'Time for grieving:' Theatre community takes kicking from coronavirus

The din and dialogue inside the production houses of Winnipeg's theatre community have gone silent.

The strike from coronavirus has resulted in what one artistic director calls "a time for grieving in the arts community right now."

With the silence at the box offices comes big losses in revenue. Prairie Theatre Exchange, which has cut short its current show and cancelled the next, is projecting a loss of about $250,000.

"This is going to hurt us in a significant way but we're not in a position where suddenly we're going to have to shutter the doors and close down as a company," said artistic director Thomas Morgan Jones.

"I think we're all feeling challenged and things are difficult and it is scary. But at the same time we're hopeful and we're optimistic."

Ari Weinberg of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre is also facing the abrupt halt to a show that never started, but he considers WJT to be in a fortunate place where it is able to reschedule it to next year.

He knows other theatres aren't so lucky, as actors must move on to other commitments.

"My heart goes out to all of my colleagues. It's a time for grieving in the arts community right now," he said.

"They are grieving huge losses to their budgets, to their seasons, to their artists who have been preparing months and months and won't see anything materialize."

WJT's show, Narrow Bridge, was set to be a world premiere on March 28. The play by Winnipeg playwright Daniel Thau-Eleff is about a spiritual and religious journey, dealing with transitions, transgender and Judaism.

Costumes were purchased and sets already built.

"We're pretty gutted. I feel like this play really needed to be seen by an audience," Weinberg said about the production which was to run until April 5.

It is now set for March 4-14, 2021, with the same four-person cast.

"I'm really thanking my lucky stars because so many other theatres are in very dire situations," Weinberg said.

The financial sting to WJT isn't extreme because the theatre didn't have any shows to cancel. Its most recent production closed in mid-February.

Over at PTE, opening night of By Grand Central Station, a music, dance and poetry performance was celebrated on Thursday. By Sunday its run was over.

It was supposed end March 29, leaving 14 of 20 shows unseen.

The stage, still set up on Monday with instruments at-the-ready, sat in darkness.

"You get the idea of this amazing orchestra going to come to life. So it's sad to look at all of it and to know that it's finished," Jones said.

"We equal part live for creating plays and then sharing plays with an audience. So to have both those things gone … it leaves a bit of a vacuum."

The Gingerbread Girl, a modern-day fairy tale by Winnipeg playwright Sharon Bajer, was set for an April 15 to May 3 run. Jones is not sure when it will ever be back on the stage, or if By Grand Central Station will get another go.

Next year's slate of shows is already set and will be announced soon.

Jones said the set for The Gingerbread Girl is well into construction so crews will finish it "and then we'll put it into storage and we'll see what's next."

The loss of those shows will be a challenge to overcome, he said, but noted PTE has recorded 15 years of accumulated surpluses which will soften the blow.

"Certainly it's a massive impact on us as an arts organization because a huge part of our revenue comes from tickets. So losing so many shows in our season it's gonna be very, very hard for us," Jones said.

"The hope is that we will be able to recoup some of that through support from our subscribers and single ticket-buyers who consider converting the cost of their ticket to a donation to the theatre, if they're able," he said, adding that several people have already done that.

"And some are even saying and here's an extra donation on top of that because we care about the theater and we want you to be OK."

Worry for the artists

Jones's biggest concern, though, is for the cast and other crew members now out of work.

"They're independent contractors, not necessarily employees of the theatre. So what happens  when a show is cancelled is that they they do receive some pay but certainly not the pay for the entire contract," he said.

"It's an uncertain time because they don't know when they're going to be able to go back to work. The artists who are losing their opportunity, not only financially but their opportunity and their ability to tell stories, is kind of at the heart of the real loss here."

PTE has also stopped its provincial school tour of The Paper Bag Princess and cancelled its Festival of New Works, which was scheduled for the end of May, as well as all of its education programs.

"I think it's important that everyone be able to recognize that the theater is more than just the shows that are happening. There's a lot of people that are impacted by this kind of event," Jones said.

"So we're navigating, as everybody else is, this situation we all find ourselves in. But we know it's not forever."

There is one bright side to these troubled times, noted Weinberg.

"This time of self-isolation will help us reflect artistically and result in some wonderful creations for the future," he said.

"That's the only positive spin I can think of."