Letter         Affordable Arts and Entertainment

Dear Walter Kish,

I enjoy reading your column in The New Pathway very much. Firstly, thank you for plugging the “Old Time Zabava” (“Cost of Culture”, The New Pathway Issue 25 - Thursday, June 26, 2008), which I will make a point of trying to attend. Fun and cheap! Who could ask for more? It is sure to be a guaranteed good time! I was dismayed, however, by the main premise of your column.

You do a great disservice to the arts community in Toronto by saying that going to live theatre and music concerts has become “an extravagant luxury” with “ticket prices... now typically pushing the $100 a head-barrier, and often more.” While it is true that the big-name, big-ticket companies with large advertising budgets who get their productions’ names out there are very difficult to afford, a little research will reveal an abundance of cheap and accessible arts and entertainment in Toronto - even by Lviv standards! I encourage you to research for yourself what is out there and to help others discover these affordable alternatives. Just off the top of my head, I can think of two musical events and several theatre events...

For one, the Toronto Music Garden offers free (yes, FREE!) Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon concerts throughout the summer on Toronto’s beautiful Harbourfront - easily accessible by car or public transport (475 Queen’s Quay West between Bathurst Street & Spadina
Avenue). For the more adventurous, the Music Gallery offers an always changing program of contemporary and experimental music and dance (St George-the-Martyr Anglican Church, 197 John St. at Queen St.) with prices for events ranging from free to very affordable (generally in the range of $5-20).

As far as Theatre goes, Toronto’s independent theatre community is busting at the seams with quality shows being produced by talented artists and ensembles, presenting everything from the classics to new contemporary works (they are simply too numerous to mention). Most, if not all, of these companies simply cannot afford to buy advertising space in the bigger newspapers, but you will find them listed in the theatre listings in all newspapers, and in NOW and EYE in particular.

In addition, Toronto has several theatre festivals throughout the year: the Toronto Fringe Festival recently wrapped up a 10 day run of over 100 plays, with all tickets costing $10 (or less); in August, the Summerworks Festival presents a program of predominantly new Canadian theatre as well as music ($10-12 per show); festivals during the fall/winter/spring months abound also.

Last but not least, Toronto is home to many outdoor Shakespeare companies (yes, not just the overly-hyped “Dream” in High Park!). Among them, you will find Canopy Theatre Company - now in it’s eighth season - which is produced Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” and ran until August 2 (directed by yours truly, I might add), for a mere $10 , or “pay-what-you-can” on Wednesday evenings.

A quick “google” of any of these companies, or browsing on-line entertainment listings of every Toronto newspaper, will quickly reveal a plethora of affordable, quality programming.

As an independent theatre artist who is married to a composer, it worries me when people suggest that the “cost of culture” is too high. Nobody suffers as a result of this, but independent artists like us, who struggle to survive in the shadows of the mega musicals and other “big-name” theatre and music companies. And though I realise that your column tries to be Ukrainian-centric, I am sure you will be pleased to discover that there are many of us (Ukrainian theatre and music artists like me) out there, presenting top-notch, quality entertainment at affordable prices for everyone to enjoy.

I hope that you will venture out and enjoy some of these alternatives this summer.

Sincerely,
Lada Darewych
Actor, Director, Music Theatre Performer