The Search for Rental Space

by Christine Luksts

It’s not uncommon for a theatre company to exist without a year round brick & mortar space, and Guild Festival Theatre falls into this camp. While the Greek Theatre at Guild Park & Gardens is the iconic home to GFT for our summer season, in person activities outside of the summer require another home- lest we hold our auditions in two feet of snow at the park in January!

While Toronto boasts a number of rental spaces, including smaller theatres, rehearsal studios, office spaces etc - the timing and pricing of these rentals always becomes a challenge. With so many incredible artists in the city, finding an appropriate space can get competitive! While finding space is a team effort, I’m often the individual communicating & negotiating with those who manage rental spaces.

Location is an important aspect to consider: while we are a Scarborough-based company, and we make an effort to highlight the diverse artists of Scarborough in our casting and hiring, Scarborough and Toronto’s East End simply have less spaces that suit our needs. Pair that with rising costs of rentals, artist availability, and size needs, and the list of potential real estate shrinks.

GFT has a few regular spaces we utilize. We have a strong partnership with Chartwell Retirement Home, and the theatre space in their facility is a Guildwood-based blessing. However, size limitations (the seats are fixed to the ground, and the “stage” space is only a couple feet deep) and their own scheduling needs limits the utility of this space to auditions (and emergency rehearsals in the summer when there’s a surprise downpour!). TAPA’s relatively new B-Street Collaborative boasts a rentable rehearsal space, boardroom, recording studio and more- but located in central Toronto with reasonable rates, it often books up fast! As any theatre producer in the city knows, weekend rentals are particularly a challenge: many rentable spaces (such as the Railpath Arts Centre) run their own classes outside of typical work hours, making rentals more challenging outside of the Monday-Friday, 9-5 range.

Smaller meetings and co-working sessions (it’s nice to remember that in the thick of the Work From Home months, that theatre is a collaborative art form, and to remind ourselves that we all exist in all three dimensions!) pose less of a challenge. For example, the Toronto Public Library has community room bookings, a sizable cafe can often do the trick & we’ll even use a local Quaker Church’s dining room for meetings. This Spring, however, we are gearing up for a 4-day workshop of Heratio, Genevieve Adam’s new play that will have its world premiere at GFT this summer. With a cast of six, the stage manager, the playwright, the director, and one or two others, we max out boardroom-sized spaces.

With a tight timeline and need for a larger space, I had to get creative in securing a rental for this workshop. After sending a multitude of inquiries without much luck, I was able to find a space through a connection made through a previous show, and secured a discount by offering advertising privileges. These relationships are so vital to theatre professionals. Everyone in the industry is aware of the trials and tribulations of producing professional art, and whenever possible, we will find a way to help each other.

The generosity of the theatre community, and our team’s research & bargaining skills have never let us down. Whether it be a custom deal of a reduced rental price, an in-kind donation, or just the perfect find at the perfect price, there’s always been something out there that helps us bring to life our summer season every year.