SAINT JOHN -- A New Brunswick theatre company is set to take centre stage on social media with their latest fundraising effort.
Like other theatres across the Maritimes, the Saint John Theatre Company has been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their productions have all been postponed to either later this year or 2021.
“Being shut down, it means we have no audience, people aren't renting our facility, people aren't using our bar services, all of those things that we normally do, we can't do,” says Stephen Tobias, the executive director at the Saint John Theatre Company.
Since they can’t perform in front of a physical audience, the Saint John Theatre Company’s latest production will be streamed on social media.
“Right now we're just setting up the space as far as lighting, sound and cameras, so that we can make sure the event looks as nice and clean as possible,” says Drew Murdock, the photography director at the Saint John Theatre Company.
The “Off The Stage Give-A-Thon” kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday on Facebook and is billed as a night of music and theatre in support of the group.
“It's been crazy planning this because this is really not what we do. We've had to pivot completely,” says Tobias.
The company has also taken on a major development project in the city, giving the old courthouse on Sydney Street in Saint John a second act as a theatre.
“You know, we've got a lot of irons in the fire right now,” says Tobias.
“The fundraiser is really about supporting the organization, supporting our staff, supporting the artists that will be working with us in the future and supporting the future developments that we're working on, like the courthouse.”
