ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: March 6, 2002
Author/Local: Rae Ackerman/

665-3020

RTS No. 02563

CC File No. 4252/4201

Council: March 12, 2002

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of Civic Theatres
SUBJECT:	Festival to Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Orpheum.

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve in principle the organization of a festival at the Orpheum from October 31 to November 11, 2002, in celebration of its 75th anniversary with a budget of $500,000 to be funded from ticket sales, grants and sponsorships.

B. THAT Council approve a contribution to the celebration equal to the operating cost of the theatre, not to exceed $65,000, to be repaid from ticket sales with any shortfall to be funded from the 2002 Operating Budget without offset.

C. THAT the event is not to proceed until confirmation is received of approval of a grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager submits the foregoing for Council's CONSIDERATION.

POLICY

Council must approve allocation of City resources to Special Events.

PURPOSE

This report seeks approval in principle for Civic Theatres to organize a 12-day festival in celebration of the Orpheum's central role in the cultural life and history of Vancouver asdetailed below.

BACKGROUND

The Orpheum officially opened to the public on November 7, 1927 and has been in continous operation as a live theatre, movie theatre and concert hall ever since, except for a brief period in the 1970's while the City and citizens of Vancouver saved it from demolition. It has been a civic theatre since re-opening in 1977, its 50th year of operation. In 2001 it presented 152 public events to an audience of 279,379 patrons. It is home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Unique Lives lecture series and presents a variety of other events from graduation ceremonies to pop & rock concerts.

It is also home to the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, a society formed to honour distinguished British Columbians in the performing arts and entertainment. Some 120 such stars have so far been honored with a granite star in the sidewalk, Starwalk, and a photo on the Starwall in the lobby.

DISCUSSION

The Civic Theatres Board has struck a committee to oversee and steer the celebration. Former Mayor Art Phillips, who was instrumental in saving the Orpheum in the 1970's has agreed to be Honourary Chair of the committee. Other members are Art Jones, Chair, Elizabeth Ball, Vice-Chair and Norman Young, Chair Emeritus, all of the Civic Theatres Board, with Susan Gomez and Diane Farris from the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame Society.

Festival Concept

The Festival will be a mix of some events and activities produced or presented by Civic Theatres with most events produced or presented by traditional presenters.

Proposed events presented by Civic Theatres are:

A Choral Concert featuring the Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir and Cantata Singers with the CBC Radio Orchestra.

A Salute to the Orpheum variety concert on November 7, featuring a mix of classical, popular, first nations and emerging artists.

Proposed ancillary activities organized by Civic Theatres are:

A Salon Series of 10 early evening events in WestCoast Energy Hall featuring leading local performing artists presenting a short work from their repertoire, thoughts and experiences from their career and a question and answer period with the audience.

An Outreach Series of similar presentations but also focusing on the Orpheum's history to take place in regional librairies, schools and community centres.

An Open House on a weekend afternoon featuring self-guided tours of the Orpheum during which a series of young performers, variety acts and an old-fashioned Yo-Yo Contest will be presented on stage.

A Kid's Movie Matinee with a modern twist in place of the contests that used to occur between the serials and the feature; a Nintendo Playoff on the big screen.

A Midnight Movie Series.

An Emerging Artists Showcase featuring an evening of performances by jury-selected young performing artists with an emphasis on representation from the varied cultures represented in our City.

The rest of the programming is provided by the traditional uses of the Orpheum and features:

The VSO have agreed to include 4 of their regular concerts in the context of the Festival.

Commercial presenters will have four nights to present a mix of pop/rock, jazz, folk music and comedy.

We'll Meet Again, the annual BC Entertainment Hall of Fame Remembrance Day concert will close the Festival on November 11.

Two Legacy Projects are proposed:

We propose to launch a Docent Program to recruit and train volunteers to support and eventually take over the Orpheum Heritage Tours that have been conducted for years now, by Norman Young and Hugh Pickett.

An Orpheum History Book, built on the base of the booklet published in 1977 by the City, to be released during the Festival.

Broadcast

We hope to interest the CBC or another broadcaster in becoming involved in the Festival.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Appendix "A" is a budget for the festival with ticket sales estimated at 80% of capacity, summarized as follows:

Event Costs $467,425
Less: Ticket Sales at 80% of capacity ($249,136)
DCH grant ($142,050)
Net (Surplus)/Deficit $153,589
Less City contribution -theatre operating cost
plus contingency of $25,000: ($65,000)

Net Proceeds - deficit ($11,539)

The financial performance of this event is predicated on the success of the box office and receipt of a major grant from Department of Canadian Heritage. The budget above assumes ticket sales at 80% of capacity. The resulting deficit is to be covered by other grants, donations, sponsorships and broadcast participation thereby limiting the City's contribution to $65,000. Should box office results be better than the 80% assumption, any surplus funds will return to the City's operating budget .

Appendix "B"shows ticket sales at 100% and shows Net Proceeds of $49,495 surplus.

The proposed contribution by the City is in the form of absorbing theatre operating costs at approximately $4,000 per performance plus up to $25,000 contingency.

The Board has applied for a grant from Department of Canadian Heritage for up to 25% of the cost; $142,050. The organizing committee is actively seeking other sources of grant funds, sponsorships and donations.

CONCLUSION

Civic Theatres requests approval to proceed to organize a festival in celebration of the Orpheum's 75th anniverary at a maximum cost to the City of $65,000 in the form of theatre operating costs and up to $25,000 contingency.

Link to Appendices A and B.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver