Performing Arts Grants Awarded 2005
The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce total disbursements of $1.4 million through the Performing Arts Program in 2005. The following organizations received grants this year:
Strategic Initiatives
Through Strategic Initiatives organizations have an opportunity, over a three-year period, to implement a strategic course of action which would not be possible under normal budgetary circumstances. In this program we provide an opportunity for experimentation, innovation, organizational change, and learning.
SI (Year 1 of 3 years)
Queen of Puddings $20,000
will take advantage of a prestigious invitation to Covent Garden to showcase their work to key individuals from Europe and around the world, so they can in subsequent years build on this experience to nurture a touring network for this piece and future productions.
Peggy Baker Dance Projects $20,000
will work with specialized artists and technicians to transform the material developed in The Choreographers Trust into readily available DVD format. This outstanding resource will illuminate, in an unprecedented way, the physical and aesthetic ideas and the creative process that drives her choreography.
Nightswimming $20,000
will explore new models for financial participation in the subsequent production of works they have created; will develop a new structure to facilitate independent investment in touring and the company; and take advantage of its expertise in dramaturgy by developing mutually beneficial partnerships with acting schools and universities.
Esprit Orchestra $28,625
will take the orchestra out of the concert hall to perform before targeted new audiences in alternative public spaces not traditionally associated with concerts; this involves free performances and educational activity, conducted in partnership with other cultural organizations.
Talisker Players $20,000
will hire an operations coordinator on a permanent part-time basis, and share rented space with other music organizations in Trinity St. Paul Church; this will give them a base from which to realize opportunities to bring new visibility, audiences, and revenues to the company.
Prologue to the Performing Arts $28,000
will hire an education resources consultant in order to respond to many changes in the school system and improve service to artists, educators and community presenters; this includes updated resource material and curriculum connection documents and a better performance evaluation system.
Theatre Smith Gilmour $20,000
will secure the services of a tour manager and Asia specialist to help them with growing interest in their work from China and other Asian countries; this includes liaison with presenters, sponsors and other partners, Canadian and foreign governments, and help with transportation and logistics.
Toronto Consort $20,000
will take advantage of the momentum from the recent Metamorphoses festival, and new audiences identified through the festival, to focus on building their membership and individual donation campaigns; this includes improved communications and website development.
Theatre Direct $25,880
will implement a transition plan to prepare for new ongoing responsibilities that will come with their first home venue; this includes establishing relationships in the new community, working closely with the design/build team, and developing new school and weekend programming for the new studio.
Opera Atelier $85,000
will focus on training and apprenticeship in all facets of its highly specialized repertoire, and strengthen administrative capacity, as it works to see the work of the early baroque period take its rightful place as part of the standard repertoire for opera and ballet companies around the world.
Théâtre français de Toronto $43,000
will implement strategies to ensure that its artistic growth and maturation is reflected in its marketing abilities and its fund-raising practices; this includes implementing new sophisticated and integrated software, and an effective stewardship program to improve the quality of the relationships it builds through its work.
Necessary Angel Theatre $26,235
will create a part time position focused on touring, in order to take advantage of opportunities coming from strong interest in its current and future work; this will allow for consistent attention to the cultivation and securing of presenters, and the logistical concerns of touring nationally and abroad.
Buddies in Bad Times $68,500
will strengthen its ability to reach out to, and develop, the next generation of artists and audience members by hiring a Director of Youth Initiatives, creating cost-effective youth oriented marketing materials, expanding their list of partnering agencies, and developing an interactive specific component of their website.
SI (Year 2 of 3 years)
Red Sky Performance $20,000
will take advantage of some extraordinary opportunities, by creating a tour manager position and promotional materials to support touring activities, in order to develop a solid touring infrastructure much earlier than would otherwise be possible.
Centre for Indigenous Theatre $23,550
will raise the profile of the Centre nationally, expand enrolment in its full-time and summer training programs, and work toward a third summer program in Eastern Canada, by using alumni in recruitment, improving materials and their dissemination, and formalizing new strategic partnerships.
The Theatre Centre $20,000
will restructure and enhance an integral part of its development program by engaging an associate director to work with five emerging but already successful companies in residence at the Theatre Center as a unit.
Hannaford St. Silver Band $20,000
will create its first staff position for fundraising and development, adding professional skills in this area to allow the HSSB to diversify its revenue streams, to improve its database and information systems, and to expand a consistent effort in marketing and audience development.
Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival $33,000
will create a dedicated marketing and development position to enable the company to implement a more cohesive and consistent strategy to attract financial support, and maintain the Festival’s profile throughout the year.
Art of Time $ 20,000
will hire its first part-time general manager, to establish a solid foundation of administration, accounting, and project management. It will also invest in a marketing and sales strategy that will help the company build on its achievements to date, and identify new audiences and revenue opportunities.
Cahoots Theatre $ 20,000
will access specialist support in marketing, website development, and graphic design; hire a part-time Communications Coordinator on a contract basis; and upgrade its technical capabilities, in order to improve communications during its 20th anniversary season.
