Rosebud theatre was facing a financial deficit and a pandemic. Now? It's thriving

In 2020, the Rosebud Theatre was on the brink of financial collapse.

It's deficit was nearing $500,000 and then the pandemic decimated all of the planned shows for the year. 

"We were just scrambling, to be honest. We were even having bankruptcy talks," said the theatre's executive director, Paul Muir. 

As a way to raise money in 2020, tickets were sold for a documentary about the theatre, located about 80 kilometres northeast of Calgary.

Muir says despite the difficult situation, they never lost hope for the then 37-year-old theatre and school of arts, which is synonymous with the hamlet itself.

"We just kept this belief, this core thing that somehow there was going to be a way through the rough waters," he said.

And then, there was, helped in part by a pair of box office hits.

"It's almost as if the waters parted and we were able to chart this course through the middle of the storm and we came out of the pandemic with a surplus, if you can imagine," said Muir. "It's a real miracle story."  

The turnaround began when donors and supporters came through in a big way for the fundraiser. The theatre was also the recipient of a "large" estate gift. Then, after "hobbling out of the pandemic," they strategically ran The Sound of Music and Little Women in the summers of 2023 and 2024, respectively, which were both big hits at the box office. 

"We've been very strategic about coming out of the pandemic and making sure that we've got programming that's really going to get people back out to the theatre," said Muir.

As of 2021, the hamlet in Wheatland County had a population of 112 people, according to Statistics Canada. Muir says almost 40,000 people visit it every year. 

"This organization is one of the major economic drivers, not only for the hamlet of Rosebud, but for the wider region."

Still, despite its resilience, there are more changes ahead for both the community and the theatre it centres around. 

Transition into a new artistic era

Longtime artistic director Morris Ertman announced in the spring he is stepping down after 23 years leading the Rosebud Theatre and School of the Arts programming.

"It's a hard thing to let go of. It's been so great," said Ertman, who also teaches the students of the conservatory school.

"I just knew that I had to, at some point, put it all down and hand it over to somebody else," he said. "I couldn't have asked for a better 20-some years in the theatre."

Ertman says he plans to help in a "freelance" capacity with the theatre, when and where he's needed — and he has one more show to direct in the 2025 season. 

Looking back on his time, he says patrons of the theatre can be fiercely loyal, and they aren't afraid to express their thoughts about the stories on the stage, both positive and negative. Ertman says the passionate audience is something he'll miss. 

"It's a wonderful feeling in that little place, on a two-show day in the summer or Christmastime, to see three buses full of patrons and a bunch of cars up out in front of the Opera House, and realize that on that particular day, we go from being a village of 100 to probably close to 500 or 600, if you count the 100 that are already there, and that's just neat." 

Coming into the role is Craig Hall, a former artistic director with Vertigo Theatre in Calgary. He'll take over the position in January.

Hall has worked in theatre for three decades in Calgary and Vancouver and says he'll bring his network of artistic connections and a fresh vision for the quaint theatre. Hall says he also looks forward to the hands-on teaching he'll get to do. 

"I thrive in a high theatrical kind of style, high concept, outside-of-the-box [style]," he said. "The work that they've done at Rosebud has been pretty traditional to this point, so the shows might start looking a little bit different." 

Hall grew up in Brooks, Alta., and frequented Rosebud Theatre when he was young. He'll become a resident of the hamlet and says he looks forward to going back to his roots. 

"I've got a real soft spot in my heart for it. It's one of the few rural theatres in the province and, frankly, almost in Western Canada," he said. "They built it from nothing and everybody put their heart and souls into it for so many years. Now it's a solid, viable company and school and it's ready to evolve and expand."

Ertman leaves decades of shows behind him and, of course, a triumphant rebound out of the pandemic as part of his legacy. 

He has full faith in Hall's transition to artistic director. 

"It's new blood, it's new ideas, it's new passions," said Ertman. "When you've got the right person, it'll be life-giving to the company."

Growth, but not without challenges

As Alberta sees a population influx, the little hamlet of Rosebud is not going untouched. Muir says it, too, is experiencing a housing crunch, which has implications for the growth of the theatre and the arts-focused community of Rosebud. 

"Rosebud is in a time of growth where we're maxed out with housing," said Muir. "Like many places in the country, we're actually in our own little mini housing crisis."

Because of that, he says Rosebud Theatre and other partners are looking at solutions. 

"We're actually looking at ways that we're going to be growing the town over the next number of years, everything from master planning projects and feasibility studies to see what the next step of growth looks like in this hamlet, and I'm excited."

"We know that we need to take that little step of growth in order to secure long-term sustainability," said Muir. "That's a big priority."