'Disheartening': Evergreen theatre to close after 34 years in business
A beloved Calgary theatre society and community arts space will close its doors this summer, after more than three decades of operations.
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On May 1, the Evergreen Theatre Society (ETS) said it would be shut down after 34 years in business on June 30, after being unable to renew a loan contract with the Social Enterprise Fund.
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The news has come as a shock to individuals, families and resident community groups who have long used the studio spaces, according to Sean Fraser, ETS executive director.
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'One of the things that Evergreen has been able to do is create a space not only for the arts, but also for the underserviced cultural communities,' he said. 'It's been very disheartening, because people felt Evergreen was stable and thought that we'd be around forever.'
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More than 80 community groups and arts companies use the studio spaces to book rehearsals, conduct workshops and host performances. Its impending closure has left many groups scrambling to find affordable alternatives.
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Ishita Singla, founder and artistic director of Madhuban Performing Arts, a South Asian dance collective, says she has been writing and collecting letters advocating to government officials to keep the space open.
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'Evergreen has been a space that we can afford,' she said. 'It's accessible, it's welcome, it doesn't feel like you're an alien there because there are people who look like you. It's representative of the entire dance community in Calgary.'
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The decision to shut the studios comes after 'countless discussions and appeals' to the Social Enterprise Fund, a loan fund organization based in Edmonton, to reverse the decision to not renew with Evergreen.
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The company owes Edmonton Community Foundation, one of the primary contributors to the SEF, $5.5 million.
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It isn't clear why the loan fund didn't want to renew the contract terms, Fraser said. The contract dates to COVID times when the idea was born to create a space that could be used by underserviced groups in the arts and community space.
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The loan was meant to be a 'temporary bridge' to get them where they want to be, he said, with talks with the city underway around the same time to provide financial commitments.
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However, the talks fell through, leaving the company dependent on the loan to financially back operations. Multiple efforts to get government officials to help with funding throughout the years also failed, as officials were deterred by the debt accumulating from the loan fund, Fraser said.
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