Showplace unveils The David Goyette Stage
When we celebrate the arts, the arts allow us to celebrate each other.
So says David Goyette, who writes The Hall column each week for The Examiner, when asked why he made a donation to Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough.
That donation has allowed Showplace officials to purchase a new, state-of-the-art lighting console.
In turn the stage inside Showplace’s Erica Cherney Theatre now bears Goyette’s name.
“When Victoria (my wife) and I came here, it’s been a decade now, Showplace was the first organization that welcomed me and said you have an opportunity to volunteer here,” Goyette said after the official name unveiling Wednesday. “It was very gracious on their part and because of that I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Showplace.”
Goyette, who ended up becoming board chairman of Showplace for a time, also credits the late Erica Cherney for wanting to give back to the community. Last November the Showplace theatre was named after Ms. Cherney. The Showplace board of directors decided to name the theatre to recognize her support of the Peterborough arts community before her death in August 2016. She was a founding member of Showplace who worked with a small group of women to bring a performance centre to downtown Peterborough.
“It was only a few months ago that Erica Cherney, my dear late friend, showed the essence of not only community service but of philanthropy and I think set a standard for all of us to show what we can do as philanthropists,” Goyette said.
“So I’m doing my best to fall in her shadow and make the contribution that I can. She set an example for all of us to do something good for the community.
It’s important to give back. There are times in life when you can and times when you can’t and this is a good time for me and I can.”
In addition to being the former chairman at Showplace, Goyette is also the former director of the Royal Conservatory of Music and the founder of both the Toronto Beatles Celebration and the Orillia Beatles Celebration. Goyette is also a songwriter and musician with three albums, a musical adviser to the Peterborough Singers and a past judge for Peterborough’s Snofest Idol.
This isn’t the first donation Goyette has made to Showplace. Last spring, he provided 10-year funding for the Showplace Green Room — the backstage space that serves as a lounge and waiting area for performers. His contribution led to an upgrade of the Green Room facilities and decor.
Although Goyette wouldn’t divulge the exact amount of his most recent donation for the lighting console, he did say it was a “healthy five figures.”
That has allowed Showplace to upgrade its lighting console. The Electronic Theatre Controls Ion Xe model features award-winning programming power with more than 2,000 outputs and 16,000 control channels. The system will dramatically improve the range and quality of stage lighting.
Emily Martin, interim general manager at Showplace, says donations like the one Goyette has made allows the theatre to stay relevant.
“We are a non-profit charitable organization which a lot of people don’t realize. A lot of people think the city owns Showplace and that’s not the case,” Martin said. “We are our own independent non-profit that owns our own building so when it comes to replacing equipment like the lighting board…we rely on people like David for stepping up and helping us with that.”
Martin says the donation falls in line with Showplace’s Securing The Future fundraising initiative that has resulted in the previous naming of The Nexicom Studio, the Darling Insurance Box Office and The Publican House Bars and the Erica Cherney Theatre.
Martin says Showplace officials are now preparing to embark on a capital campaign in hopes of raising money to fix up the outside marquee and replace chairs in the theatre.
“(We will be) accepting donations for both of these major jobs. Both together are about $500,000,” Martin said.