Showplace aiming for more partnerships
Showplace Performance Centre has a new general manager.
Emily Martin was appointed to the role April 18 after serving as interim general manager since July.
Martin replaces former general manager Ray Marshall, who held the position for 11 years.
The mother of three was previously Showplace’s marketing and advertising manager. She started that role in 2014.
Prior to Showplace, Martin was the general manager of Peterborough Musicfest for four years, working for the music festival for a decade in total.
Martin, 37, and her family moved to Peterborough from Sudbury in 2004. She’s also worked at the Sudbury Theatre Centre and Georgian Theatre Festival.
Over the last few months in her interim role, Martin said Showplace has been making some big changes, though they might not be so noticeable.
New accessible doors were installed to the theatre last week and upgrades to electrical and plumbing have been done.
“There’s a lot of not very fancy or flashy things that had to be done,” Martin said Monday.
The main theatre and stage have also been named recently – The Erica Cherney Theatre and The David Goyette Stage were previously untitled.
Martin said Showplace has also been working hard to develop more partnerships within the community. It recently presented a show with Peterborough Symphony Orchestra and has a jazz event coming up with Market Hall.
“It’s really important, I think, to work as a community,” Martin said.
And instead of closing up for July and August, as it usually does, Showplace will remain open during the summer.
That means the theatre’s staff members won’t get laid off as they usually would. The box office will be open three days a week, too.
While it’s a quieter time of year for Showplace during the summer, Martin said it’s the perfect time to get some behind the scenes work done to keep Showplace looking fresh.
The new general manager also has her fingers crossed that Showplace will pull out of its deficit this year, after struggling for several years.
“We hope to break even this year. If we don’t, we’ll come very, very close,” she said.
Showplace is a not-for-profit charitable organization that relies mostly on its own fundraising to keep its doors open.
But not a lot of residents know that, Martin said.
“We rely on donations and sponsorships and memberships.”
Showplace is launching a capital campaign this month to raise funds for a new marquee and new seats.
While that’s underway, Martin would like to see Showplace continue to collaborate with other organizations to help advance the city’s art scene.
“And just be able to give back more to the community through the collaborations and the partnerships, because I think that’s really, really important.”