City of Greater Sudbury staff recommend council says no Theatre Cambrian bailout request

Greater Sudbury city council will decide next week where it stands on a staff report that recommends denying a bailout to cash-strapped Theatre Cambrian "due to concerns regarding the stability of the organization."

The not-for-profit community theatre has been active since 1985, but has been struggling to repay debts and stay afloat.

Back in early May, the group had requested $150,000 in emergency loans and grants from the city.

Instead of the bailout package, city administration is recommending council approve a one-time $20,000 grant to Theatre Cambrian to rent space at the the Sudbury Theatre Centre (STC) to stage performances planned for later this year and in early 2019.

The report states Theatre Cambrian would also have to present business and debt recovery plans by the end of 2018. Council will decide what to do with the recommendation through a vote on Tuesday night.

City councillor Robert Kirwan believes the staff report presents a fair compromise.

"We're not saying, 'No we're not going to help you.' We're saying, 'We're going to help you try to get back on your feet, and we're going to help you with a plan, making sure there's a plan moving forward,'" says Kirwan.

"And most definitely, if staff comes back and says here's the plan, if we can just give [Theatre Cambrian] a little bit more in 2019, we can push them over the top."

But Coun. Al Sizer says he'll be voting against the recommendation, because he believes even a $20,000 grant is too much.

"We can't continue to pour good money after bad," says Sizer. "Undoubtedly, there's some internships, there are some people who've learned their trade through Theatre Cambrian.

"They can still continue to provide that, but on a much smaller scale. I think that's where they have to go back to the drawing board."

Both Kirwan and Sizer say they believe Theatre Cambrian's well-documented financial struggles put it in a different position than the Sudbury Theatre Centre and the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. Both had emergency funding requests recently approved by council.

Theatre says changes in full swing

Interim president Derek Young says changes have rapidly unfolded at Theatre Cambrian, even since CAO Ed Archer and other department heads signed off on the staff report in late June.

He says an announcement is planned for Friday.

"A number of developments have happened which have put the theatre in a much better position to be more financially stable," says Young.

He says the announcement will include news on Theatre Cambrian's current home at 40 Eyre Street, which was put up for sale earlier this year.

Young is requesting council defer its vote on the bailout package until August, "so that council can get a more wholesome picture as to what's going on."

He adds that 60 people recently auditioned for its upcoming musical, and that recent productions of Oliver were successes, both financially and artistically.

"We feel really confident in our board and in our business plan, that we have taken the steps to make Theatre Cambrian more financially sustainable and that it will continue to contribute to Greater Sudbury's artistic community," explains Young.

Theatre Cambrian is staging Last of the Red Hot Lovers for two weekends this month at its current home on Eyre Street. Its presentation of The Addams Family Musical is scheduled to run in November at the STC.