Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director, Office of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

2002/2003 Theatre Rental Grants

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

In 1979 and again in 1983, City Council affirmed the principle that Theatre Rental Grants are available to cultural organizations that use the Civic Theatres on a regular basis and have been assigned an annual "base level" of theatre rental uses by Council.

Council approved the current process for Theatre Rental Grants in 1995, providing for seasonally based grants allocated in July or September of each year for the coming Fall (Sept. 1 to Dec. 31) and Spring (Jan. 1 to Aug. 31). Recommendations for the Spring are approved in principle, subject to the Operating Budget Review for the applicable year.

Council policy provides for an increase in the annual Theatre Rental Grants budget to accommodate the impact of increases in the Civic Theatre rental rates on grants in the last four months of the year, when the rates go into effect.

On September 12, 2000, Council approved the establishment of a reserve pool of theatre rental uses to assist performance arts organizations that do not have allocated base level and to provide for additional uses to regular Theatre Rental Grant applicants.

On October 24, 1989, Council approved the lease of office space in the Orpheum basement at a annual rent of $100,000 to the Vancouver Symphony Society, as part of the recovery plan for the Society.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

In accordance with the process Council established in 1995, this report recommends: (1) confirmation of the Spring 2002 rental grants that Council approved in principle on July 26, 2001, (2) Theatre Rental Grants for the 2002/2003 season, and (3) approval of a grant to cover the Vancouver Symphony's lease of office space in the Orpheum.

SUMMARY

As listed in Table 1, staff recommend confirmation of the 11 rental grants for Spring 2002 in the amount of $830,900, which Council approved in principle in July 2001.

Following a review of applications for the 2002/2003 season, summarized in Appendix A, staff recommend the transfer of 1 use in the Vancouver Playhouse from the Vancouver Recital Society to the reserve uses pool, bringing the total available reserve uses to 4 Orpheum/QET uses and 7 Playhouse Theatre uses. Within these reserve uses and established base levels, staff recommend approval of 13 grants totalling $763,680 for Summer/Fall 2002, and approval in principle of 12 grants in Spring 2003, as summarized in Table 2. An adjustment of $180 in the 2002 Theatre Rental Grants budget will be required to account for the increase in Civic Theatre rental rates effective on September 1, 2002.

Staff also recommend approval of $100,000 grant to the VSO to cover the lease cost of its offices in the Orpheum.

BACKGROUND

Spring 2002 Grants:

On April 30, 2002 a Theatre Rental Grants budget in the amount of $1,694,400 was approved for calendar year 2002, including the $100,000 designated for the VSO's office space rental in the Orpheum. From this budget staff recommend that the $830,900 for Spring 2002 Theatre Rental Grants, which Council approved in principle last year, be confirmed with no adjustments, as listed in Table 1.

Confirmation of these grants will leave an unallocated balance of $863,500 in the 2002 Theatre Rental Grants budget, the allocation of which is discussed later in this report.

Table 1
Spring 2002 Theatre Rental Grants

Requests for 2002/2003 Season

For the 2002/03 season, 14 applicants have requested rental grants totalling $1,707,850, as listed in Appendix A. These applications include the following special requests:

from regular applicants:

· Ballet British Columbia: 4 uses over base level;
· Van.Youth Symphony Orchestra: 1 performance use over base level

from applicants without base levels but eligible for reserve uses:

· Dancing on the Edge Society: 6 reserve uses, including 2 rehearsal uses
· Van. Summer Festival Society: 2 performances uses from the reserve use pool
· Van. New Music Society: 2 performances uses, which the Society wants as a newly assigned base level

DISCUSSION

Reserve Uses Pool

While the core group of non-profit organizations using the Civic Theatres has remained stable in recent years, the number of rentals by specific users has varied, depending on audience numbers, the availability of other venues, and other factors. In 2000, to accommodate shifts in rental patterns from season to season and to provide rental grant recipients with more flexibility, Council approved the establishment of a reserve uses pool, which can be accessed by new applicants as well as the core user group when they need additional uses on a one-time basis.

