| Last week’s Fast Forward reported "Ian Prinsloo leaving Theatre Calgary" (News, January 20-26, 2005). I have some questions: For one, is he leaving or is he being fired? Maggie Schofield, chair of TC’s board of directors, was quoted as saying, "We believe in order to align with our strategic objectives… we felt this was a good time to look at someone else to meet those directions." What are those strategic directions? The answer, put to Mr. Prinsloo, is 12,000 subscribers. OK, growth is good and who doesn’t want those numbers?
When Mr. Prinsloo took over TC eight years ago, there were 3,600. Since then he has brought that number to 8,600, delivered seven surpluses, and TC presently has $2.4 million in the bank. When he took the reins, there were $0 dollars in the bank. After such a run of success, I wonder what doubts TC’s board has that Mr. Prinsloo couldn’t deliver the 3,400 subscribers if challenged? Was he challenged to bring in those numbers before his contract wasn’t renewed?
Some people will be happy to see new blood come into the company, and according to TC’s president Tom MacCabe, Prinsloo’s "had eight years… he’s had a good run." He has had a good run (short if you consider Christopher Newtons’s 23 years at the Shaw Festival). Prinsloo’s artistic vision has matched such accessible theatre as Dracula, West Side Story and The Diary of Anne Frank with artistically challenging plays such as Copenhagen, Of the Fields Lately and Counsellor at Law (a production that won seven Betty Mitchell Awards). It is this balance that has brought TC 5,000 new subscribers in eight years. Questions: What balance does the board of directors think will bring in 3,400 more? How many subscribers will they lose in trying? With the amount of money TC has in the bank, is someone maybe getting a little greedy? And, I don’t know, isn’t bringing in subscribers a question of marketing?
Ultimately, yes, it is the board’s job to hire and fire the artistic director. But the reasons for the decision don’t seem to add up. One may argue Mr. Prinsloo’s artistic merits, but his record seems to speak for itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if TC opts not to hire a new AD but instead appoints an artistic producer, which is a nice way of saying "a business man in charge." It rings to my ears like someone asked themselves (or a secret group in a backroom) "this running a theatre game is fun, if it wasn’t for the artists."
Stephen Massicotte,
playwright-in-residence (former?)
Theatre Calgary
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