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COURTESY OF ARTS CLUB THEATRE CO. G O F I G U R E JUNE 2020 BCBUSINESS 11 The Show Must Go On COVID-19 presents local theatre companies with a tough curtain call by Alyssa Hirose A R T S + C U LT U R E A s pandemic precau- tions make isolation the new normal, the spotlight shines hot on busi- nesses that generate revenue from bringing people together. The Arts Club, Canada's largest nonprofit theatre company, has cancelled or postponed seven productions since March. Based in Vancouver and tour- ing B.C., those shows would have pulled in about $3 million in ticket sales. "Eighty percent of our bud- get is earned revenue—ticket and bar sales—so the fact that we can't do shows is incredibly problematic to our books," says artistic director Ashlie Corcoran. Although the Arts Club is a not-for-profit charity, only 7 percent of its funding comes from all three levels of government. B.C. has started easing some COVID-related restric- tions, but there's no end in sight for the ban on large public gatherings. For now, the Arts Club is mobilizing in other ways: it's directed the wardrobe department to sew personal protective equip- ment, moved two education programs online and donated its theatre spaces as distance- friendly environments where media can view coronavirus innovations. The company has also launched the Chrysalis campaign, which will see board members and donors match up to $100,000 to sup- port its re-emergence. Another, smaller Vancou- ver theatre group found itself facing different problems mid- March. Upintheair Theatre had funding for the summer but no way to present its Revolver festival live and in- person. "A lot of pre-existing theatre was just being put into the container of online streaming," says co–artistic producer Dave Mott. "We thought, That art was not in- tended for this medium." Rather than go ahead with Revolver, which had been in the works since last October, the folks at Upintheair decided to pay the artists for the work they'd already done, save them a spot in next year's fest and use the remaining funds for a new project: Evolver, a live digital performance art fes- tival. Evolver premieres in late June, both online and from a safe distance. Show creators will receive a com- missioning and performance fee of no less than $1,000. "All bets are off, everything has changed, and we recognize the world has shifted—let's give these artists an op- portunity," says Davey Calderon, who is curat- ing Evolver with Kay- leigh Sandomirsky. Looking toward the fall, companies like the Vancouver Fringe Theatre So- ciety (which usually presents the Fringe Festival in September) are crossing their fin- gers. Rohit Chokhani stepped into the role of executive director in April; though the transition has been challenging, he has nearly a decade of experience in the Fringe community and a team of staff to support him. "It feels like we are head- ing into a new normal of socializing and experiencing live events—only time will tell what's in store for us," Chokhani says. "Amid this anxiety and uncertainty, we believe in the resilience of our performing arts commu- nity and the human spirit at large." • 13 storeys Height of Vancouver's Domin- ion Building—B.C.'s first steel-frame highrise, and the British Empire's tallest build- ing when completed in 1910 36 storeys Highest tower in the under- construction One Water Street project in Kelowna, which will be B.C.'s first skyscraper outside Metro Vancou- ver when finished 40 storeys Height of Canada's Earth Tower, a proposed sky- scraper at 1745 West Broadway in Vancouver that would be the world's tallest hybrid wood tower 56 storeys Proposed height of the tallest of 11 towers in the upcoming Se ' nákw residential development in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood 60 storeys Height of a proposed tower at 1075 Nelson Street in Vancouver that would become the world's tallest building to meet hyper-low-energy Passive House standards 62 storeys Height of Vancouver's Living Shangri- La, B.C.'s tallest skyscraper, at 201 metres PHOTO CREDITS: LAFARGE: WESTERN PACIFIC ENTERPRISES; EMPIRE: CLIVE HICKS/FLICKR; DOMINION: WIKIPEDIA; ONE WATER STREET: ONE WATER STREET; SE ' NÁKW: REVERY ARCHITEC- TURE / WESTBANK / SQUAMISH FIRST NATION; EARTH TOWER: PERKINS + WILL; SHANGRI-LA: PAUL WARCHOL STAGE FRIGHT The Arts Club says so long, farewell to live productions (for now)