The Frank Venables Theatre will soon open its doors to many performances.
Lyonel Doherty photo
After some serious number crunching, the Town of Oliver and Area C have approved a $60,000 operating budget for the Frank Venables Theatre this year.
Meanwhile, some familiar faces are eager to volunteer as members of the Theatre Operating Society.
Bob Park, Christine Rothwell, Jack Frank, Carol Sheridan, Jim or Midge Wyse, and Wendy Newman were appointed as members at a recent meeting.
Municipal Manager Tom Szalay said the theatre is scheduled for a soft opening on March 1, but its first public performance is February 28.
Unlike the former Frank Venables Auditorium, which was a school facility, the new theatre will be a community theatre, operated in partnership among the school district, the Town of Oliver and the regional district.
Construction of the theatre cost more than $9 million, with the bulk of the funding coming from the province to replace the old auditorium that was destroyed by fire.
The new theatre will be operated by the society, which will take on the roll of promotion, bookings, operation and general maintenance.
Szalay said the theatre is not expected to be a profit centre. User fees and rents will be charged, but they will not cover operating costs, he pointed out. As a result, annual budgets will require donations, grants and tax requisitions to operate the facility.
In the initial draft, revenues and expenditures were slated to be $152,000, but that was whittled down to $60,000. (The Town of Oliver, Area C and School District 53 will put in $10,000 each, with an additional $15,000 each coming from the Town and Area C.)
Szalay noted that Telus has committed grant funding of $28,000, and School District 53 is committing $61,000 of in-kind services as part of its annual budget.
One of the biggest changes in the budget is not hiring a theatre manager at $45,000 in 2014. Instead, the revised budget shows a part-time (21 hours a week) theatre coordinator at a cost of $24,570.
In the first year, the society will focus on bringing as many people as possible through the theatre for rehearsals, practices and cheap admission performances.
Councillor Jack Bennest said anyone who thought the theatre would be self-sufficient doesn’t understand how these facilities work. He noted if ticket prices were used to fund the operation, they would be “astronomical.”
Initially, Szalay said it would cost the average household about $15 to operate the theatre.
Water councillor Rick Machial questioned why the society needed a manager, noting they could get bookings without a manager.
Mayor Ron Hovanes said they really need to give the theatre a chance to be successful. Once the public sees the new theatre, they will likely support funding it on an ongoing basis, he noted.
Newman admitted the arts are facing an uphill battle in BC, but they are still alive and well.
“A community theatre, when given the chance, can succeed.”
Area C director Allan Patton suggested they could partner with Penticton’s Penmar Theatre for the booking of plays.
Hovanes said he is confident that once residents see the new theatre, they will support its operating budget. A referendum is slated for November, coinciding with the municipal election.
“Whether or not I am campaigning for office, I will be campaigning for a yes vote.”
But Superintendent of Schools Bev Young asked how far do they keep working in case the referendum doesn’t pass.
Bennest said anyone who thinks the referendum will fail is not a member of the optimist club.
Newman admitted that $60,000 is a skeleton budget. “We can’t exist with this type of funding next year.”
Oliver Parks and Recreation manager Carol Sheridan said they should be able to do a lot with the committed members of the society.
