Closure of performance venues | Between surprise, sadness and understanding

The theaters and cinemas had to close their doors at 5 p.m. this Monday for an indefinite period. This shutdown is part of a series of new health directives issued in the afternoon by the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.

Charles-Éric Blais-Poulin
Press

Self-employed performing arts workers couldn’t have imagined a worse gift as the holiday season approaches. Many find themselves idle and without income, while emergency wage assistance from the federal government has expired.

“It’s not a good day, drop Luc Fortin, guitarist and president of the Guild of musicians and musicians of Quebec. It is really dramatic. On the eve of the Holidays, we collect without any income, we have nothing left. The future is uncertain. We don’t have a resume date. It’s very difficult for morale. ”

The Canada Emergency Benefit (CEP) and the Canada Economic Stimulus Benefit (CEP) will be replaced by the Canada Worker Containment Benefit (CPTCC). However, no deadline for the distribution of the first checks has yet been set.

“The federal government must hurry to put this in place very quickly, because the next few weeks will be difficult,” pleads Mr. Fortin.

The Regroupement québécois de la danse, too, is “very worried” for its members who risk falling “into the cracks”. “The majority of dance professionals are self-employed, who do not have employment insurance,” explains Nadine Medawar, executive director of the association. We are calling on the federal government to quickly reinstate the ECP. ”

“In light of the public health situation and the new restrictions imposed in a number of provinces, we are actively assessing whether regulatory adjustments are needed to provide greater flexibility to the support measures contained in Bill C -2 ”, reacted in an email Jessica Eritou, spokesperson for the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, without providing further details.

“Our government is in discussions with the federal government to see if direct aid could be adapted quickly”, indicates Nathalie Roy, Minister of Culture and Communications, in a statement sent to Press.

While admitting that Monday’s announcement is “a blow today for theaters and cinemas”, she assures that “the current situation unfortunately left no choice.”

A surprise announcement

For broadcasters, who rely on ticketing assistance, the challenges are first and foremost organizational and human. The 50% gauge restriction, announced Thursday and in effect from midnight Sunday to Monday night, will ultimately have lasted less than 24 hours.

The putting on hiatus of the performing arts came “much faster than I would have thought”, says David Laferrière, president of the organization RIDEAU, which brings together more than 350 performance venues in Quebec. “I have a thought for the coworkers who spent the weekend trying to change their seating plans and call back ticket holders just before the holidays. ”

At the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, the measures announced on Monday follow a commotion this weekend to reorganize the performances of 2021 revised and corrected. “Our teams had been mobilized since last Friday morning to comply with the new 50% capacity instruction,” says Céline Marcotte, general manager of the theater. We were in the process of allocating a new seat, or even a new performance, to all the spectators. It was settled for [ce soir], with a room for 200 people rather than 400. ”They will ultimately be… zero.

The actors and singers of the year-end review took part in around twenty performances. They knew after the fact that last Saturday’s was their last.

Like the Green Curtain, many theaters will await the return of the holidays to assess their ticketing options in light of the pandemic context. This is the case at Duceppe, who suspended the sale of tickets for News room, playing January 12. “We are weighing all the scenarios,” explains Jean-Simon Traversy, co-artistic director of the theater. We are aware that the collective effort is still necessary, but it is difficult. It’s like playing in Groundhog day. ”

Representations of I like Hydro, from January 7 to 9, had been postponed even before the bar on Monday. In the past few days, many shows have been canceled or postponed to deal with the proliferation of COVID-19 cases. Part postponed, in particular, for performances by Cowboys Fringants, Safia Nolin or Louis-José Houde.

“Between the announcement of Thursday evening and that of Monday, I in quick succession canceled The Dears on Saturday evening and a jazz show on Sunday afternoon, because there was suspicion of COVID in the bands,” explains Mr. Laferrière, General Manager of the Théâtre Gilles-Vigneault in Saint-Jérôme. We had never seen this before. ”

Just a few weeks ago, the entertainment industry seemed to be seeing the end of the tunnel. “There was a recovery, a commitment to the artists, not just the sure values, notes the president of RIDEAU. The bond of trust with the public is really weakening. It worries me. ”

Morale on the floor

Mr. Laferrière also notes that the teams in the field are exhausted. “It will be difficult to motivate the troops. I am worried about my colleagues. I just hope everyone’s psychological health holds up. ”

“We had worked so hard to reconstitute a team, illustrates Michel Sabourin, president of Club Soda and spokesperson for the Association of independent theaters of Quebec (ASSIQ). We had predictability for the spring, to encourage our people to come back to work in the locker room, in maintenance or at the ticket office. “In” total uncertainty “for this winter, everything may have to be started again, he fears.

Also concerned for artists and artisans on the scene, Nadine Medawar, of the Regroupement québécois de la danse, asks Quebec to strengthen mental health support programs, more particularly for self-employed workers.

Tested wave after wave, Lorraine Pintal is nevertheless optimistic. “We’re going to get through it once again, but we’re showing a lot, a lot of resilience,” says the general and artistic director of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.

She is particularly reassured by the “understanding” and “openness” of the public vis-à-vis the many upheavals. “We roll up our sleeves and we are in communications so that no one loses hope. ”

The activities of the theater, on hiatus since December 18, must resume on January 11 with the play Lysis, probably in a distant formula. According to her, the winter season will depend a lot on the administration of a third dose of vaccines against COVID-19 to the greatest number of Quebecers … “as quickly as possible”.