“Children from Yorkton and the surrounding area will be invited to audition to participate in this inclusive production,” detailed material circulated to Council from the ladies behind the idea Tammy Kostersky and Carrie Pengilly. “Our hope is to cast as many eligible performers as possible with recognition that there is a minimum participation number of performers that must be met to move forward. Rehearsals will begin in August and will be held at both the Dance Innovations and Free My Muse locations.”
However, such a production would have costs, and that is where they hoped the City would step in.
While noting the numbers were estimates at this time, they suggested they would need $22,000 to put on the performance, and they hoped the City would cover the costs, with the option to recoup the dollars from ticket sales, or to potentially take ticket revenues and donate those to a good cause – in particular Creative Kids.
“With the support of the City of Yorkton, the cost for children to participate would be minimized, easing the financial burden on parents,” noted the presentation.
Pengilly told Council that there is a need in terms of art opportunities for youth in the city.
“The need for arts and culture for our children is always great,” she said.
Pengilly also noted the last two years with COVID has hit everyone but especially children and their activities.
“Two years in a life of a child feels much heavier,” she said.
The material delved into the impact of the pandemic in greater detail.
“The City of Yorkton has a strong history of culture, pride and resilience. We are at a time in our city where opportunities for celebrational gatherings have shifted and changed into something that none of us expected or planned. We all hold our community dear to our hearts and have witnessed the emotional impact that the last year and a half has had on everyone. This includes performers, audience members and families in our community. It is time to kick start efforts to re-create what was. We want to work with the city to share an event and experience. It can be headed by our community’s leaders alongside our talented artists…to bring everyone together, safely and with a common objective. Enjoying live theatre again – embracing our culture through the arts and experiencing collectively what has been missing.”
“The ‘Nutcracker’ set for December of 2022 allows our community time to heal, regroup and recalibrate within changes that may still be what is normal. It gives our community something to look towards, connecting the ages with an openhearted and emotionally valuable project. It’s an opportunity to forget and to remember and to create new memories and to build or even restructure bridges between our community and the arts. Connecting our businesses, organizations and city leaders through a new festive tradition, alongside the familiarity of Tchaikowsky, within the warmth and connectedness of our beloved Anne Portnuff Theatre will provide an outlet for performers, audience members and a children’s charity whose focus is arts education for children.”
In terms of the potential to also support an organization dedicated to arts and youth it was noted Creative Kids is a charity supported by Saskculture that gives them the chance to express themselves. This program removes or reduces financial barriers to arts and cultural activities for Saskatchewan kids ages 4 to 19 to help enable them participate in art, drama, music, dance and other cultural activities. To date, they have granted over $4.5 million and helped more than 9,800 kids in more than 230 communities across Saskatchewan explore their creative dreams through inclusion in arts and culture activities.
Council sent the request to upcoming 2022 budget deliberations.
