Showing posts with label Stratford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stratford. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Stratford Festival in Red
As Wall Street collapses and the U.S. government is using all its taxpayers’ money to fund an unjustified war and bailout greedy corporations who mismanaged (or flat-out stole) ‘Average Joe’ citizens’ cash, the first theatrical casualty has been noted, and it always starts small. The 'Toronto Star' reports,
“Eleven employees of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have been let go in reaction to an operating deficit for the season that is expected to run well into seven figures. It's not expected news from an organization that has run its last 14 seasons in the black, a tribute to former artistic director Richard Monette, who died last week at the age of 64. What general director Antoni Cimolino called "a perfect storm" of rising fuel prices, a weakening U.S. dollar and an uncertain economy have combined to find the festival facing red ink for the first time in its recent history.
This past season, the first for artistic director Des McAnuff, got off to a rocky start when his two associates, Don Shipley and Marti Maraden, resigned in March over personal differences. Still, the season that opened in May received generally enthusiastic reviews, even from the New York critics who had been largely absent in the last decade. But the economic situation, price of gas and other external factors slashed the American audience by close to 14 per cent, a devastating blow to the festival.”
“Eleven employees of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have been let go in reaction to an operating deficit for the season that is expected to run well into seven figures. It's not expected news from an organization that has run its last 14 seasons in the black, a tribute to former artistic director Richard Monette, who died last week at the age of 64. What general director Antoni Cimolino called "a perfect storm" of rising fuel prices, a weakening U.S. dollar and an uncertain economy have combined to find the festival facing red ink for the first time in its recent history.
This past season, the first for artistic director Des McAnuff, got off to a rocky start when his two associates, Don Shipley and Marti Maraden, resigned in March over personal differences. Still, the season that opened in May received generally enthusiastic reviews, even from the New York critics who had been largely absent in the last decade. But the economic situation, price of gas and other external factors slashed the American audience by close to 14 per cent, a devastating blow to the festival.”
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
RSC Launches Public Donation Appeal
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has launched an appeal to raise £1m in public donations to help rebuild its main theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The theatre closed for redevelopment in 2007 and the RSC has already received more than £100m towards the work. Now the company is seeking a further £10m and is hoping £1m will come from public donations. Donors will be able to sponsor a brick for £50, or have a seat in the theatre in Warwickshire named after them.
The transformation of the Grade II listed building started last year and should be completed by 2010. The new auditorium will incorporate the art deco facade of the 1932 theatre. Plans include a "thrust" stage for the main theatre, a 108ft (33m) tower at the entrance and a riverside walkway. The RSC has already raised £102m, including £50m from the Arts Council of England and £22m in private pledges.
The RSC has a long history of raising money from private sources. When fire severely damaged the original Stratford theatre in 1926, it was rebuilt following an international emergency appeal. And in the 1980s the nearby Swan Theatre was paid for entirely by an American philanthropist, Fred Koch.
The transformation of the Grade II listed building started last year and should be completed by 2010. The new auditorium will incorporate the art deco facade of the 1932 theatre. Plans include a "thrust" stage for the main theatre, a 108ft (33m) tower at the entrance and a riverside walkway. The RSC has already raised £102m, including £50m from the Arts Council of England and £22m in private pledges.
The RSC has a long history of raising money from private sources. When fire severely damaged the original Stratford theatre in 1926, it was rebuilt following an international emergency appeal. And in the 1980s the nearby Swan Theatre was paid for entirely by an American philanthropist, Fred Koch.
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