Lack of Pandemic Funding Leads to Struggle for Winnipeg Theatres

In a so-called perfect storm, a lack of funding from the pandemic has led some theater companies to restructure their organizations, leading to layoffs, reduced workloads and a big question mark over Winnipeg's normally vibrant arts scene.

The Prairie Theater Exchange knows this all too well as they are undergoing a restructuring that has affected seven positions in a variety of ways, from layoffs and reduced workloads to consolidation of positions resulting in new hires. Artistic director Thomas Morgan Jones says it wasn't their first choice, but it still had to be done.

“It's not just a Winnipeg thing or a PTE thing, it's a crisis across the country and certainly around the world, globally, in the theater sector,” explained Thomas Morgan Jones, artistic director of Prairie Theater Exchange.

“So incomes are down, expenses are up, and I think people are spending less because of inflation and the cost of living, but it's more expensive for us to build everything, but you put that together as a mathematical equation, and it makes it difficult to move forward.”

While the goal of the restructuring is to give them stability for the coming years, Jones says, and ultimately to usher the company into a new era of renaissance, in the short term Winnipeggers are needed to support not only PTE, but also PTE. all theaters in the city.

“See some amazing shows this season and next season, go to all the theaters in the community and bring a friend, because a lot of the revenue we're missing this year is a lack of ticket revenue, so the more people that come to the theater, the healthier the whole theater environment and our city as a whole.” Jones said.

PTE is not the only theater that has had to make changes.

Genevieve Pelletier, Artistic and CEO of the Cercle Moliere Theater While the pandemic has really exacerbated the problem, she believes that the arts have always been underfunded and undervalued for a long time, which she says needs to be addressed.

“We had to go from being a closed community theater to a very local national and international theater and wanted to give voice to marginalized voices and find those really new voices. Pelletier explained.

“We haven't had an increase in Manitoba Arts Council funding in 20 years, so that means a decrease every year with different things we have to deal with.”

Pelletier says funding is the main issue, but there is actually a culmination of different factors that lead to a one-size-fits-all struggle at the same time.

“We also have more population, less population, more diverse population, and all of that is coming to a situation that wasn't the case 10, 15, 20 years ago, where I think things were a little more homogenous. Pelletier said.

It's not just theatres, Ardith Boxall, an independent artist who has spent most of her life in theatre, including 17 years as the former artistic director of Theater Projects in Manitoba, says the restructuring will affect everyone.

“There's never enough work, and there wasn't enough work during COIVD, and everyone is struggling to keep artists working, and it takes a lot of people to be creative, not just the actors, but the directors, designers, technicians and administrators and support staff. work on stage, so there's less work for everyone when there's a shift in production,” Boxall explained.

While people coming to the shows help in the short term, Boxall says more needs to be done.

“Funding agencies, which are different levels of government, we need answers and cooperation with them, and from the perspective of independent artists, basic universal income is one of the biggest potential stabilizers for those working in the creative industries.”