Optimism for Stalled Stratford Season
source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090416.wstratford0416/BNStory/Entertain...
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"Des McAnuff is confident the Stratford Shakespeare Festival will finish this season in the black, even though slow ticket sales have forced the company to put 30 performances on hold.
With ticket sales down 15 per cent from last year, officials at the Stratford, Ont., organization cancelled one performance of the musical West Side Story and have halted ticket sales for 30 other performances, waiting to see if purchases for other dates accelerate. Most of the performances in limbo are late-season dates in September and October.
But the festival's artistic director insists the season will fare well financially. “Our projections are that we're going to end the season in the black. … I'm not being a Pollyanna. We're putting strong work on the stage,” McAnuff said.
Research conducted by Stratford suggests patrons, weary from the economic crisis, have been hesitant to buy tickets as early as they normally would, contributing to the drop in sales. McAnuff played down the notion that the festival's hardship is understandable, considering these economic times.
Stratford recorded a $2.6-million deficit last year, the largest operating loss in dollar terms in the company's history. This year's budget was slashed by $3.5-million, but festival brass have sought another $1.5-million in savings. The festival needs to sell 512,000 tickets to break even, and suspending the 31 shows could save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
McAnuff is the lone survivor of the triumvirate of artistic directors assembled by general director Antoni Cimolino in the summer of 2006."
With ticket sales down 15 per cent from last year, officials at the Stratford, Ont., organization cancelled one performance of the musical West Side Story and have halted ticket sales for 30 other performances, waiting to see if purchases for other dates accelerate. Most of the performances in limbo are late-season dates in September and October.
But the festival's artistic director insists the season will fare well financially. “Our projections are that we're going to end the season in the black. … I'm not being a Pollyanna. We're putting strong work on the stage,” McAnuff said.
Research conducted by Stratford suggests patrons, weary from the economic crisis, have been hesitant to buy tickets as early as they normally would, contributing to the drop in sales. McAnuff played down the notion that the festival's hardship is understandable, considering these economic times.
Stratford recorded a $2.6-million deficit last year, the largest operating loss in dollar terms in the company's history. This year's budget was slashed by $3.5-million, but festival brass have sought another $1.5-million in savings. The festival needs to sell 512,000 tickets to break even, and suspending the 31 shows could save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
McAnuff is the lone survivor of the triumvirate of artistic directors assembled by general director Antoni Cimolino in the summer of 2006."
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