Torchlight Theatre has announced it will close permanently due to financial stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The local theatre company – formed in 2015 – was in the midst of hosting its 2019 season at the Polaris Centre for the Performing Arts in Balzac, which it planned to make its home for future seasons. However, Artistic Director Chelsea Restall said a “perfect storm of events” brought the season to an abrupt end and forced them to close instead.
“We lost three of our main sponsors at the same time we had to increase some of our bills,” Restall said. “We had planned a big fundraiser for March 21, and everything shut down about a week before so we had to cancel the fundraiser.”
Torchlight Theatre was also unable to hold classes and summer camps due to the pandemic. According to Restall, those programs brought in significant income for the company. Once they were cancelled, she said, Torchlight Theatre could no longer afford to keep operating.
The courses were part of the SPARK Youth Program, which Restall said was designed for 11- to 17-year-olds interested in acting, and provided them “a second home.” She added one of the hardest things about closing is saying goodbye to the kids.
“It’s [Torchlight Theatre] where they discovered they loved theatre,” she said. “It’s where they met some of their best friends and where they felt safe. We know these kids had a home there, so we’re really hoping they can find that place somewhere else.”
The acting classes were kept small to make sure no student was lost in the numbers, and Restall estimated more than 100 students passed through the program.
“They really had a great opportunity to get to know each other, and we had such different walks of life,” she said. “I think it was really cool that these people got a chance to meet...and maybe they never would have, had it not been for the program.”
Torchlight Theatre not only provided a place for kids to learn about acting, Restall said, but it also provided Airdronians an opportunity to enjoy quality theatre productions without having to commute to Calgary.
Although there have been tears shed over the closure, Restall said she has fantastic memories from the past five years, and she wanted to thank the volunteers and community for their support.
As for children in the SPARK Youth Program, she hopes they’ll continue to be creative despite Torchlight's closure.
Kate Mackenzie, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @katefmack