The reserve pool has been built up by transferring base level uses from regular applicants whose uses of the Civic Theatres have decreased. This year, staff are recommending the transfer of 1 of the Vancouver Recital Society's 10 base uses to the reserve pool. In recent years the VRS has reduced the number of concerts it presents in the Playhouse Theatre and increased the number in the larger Chan Centre. Approval of the transfer will bring the number of available reserve uses to 7 uses of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre and 4 uses in the Orpheum/QET.

Theatre Rental Grant Recommendations

Recommendations for the 2002/03 season are summarized in Table 2, with details on each organizations provided in the discussion that follows. Staff note that the recommendations include the following uses from the reserve pool:

Orpheum/QET reserve uses:

· Ballet British Columbia: 2 uses over its base level
· Van. Summer Festival Society: 2 uses

Vancouver Playhouse uses:

· Van.Youth Symphony Orchestra: 1 use over its base level
· Dancing on the Edge Society: 4 uses
· Van. New Music Society: 2 uses

Table 2 - Recommendations
2002/2003 Theatre Rental Grants

Organization

$ Fall

$ Spring

$ Total

Rec. Uses

Over(Under) Base

Academy of Music

$8,700

$23,925

$32,625

4

-

Ballet B.C.

$87,000

$30,450

$117,450

16

2**

Coastal Jazz & Blues

$0

$17,400

$17,400

2

-

Dancing on the Edge

$8,880

$0

$8,880

4

4*

Friends of Cham. Music

$9,200

$6,900

$16,100

7

-

Van. Bach Choir

$17,400

$33,250

$50,650

10

(1)

Van. Chamber Choir

$21,750

$13,050

$34,800

5

(1)

Van. New Music

$2,300

$2,300

$4,600

2

2*

Van. Opera

$139,200

$139,200

$278,400

43

(3)

Van. Playhouse Co.

$198,950

$227,125

$426,075

215

(15)

Van. Recital Society

$13,300

$24,300

$37,600

8

(2)

Van. Summer Festival

$16,600

$0

$16,600

2

2**

Van. Symphony

$238,100

$413,050

$651,150

90

(10)

Van. Youth Sym.

$2,300

$2,300

$4,600

2

1*

TOTAL

$763,680

$933,250

$1,696,930

410

  

* Covered by reserve uses for Playhouse Theatre (7 available, subject to transfer from Recital Society)
** Covered by reserve uses for Orpheum/QET (4 available)

Academy of Music

The Academy rents the Orpheum four times a year to present its student orchestral concerts, including the annual Suzuki concert. These public presentations in a professional venue are an important learning opportunity for young musicians. Staff recommend approval of the Academy's request for a grant of $32,625 towards 1 rental in the Fall and 3 in the Spring, within its base level of 4 uses.

Ballet British Columbia

Ballet BC's ongoing activities encompass the creation and performances of original ballets, tours of its productions in Canada and abroad, the presentation of guest companies in the danceALIVE! series, and the training of preprofessional dancers through its mentorship program. The Company's audience has been growing in recent years, partly due to its shift to the creation of full-length and story ballets. The 2002/03 season will include the premiere of Artistic Director John Alleyne's new work, Sheherazade, a tour of The Faerie Queen in Mexico, and the presentation of The Nutcracker, in partnership with Alberta Ballet, for a third consecutive year.

BBC has applied for a $126,150 grant to cover 18 uses of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which is over its base level of 14 uses. The request only covers rental uses involving BBC, not guest company performances in the DanceALIVE series, and includes 7 performances and 2 rehearsal/technical days for The Nutcracker. Noting that any uses over the base will have to come from available reserve uses, staff recommend a grant of $117,450 toward 16 uses (13 performances and 3 rehearsals). The organization received an Operating grant of $82,000 this year.

