By Donna Spencer

The performing arts is a business of people connecting to each other like they do at a fabulous dinner party. For each performance to happen, a community of actors, singers, dancers, designers, writers, and arts workers come together to create a production of a play or a dance or music concert. A unique feast of enjoyment and provocation is served up for our guests. This confection of storytelling has gone on for thousands of years.   

As far as I am aware, it was not until the pandemic that the performing arts were declared a non-essential service, and theatre doors were closed around the world. Only the lowly “ghost light” was left to shine on stages. And yes, we could spend time debating whether it was the right choice to keep people from gathering for the performances when bars and restaurants remained open, but why waste our time? After pivoting for what was a continuous two-plus years, and worrying about whether Netflix and online programming would force the demise of live theatre, dance, and music performances, we have better things to do now. 

As an artistic leader in the Vancouver community, I see my colleagues all working to reset and find the way forward in what is a changed (and constantly changing) world. What will this reset mean? Will we lose theatre producers and performing arts companies due to the rising costs of producing live performances; the high cost of living in the Metro Vancouver region; and the shortage of trained arts managers and technical workers who had to leave the business in order to be able to feed their families? Just as was the case with tourism and hospitality, the performing arts industry suffered a resounding blow during the pandemic.

But artists and arts producers have always had to build resilience and find innovative ways to survive. At the Firehall, we just celebrated our 40th anniversary of producing professional theatre and acting as a presenter of theatre, dance, and music created by other artistic companies and teams. This year, Arts Club celebrates 60 years of bringing many local British Columbian artists to the stage, with its productions having grown from humble beginnings on Seymour Street to become the largest producer of theatre in Western Canada. And over at the Cultch, they’re celebrating 50 years of presenting theatre, dance, and circus created by artistic companies from across Canada and the world. We’re all proof that artistic organizations have stamina and determination—and a strong desire to connect audiences with artists. 

In our resetting for this new time, we will do this again. Not unlike a dinner party, if the company is good and welcoming—even if the food is not absolutely fabulous—people will come back. They will come back because the experience they have is unique, full of meaning, and led by a good story or idea. But they must feel invited, and they must be able to pay the price of admission—and that is a big piece of the recipe for success at this time. 

Since the mid-1980s, it has been the Firehall’s goal to open our doors to stories from our Indigenous hosts, and from all who have come to Canada in the last 500 years. We want to ensure that there is economic access for all, which means pay-what-you can and subsidized ticketing. These have been important choices. Author Christopher Booker says there are only seven stories to be told in all cultures but countless ways to tell them, and we want to make sure that access is available for everyone.

From early childhood on, we learn to enjoy a good story, and that stories become even better when shared with others. Whether it is through the retelling of a classic story through a different lens or sharing more current stories from new perspectives, our goal as creative leaders must be to bring more people to the dinner party and share our uniqueness with them. Never are two performances the same; each time the lights go down, the audience and the artistic teams connect with new energy as the story unfolds.       

The world as we knew it has changed and is still changing daily. And while we may crave the safety of things staying the same, it is time to be brave and avoid getting stuck in looking back. We must all be willing to try new recipes and new ways of seeing things together. The performing arts is a people business, and it is only through greater and rebuilt connections that we will thrive.

Donna Spencer is the artistic producer at Firehall Arts Centre and was one of its founding directors.