By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
My column this week will dovetail from Dave’s column last week where he expressed his anger about the current and potential use and function of the Jeanne Gordon Hall in Wallaceburg.
I agree with Dave. The potential loss of the only performance venue in Wallaceburg is a tragedy.
I could reiterate the facts; last theatrical performance in May of 2018, last live music concert 2023, number of meetings, committees, discussions and gnashing of teeth, our two local politicians giving lip service to caring about live entertainment in Wallaceburg- endless.
I actually looked up a few old columns and saw verbatim what I was beginning to peck out from two previous columns. So, obviously what I was going to write is irrelevant. It has neither had an impact nor has it been heard.
That doesn’t mean I am throwing my hands in the air and walking away.
In the end, people who care already know those facts. So, what is the next step?
I spoke recently to John Gardiner, and he is fired up! John is a good guy and a passionate person. He cares deeply about Wallaceburg and performing arts. John wants to get a group together to fight for the Jeanne Gordon Theatre/Hall/storage room… depending on your take on the best use of the space.
He wants to see live music and theatrical performances back on the boards at the JGT.
After the recent municipal meeting where the 3 options for the JGT were discussed with price tags ranging from close to $3 million to restore a theatre in the community to what amounts to a hand full of coins for a status quo option Councilor Aaron Hall requested further review of the space.
It has been six years of review and discussion thus far. Will further review help? I don’t know. It puts the brakes on making a decision that could formally and finally close the only performance venue in Wallaceburg.
However, it also puts the brakes on any movement with the theatre – making progress impossible.
Dave’s call to action is to get angry and contact relevant officials. That would be our two Councilors for sure, seeking online surveys and responding, writing a letter to Mayor Canniff, municipal staff maybe even writing a letter to the editor of a local paper.
But these ideas are a shotgun approach to the problem. This needs to be a unified, laser focused, clear message if it is to be heard. It is easy to ignore a cacophony of complaints but voices that ring out in unison tend to get heard.
If the community does not come together to find a unified voice stating unequivocally that live indoor performances in Wallaceburg need to happen again and clear action to get that moving must be soon, the moment will pass and it will be another generation before action is considered.
Here’s the rub: the $3 million dollar upgrade to the JGT is all cosmetic in nature. That doesn’t include the desperate need for new sound and lighting equipment. It doesn’t address the fact that, while a great intimate space for live performances, it is 100% inadequate for a large musical, the Wallaceburg Concert Band, a dance recital. It lacks change rooms, backstage area, wing space, set and prop storage space, a large enough stage for any large-scale performance.
That is why the community needs invested parties in the performing arts community to sit down and hammer out a vision for Wallaceburg. What is the blueprint to what we need here? Can we sustain two performance venues? (The JGT and a larger space?) Are there creative collaborative ways to make this work? What investment would be needed? Who would spearhead it? How do we gauge the interest in the venue(s)?
Attendance at the Wallaceburg Concert Band shows is consistently excellent. Usually somewhere north of 600 people at the WDSS gym. But this is for a free concert. What if we have to charge? Who will fill the house on the 354 days that WCB isn’t on stage? Who will manage the space for rehearsals and rental? Can the WCB use it for rehearsal as well as performance? Can we find a name sponsor that will fund the building of a larger space in partnership with the municipality? Maybe the AarKel Centre for the performing arts? How many touring shows could Wallaceburg support to make the venue viable?
None of these questions are meant to put a wet blanket on the idea of a performance venue in town, or even two. As both a musician and an actor, I would love to be on stage here, in the town that has welcomed me in my retirement.
To see an example of where this has been done incredibly successfully one need only look north to Sarnia. The questions were asked, answers were sought and a dream was realized.
While the adage of “if you build it, they will come” is a wonderful romantic notion, in order to find the groundswell of support necessary to make this happen leaders in the performing arts community need to work together to develop a single unified agenda and set the groundwork that enables others to speak with a unified voice articulating the clear desire for action on a venue, or two, in Wallaceburg.
Perhaps the better adage is one attributed to Thomas Paine but made famous by Lee Iacocca, “Lead. follow, or get out of the way.”
