Grant lets Citadel spring for new equipment
Culture funds will also be used to buy specialized technical equipment
The old curtains come down, once and for all, now that the Citadel has money to buy new ones for the stages of the Maclab and Shoctor theatres. The money, announced Tuesday, comes from the federal government, which is giving the city ’s biggest theatre $504,000 from its Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. The dollars will be spent not only on new curtains with upto-date features such as working fire retardant, but also on specialized theatrical equipment for the building’s five performance spaces, including video projectors, LED stage light fixtures and sound consoles. The catwalk in the Maclab will also be renovated to accommodate lighting and improve safety for staff. Federal Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal MP for EdmontonMill Woods, and Edmonton Centre Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, were on hand for the funding announcement, which took place in the Club space at the Citadel. “Confident countries are countries that invest in themselves,” said Boissonnault, quoting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and noting that the cultural sector in Canada employs 630,000 people, making up 3.5 per cent of the country ’s gross domestic product. The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund has invested more than $724,000 in the Citadel building since 2002, including $124,000 in 2013-14 for audio-visual upgrades and $600,000 funnelled through Catalyst theatre in 2016 for renovations to offices and seats in the Maclab, which Catalyst now calls home. Welcome though the most recent funding is for Citadel artistic director Daryl Cloran, it doesn’t address the theatre’s most pressing infrastructure problem — a leaky roof estimated to require more than $2.7 million to repair. “Our biggest financial issue is the roof,” Cloran said Tuesday. “It’s raining in people’s offices.” The Citadel is in talks with the City of Edmonton to secure funding for the roof repair, he said. Nearly 50 per cent of the Citadel’s $13-million operating budget comes from ticket sales (including $2 million from 6,600 subscribers). The three levels of government combine to make up about 20 per cent of funding, with the city giving the most money. Ten per cent comes from donors and sponsors, with another 20 per cent coming from other sources, including rentals and investments. Several years ago, the Citadel Theatre looked at building an apartment or boutique hotel on its indoor garden site in the Lee Pavilion as a way to bring in extra revenue, but decided against the move in light of numerous other downtown developments, including Rogers Place. The theatre programs more than 300 performances a year, reaching an audience of about 130,000 annually.