How N.L. musicians, athletes and artists are dealing with COVID-19 cancellations
Alan Doyle suffers major losses from tour interruption, Brad Gushue won't go to Worlds
Alan Doyle was finishing up the first leg of a Canadian tour, heading into soldout shows across Ontario when it all came to a screeching halt.
He had two tour buses, two transport trucks and two trailers on the road heading east from Vancouver when his tour was postponed due to the coronavirus.
"All the investment and all the time, all the creative and financial and physical stuff that you assembled to put it together is all still out there [on the road], and your expenses are still out there. But your revenue is gone."
The Petty Harbour musician said it also takes an emotional toll on a touring artist. He likened the career to fishing — you spend so many months doing unpaid work preparing for the season, and a disruption in the season can ruin you.
"It's damning in a way because we have this massive nine-week tour, and six weeks of that is in jeopardy," Doyle said.
He is trying to reschedule the shows for later dates, but finding availability on short notice is hard. The dates he had were booked 19 months ago.
Patrick Foran is familiar with the struggle.
He's the producer and tour manager of Between Breaths, the dramatic stage show of a real life man, Jon Lien, who dedicated his life to saving whales. It's been touring the country for a year, but was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Foran said they were fortunate in a way, since they were at home in Newfoundland and Labrador when the news broke.
They have equipment in Vancouver, however, which has to find its way back to rental stores in Ontario.
"There's some logistical hurdles," Foran said. "And yeah, we've lost revenue. We've lost in excess of $60,000, which, for a theatre company like us, that's a huge piece of coin."
Geraldine Hollett and her band The Once are not in as deep, but they did have to cancel shows in the Maritimes and make their way home with more merchandise than they hoped to carry back.
"There is a worry," she said. "You're picking up your merch kits and packing up to go home and you're like, 'Oh my. It's very heavy.'"
The cancellation also comes with a dash of irony.
"We called it the Cabin Fever Tour. Now we're really going to have cabin fever," Hollett said with a sad laugh.
Worlds can wait
Along with the province's premier songwriters, playwrights and performers, it's also thrown a wrench into the plans of the country's best curler.
Brad Gushue is home in St. John's, and it's unfortunately where he is going to stay.
After winning the Brier two weeks ago, Gushue was supposed to be preparing for the World Curling Championships in Glasgow at the end of the month, but it was cancelled.
"It's a real weird experience," Gushue said of winning the Brier and then having his world championship hopes dashed.
It could also affect his chances of making the Olympics, since the tournament is key to the qualification process for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The cancellation hasn't just hurt Gushue as an athlete. It's also taking a chunk out of his other profession.
"On the other side, I'm a business owner," he said. "I have a fitness studio here in town. We were trying to find ways to cope with this and deal with this. Really since I got home I haven't really had an opportunity to embrace the win or celebrate it. It's kind of been a bit of a buzzkill, to be honest."
Gushue said there's a slim chance the tournament can be rescheduled, but he'd be surprised if it happens.
"I'm not sure logistically how they can make that happen, but it certainly gives me some hope during this challenging time we're facing."
