Imagine if you will, a thriving theatre precinct in the heart of Centretown. Like a miniature version of London’s West End, it would be a sanctuary for everyone, from arts mavens to families. Accessible, walkable, cheap and not shy of pushing boundaries, it would reflect the true diversity of this city, where 23 per cent of the inhabitants come from other countries.
The reality is somewhat lacking. There are not enough small theatres and not enough diversity in the entertainments on offer. Centretown has great restaurants, pubs and clubs, but for small theatre, we are forced to go further afield.
Theatre venues in Ottawa are spread thinly across the city, and definitely not within a walkable range of the downtown. The soon-to-be refurbished National Arts Centre is the only option for live theatre in Centretown, but it wasn’t built to fill a gap in the local theatre scene.
The NAC is at the top of the pyramid, so to speak. The world-class Canadian talent on offer within that brutal architecture had to come from somewhere. The small theatres and the small companies that inhabit them are crucial incubators of that talent. Set designers, writers, musicians and actors get their first jobs in these companies.
Without small theatres, the entire local arts enterprise dries up for lack of nurturing and impoverishes the cultural life of the capital.
Indeed, debate over the soul of Ottawa, or the lack thereof, has been raging over recent months, reignited in January by Ottawa Citizen columnist, Andrew Cohen.
Cohen looks to other national capitals and sees Ottawa wanting. To use his words, the nation’s capital is mediocre, uninteresting, and lacking in innovation. Ottawa is, as Cohen puts it, a soulless city.
As the cookie-cutter condo towers continue to crowd the streets of Centretown, diversity is being thrown into shadow. The area is falling prey to a creeping banality. Each new development seems to come as a package, complete with a chain coffee shop and drug store. As a friend once remarked, the area is becoming “a white-people place.” The entertainments there simply don’t reflect the mosaic of cultures that enrich this town – those coming from Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Haiti, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Centretown is experiencing a dramatic change. Young families are moving into the area. As we have seen with Elgin Street Public School, this is putting pressure on local schools to make space. These families will also need more to do within the immediate vicinity.
What could be better for kids and tired parents than a cheap, easily accessible children’s theatre network?
By night, the Confederation Line, currently under construction, will eventually whisk thousands of people from the East and West reaches of the city into Centretown. Visitors should have a more enticing range of entertainment to choose from when they arrive.
The City of Ottawa can give things a nudge by providing subsidized or even free spaces to small theatre companies.
A shared space within the proposed Ottawa Central Library will be a welcome addition for these companies.
Our federal government must shoulder some responsibility for building a more dynamic and diverse capital. They owe it to Ottawa and the creative enterprise that puts Canadian talent at the forefront of the global entertainment industry.
In partnership with the private sector, funding from the feds has already benefited small theatres and companies in cities such as Winnipeg.
A study published by Prairie Research Associates in 2009 revealed that four cents out of every dollar of Winnipeg’s economic output comes from the arts and creative industries.
The development companies that have benefited from the downtown condo construction boom also have a duty to the cultural vitality of the community.
Perhaps a wealthy benefactor, who wants to leave a lasting legacy for Ottawa, could be encouraged to build a small, architecturally interesting venue, or to make a contribution to support underrepresented communities in the local theatre industry.
These are just suggestions. But with a nudge from our elected officials, and some clever thinking from the arts community, little things can become big things.