Canadian Stage Celebrates Surplus for Third Consecutive Year

In an annual report released today, Canadian Stage announced the company's third consecutive budget surplus following an award-winning and record-breaking season. This year under the leadership of artistic & general director Matthew Jocelyn, managing director Su Hutchinson and board chair Adrian Lang, Canadian Stage saw an increase in new subscribers and audiences under the age of 35; toured productions internationally; introduced a range of new audience engagement initiatives; continued to revitalize the historic Berkeley Street Theatre, and much more.

"I am immensely proud of the work we do at Canadian Stage and all that we have achieved in the past year. Thank you to our incredible team, our artistic partners, and our ever-supportive board of directors," said Jocelyn. "We continue to explore our auteur-driven artistic mandate by telling vital stories and reaching out to new artists and audiences. Today our company is recognized as an active participant in the international dialogue around contemporary theatre, and we are committed to ensuring that the uncompromising artistry of our country's most innovative theatre-makers finds its arena on a world stage."

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, Canadian Stage posted a surplus of $110,101 following a surplus of $114,532 for the 2013 fiscal year.

The company's accumulated deficit has decreased by another seven per cent in fiscal year 2014 from fiscal year 2013.

Of the 95,000 audience members that saw productions at the company's three venues in 2014, 45 per cent were under the age of 35. In 2013.14, Canadian Stage sold 30 per cent more tickets as part of C-Stage (the under-30 ticketing program) than in 2012.13 with membership in the program increasing by 60 per cent in the last year.

This year, Canadian Stage saw a 35 per cent increase in new subscribers over 2013, with a 25 per cent increase in earned revenue from ticket sales.

Canadian Stage's work was celebrated with audience and critical acclaim, earning eight Dora Mavor Moore Awards and four Toronto Theatre Critics Awards. The ambitious and complex North American premiere of London Road led the pack with 11 overall Dora Award nominations.

Revenue and attendance records were set at Shakespeare in High Park with the double-bill presentation of Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew, including more than $30,000 in subscriptions to the 2013.14 season sold via a satellite box office in High Park.

The smash-hit production of Venus in Fur at the Bluma Appel Theatre in October 2013 exceeded sales and attendance goals by more than 40 per cent, followed by a near sold-out remount at the Berkeley Street Theatre in December 2013. The show is set to return to Toronto a third time this winter (December 18 to 28), following a run at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Robert Lepage's re-imagined production of Needles and Opium (presented in November 2013) was so popular it will be remounted in May 2015.

The company facilitated four major productions for the first graduates in the York University MFA program, and explored and presented the most exceptional examples of contemporary dance with choreographer/creators Akram Khan and Crystal Pite.

Canadian Stage also co-produced and toured the groundbreaking production Helen Lawrence, presenting the show to audiences in Vancouver, Munich and Edinburgh before opening in Toronto this fall, at the Bluma Appel Theatre on Oct. 16.

Approximately 5,000 audience members participated in pre- and post-show programming including teacher nights, improvcare for kids, pre-show chats, talkbacks, and school workshops at the theatre. More than 500 guests attended the company's newly introduced Berkeley Street Block Parties and immersive event series, INTERMISSION.

?"I am delighted that collectively Canadian Stage has realised a financial surplus for our third year running, while at the same time investing tens of thousands of dollars in much-needed capital infrastructure at both the Berkeley Street Theatre and the High Park Amphitheatre," said Hutchinson. "We also substantially increased our investment in the future work of a wide variety of artists and students, all while weathering a cut to our Canada Council operating funding."

The company also announced a new addition to its three week Spotlight South Africa festival: Steve Cohen's Chandelier, making its third biannual Spotlight Festival the most ambitious yet. Spanning the Berkeley Street and Bluma Appel theatres, the works programmed are a testimony to the extraordinary vitality and originality of the artistic output of an ever-struggling nation.

Jocelyn describes the work as "an enduring performance piece from a performance artist from South Africa whose entire opus is a brilliantly iconoclastic examination of South African society pre and post-apartheid."

In 2001, a township called Newtown in the center of Johannesburg was pegged to be bulldozed overnight due to the living conditions in the area. Residents, many of whom were not provided with new accommodations, were nevertheless evacuated in extremes. Chandelier (April 22 to 25 at the Berkeley Street Theatre) is Cohen's attempt to shine a light on this event.

Canadian Stage's season continues this fall with Helen Lawrence on stage through Nov. 2 and Opus, a Circa and Debussy String Quartet production from the legendary Australian performance troupe from Nov. 12 to 16, both at the Bluma Appel Theatre.

To read the full 2013.14 Annual General Report, click here or visit: http://issuu.com/canadianstage/docs/cs_1314_report/1

About Canadian Stage: Founded in 1987, Canadian Stage is one of the country's leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, with the 2014.2015 season marking the organization's 27th season. Led by Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn and Managing Director Su Hutchinson, Canadian Stage produces and showcases innovative theatre from Canada and around the world, allowing its audience to encounter daring work guided by a strong directorial vision and a 21st-century aesthetic. The company prides itself on presenting multidisciplinary pieces and work in translation that pushes the boundaries of form and style. Canadian Stage reinforces the presence of Canadian art and artists within an international context through work that mirrors the cultural diversity of Toronto. The company stages an annual season of work at three major venues (the Bluma Appel Theatre, the Berkeley Street Theatre and the High Park Amphitheatre) and runs a series of artist development and education initiatives, as well as youth and community outreach programs.

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