B.C. restart plan sets the stage for Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre to resume performances

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — More than a year after COVID-19 forced the performing arts in B.C. to take an abrupt curtain call, Western Canada’s largest theatre company is planning its gradual reopening.

Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre is looking forward to resuming live, in-person performances as soon as the province enters the second phase of its restart plan which will allow audiences of up to 50 people.

Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran says they have three shows planned, all suited to a smaller audience. Two are one-person productions and the third is an audio play.

“They’re actually plays that we’ve been hoping to do. We put together the plan to do them last winter, and we’ve been waiting and waiting for public health guidelines to make it possible to gather again,” she explains, noting the company had test-run of these kinds of smaller, socially distanced productions during a brief reopening for last November.

“We feel quite confident in our abilities to respond safely to the public health measures that are coming out and keep our audience and our artists and our staff all safe.”

As BC begins to emerge from #COVID19, there is cause for celebration in the local arts community. @theArtsClub Theatre Company will re-open its venues to live, on-site theatrical productions, starting in July.

— John Ackermann ???? (@jackermann) June 9, 2021

Getting people back in the theatre and selling tickets is crucial to the theatre company’s survival. Corcoran says 90 per cent of revenue comes from box office, and going 15 months with virtually no performances has been a major blow. She estimates that cancelling 24 shows means about $13 million in lost revenue. Of the 697 artists and freelancers employed by the company, nearly 400 lost their jobs.

“If we’re not able to gather, our business model is not able to work the way that it normally does. So it’s been a very difficult year for us,” Corcoran says.

“It’s been a difficult year for our community, a difficult year for individuals in our community, and we’ve really been trying to focus on keeping connected to our audience, keeping, as many of our staff employed as long as possible.”

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One thing Corcoran appreciates about the province’s restart plan is the way it clearly lays out what people can expect during each phase.

“We really like how transparent, they are and how there’s really clear benchmarks, that’s really helping us in terms of planning how we will reopen in a gradual or staged way.”

The plan — as long as B.C. continues to keep cases and hospitalizations down — will allow for larger gatherings as soonas September. Corcoran says she and her colleagues are looking head and planning for fall and winter productions.

“We’re also really in the thick of putting together our plans for a larger reopening that will happen come November for the family theatre, the largest of our venues. Our plan is to open up that venue with a large Christmas show,” she explains.

“We’re really looking forward to getting back to that scope and scale of theatre.”

For now, Corcoran says, the prospect of getting back to any live performance is a relief.

“We know it’s been a difficult year on many levels for many people. So we keep our problems in perspective, but being able to come back, being able to do shows being able to welcome audiences safely into our venues once again — it’s going to be something to celebrate.”