Province offers help as some P.E.I. theatres struggle to fill seats

Theatres across the country are trying to figure out how to get back to pre-COVID numbers, and P.E.I. is no different.

"I live next door to a theatre and I know it's not as busy as it used to be," said Michelle MacCallum, director of cultural development at Innovation P.E.I.

Last week, Innovation P.E.I. held a two-day symposium to help theatres do that, after some have seen attendance drop to as low as 20 per cent. Part of that is due to the economy, and how people are trying to save money.

"For a lot of people it is a luxury. And ticket prices, they're significant in some cases," said MacCallum.

"We have to fulfil our basic needs before we start worrying too much about art."

Pandemic didn't help

Like many industries, theatres saw a drop-off in attendance during COVID. But things were already taking a downturn before that, says MacCallum.

"Things were starting to trend downward in 2019 and prior to that," she said. "So the pandemic kind of accelerated maybe and antagonized issues that were already there."

According to recent numbers from the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, 68 per cent of its members will post a deficit in the current operating season, and operating costs have increased 35 per cent since 2019.

"I know from a financial perspective a lot of theatres are running deficits," MacCallum said.

No one solution

Theatres across Canada are trying to find ways to bounce back from tough times. Some are trying to make ticket price points more accessible, but that's difficult considering the numbers.

"They also have to pay their bills on the back end, and if you have a theatre that's only 20 per cent filled, you've got to charge for people to be there," said MacCallum.

Theatre-goers also tend to be older, so there's a need to get younger Canadians interested.

"Part of the challenge that theatres have now is, how do we replace those folks that were highly literate about going to the theatre?" said MacCallum. "It was just something you did. It was like part of your social mix, and it's not necessarily something that people think of first now."

But there's also the chance to expand demographics even more broadly, so that more communities of people feel connected to theatre.

"Let's say you're a recent immigrant to Canada and you're not familiar even with Western theatre traditions, you might look at the front door of the Guild or King's Playhouse or Confederation Centre and be like, I don't know what happens in there and I'm not sure I'm supposed to be in there," MacCallum said.

Finding new funding

In April, the province of P.E.I. announced three streams of special funding for theatres and venues, totalling $890,000. The deadline for that one-time funding has been extended to March 31, 2025.

"We have a funding program for theatre revitalization, and that is around improving conditions for the theatres to have audiences in," MacCallum said. "That might be things like improving accessibility or your ticketing process, or small renos that make the audience experience better."

The other funding streams are focused on developing audience engagement, and creating new content for the stage.

While some theatres are beating the trend and are still seeing full or nearly-full seats night after night, MacCallum says it's important that the entire industry come together for discussions like the ones that happened at the symposium.

"Having an opportunity for people who work in the arts to come together and say, 'Yeah, this is really hard. And I'm walking away feeling a new fire and inspired," she said.

"People felt a sense of hopefulness, I guess, that maybe there is a way through, and a way out, and a way up."