By Pepper Parr
November 17th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Chairing the board of a non-profit organization when your full time job is to enhance the profitability of your client’s – calls for a splitting of ones mind-set that not everyone can pull off.
Ilene Elkaim, who currently serves as the Chair of Burlington’s Performing Arts Centre in her spare time runs a Canadian retail services business that focuses on putting time and/or money back into the hands of small to mid-sized retailers. The focus is on systematizing or automating administration, operations during the rest of her week.
Ilene Elkaim, chair of the Performing Arts Centre
Elkaim followed Rick Burgess and Brian Pearson as chair of an organization that experienced a bit of a rocky start but under its third Executive Director is doing quite well.
Elkaim headed up the selection committee that recently hired Suzanne Haines to run the place on a day to day basis.
Burlington was very fortunate when it hired McCurdy to run the organization several years ago. He was a very fortunate choice; while with the Centre he righted a ship that was listing badly.
After the first Executive director vacated the job McCurdy put a program in place that was just what the city needed.
Suzanne Haines now needs to build on the solid base she was given; she has Elkaim at her side to advise.
The centre is run by a corporation – The Theatre Board that sets out the strategic direction and what it wants to achieve.
From left to right: The centre board chair Ilene Elkaim, former Centre Executive director Brenda Heatherington, immediate past Executive director Brian McCurdy and newly appointed Executive director Suzanne Haines
So who is this Elkaim lady that works in the background ensuring that the vision is firmly fixed?
The theatre and the stage floor have a magic of their own and they draw people either to the seats in the theatre or the stage itself.
Ilene Elkaim is one of those people who was drawn to the stage – her first performance was as a snow flake – she thinks she was probably in kindergarten.
Originally a Montrealer she was educated at one of Quebec’s CEGEPS and then went on to McGill University where she earned a degree in Commerce and arrived in Burlington in 1995.
Her most recent performance was in a production at the West Plains Road United church. Drama is a hobby and Elkaim has a strong enough sense of self to not take her hobby too seriously – for her it is fun.
The task at the Centre is to insure that the place thrives and that it meets the needs and aspirations of the public and at the same time grows a stronger appreciation for the performing arts.
The day the Burlington Teen Tour Band marched through the sliding doors – the Centre belonged to the people. The BTTB finally had a home
“The objective is to engage people” said Elkaim and “that means listening to what they have to say.” The measure of their success is seen in the sale of tickets but that is just part of the job. Earning enough to cover all the costs is not something that happens in the cultural world – the Centre is probably always going to need financial support from the city. The city owns the building.
Theatre operations come in two flavours – there are presenting theatres which means they books different acts or rent the space to artistic groups.
Then there are production theatres that create act and shows that are put on the stage.
Burlington is a presentation theatre – it doesn’t do or create any new theatre productions. These things can easily cost a million dollars to mount and unless a show goes on the road that kind of money is never recovered. It is also a hugely risky undertaking and city council is never going to let that kind of event take place.
James Burchill, one of the better social media practitioners in the city use the Performing Arts centre for his events.
Another pillar in the makeup of the Centre is making the space available to local and community groups.
The Performing Arts Centre needed a little time to plug into the community and arrive at an understanding with different groups on costs and who pays for what.
The Performing Arts Centre has costs and- expenses that have to be met even if there isn’t a single person in a seat.
With two spaces for theatre – the Community theatre (200 seats) and the Main stage (700 seats) the Centre can meet very different needs.
The magnificent open space – the Family Room – makes the Centre quite unique. There are occasions when the two theatres are being used and the audiences from each mingle in the Family room during an intermission – enjoying a drink at the impressive bar – and then return to the theatre they were sitting in.
There is always quite a buzz when the two audiences mingle – not an experience one can have in many places.
Rental of the space is always a challenge – the Family Room can be turned into a stunning space – it was almost awesome on the opening night several years ago.
McCurdy was very successful in pulling in grant money that allowed him to create programs for young people which Elkaim believes is the foundation that the board is mandated to build.
The Centre took a soft opening approach that let the city get used to the place. when the “official” opening took place they pulled out all the stops and the place looked great.
“Everyone can remember the first time they attended a theatre production” said Elkaim. “If we can do that kind of thing often enough we will create the audience of the future.
During the week, often in the afternoons, it is not unusual to see half a dozen school buses parked on Elgin Street outside the theatre where they delivered students who take part in an event.
“The biggest challenge we face” said Elkaim “is to really engage the community” She adds that engaging a community means bringing them into the tent and making them a part of the process that sets out the direction the Centre takes.
It is all about selling tickets – but it is also about scheduling events that reflect what people want to see and at the same time introducing new ideas and forms of entertainment that have not been part of the cultural community in Burlington.
Denise Walker, a fund raiser for the centre was the first person to take to the stage and speak to an audience that had paid for a ticket.
It has been a number of years since Denise Walker stood on the stage and opened the very first performance – when Royal Wood entertained.
I attended that event and remember both a fine performance and the two ladies that are best described as part of the “silver haired set: who walked out of the theatre rather briskly mumbling about a performance they clearly didn’t enjoy. They would have preferred to hear Guy Lombardo.
That same space saw the Blue Jeans festival fill the house that watched talent that ranged from The Spoons to Gordy Tapp and a young man who has probably learned that ballet was not going to be his art form.
The audience loved the event – it got to see, and learn, that the Mayor missed too many piano lessons and that while former MP Mike Wallace who is a very fine dancer he does a better job dancing with his wife than he did dancing with a broom in a Gene Kelly impersonation.
The applause for almost everything that was on the stage was welcoming – the community was enjoying and celebrating its performing arts centre.
The board of the Centre has its challenges but after the three year run under the direction of Brian McCurdy the place is on a sound footing – they want to keep it that way and grow both the audience and the artistic tastes of the city and introduce the younger demographic to theatre and all the magic that takes place on a stage.
One thing that the public will not see is Board chair Ilene Elkaim performing as a snow flake.
