For the first four parts of our smaller venues series of feature articles, we shone a nice, bright INTIX spotlight on theaters and performing arts spaces that lacked the seating capacity of a major stadium or arena … but nonetheless have survived and thrived in the post-pandemic era. And all of those venues were in the United States (Part 4 covered the mid-Atlantic region. Part 3 looked at New York state and the U.S. Northeast. Part 2 in this series covered the U.S. South. Part 1 focused on the U.S. West). For the final installment, we’re going global! Part 5 in our series looks at such places in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom and how they are faring.
Most of those interviewed for this feature agreed that smaller venues, festivals and organizations have some distinct advantages over their larger counterparts. Ella Huisman, Head of Marketing, Ticketing & Digital for Australia’s Adelaide Fringe, says, “Smaller venues have advantages in that they often have less staff, perhaps less overheads, and the ability to be more nimble than larger entities.”
Gail Smith, Ticketing and Call Centre Manager for OVG, at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, zeroed in on the advantages of staffing. She says, “Our team is very close knit because of the size of our building. It is a ‘one-department mentality.’ Everyone pitches in when there are times of crisis — removing chairs, ripping up the floor to assist conversions or helping pour drinks in concessions. It’s what we do!”
Bradley King, Information Systems Analyst for Fringe Theatre in Edmonton, also spoke of the team aspect in stating that “Smaller venues give their teams greater agency, capacity and flexibility to adapt to incoming challenges. We’re able to make changes quickly to meet evolving patron needs, whether that be implementing new health measures, creating new opportunities for patron engagement or meeting our patron’s individual accessibility requirements.”
Bradley King
Hatti Simpson, Ticketing & Digital Manager for Woolwich Works in London, echoed Smith and King’s sentiments: “Smaller venues tend to have smaller teams, which means it’s easy to communicate new policies and action plans across a smaller number of people. Conversely, it can mean a greater amount of work to act on those plans for only a few people. But if it’s the right kind of team, then everyone will support each other. It can also provide a great opportunity to really learn from each other and understand what each other does; what’s needed for different teams, and why; and to see things from each other’s perspective when you’re all able to collaborate together and have a say in the plan.”
Hatti Simpson
Everyone who agreed to answer questions for this feature concurred that working for smaller venues and arts organizations also has an element of fun that might be missing behind the scenes at larger ones. Robyn Bingham, Manager of Ticket Operations for Toronto-based Starvox Entertainment has had the opportunity to work for both small and large organizations. “And at smaller places, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the business outside of ticketing as well as having the opportunity to make suggestions and input on ideas where I would not have the chance at a large venue,” she says. “At a smaller venue, you get the opportunity to know everyone and create a strong working bond and sense of ownership for success.”
Simpson says, “We have a fairly small team here at Woolwich Works, and having all teams sharing an office together makes for a great opportunity to understand other job roles, perspectives, and priorities — and it makes communication super easy when you can spin around in your chair and voice a question to the whole team in one room!”
Natalie Chan, General Manager for Creative Youth in England, doesn’t think she would have quite as wide ranging a role if she served in the same capacity at a bigger venue. She states that she’s had responsibilities that might otherwise “be split between more people if I was in a larger venue. Within the same week, I was writing funding applications and brainstorming about our friends’ membership scheme, as well as recruiting and onboarding new staff [and] completing a risk assessment for a live event we’re delivering. It was really fun because no two days were the same.”
Natalie Chan
King was eager to add to the discussion, saying, “Smaller venues give a greater capacity to exercise hospitality on an individual level. I love that I get to develop relationships with our patrons and provide them an experience that they couldn’t receive at a larger venue — whether that be greeting them by name, personally booking their tickets or just sitting down for a moment to have a coffee with them. Working at a small venue creates a thriving, tight-knit community.”
Everyone interviewed for this piece was also eager to discuss the leadership challenges they’ve faced, whether during the pandemic or after. Huisman says, “Specifically speaking to the challenges throughout the pandemic, it was trying to remain optimistic in a time of such uncertainty and to maintain that optimism throughout the team. So much was out of our hands with the government leading the way in implementing rules and restrictions. It was a joy, though, to watch how our team and community banded together to support each other. Just a few weeks into the first lockdown in Australia, the Adelaide Fringe team staged a completely online festival a mere few weeks after our main festival. This was solely to drive ticket sales and assist artists and venues who had lost all opportunity to perform.”
Chan noted there are distinct challenges in fulfilling Creative Youth’s core mission, which is to support, nurture and empower young people through the arts. “It is always a challenge trying to balance the young person’s personal and professional growth with the operational demands of Creative Youth when deadlines such as festival event dates and funding application deadlines must be met,” she says. “I’ve learned that being open and honest with communication is usually a good step toward these challenges.”
Closing out 2022 and heading into a new year, the question was posed to each interviewee: “Are you generally optimistic, pessimistic or a mix of both with regards to live events?” Responses varied, starting with Starvox’s Bingham: “I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I am finding it challenging. Every day, there are news reports of economic slowdowns, rising inflation and possible recession. Usually, the first thing that is cut from people when money is tight is entertainment spending, [and] there is a lot of competition for where people can spend their reduced entertainment dollars.”
Huisman, though, was more positive looking ahead, saying, “I am extremely optimistic as we head toward the new year … With international borders open, our program will once again welcome shows from across the globe to perform in our incredible festival.”
Ella Huisman
King was equally enthusiastic about what is to come: “I’m optimistic! Our artists have so many stories to share on our stages, and our patrons have been enthusiastically joining us. I can’t wait to see what we achieve next year, what new challenges we face, and how we can support our artists and patrons even more.”
Also brimming with positivity was Simpson, although she is measured in her look ahead. “I’m really optimistic about the future of live events, albeit with a dose of realism. We’re still recovering from the pandemic in a lot of ways and especially having lost so many good people from the industry, and there are more challenges to come here in the U.K. with the cost of living crisis, energy crisis and government instability having a detrimental effect this winter. But we’ll get through it. The arts and live events are one of the most resilient industries, as proven over and over again, and we’ll tackle whatever is thrown our way because we all need live events!”
Perhaps Smith of Ontario’s Tribute Communities Centre summed it up best. “I would say I’m a mix of both, especially being back after the last couple of years. I still love to stand back once the show has started and watch the crowd, look at what we as a team have accomplished in making memories for all of our guests.”
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