By Cecilia Nasmith
Instead of receiving the waiver of fees for the Victoria Hall Concert Hall for their production of Matilda: The Musical, the North Stage theatre company was invited this week by Cobourg council to apply for such a waiver at the appropriate time – during the 2023 budget process.
North Stage board member Shelley Kierstead made the request at an exciting time, with Matilda about to open Thursday night and run through Aug. 29.
“Last week's rehearsals were just so much fun to watch,” Kierstead said.
“There are lots of talented performers, including a name that might be familiar, in particular, to some of you – Indigo Chesser, taking the theatre world a little bit by storm recently. She is one of the Matildas.”
Another actor was featured in the TV series Suits and another at the Charlottetown Festival
North Stage (a not-for-profit corporation) is the brainchild of Anique Mercier, she said – an alumna of Trinity College School and frequent visitor to her father's home near Cobourg.
“Anique has envisioned becoming a much more sustained theatre-festival tradition, operating in several venues over the summer months with additional holiday productions throughout the year.”
They see it not only as an economic boost to the community, but an opportunity for collaborations with other more-established theatrical groups.
“We are hoping eventually to build a theatre experience comparable to those found further west in the province, such as Stratford and Shaw.
“Of course, we are at the beginning of this road, and one of the challenging aspects of this adventure is that producing professional-quality theatre is expensive.”
The estimated budget for the show is $75,000. They have a few thousand dollars in sponsorships, and hope ticket sales might recoup 50-75% of their costs. Council's waiver of Concert Hall fees would save them another $4,975.
Councillor Brian Darling objected that he had never heard of the group before, and remarked that their connections with the Cobourg community were minimal – even though Kierstead said they were hoping for “a long and fruitful relationship with the Town of Cobourg.”
Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin said requests of this type are typically referred to the Community Grants process of the town's annual budget deliberations each October. Applications for donations and waivers are accepted and evaluated at this time.
“It's usually over-subscribed,” Seguin said.
“There are no funds left in the Community Grants pocket, and that's really the only place we normally get funds. I just wanted to let you know that's normally how things work.”
“I understand the $4,000 figure may seem high, and we are happy for any and all waivers council might see fit to approve,” Kierstead said.
In the end, Councillor Adam Bureau's motion was to accept the presentation for information purposes, and refer the request to the Community Grants process for 2023.
Mayor John Henderson encouraged the group to see the vote as an invitation to proceed with any plans they have for Cobourg, and share them (along with whatever requests they might have) at this fall's Community Grants process.
