VANOC holding civic theatres

Jessica Werb
Straight.com

Arts groups planning their 2010 seasons are being hampered by the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee's hold on Vancouver's civic theatres, including the Orpheum, the Vancouver Playhouse, and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

"When the Olympics were announced, VANOC completely locked off all access to the venue [the Queen Elizabeth Theatre] during that period," Doug Tuck , Vancouver Opera's director of marketing and community programs, told the Straight . "We could not plan an opera during the time of the Olympics, because the Queen E. and every other venue in town–it was locked, completely locked."

Robert Kerr , VANOC's Cultural Olympiad director, confirmed that the Olympic organizing committee has reserved the civic theatres during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. "We do have them on hold," he remarked to the Straight , "and we will be continuing to work in partnership with the community to copresent and coproduce during that period."

Rae Ackerman , director of Vancouver Civic Theatres, told the Straight about a procedure in place allowing groups to "challenge" a hold on a theatre. If a group puts down a rental deposit on a date that is being held by another group, "the person who is in the superior holding position has 48 hours to make a decision–they either put their money down or get out of the way," Ackerman explained. "But what everybody is trying to do, rather than force the issue that way, is to work with the Olympic arts festival, to be included in the festival."

Glynis Leyshon , outgoing artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, called the situation "very delicate".

"As spooky as this kind of hold is, if in fact the spirit of cooperation exists, then it could be very much to the benefit of organizations," she told the Straight. "However, if there really is an expectation that these facilities won't be available to resident companies like the Playhouse for that length of period, it could be extremely difficult."

Tuck said the opera company was only able to get a two-week window in March 2010 for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, where its productions are regularly staged. He said a Vancouver Opera production will run during the Paralympic Games, but it will not be linked in any way with the Olympics. "That will be just part of our regular season. It won't be part of the [Cultural] Olympiad," he said. "They [VANOC] are not buying it, in other words. They're not investing in it."