Coastal Jazz and Blues Society

CJBS has requested 2 uses of the Orpheum and Queen Elizabeth theatres: for its Ibrahim Ferrer concert on March 25, 2003 and for a concert during the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in June 2003. Festival events and the Society's concert season together now use the Civic Theatres for between 4 and 6 performances a year. The festival, which is one of Vancouver's largest cultural events, takes place in over 40 venues throughout the city.

The base level assigned to CJBS takes into account the fact that its programming includes both commercially viable jazz, blues and world music artists, and less-well-known artists whose concerts are more economically risky. Staff recommend that Council approve a grant of $17,400 towards 2 uses in Spring 2003. The Society's 2002 Operating grant was $10,000.

Dancing on the Edge Festival

This contemporary dance festival presents local, national and international artists at the Firehall Arts Centre and other locations throughout the city, including Stanley Park, where the popular Dusk Dances take place. The use of the Vancouver Playhouse allows for the presentation of larger-scale dance events. This year's Playhouse program featured 2 performances by Toronto's Dancemakers and Vancouver's Chrystal Pite in a shared program with Peggy Baker.

Because the festival takes place in early July and the organization's planning timelines are relatively short, the applicant's grant request of 6 reserve uses (4 performances, 2 rehearsals) of the Playhouse Theatre is for this summer rather than the following year. Staff recommend approval of a $8,880 grant for the 4 performances, and note that there are not enough uses in the reserve to allow for the requested rehearsal uses. The organization's 2002 Operating grant was $8,500.

Friends of Chamber Music

About to celebrate their 5th anniversary, the Friends of Chamber Music will present their annual season of 10 chamber music concerts of touring ensembles at the Vancouver Playhouse and Chan Centre. This season's concerts will include long-standing favourites like the Beaux Arts Trio, as well as Holland's Osiris Piano Trio, which will be playing in Vancouver for the first time.

The Society has applied for its base level of 7 uses of the Playhouse Theatre (4 in the Fall and 3 in the Spring). Staff recommend approval of this request, which amounts to $16,100.

Vancouver Bach Choir

Founded in 1930, the 150-voice Bach Choir is dedicated to performing symphonic choral music that encompasses secular and sacred, classical and newly commissioned, rarely performed and widely popular repertoire. The choir's coming season in the Orpheum will include the premiere of a newly commissioned work by Stephen Chatman, the Faure Requiem, Gounod's St Cecilia Mass and Gilbert and Sullivan. Its Christmas concert will include all eight children's choirs in VBC's Children and Youth Project.

VBC has applied for 4 performance and 6 rehearsal uses of the Orpheum, within its base level of 11 uses. Staff recommend approval of a grant of $50,650 for the requested uses.

Vancouver Chamber Choir

This professional choir has a full season of performances in large and small venues throughout Vancouver, including the Orpheum. Touring is also an important part of its annual activities, and this season the choir will be participating in choral festivals in Taiwan and Mexico.

For 2002/03 the applicant has asked for a $34,800 grant toward 3 performances and 2 rehearsals in the Orpheum, within its base level of 6 uses. Included in this request are 2 performances and a rehearsal for Messiah, which it is the choir's turn to present this year as part of a three-year rotation with two other local choirs. Approval of the request is recommended.

Vancouver New Music

VNM focuses on contemporary music programming that offers audiences a broad cross-section of styles, genres and cultural perspectives. The Society commissions and premieres new works by Canadian composers, produces music theatre and new music festivals, presents leading Canadian and international composers and performers, and explores the interaction of contemporary music with other disciplines. The organization produces an annual concert season of 5-7 concerts in a variety of venues.

VNM has applied for a $4,600 grant to cover the rental costs of its two concerts at the Playhouse Theatre, one in September 2002 and the other in March 2003. It has asked to be assigned base level uses to cover its request. However, staff do not recommend that the Society be assigned uses at this time, noting that VNM has just gone through a transition period and has not yet established a pattern of using the Civic Theatres on an annual basis, as required for base level allocation. Staff recommend approval of the requested grant from the reserve use pool.

