Performing Arts Grants Awarded 2006
The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce total disbursements of $1.5 million through the Performing Arts Program in 2006. 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)
Canadian Music Centre $72,000
will be much more proactive in promoting and marketing its most important asset, the creative legacy of 676 composers, to buyers in Canada and worldwide; outside experts will work with staff to analyze products and markets, and to test and evaluate several strategic approaches.
Dance Collection Danse $20,000
will implement a three-year strategy for resource development, as part of a major organizational renewal; a fundraising mentor will work with staff to bring new knowledge and attitudes to the company with regard to income development, expanding existing avenues of support and exploring new sources of funding.
Danceworks $20,000
will access specialist knowledge and support for the current outreach officer to develop effective and consistent educational programs adaptable to diverse artists and audiences; will create a template for use with local and touring artists for future projects, and design and test an evaluation model for its initiatives.
Danny Grossman Dance $25,000
will preserve seminal works of Danny Grossman through film, notation, and other methods during rehearsal and performance, and develop a teaching syllabus and fully documented materials for licensing this work to future generations of dancers and dance students.
Dusk Dances $20,000
will engage a tour producer for their expanding community residency project, and work with First Leadership Ltd. to design and undertake a three-year evaluation to better understand the quantitative and qualitative impact of this program.
Fujiwara Dance Inventions $20,000
will work with arts consultant Ottie Lockey to develop and implement a targeted tour marketing plan in order to build on existing touring success; components of the plan include research, travel, peer learning, mentoring, and strategic choices in priority markets and promotional material.
Jumblies Theatre $20,000
will create the Jumblies Playground, a training and mentorship initiative for artists intended to foster a more broadly based community arts movement; training will be delivered through a variety of programs in partnership with other companies and the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre.
Obsidian Theatre $20,000
will strengthen its staff and its internal administrative capacities as the company works to realize the full potential of The Polished Hoe; will hire a part-time staff person dedicated to resource development, and also access specialist consultants who can mentor this person.
Soundstreams $45,000
will respond to significant changes in society and technology by exploring new ways of producing and disseminating new music as an independent production company; issues of technology, creative rights, and public and private partnerships will be addressed in collaboration with other institutions such as the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media at McGill.
Tapestry New Opera $36,140
will create its first resident Studio Company, whose artists will form the core for all Tapestry projects, and invest in specialized training for them in voice, acting, and creative collaboration; they will also use the company to create additional points of entry for audience engagement.
Toronto Children's Chorus $55,000
will execute a strategy to broaden and strengthen the community of TCC singers and audiences for the future: dedicate a staff person to the communications area, redesign its website, explore the creation of an alumnae choir, and enhance the recruitment potential in its school performances and educational programs.
SI (Year 2 of 3 years)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SI (Year 3 of 3 years)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Canadian Music Centre
Sean Corcoran, marketing/development 11mths
Clay and Paper Theatre
Krista Dalby, producing 12mths
Dance Collection Danse
Seika Boye, archiving 12mths
Factory Theatre
Nina Lee Aquino, artistic direction 10mths
Gallery Players
Amy Dennis, administration 12mths
Grand Theatre
Gina Marin, production 8mths
Great Canadian Theatre Company
Todd Duckworth, artistic direction 12mths
Jumblies Theatre
Lisa DiLiberto, artistic direction 12mths
National Ballet School of Canada
Natalie Leung, wardrobe 11mths
Necessary Angel Theatre
Laura Rocca, producing 12mths
Nightswimming
Andrea Romaldi, dramaturgy 12mths
Nightwood Theatre
Beatriz Pizano, artistic administration 12mths
Salamander Theatre
Lisa Twardowska, administration 8mths
School of Toronto Dance Theatre
Erika Leigh-Stirton, artistic administration 10mths
Talk is Free Theatre
Jennifer Stewart, musical theatre direction 3mths
Tapestry New Music
Alexander Cann, music direction 3mths
Toronto Dance Theatre
Gillian Lewis, production 5mths
Volcano & Peggy Baker Dance
Roxanne Duncan, administration 12mths
4th Liine Theatre
Patricia Levert, general management 12mths
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.
Centre for Indigenous Theatre $10,000
for J.L. Watson, Managing Director
to fund a six-week residency with the Takitimu Performing Arts School in Aotearoa, New Zealand with Mr. Tama Huata, the CEO and founder of the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre and the Maori performing arts school, which is affiliated with New Zealand’s Massey University.
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