It was 30 years ago that Ted Price and Anne Laughlin first started bringing professional theatre to Prince George through Theatre NorthWest and even though it looks a bit different now they continue to do so through Miracle Theatre.
They scouted four cities and because of how welcoming and supportive everyone was in Prince George they settled here.
“Early on we decided we were able to offer affordable luxury,” Laughlin said. “Don’t go to Disneyland, don’t go on that vacation. But come for a night out. That’s something we’ve always strived for – to make it accessible to people.”
This year’s offering at Miracle Theatre is in repertory with two plays offered from Canadian playwright Norm Foster, Lunenburg and Here in the Flight Path, from March 27 to April 23.
Each Miracle Theatre production sees proceeds go towards a great need that must be met in Prince George. Last year proceeds went to a Structure Protection Unit that can save up to 50 homes against an imminent fire threat. This year an endowment fund will be established for seniors in need in the community. The Prince George Council of Seniors Emergency Fund, held in trust by the Prince George Community Foundation, will see proceeds go to the Prince George Council of Seniors to help seniors in need.
“When we saw the need we thought how do we get funding up in a hurry so the endowment fund can have a significant impact,” Price said.
“Our goal is to always make the next endowment fund bigger than the last, so last year we saw $180,000 raised and so by doing two shows this year we hope to surpass that amount. So our double barreled effort is going to something that’s largely going unnoticed. We were shocked when we found how extensive the problem is right across the country but most importantly right here in our own community.”
Laughlin and Price came to Prince George to make their dream a reality.
“We’ve had our adventures,” Laughlin said.
“It was a huge gamble on a personal level,” Price said. “And it was surprising how quickly it became evident we had chosen the right place. Our goal was to create a new regional theatre for the province. In our case we chose the most north-westerly location in Canada for a regional theatre.”
“And that’s where the name came from – Theatre NorthWest,” Laughlin jumped in.
“And we looked at four other places in the province and went there and poked around,” Price said.
“We went to the Okanagan, Kelowna and Penticton because I grew up in the Okanagan,” Laughlin said.
“But it wasn’t in the cards.”
“And then Whistler,” Price said. “And what was interesting was they were the most encouraging, the most eager. And then the Fraser Valley that was very underserved at that time and then of course here. At the time (1994) the community seemed very lively, very prosperous and in many ways kinda neglected in terms of the arts – the professional full-time arts. For us it was the most far away and what cinched it was the community. You know the old cliché about it being a welcoming community? Well, boy, did we ever find that.”
Laughlin and Price arrived in Prince George with a pickup truck, a box of carpentry tools and a computer.
“And I had a box of paper and a printer,” Laughlin added with a smile.
“And that’s the resources we started with,” Price said.
“So Anne would go out into the community and try to get support.”
“And what I found, particularly when we did the renovation because we started in McGavin’s discount bakery with 102 seats and we knew that just wasn’t enough but what I found when we did the renovation people would give you things but not so much cash,” Laughlin said.
“But they would see you using the stuff and they could see you were getting your hands dirty – you were actually doing something – and then they came on board.”
So, for example, Laughlin would get a load of cement. She’d buy one, she’d get one.
And down the street, the rebar was free, Laughlin added.
She never even heard of Hilti concrete nails but she got those for free, too.
“And how it all really started was with UNBC when they were doing all that construction and they had all those ATCO trailers up there and they were dismantling them,” Laughlin explained.
The trailers were on attached platforms so they were one big unit.
“So Ted would haul the lumber with his pickup truck and come back down to the warehouse Henry Novak let us use to build a set and I would be down there pulling nails,” Laughlin said. “And all that timber is what’s used to hold up the balcony in Theatre NorthWest. It’s all recycled lumber from UNBC.”
“And there is Anne making cold calls to find accommodation for visiting actors,” Price said.
“Talk about Pony, Anne.”
“Oh yeah, so there was this woman named Pony ands he told me there was this guy who lived down North Nechako Road and he had a big house and his marriage had dissolved and he would have some room for some actors. So I phoned up this fellow named Ron Lind and I said I understand you have some spare rooms and I was wondering if you might be able to put up some actors. I didn’t know what kind of house it was – I didn’t have a clue who this guy was – and he said he thought he might be able do that and I told him I would need to see the house first. So I went over there it and was this huge mansion – it was crazy – he took me upstairs and it was just bedroom after bedroom after bedroom and everything else. He did that for several years until he moved away.”