Vancouver Opera Association

Having eliminated its deficit last year and accumulated a surplus, the VOA is in a good position to expand its activity. The coming season will include an increased performance schedule featuring the large scale Aida, The Daughter of the Regiment, Elektra and La Boheme. To enhance the audience's experience, the Vancouver Opera has replaces its supertitles system in the theatre with a new, state of the arts system, funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Building on the success of its Of Mice and Men Community Forum, the VOA plans to launch a new series of community discussions. Its education program in the school will also be expanded this season.

The applicant has asked for a grant of $278,400 to cover 43 uses in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, equal to its base level of 46. Staff recommend approval of the request. The VOA received an Operating grant of $16,000 for its outreach and ensemble activities in 2002.

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company

The Playhouse Theatre is launching its 40th anniversary season with the internationally acclaimed production of Robert Lepage's the far side of the moon, co-presented with three other Vancouver organizations. The season's programming will include five Mainstage productions, the Alternative Programme - The Urban Series presented in smaller venues, and a variety of community outreach and special presentations. The Company completed the Vancouver Arts Stabilization program this year and is continuing to work on the issues that
its Strategic Planning Process identified as critical to its long-term health.

The applicant has requested a grant of $426,025, representing 215 uses, within its overall base level of 230 uses of the Playhouse Theatre. Staff recommend approval of the requested grant, which includes several holdover dates, which give the Company an opportunity to capitalize on successful shows.

Vancouver Recital Society

The VRS has built a widespread reputation for its excellent programming of emerging and internationally acclaimed artists in its Recital Series and at the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival. This year the Society received an operating grant of $11,500 for the festival, and it is applying for a $37,600 rental grant to cover the 8 Recital Series concerts that will take place in the three Civic Theatres this season (5 in the Playhouse Theatre, 3 in the large theatres). Another 7 concerts are scheduled for the Chan Centre.

The Society has had a base level of 7 uses of the Playhouse Theatre and 3 uses of the Orpheum/QET. This year, staff are recommending the transfer of 1 of these base uses to the reserve pool, leaving the VRS with a base level of 9. In recent years the VRS has reduced the number of concerts it presents at the Playhouse and increased the number at the larger Chan Centre. In the context of this new base level, staff recommend approval of the requested grant.

Vancouver Summer Festival Society (Festival Vancouver)

Festival Vancouver is an 11-day celebration of classical, jazz and world music that includes concerts in churches and other small venues like the First Nations Longhouse, and large-scale events at the Orpheum and Chan Centre. The initial festival took place during the Millennium year. The second festival took place this August and its 50 concerts featured musicians from 20 countries, as well as many local performers. The Society is planning to make the festival an annual event.

The Society has asked for a grant of $16,600 to cover 2 performances in the Orpheum, from the reserve use pool: Dawn at Dusk, featuring Dawn Upshaw and the VSO, and The Joy of Sax. Because the festival takes place in the summer and its planning timelines are still relatively short, the Society's request is for the current year. Staff recommend approval of the request, from the reserve use pool.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Canada's third largest orchestra presents classical, pops and jazz concerts at home in the Orpheum Theatre and throughout the Lower Mainland. Special concerts for the coming season will include a Halloween concert featuring the silent film, Phantom of the Opera, a 75th birthday celebration for Mstislav Rostropovich over two evenings, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec featuring award-winning Canadian violinist, James Ehnes.

Although it has not had the level of turmoil and financial crisis experienced by some other Canadian orchestras in recent years, the VSO faces serious challenges as it works to address an accumulated deficit, enhance the scope of its programs, increase its audience and expand its private-sector fund-raising. A deficit-reduction plan has been developed, and the artistic, administrative and board levels of the organziation are all included in its implementation.

