Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre has sidestepped bankruptcy by striking a deal to make reduced payments to a wide range of creditors.
The theatre company owed $160,000 to 68 unsecured creditors. On Thursday, it announced 97 per cent of the creditors had voted in favour of a proposal that will see most receive 25 cents on the dollar. That debt is to be paid off over three years.
“I’ve very happy and I’m very grateful. … This is truly going to give us a chance to move forward,” said Brian Richmond, Blue Bridge’s artistic director. “It’s a vote of faith by the community that Blue Bridge is valuable.”
The news followed a Thursday hearing for creditors overseen by the Grant Thornton accountancy firm.
Among the biggest unsecured creditors are Itsazoo Productions ($11,600), Fotoprint ($11,600) and Pacific Opera Victoria ($10,000).
Creditors had mixed feelings about the outcome.
In 2014, Vancouver-based Itsazoo Productions staged a play called The Flick at the Roxy Theatre for Blue Bridge. The $11,600 owing is part of a $20,000 fee Blue Bridge agreed to pay Itsazoo for the production.
“I think it’s horrible,” said Chelsea Haberlin, co-artistic producer of Itsazoo.
She said her company was compelled to vote in favour of the reduced payment “or else we’d get nothing.” Haberlin said she directed two subsequent Itsazoo shows for free to help cover the loss.
Another creditor, Victoria’s Fotoprint, was more philosophical, noting most local arts groups do pay off their debts.
“This doesn’t really dent our faith on the state of the arts on the Island. It’s really an isolated incident as far as I’m concerned,” said Fotoprint owner Derek Allan.
Ian Rye, Pacific Opera Victoria’s chief executive officer, said the situation was “unfortunate,” but his company is supportive of Blue Bridge’s efforts to rebuild.
Two unsecured creditors will receive the full amount they are owed: former Blue Bridge president Michael Stephen ($5,500) and Associated Designers of Canada ($1,000).
Richmond said Stephen’s payment represents a “small” part of a much larger sum of money he provided, most of which was previously forgiven.
Blue Bridge board president Chris Mackie said despite the three-year plan, the company aims to pay off the debt before entering its 10th season in 2018.
The theatre company carries a $983,000 mortgage on the Roxy Theatre with Calgary-based Montan Investment Corporation.
Richmond said Blue Bridge has posted a modest surplus on its operating budgets for the past two seasons. In January 2015, the company was on the verge of collapse.
“We were seriously contemplating then just saying: ‘This is a noble but failed experiment.’ But we didn’t think that was the ethical or honorable thing to do,” he said.
If the vote hadn’t gone in Blue Bridge’s favour, the company would have declared bankruptcy, he said.
“The biggest thing our community needs to know is that the way to make Blue Bridge survive is, basically, to see our shows. That’s the thing that’s the most important.”