“And that’s how we knew we had chosen the right place,” Ted said.
“Just imagine you get a call and you don’t know me and I don’t know you but somebody you know named Pony said you’ve got a big house and we’re looking for a place to put people up. Now I don’t know how much things have changed but I bet you could still make that happen in Prince George. Now if you tried that in Vancouver it would be considered a scam!”
Price said they ended up with a big contingency of people who would accommodate the actors visiting from all across the country.
“And they are still doing that over at Theatre NorthWest and we do it, too,” Laughlin said.
“And there are people who have been doing it since day one.”
“And that was a big deal because part of our goal was to make Prince George part of the Canadian theatre community,” Price added. “And part of our success was because Prince George was willing to literally open their doors to these visiting performers.”
Price explained that there is a tier system in place that reflects the rate of pay for performers that depends on the number of seats you have and ticket prices. Theatre NorthWest was rated as an F-House, which is right near the bottom of the list.
“But when we told people that there would be accommodation provided that was a tipping point and it’s not required, you just had to provide options of housing, but it’s not your responsibility to pay their rent,” Price explained.
Because performers did not have to pay rent for their stay in Prince George it made it more appealing, he added.
“That was a big deal for us,” Price said. “The community always said yes, to providing accommodation, to providing materials and yes to buying tickets and that was huge.”
“And that happened way faster than what we thought – it went soaring up,” Laughlin said.
“The only ones that had the real reservations to saying yes to coming on board was the City and who totally got on board and got what we were doing was Ottawa,” Price said.
“Ottawa came most often to see what we were up to and that’s where our very first funding came from was Ottawa. And then Victoria and then the City was last to come on board but when they finally came on board they ended up being the biggest supporter of all.”
During one of the visits from the Canada Council officer she told the duo that Theatre NorthWest had the highest per capita subscription rate in Canada.
Price was quick to explain that meant for a catchment area of just over 100,000 Theatre NorthWest had the most season ticket holders.
“And that was so encouraging,” Price said. “And again it comes down to the community just being so open. The audience would buy season’s tickets not even knowing what the plays were.”
In Laughlin’s expansive experience in theatre management she understood very well that it was crucial not to create deficits, she said.
“And even through renovations, in all those years, we never had a deficit,” Laughlin said. “No way – not ever.”
And Laughlin did not like to rent equipment that she knew they would need again so she would invest in what they needed.
“I bought our photocopy machine,” Laughlin said. “And then we started to look ahead, way into the future and that’s when we started the endowment fund that reached upwards of $400,000. Theatre NorthWest has got that now. Organizations go through evolutions and this endowment won’t pay all the bills but it will help.”
Laughlin said she and Price have complementary skills and that’s makes them a strong team.
“I do a lot of things that administration usually doesn’t do but Ted also does things that artistic directors don’t do,” Laughlin said.
“You don’t often find that in a theatre.”
When Price and Laughlin hit their 60s they decided it was time to retire from Theatre NorthWest.
“We told the board and gave them plenty of warning and asked them to start thinking about who they wanted to hand the theatre over to,” Price said.
“We told them to look after it,” Laughlin laughed.
Price said he was looking for a less hectic lifestyle.
“You are much more in control of your life when you’re a freelancer,” Price said. “Running a regional theatre is just one giant hamster wheel – it just never stops. People think when the show is open then you can relax but actually then you’re on to the next one and even in the summertime you’re building sets and casting actors and so on. When you’re the one that is signing the front of the pay cheque it’s much more of a pressured life than when you’re signing the back of a pay cheque.”
And then they created Miracle Theatre.
“And so now there is no pay cheque, which in some ways makes it even more stressful,” Price laughed.
Miracle Theatre was named after their first production, Miracle on South Division Street that raised $42,294 for Children’s Program: Salvation Army Food Bank and 47 Million Voices.
