Officials explain partnership between Sudbury's STC, YES Theatre
The partnership between the Sudbury Theatre Centre and YES Theatre has many people wondering what it means for arts in the city -- and why it was put in place without consulting the arts community first.
On Wednesday, officials said getting artists on stage and patrons back in the seats -- while maintaining both the STC and YES mandates -- is the vision for the new partnership.
Officials said it’s the coming together of both community and professional theatre. John Dow, co-chair of the STC board of governors, said YES has come a long way.
“The surprise to everybody is that they are becoming a very professional theatre company themselves," Dow said.
"The talent they have for grant writing, the talent they have for the organization skills -- and we have a physical asset. And with respect to the arts community, if we have too many companies, it might work against Sudbury. So we said here’s a natural partnership”
The STC has seen audiences drop from 30,000 patrons annually in the previous decade to now only seeing 3,500 people a year. YES Theatre, on the other hand, remained successful despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We produced in partnership with the Sudbury Theatre Centre 'Bed and Breakfast,' which saw over a thousand people (when) no other production was happening across the country," said Scott Denniston, STC and YES Theatre general manager.
"Then, of course, with the Grotto series we saw over 3,500 people attend, you know, in the month of September. So it's been really positive growth and we just hope to share some of that with the Sudbury Theatre Centre and get this theatre going again.”
Still, many people wonder why there was no community consultation before the partnership was unveiled.
“We have to get to a certain level -- a certain place -- and bring it forward," said Dow.
"As a board, that’s your responsibility. When you get to the point where you now know your concept, you have your vision, you can then take it out and present it to the community. And that’s exactly what we did.”
A community town hall is scheduled for late next month. Organizers said it's an opportunity for members of the artistic community to voice opinions and contribute to the future vision of the two groups.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Storage shed or shipping container? B.C. Supreme Court settles long-running bylaw dispute
A long-running dispute over whether a structure on a Surrey property violates a city bylaw that prohibits shipping containers on residential lots has been settled by the B.C. Supreme Court