London, ONTARIO - November 28, 2017 — Director, announced an operating surplus of $58,264 for the 2016/17 season, marking the theatre’s 18th consecutive year with a surplus. The season was also the first for Dennis Garnhum as Artistic Director.

The surplus from 2016/17 season increased the theatre’s accumulated surplus to $583,214. The AGM was held at the theatre and attended by members of the Grand’s Board of Directors, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and staff.

2016/17 Season Operating Highlights

• The Grand held 213 performances and had 92,076 patrons attend season performances that included six Spriet Stage productions, a fall High School Project musical, five Jeans ’n Classics concerts, one Spriet Stage special presentation (Vigilante), two special presentations on the McManus Stage (Rod Beattie’s A Christmas Carol and Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre), and the spring High School Project.
• Ticket sales comprised 58% of earned revenue, contributing $3.6m to the theatre’s budget.
• This past year, the theatre provided employment for 245 people and contributed over $3.9m in salaries and benefits. Of goods and services purchased 62% or $1.3m was spent locally, making a significant contribution to the local economy.
• The Grand provided box office services for 19 local organizations, and 25 local companies or individuals rented the facilities including a Spriet Stage wedding and reception.The Grand also donated theatre tickets to over 400 local charitable organizations. These tickets were used by the organizations as prizes for their fundraising events and represented a total value of $66,825 in donated tickets. Over 90 complimentary tickets were provided to new Canadians in London through the Cultural Access Pass program.
• The 43rd Annual Grand Gala, themed “Everything Starts with an Idea,” welcomed special guest, Michael Rubinoff, Associate Dean at Sheridan’s Department of Visual & Performing Arts. During the evening, three scholarships were presented to High School Project students who had been accepted to Sheridan for the fall of 2017.
• The Grand was a site for Community Arts Venues Education, or CAVE. The CAVE program is part of a larger London Arts Council initiative called Culture Infused Learning. Over four weeks, four elementary classes each spent a week in workshops led by Grand staff and artists about character development, Broadway choreogra­phy, playwriting, costumes, props, and poster study.
• The Grand announced the launch of COMPASS, a new play development program, and LONDON PROUD, a community commitment encompassing three projects: 100 Schools, 1000 Seats, and the High School Project’s new partnership with Sheridan Music Theatre Program.

In addition, last year Helen and Andy Spriet announced a $1m gift to the Grand’s Theatre Foundation – the largest single donation in the history of the Grand. In recognition of this transformational contribution, the MainStage will be known as the Spriet Stage for the next 25 years.

For a copy of the 2016/17 Annual Report, please click here or contact Kate Rapson at krapson [at] grandtheatre.com (krapson[at]grandtheatre[dot]com).

Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support our government funders as well as the 2016/17 Spriet Stage Sponsor BMO Financial Group.  The success of the last season would not be possible without the backing of many sponsors, community partners, and donors.

About the Grand Theatre

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum and Executive Director Deb Harvey, the Grand is a leading cultural hub proudly located in the heart of downtown London, Ontario. The Grand offers diverse, relevant, and original stories from around the globe through collaborations with national and international performing arts organizations and is committed to developing, producing, and premiering original homegrown stories through COMPASS, a New Play Development Program. The Grand supports educational programming and youth mentorship such as The High School Project, the only program of its kind in North America, and 100 Schools, a new community initiative that brings professional theatre to London-area schools in 2018 at no cost.

A not-for-profit regional theatre, the Grand produces and presents professional theatre on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the McManus Stage (144 seats). The Grand’s season runs from September to May.