“There’s no pay cheque but this is the most satisfying because not only are we making theatre for people there’s these really worthy causes in the community that aren’t getting the support they deserve,” Price reflected.
“And so we make some sort of contribution to that and to the arts and going back to this thing of people being so supportive and so open and willing to attend, to donate, to sponsor, is pretty gratifying.”
In the past, Miracle Theatre raised as much money as they could for each cause and continued to increase their fundraising every year. But last year there was a specific goal in mind because it was for something specific – a Structure Protection Unit for the City of Prince George worth $180,000. They raised $180,025.
“There was a lot of pressure last year because that was the first time we actually committed to raising a certain amount of money,” Laughlin said.
Price and Laughlin want to keep increasing their fundraising goal each year and to do that they decided to offer two shows in repertory.
“We have been able to create for the region two professional theatre organizations, one full time and one project based,” Price said. “But to come to a community where that is doable especially at this stage of our careers we feel like we’ve accomplished something.”
Miracle Theatre started because people kept asking Laughlin and Price to do another show but they wanted to do one better and make it a fundraiser for a good cause.
Being well aware of donor fatigue they thought the best way to raise funds was to give something back and that’s where the idea of putting on a show with proceeds going to a worthy local cause started.
“We thought offering a show rather than another chicken dinner banquet or a dance would be more sellable,” Price explained.
“But we had no intention of doing this every year when we started,” Laughlin added.
“And after the first play someone asked Ted where to buy season’s tickets and I said no, no, no, no, no – we won’t be doing that! But people kept asking when’s the next one, when’s the next one and then I said if there’s going to be another one it’s going to be for cancer because I had been diagnosed and going through chemo during the first show.”
And so the next one, The Last Romance, presented in February and March of 2017 raised
$52,144.12 that went to the local fight against cancer through the purchase of equipment for the Prince George’s Breast Imaging Centre. The production affiliate was the Spirit of the North Health Care Foundation.
“So many people have been touched by cancer, family, friends and even themselves so we got a lot of support from the community once again,” Price said.
And it has continued over the years.
“We present a play, we raise funds and the third thing we do is raise awareness for the causes,” Laughlin said.
And this year Miracle Theatre is raising funds for the Prince George Council of Seniors by way of the Prince George Seniors Emergency Fund.
“And people haven’t even heard of the Prince George Council of Seniors,” Laughlin said.
A lot of people don’t know the Council of Seniors is a service organization that does so much for seniors in Prince George.
“They help people with their dentures, with their income tax, with their food and housing,” Price said.
“So we’re trying to make a bit of noise,” Laughlin said. “And when people come to the play they will hopefully learn a little bit and get it onto their radar that there are people who need help.”
“There is a serious unrecognized need out there,” Price said.
One in four seniors survives below the poverty line of $23,000 a year.
“We want to chime the bell for organizers like the Prince George Council of Seniors that really pitch in and really work hard and really deserve a lot of attention,” Price said. “They are doing all this crucial work in the community and people need to hear about it.”
Laughlin and Price laugh about being the peasants of the theatre community because they have no office, no funds, no board, and there is no funding available to them for their projects because they give all the money away.
“The kitchen table is where it all starts,” Laughlin said. “And all the materials for seating are stored in our garage, my garden shed and backyard.”
“So we’re very much on the fringe but what really helps us is that now that we’ve been doing this for 30 years there is a lot of people out there that are happy to come work with us because we do hire professional people and there is a large number who’ve had good experiences in the theatre world in Prince George now so they are willing and quite happy to come be part of it,” Price said.
“We can absolutely say we are part of the Canadian theatre community and people apply to be part of our shows from right across the country.”
“And that doesn’t happen overnight,” Laughlin said.
“We spent 30 years building this one step at a time. There are no short cuts.”
Miracle Theatre Presents Lunenburg and Here on the Flight Path by Norm Foster from March 27 to April 23 at ArtSpace, above Books and Co. All proceeds from the shows will be donated to the Prince George Seniors Emergency Endowment Fund at the Prince George Community Foundation to help seniors in need meet essential expenses through the Prince George Council of Seniors Resource Centre. Tickets are at Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue or by calling 250-563-6637.
