A Season Full Of Stars: MTC Celebrates One Year Of World Premieres And Artistic Success

At the Annual General Meeting held this evening in the Mainstage lobby, Gerry Couture, Chair of the MTC Board of Trustees, announced that the Manitoba Theatre Centre was able to positively exceed its 2008-09 budget by $82,307.

When planning the 2008-09 season, the Board made the decision to maintain the momentum of the 50th anniversary and invest in the future of MTC, and budgeted for a $411,035 deficit. However, with continued sound fiscal management, the deficit was only $38,728. The John Hirsch Theatre at the MTC Mainstage hosted 15,875 subscribers, while the Tom Hendry Theatre at the MTC Warehouse played to 2,357, for a total of 18,232 subscribers and 125,043 in total attendance. MTC’s Regional Tour and Theatre For Young Audiences program drew an additional 6,416 patrons for a total MTC attendance of 131,459.

The 2008-09 season was one of nonstop artistic success, beginning with the season opener Pride and Prejudice and followed by the Greek tragedy Medea starring Seana McKenna. The season concluded with two premieres: the world premiere of local playwright Kevin Klassen’s Bleeding Hearts, and the first professional production of The Boys in the Photograph by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton. MTC was thrilled to produce the latest work by Winnipeg playwright Klassen, the first new local work in almost 20 years to play on the Tom Hendry stage. MTC was also honoured to host both of the talented creators of The Boys in the Photograph in Winnipeg during the production; Mr. Elton for seven weeks to direct the show, and Lord Lloyd Webber to attend two performances and hold a music rehearsal with the orchestra. The MTC production of The Boys in the Photograph, which was developed from the hit musical The Beautiful Game, will play to audiences in Toronto when it moves to the Royal Alexandra Theatre in September 2009, produced by David Mirvish.

“It seems almost outrageous to think of Winnipeg hosting the world premiere of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical but that’s exactly what we did this past spring. To have The Boys in the Photograph debut on our stage was a major coup,” said Mr. Couture, as he reflected on the past season. “Credit must be given to our Artistic Director Steven Schipper and our General Manager Zaz Bajon for pulling it off. It also required a significant commitment on the part of the MTC Board of Trustees. In the end, we were able to showcase Winnipeg to the world. Not a bad year, I’d say.”

At the meeting, Mr. Couture thanked retiring board members Aidan O’Brien, Rita Gunn, Aaron Penner, Margaret Redmond, Rick Ryder, John Stinson and Susan Stobart for their dedication and commitment to MTC.

Immediately following the meeting, the Board appointed the Executive: Gerry Couture, Chair; Gary Hannaford, Chair-Elect & Chair, Governance & Strategic Planning; Patrick Green, Treasurer;
Jim McLandress, Secretary; Derrick Coupland, Chair, Community Relations & Resource Development; Shannon Ernst, Chair, Organizational Performance; and Kerry Dangerfield, Trustee.

They join returning Trustees for the 2009-10 season, including Bruce Bennett, Karen Bryk, Robert Eastwood, Jeff Lamothe, Roger Ramsay, Michelle Weinberg, Rod Woodcock and Rick Workman.

Each season, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, a not-for-profit professional theatre company, produces 10 plays between the John Hirsch Theatre at the MTC Mainstage and the Tom Hendry Theatre at the MTC Warehouse, as well as the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, the Master Playwright Festival, a vibrant Theatre for Young Audiences program, and an annual Regional Tour that takes professional theatre to communities throughout Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

Photo taken from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2765658983_a827587a93_b.jpg.

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