Staff recommend approval of the VSO's request for a $651,150 grant for 90 uses of the Civic Theatres (89 Orpheum uses and 1 Vancouver Playhouse use for a special program for very young children), which are within the VSO's base levels of 100 uses, and meet the agreed-upon guidelines for auditions and rehearsals. In addition to this Theatre Rental grant, the Symphony received a 2002 Operating grant of $43,000.

Vancouver Symphony Lease:

On October 24, 1989, Council approved a "rescue package" to help the Vancouver Symphony Society avoid bankruptcy. Part of that package was a contract to lease the basement of the Orpheum Theatre at an annual rent of $100,000 to be offset by a grant of $100,000 from the City. This arrangement allows the Society to use the City contribution as leverage in its fund-raising efforts. The lease has been renewed annually, subject to approval of the grant from the City.

The Directors of Finance and Cultural Affairs recommend that this lease be renewed for the period of January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002 inclusive, and the rent for the period be set at $100,000. It is further recommended that a grant of $100,000 be approved to cover the lease cost; the source of funds to be the 2002 Theatre Rental Grants category in the Cultural Grants budget.

Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra

The VYSO provides orchestral training and experience for young musicians through workshops, performances and tours. It has four ensembles, grouped by age and skill. For the coming season the orchestra, which has a base level of 1 use, has applied for a $4,600 grant toward 2 Vancouver Playhouse concerts by its Senior and Intermediate orchestras, 1 in the Fall and 1 in the Spring. Staff recommend approval of the 2 uses, to be covered by the VYSO's base level and a use from the reserve pool.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Staff note that the budget available for Fall 2002 grants, following Council confirmation of Spring 2002 grants, as presented in Recommendation A, is $863,500. On June 11, 2002, concurrent with its approval of the Civic Theatre rental rates effective September 1, 2002, Council approved "in principle an increase in the funding for theatre rental grants for the last four months of 2002 to offset this rental rate increase, if needed; source of funds to be Contingency Reserve."

The cost implications of the new Civic Theatre rental rates for the grants recommended for the last four months of 2002 will be $32,620. However, given the current balance in the Theatre Rental Grants budget and the distribution of overall rental uses between the Fall and Spring of the 2002/03 season , the actual increase required to cover the recommended grants is $180. Approval of the recommendations in this report will leave no unallocated balance in the Theatre Rental Grants category of the 2002 Cultural Grants budget.

CONCLUSION

In keeping with the process approved by Council in 1995, this is the first of two reports dealing with Theatre Rental Grants for the 2002/2003 season. Recommendation D, which relates to Spring 2003 grants, will need to be reconfirmed by Council next year after the 2003 Theatre Rental Grants budget is approved.


- - - - -

Appendix A

Theatre Rental Grant Requests
Fall 2002/Spring 2003

Organization

$ Fall

$ Spring

$ Total

Reqst'd Uses

Base Uses

Academy of Music

$8,700

$23,925

$32,625

4

4

Ballet BC

$91,350

$34,800

$126,150

18

14

Coastal Jazz & Blues Soc.

$0

$17,400

$17,400

2

2

Dancing on the Edge

$11,100

$0

$11,100

6

4*

Friends of Chamber Music

$9,200

$6,900

$16,100

7

7

Van. Bach Choir

$17,400

$33,250

$50,650

10

11

Van. Chamber Choir

$21,750

$13,050

$34,800

5

6

Van. New Music

$2,300

$2,300

$4,600

2

2*

Van. Opera Assoc.

$139,200

$139,200

$278,400

43

46

Van. Playhouse Co.

$198,950

$227,125

$426,075

215

230

Van. Recital Society

$13,300

$24,300

$37,600

8

10**

Van. Summer Festival

$16,600

$0

$16,600

2

2*

Van. Symphony

$238,100

$413,050

$651,150

90

100

Van. Youth Symphony

$2,300

$2,300

$4,600

2

1

TOTAL

$770,250

$937,600

$1,707,850

414

439


* Reserve uses
**Prior to recommended decrease to 9.

* * * * *

ag020910.htm

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