Sask. theatre world braces for potentially 'drastic changes to the artistic landscape'

With theatres closed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saskatchewan artists are facing heavy financial pressures, mourning lost opportunities and looking for ways to continue creating.

"All the contracts I had lined up have been cancelled," said Regina-based stage manager Tori Yuzik. "Obviously it was the right choice to make, but it's still sad."

Yuzik had been slated to work on two shows in Globe Theatre's Sandbox Series, and possibly the Regina Folk Festival as well. Now her summer schedule is clear.

"People are lamenting the loss of art they won't get to create," she said.

Theatre is a precarious at the best of times a competitive industry for those vying for roles and positions of all sorts and often offering low pay even when those are achieved. The profit margins for most companies are thin.

Some shows and productions have moved online, but not all can and most aren't charging much to audiences, if anything. Losing all or part of a season's revenue may be a devastating blow for theatre companies across the country.

Although some Saskatchewan theatre companies are taking an optimistic outlook Saskatoon's Persephone Theatre is encouraging patrons to renew their subscriptions for next season early and Sum Theatre says it is committed to producing some version of its annual Theatre in the Park this summer others are concerned about whether their next season will happen at all.

"There is a huge need for financial support," said Andrew Ritchie, the former director and Sandbox Series co-ordinator for the Globe Theatre.

"I think a lot of people assume these larger organizations, these legacy companies, are on extremely solid financial ground. But as a non-profit, they're so based on year-to-year funding that when half seasons or full seasons are cancelled, that puts them in an extremely vulnerable position. Without huge government and public support there could be drastic changes to the artistic landscape."

Ritchie spent nearly a full year working with a company of teenage actors before Covid-19 arrived in Saskatchewan. The week they were supposed to begin rehearsals for their final show, the Globe cancelled the remainder of its 2019-20 season.

"It just felt so crushing that they wouldn't get the opportunity to do that show," said Ritchie.

So, he decided to bring the show online. Cast and crew members gathered for a live-streamed script reading, bringing a "high school garage party" to life from within their own homes.

"I felt I needed to do something to try to make sure they got some form of closure for the project," he said. "As creators and theatre-makers, we are innovators, and I think there's a lot of innovation happening right now with how we can use digital platforms to communicate, rehearse and perform with one another."

Ritchie, who has since moved to Edmonton, sees the potential to expand how the theatre world uses these digital tools to make training and rehearsal more accessible to performers in widespread physical locations even after the pandemic is over.

"I think in-person theatre will never go away, but I think we are going to be much more inclined towards communicating and even rehearsing from a distance," he said.

"There are organizations who were already developing online rehearsal practices, and now we might see stuff like this translate into young acting programs. Maybe students that live in more rural or distant locations will be able to access training in new ways, which would be a silver lining to this horrible pandemic."

Should I be considering a career change? ... If I knew when I could go back to work, it would be different, but I don't.- Shelby Lyn Lowe, theatre artist

Shelby Lyn Lowe thinks the pandemic may precipitate a fundamental change in the way people interact with traditional theatre spaces.

"Our jobs usually rely on a large number of people being there," said the theatre artist, who has worked in various design and technical roles as well as being a program co-ordinator for the disabilities arts organization Listen to Dis. "And I feel as a society, people are going to take a long time before they feel comfortable being in a room like that, surrounded by people in such a close space."

Lowe said she, too, has been seeing a shift online among her artistic friends, from play readings to puppet shows for kids.

Lowe has lost most of her work due to the pandemic. Without knowing when it will be safe for theatres to reopen, she said she is facing some tough choices.

"The idea of not working [indefinitely] is scary financially and also mentally," she said.

"It makes me ask a lot of questions: Should I be considering a career change? I don't want to, but should I? Because I can't sit at home forever with my cats, making food and cleaning and doing puzzles and playing Animal Crossing. If I knew when I could go back to work, it would be different, but I don't."

It's going to be a long journey until we are able to go back to the way we were working before.- Andrew Ritchie, theatre artist

Ritchie believes it will take a long time for theatre artists to do the kind of work they're used to again.

"I think it's going to come back in stages," he said. "As theatre people, we love to play games, and a lot of theatre work can be very physical I think it's going to be bizarre to come into a space where maybe we can rehearse, but we can't shake hands or say hello. It's going to be a long journey until we are able to go back to the way we were working before."

Saskatchewan theatre artists who are struggling with essential financial obligations like rent and utility payments can apply to the Saskatchewan Association of Theatre Professionals' emergency relief fund, which the organization says will remain open through the spring and summer until the funds are depleted.