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Orangeville council provides $300,000 loan to keep local theatre company

July 16, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

The long arm of the coronavirus has reached Theatre Orangeville.

Orangeville’s council approved loans totalling $300,000 for the local private theatre company. The assistance will be in the form of a $200,000 cheque to cover some bills, paid back over five years at five per cent interest. Another $100,000 bridge loan will cover interest on the debt and will be paid over a shorter term.

The money will be taken from the municipal tax stabilization reserve.

Jennifer Stewart, Theatre Orangeville’s artistic director, and Laura Austin, chairperson of the company’s board of directors, made the pitch for financial assistance when council met on July 13.

Austin said she and Stewart appeared before council during its open meeting to be completely transparent with the community. Auditors warned in November 2025 that the theatre company was headed toward insolvency.

The board has a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard the company and, because of its sound relationship with the town, a meeting with council and staff was held in private.

The theatre company carried about $200,000 in old debts to vendors that have to be cleared. The group’s 2026-27 budget shows the capacity to repay such a loan with interest over five years through periodic monthly principal and interest payments over the term of the loan.

The theatre company’s cash flow projection suggests it will be in a maximum deficit position of about $100,000 before April 2027.

To resolve this short-term issue, the town could provide a temporary loan of $100,000 to be repaid in one lump sum with interest in April 2027, after a significant revenue injection in March 2027.

Theatre Orangeville’s annual operating budget is in the range of $1.5 million.

“The theatre does not own assets of any significant value that would allow them to obtain a secured loan from a financial institution,” according to a report to council. “Given that the town does not have a formal financial assistance program for cultural institutions, town staff examined their situation and determined that providing unsecured lending with the expectation of payback over a reasonable timeframe would be most appropriate.”

Theatre Orangeville’s financial needs suggest they need some short-term support until subscriptions renew in March 2027, as well as longer-term support to clear some legacy payables that can be funded from future budgeted surpluses, according to the council report.

The performing arts industry is still recovering from the months-long COVID-19 social shutdown aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. More recent economic conditions, such as higher fuel prices, overall inflation, and higher unemployment, have softened public spending on arts and culture.

Theatre Orangeville’s board of directors and staff have fundamentally changed their approach to the business side of operations.

“There continues to be risk, but the path outlined by the board is reasonable and well thought out,” according to a report to council.

Austin said a review of the theatre’s finances made it clear that expenses must be reduced or that the theatre must generate $200,000 annually for the next five years.

“It was a big ask,” she said, and added that a focus on cost-containment was adopted. “We had some tough decisions to make. Layoffs, employees cross-training. All of these things needed to be addressed.”

She said wages have been lowered by $160,000 moving into the next fiscal period, and the operating budget has been restructured. The marketing budget has been whittled down by $50,000, and at least as much money has been cut from the main stage budget.

Austin said Stewart has been a role model for the theatre company’s dedicated staff.

“She has shown what self-sacrifice looks like during an existential crisis,” Austin said.

Due to a third fundraiser, production cost concessions, and three federal government employment grants for summer staff, Theatre Orangeville will manage more than $290,000 in savings over the next year. And $150,000 has been paid from Theatre Orangeville’s accounts payable.

“Which demonstrates our ability to repay this loan that we’re asking for,” Austin said. “The $300,000 from the town will give us a step up to pay our debts with community partners and see us through the sustainability plan.”

Theatre Orangeville deserves financial support, say community supporters

Council’s decision to lend the money drew a wave of community support, with local business leaders and longtime theatre supporters weighing in on the broader impact of Theatre Orangeville.

Alison Scheel, the Orangeville Business Improvement Area’s (OBIA) executive director, said Theatre Orangeville is much more than a performing arts organization.

“It is an important economic driver for our downtown,” she said.

The BIA represents more than 300 local businesses, a large swath of the town’s business community. Performances, such as the ones spearheaded by the local theatre at the Town Hall Opera House, draw more than 20,000 people to Orangeville. Those people spend money at local stores and restaurants.

Scheel said that visitor spending infuses as much as $470,000 to the local economy each year.

Jim Betts is Theatre Orangeville’s founding artistic director who tread the boards with the troupe from 1994 to 1998. He said there was much talk in those early days about community support for the creation of Theatre Orangeville, and the wider financial benefits a theatre company can have on a community.

Those hopes for municipal economic spinoffs have been fulfilled, he said.

“And while those benefits can be mathematically confirmed and measured, what is incalculable is the life-changing effect that the arts can have on the people of that community,” Betts said.

Cathy Reid was the company’s general manager from 1998 to 2006. In that time, she discovered that the theatre business is unique in how it generates profit. She said success is determined in ways that are not always financial.

The dedication and commitment to enriching a community through performing arts exceed any measure in a business model, Reid said.

“Extraordinary times have created immense challenges for theatre companies, and Theatre Orangeville has faced financial setbacks,” she said.

Concern about those challenges was shared by Betts. Many live theatre companies across Canada have been similarly bruised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While money may be lost in the short term, the long-term loss to the community as a whole would be far greater should a company as important as Theatre Orangeville not receive the community support it has so profoundly earned over three decades,” Betts said.

Ken Pagel and his wife Martha have been involved with Theatre Orangeville since 1994, when the company started. He said a notion spoken about in the early days was of a “multiplier effect” on a community through support for its arts.

“Broadway was a bit sleepy and restaurant reservations were hardly needed,” he wrote in a supportive letter to council.

Since the theatre company has grown in popularity, restaurant seats are scarce without a reservation after shows on production nights.

“It’s a tough business and requires constant work by staff and volunteers to sell tickets, attract sponsors and donors, and apply to government agencies at every level to obtain assistance,” Pagel said.

Scheel said Theatre Orangeville’s impact extends far beyond the stage, including benefits to the community through partnerships with groups, youth programming, and an enriched social fabric.

“Downtown Orangeville has become one of Ontario’s most successful small, historic downtowns because of the strength of its partnerships,” she said. “Theatre Orangeville is an essential part of that success.

Scheel added, “A vibrant arts and culture sector is not simply an amenity. It is a key component of community vitality, economic development, tourism attraction, and business success.”

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