THEATRE BOSS’ DECISION RUFFLES SOME FEATHERS
Darcy Evans changes final play in ATP lineup, leaving team of actors abandoned
I finally think I have an inkling of the hurt being felt by the artists who were recently treated so badly by Alberta Theatre Projects’ new artistic director, Darcy Evans.
Evans hit me with a similar blow so I feel a little of their pain. I will share more on that later.
But the story starts with Evans sending out a news release on Tuesday to announce he had changed the final play of ATP’s 2018-19 season.
He was replacing Michaela Jeffery’s WROL (Without Rule of Law), a play that has been in development at ATP for almost three years, with Mark Crawford’s The New Canadian Curling Club, currently playing to enthusiastic sold-out audiences at the Blythe Festival in Ontario.
The announcement caused a firestorm on social media.
In the original news release, Evans said the substitution was his “first step toward a new vision for ATP that is built on telling stories that are representative of Calgary’s diverse population.
“Calgary is now the third-mostdiverse city in Canada and I am passionate about reflecting this on our stage. It’s a big part of what drew me to this position.”
It all seemed strange rationale for replacing a play by a young female playwright from Calgary with a play by an established male playwright from Toronto.
In doing so, Evans had cancelled the contracts with all the artists involved in the première of WROL.
These artists, who now want to be known as The Team, include director Laurel Green, set designer Anton de Groot, projection designer Thomas Geddes, lighting designer Poe Limkul, costume designer Jennifer Lee Arsenault and actors Julie Orton, Anna Cummer, Selina Wong, Ellen Close and Braden Griffiths — as well as Jeffery herself.
Because every theatre company in Canada has already cast their upcoming seasons, it means these artists have little chance of getting employment for next spring — and most of these artists had turned down work to do WROL.
ATP has agreed to compensate them according to their contracts for this cancellation.
As soon as I received ATP’s news release, I asked to speak with Evans.
ATP’s publicist immediately set up a phone interview for us for 10 a.m. the next day.
I felt this interview was essential because I thought the theatre community deserved to know what had prompted him to make the substitution.
I felt there was more to his decision than a stand for diversity on ATP’s stage.
I wanted to know if finances and a perceived difficulty of selling Jeffery’s play also factored into the decision.
Five minutes before our designated time, I was informed Evans no longer wished to do the interview and would not reschedule in the immediate future. So I was surprised to see just hours later he had given Kelly Nestruck of The Globe and Mail an interview to explain his position.
In that interview, Evans admitted he didn’t think WROL would fill the Martha Cohen Theatre’s 400 seats long enough to meet new sales targets to ensure the company is financially viable.
He went on to say he does feel The New Canadian Curling Club is more likely to reach those targets.
What Evans is saying is he needs a certified crowd pleaser not an untested edgy coming-ofage comedy.
He also acknowledged that this decision had nothing to do with diversity, as the original news release had suggested.
By talking exclusively to Nestruck, Evans made it clear to me, as he has to Jeffery and everyone connected with WROL, that Toronto, not Calgary, is where his allegiances and his heart lie.
In his eyes we simply do not matter.
Still, instead of railing against either Evans or ATP when I approached them, The Team made it clear they “were deeply disappointed when ATP informed us on July 15 of their decision to remove our show from their 2018-19 seasons,” but quickly added “our priority is to support this incredible playwright to find the best home for her new work.
“We all love the script, and believe in the show deeply.”
They expressed their gratitude for “the outpouring of support and interest we have received since ATP’s announcement and are working on a special way to share this hilarious and moving play with our Calgary community.”
To this end, they have decided to present a staged reading of WROL on Sept. 17 but for that to happen, they need help.
They need someone to offer them a venue to host that staged reading on Sept. 17 and they need volunteers to help promote the event. Anyone interested in helping can reach The Team at WROLwithoutruleoflaw@gmail.com.
They are also setting up a GoFundMe campaign that will go toward getting Jeffery’s play produced in Calgary or elsewhere in Canada and are asking for donations of $10 or higher.
Their campaign has already surpassed $6,000.
To his credit, Evans did say in his ATP news release he will be holding auditions for the Calgary production of The New Canadian Curling Club before the end of the summer.
He says he will reach out to the community in an extensive search for new and exciting artists to embody the diverse group of characters in The New Canadian Curling Club, which includes a Chinese physician, a Jamaican Tim Hortons manager, a South Asian father and a 17-year-old female Syrian refugee.