized we had a civic museum a few years ago and thought MOV was a planterium. I too thought the MOA was the city's civic museum.

Vancouver gets a bad rap for lack of culture relating to the arts, which i suspect is in part due to the fact that alot is de-centralized away from the centre of the city, leaving the impression that the centre is lacking, which it is { of note we have a decent amount of theatre in this city with something like 30 plus civic and independant theatres). Probably due to a focus on residential develpment over the past couple of decades and no emphasis on a cultural area of the city which we need.

whatnext · #11 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 3:11 PM**

There are plenty of cities where the museum precinct isn't right downtown. Off the top of my head Chicago & LA. Vanier Park is easily accessible by car, bus, aquabus and bike from downtown in few minutes.

twoNeurons · #12 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatnext

There are plenty of cities where the museum precinct isn't right downtown. Off the top of my head Chicago & LA. Vanier Park is easily accessible by car, bus, aquabus and bike from downtown in few minutes.

But I don't know if think of art when I think of LA and Chicago. At least it's not the first thing that comes to my mind.

Also wouldn't call that area the "museum precinct" and it certainly isn't advertised as such.

delboy · #13 Posted **Sep 23, 2011, 1:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatnext

There are plenty of cities where the museum precinct isn't right downtown. Off the top of my head Chicago & LA. Vanier Park is easily accessible by car, bus, aquabus and bike from downtown in few minutes.

yes vanier park is easily accessible and locals likely have few issues, however, what of tourists? When i visit cities i tend to gravitate to the centre where the arts, culture and life/vibrancy typically tend to be. Vancouver fails in this regard, at least to some extent, leaving the feeling that something is missing. It took me a good year or two to figure out the place and its always stuck with me how the centre never quite functioned like other cities.

For instance examples of places not easily accessible/well known for tourists:

the chan centre, MOA, MOV, the maritime museam, the contemporary art gallery...even the casino is in an odd place...

trofirhen · #14 Posted **Sep 23, 2011, 2:44 PM**

How does this all stack up with the way they handle their cultural scene in Seattle? They seem to have a thriving arts scene, (including the Seatttle Opera), and I'm wondering if they require funding in Seattle the way we do, or not.

Is this Vancouver situation based on lack of attendance, or what?

incognism · #15 Posted **Sep 23, 2011, 5:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trofirhen

How does this all stack up with the way they handle their cultural scene in Seattle? They seem to have a thriving arts scene, (including the Seatttle Opera), and I'm wondering if they require funding in Seattle the way we do, or not.

Is this Vancouver situation based on lack of attendance, or what?

It's not a "situation". The Vancouver Playhouse is not well run and their choices to captivate audiences and season ticket holders are abysmal.

The Arts Club does not receive any civic funding/subsidies and yet it has productions on three stages and is fairly successful.

Vancouver Playhouse · #16 Posted **Oct 4, 2011, 1:18 AM**

An excerpt from the Playhouse's response written by Artistic Managing Director Max Reimer to the coverage you've read:

"...after 48 years, the City begins to level the playing field. Appendix A of the 2011 (2010) Cultural Grants Allocations for Operation Assistance provides a list of the over $5.5M given to 96 arts organizations in the last two years - with the notable exception of the Playhouse. This includes the theatre companies referenced in articles and comments as if they do not receive municipal funding."

To read the full response and to see the list of organizations, including the theatres mentioned please follow this link:

http://www.vancouverplayhouse.com/bl...ys-assistance/

Thank you for this opportunity to engage in important dialogue.

whatnext · #17 Posted **Oct 4, 2011, 4:34 AM**

Well, yes. But there was never anything stopping the Playhouse from leaving the QE complex and building their own theatre (as the Arts Club did with the Stanley) and then getting grants.

whatnext · #18 Posted **Mar 11, 2012, 3:01 AM**

Well, its old news now but the Playhouse has gone tits up and closed their doors:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2365080/

trofirhen · #19 Posted **Mar 11, 2012, 4:13 AM**

Have similar things happened in Seattle? What about the financial state of their art scene compared to ours, peut-être?

s211 · #20 Posted **Mar 11, 2012, 2:05 PM**

Can't speak to theatre, but their opera scene makes Vancouver's look like a high school musical.