Ballet Creole $ 20,000
will create a part-time the administrative position dedicated to marketing, and promotion, to maximize earned revenues from their new facility, expanded programming, attendance at performances, enrolment in training programs, studio rentals, sales of CDs, and tour bookings.
Videocabaret $ 20,000
will create a new administrative position to build on great opportunities for its award-wining cycle of History Plays, such as adaptations to other media, creative collaborations such as Simon Fraser University's History Play Project, school audiences, and the educational uses of their website and archives.
Ensemble Noir $ 20,000
will create a general manager's position, to allow the company to develop a new business plan, devise and coordinate improved marketing and development strategies, and better coordinate Ensemble Noir events and concerts.
Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People $ 85,000
will undertake an extensive market analysis to address special challenges which face young audience companies, and integrate the activities of the drama program more completely into the theatre's operations, to realize its vision of the theatre as a child development centre.
SI (Year 3 of 3 years)
School of Toronto Dance Theatre $23,000
will expand the current repertory program for senior level students to include duets, trios, and small ensemble work, to broaden the performance experience for students and better prepare them for work as independent dance artists, or in small contemporary dance companies.
Dancemakers $ 31,350
will establish a Center for Contemporary Creation in its new venue at the Distillery District, making the facility management position full-time, and filling the position of rehearsal director and teaching assistant, to work with Artistic Director Serge Bennathan.
Overall Dance $ 20,000
will create Momentum Management, a shared management structure for four well-established independent dance artists (Kate Alton, Julia Sasso, Susanna Hood, and Eryn Dace Trudell) that will allow them to combine resources for marketing, administration, and development.
Roseneath Theatre $ 20,000
In response to phenomenal growth in its artistic operations, will create an administrative position with particular focus on marketing and tour coordination.
Corpus Dance $ 20,000
Will take advantage of a major opportunity to expand its francophone markets, by hiring a bilingual marketing and sales agent to facilitate and coordinate this next step in the company’s growth.
Nightwood Theatre $ 20,000
will take advantage of its upcoming 25th anniversary and new venue at the Distillery District to raise the company’s profile and to diversify its financial base, by creating a staff position to bring dedicated focus to marketing and development.
Via Salzburg $ 20,000
will solidify their rapid growth and success by developing a professional administrative infrastructure, and securing complementary specialist skills in marketing and sponsorship.
Native Earth $ 20,000
will continue its process of regeneration and bolster its administrative structure by expanding to full-time a staff position dedicated to marketing, fundraising, and outreach programs.
Fujiwara Dance $ 20,000
will create a position of Dance Animateur, in partnership with DUO, to promote dance in the community and to organize public awareness and audience development activities around specific performances of a range of companies.
Crow’s Theatre $ 20,000
will build on its preliminary work and experience in touring, to promote their work abroad, attend conferences, showcases and festivals, broker partnerships, and develop international touring expertise.
Storyteller’s School $ 20,000
will undertake a process of artistic renewal and reanimation, as it approaches its 25th anniversary, focusing on four specific initiatives designed to put a diverse range of creative artists once again at the centre of its programs.
Internships
In this program, the Foundation is particularly interested in assisting individuals who have completed formal training and are in the early stages of their careers. Organizations can use the program to create productive entry points into the sector, foster leadership, address transitions within organizations, and respond to skill shortages in critical areas. Individuals who have completed internships should have more knowledge, better skills, broader work experience, and useful contacts - all of which will help them make a stronger professional contribution to the performing arts.
Muskoka Lakes Music Festival
Jen Morgan, administration 12 mths
Georgian Theatre Festival
Jean-Paul Sproule, production 2.5 mths
Canadian Opera Company
Orenda Cahill, production 6 mths
Canadian Stage Company
Shelley Hebner, production 10 mths
Gallery Players
Elizabeth Spear, administration 12 mths
Grand Theatre
Production 9 mths
Necessary Angel Theatre
Daniel Nyman, producing 12 mths
Toronto Dance Theatre
Ainsley Kendrick, production 7 mths
Fnd. for the Recog. of Excellence in Drama (Playwright’s Union)
Livia Berius, administration 12 mths
Jumblies Theatre
Loree Lawrence, artistic direction 12 mths
Modern Times Stage Company
Akexandra Seay, artistic direction 12 mths
Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People
Monique Stewart, production 12 mths
Stephen Colella, dramaturgy 12 mths
Stratford Festival
Tami MacDonald, production 6 mths
Laura Wemyss, production 6 mths
Shaw Festival
Greg Gibson, musical direction 8 mths
Shadowland Theatre
Clea Minaker, production 6 mths
Canadian Stage Company
Katherine Grainger, casting 10 mths
Ottawa Jazz Festival
Kara Forrest, administration 12 mths
Cahoots Theatre
Marjorie Chan, artistic direction 12 mths
National Youth Orchestra
Karen Osmond, administration 12 mths
Opportunities For Senior Artists And Administrators
Through this program the Foundation wishes to acknowledge the contribution of senior practitioners, and the benefits that can accrue - to them, their art, their organizations, and the sector - from periods of professional development, reflection and renewal.
Opera Atelier
for David Baile, General Manager
This funding will enable David to attend a series of important presenter
conferences and international festivals.
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