Posted by ingrid
on April 27, 2009, 11:55 pm
62.47.152.92
It seems that a financial boost from Ottawa saved eight performances of Dream - YES; Da Man is going to be on stage more!! I just hope nobody's travel plans are now botched AGAIN...
here's the link:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090427.wstratford0428/BNStory/Entertainment/home
here's the story from Globe&Mail:
Stratford shows saved by boost from Ottawa
Grants to arts organizations targeted to tourism initiatives; Conservatives also announce funding for Shaw Festival, TIFF, Calgary Stampede and other tourist events
Article Comments (1) JAMES BRADSHAW
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
April 27, 2009 at 4:50 PM EDT
A full slate of performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream is back on at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, thanks to a $3-million cash infusion from the federal government's Marquee Tourism Events Program, announced Monday.
Stratford had been forced to cancel one performance of West Side Story and put 30 other dates for various shows on hold as ticket sales flagged. But the windfall from the Conservatives has spurred artistic director Des McAnuff to reinstate all six Midsummer performances that had been on hold.
Stratford's announcement was one of eight Monday as the federal government doled out the first $17-million from its two-year, $100-million Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP), announcing separate cash injections of up to $3-million for some of Canada's flagship cultural attractions, including $2.1-million for the Shaw Festival, $2-million for the Calgary Stampede and $3-million for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Antoni Cimolino, Stratford's general director, said the government has “listened and acted” and that he expects the added funds to “turn this year around” for Stratford. The festival has seen U.S. ticket sales dip about 10 per cent to account for less than 30 per cent of total sales, something Cimolino thinks can be turned around with aggressive marketing, particularly in the United States, paid for by these new funds.
“It's an opportune time for us to reach out across the United States and tell people about this great festival we have in Canada. They don't have anything like it in the United States, so that's why they travel,” Cimolino said, adding that this single infusion amounts to more than the festival usually receives from the federal government in a year.
McAnuff said yesterday the funding boost has spurred him to aggressively pursue ways to give students, particularly those in northern Ontario, more exposure to Stratford and announced a goal of having every student in Ontario see a Stratford play at least once in during their school years by 2015.
“It's certainly going to be a challenge,” said McAnuff, who hopes he could double the festival's current student attendance of 70,000. “But I wanted to make sure we weren't just focusing on the immediate problem. I think we need to step back and look five or 10 years down the pike.”
The Charlottetown Festival, Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, Festival d'été de Québec and the Montreal Jazz Festival also announced sizable federal gifts, with local Conservative MPs on hand.
the rest of the story deals with the above festivals, so I skipped it.
love
ingrid
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