MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, August 29th, 2023
For Immediate Release
TheatreOne’s Fringe Flicks program comes to an end
For more than 25 years, TheatreOne has offered our exciting and vibrant Fringe Flicks series as a fundraiser for our live performance programming. Recently, our audience numbers for this program have dwindled significantly, while at the same time, our costs to rent the theatre, acquire the films, and promote these screenings have increased. Ultimately, lost revenue from what was supposed to be a fundraiser has become our organization’s largest financial liability. In a post pandemic world that now has wide, easy, and inexpensive movie streaming options, the Fringe Flicks program is simply no longer sustainable for our organization.
At the recommendation of our Artistic Director and new Executive Director, the TheatreOne Board of Directors has decided to discontinue Fringe Flicks for the time being. Although we have agonized over this decision, we feel it is the right one, as we need to focus on our mission of connecting Nanaimo audiences to quality live theatre – in essence, theatre which can “move hearts and minds.”
TheatreOne Artistic Director, David Mann comments: “Cancellation of Fringe Flicks is certainly a sad event for me, as well as for the loyal core audience of the series. When we introduced it over two decades ago, Fringe Flicks was a valuable program which provided an opportunity to enjoy alternative, newly-released films in a communal, big-screen setting. For years the series was popular and fulfilled its role as a fundraiser which supported the core live performance activities of TheatreOne, but unfortunately times change, and recently the series has become an unsustainable drain on our financial and human resources.”
While Fringe Flicks will no longer be available, we are very excited by our upcoming season of live professional performances, which will be announced soon. We hope that you will join us as we make our first forays into returning to producing shows for our audiences, as well as bringing outstanding theatre experiences to Nanaimo from outside our community.
Graham Pike, TheatreOne’s Interim President of the Board of Directors adds, “Regrettable as it is, the cancellation of Fringe Flicks will enable us to devote more resources to the core mission of TheatreOne: to ‘move hearts and minds’ through outstanding professional theatre. We’re looking forward to a stimulating season of productions and presentations in our three programs (Mainstage, Emerging Voices, and Just Kidding) – that will provide entertainment and enlightenment for all.”
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TheatreOne has been bringing professional theatre Nanaimo and the mid-Island for 40 years. We engage diverse local audiences of all ages and persuasions, including the very young, and in doing so support theatre professionals and local businesses. We work with playwrights from BC and across Canada to foster development of new Canadian works, we premier new productions, and through our support to touring artists we give Nanaimo audiences access to great theatre developed elsewhere.
Contact:
Michael Cade – Executive Director
250-754-7587 michael@theatreone.ca