Franco Boni on Development
SOUND OFF: Theatre Centre artistic director Franco Boni knows that healthy communities are built with human capital. The former director of the Buddies in Bad Times Youth Outreach Program, and AD of both the Rhubarb and Summerworks festivals, Boni recently won the George Luscombe Award for mentorship. Early next year he will crown his programming and development efforts with the opening of a fantastic new home for The Theatre Centre
Story by Gordon Bowness
In Toronto, Aug 2013
As part of this year’s Doras you were presented with the George Luscombe Award for mentorship. How did that feel?
I was very emotional. Fourteen years ago I made a conscious and good decision to stop being a director to focus on supporting the work of others.
Who were your mentors?
In my acceptance speech I thanked Sky Gilbert, Sarah Stanley and John Palmer — three important figures who influenced me. I also asked the audience to join in, to say aloud the name of an individual that made a difference in their life. We rarely get the opportunity to publicly acknowledge each other, and the Doras is the perfect venue for this because it’s an intergenerational celebration. It’s important to understand the value of generosity.
Mentoring is a core objective of The Theatre Centre.
The Theatre Centre is recognized as a national performing arts incubator. There are so many great ideas and so many great artists to support… but the infrastructure isn’t always there. A central question of The Theatre Centre is, “How can we make a meaningful impact on an artist?” We can’t help everybody but we can make a commitment to a small group of artists and make them part of our family.
You’ve been artistic director since 2003. What have you learned?
Patience. The artist is in control of their own process, even when they are not in control, if you know what I mean. It isn’t always helpful to push your way in and tell them what to “fix;” too many voices can make a mess of a project. Ideas are fragile, and need to be nurtured. It can be anything: encouraging words, money, a performance space, the opportunity for the developing work to reach an audience….
You’re currently in a pop-up location. Certainly patience was required during The Theatre Centre’s arduous 30-year search for a permanent home. But soon you will be moving into a gorgeous new space at Queen and Lisgar.
We’re 85 percent to a $6.2 million capital campaign. We need more funding, but it’s happening. It’s very exciting to see a beautiful building like the Carnegie Library return to cultural use and public assembly. We open January 2014 with a Theatre Centre commission by Mammalian Diving Reflex and The Torontonians.
That process brought you into the rough and tumble world of urban development.
From the outset I’ve been on the steering committee of Active 18, the neighbourhood association that came together over concerns about rampant condo development south of Queen Street West [east of Dufferin]. We took the city and the developers to the OMB. This process gave us a voice. We used the opportunity to begin speaking directly to the developers. It was incredible — there were a number who were ready to listen. We were able to move on all sorts of opportunities for the community and cultural sector very quickly. You can effect change. I think we’ve been able to address the key issue of use, of getting artists and artist spaces into the mix. And we’ve helped promote the value of better design.
Can Queen Street West keep its arty vibe?
With Artscape at the Shaw Street School, the proposed new Workman Arts theatre at CAMH, TMAC opening next year [the Toronto Media Arts Cluster, which includes Gallery TPW, Interaccess, Le Labo, the Canadian Film Distribution Centre, Charles Street Video and the Images Festival], plus the Gladstone and the Drake Hotel and The Theatre Centre, this is going to be an incredibly dynamic neighbourhood for contemporary art and performance.
THE THEATRE CENTRE POP-UP. 1095 Queen St. W. theatrecentre.org.
Story by Gordon Bowness
In Toronto, Aug 2013
As part of this year’s Doras you were presented with the George Luscombe Award for mentorship. How did that feel?
I was very emotional. Fourteen years ago I made a conscious and good decision to stop being a director to focus on supporting the work of others.
Who were your mentors?
In my acceptance speech I thanked Sky Gilbert, Sarah Stanley and John Palmer — three important figures who influenced me. I also asked the audience to join in, to say aloud the name of an individual that made a difference in their life. We rarely get the opportunity to publicly acknowledge each other, and the Doras is the perfect venue for this because it’s an intergenerational celebration. It’s important to understand the value of generosity.
Mentoring is a core objective of The Theatre Centre.
The Theatre Centre is recognized as a national performing arts incubator. There are so many great ideas and so many great artists to support… but the infrastructure isn’t always there. A central question of The Theatre Centre is, “How can we make a meaningful impact on an artist?” We can’t help everybody but we can make a commitment to a small group of artists and make them part of our family.
You’ve been artistic director since 2003. What have you learned?
Patience. The artist is in control of their own process, even when they are not in control, if you know what I mean. It isn’t always helpful to push your way in and tell them what to “fix;” too many voices can make a mess of a project. Ideas are fragile, and need to be nurtured. It can be anything: encouraging words, money, a performance space, the opportunity for the developing work to reach an audience….
You’re currently in a pop-up location. Certainly patience was required during The Theatre Centre’s arduous 30-year search for a permanent home. But soon you will be moving into a gorgeous new space at Queen and Lisgar.
We’re 85 percent to a $6.2 million capital campaign. We need more funding, but it’s happening. It’s very exciting to see a beautiful building like the Carnegie Library return to cultural use and public assembly. We open January 2014 with a Theatre Centre commission by Mammalian Diving Reflex and The Torontonians.
That process brought you into the rough and tumble world of urban development.
From the outset I’ve been on the steering committee of Active 18, the neighbourhood association that came together over concerns about rampant condo development south of Queen Street West [east of Dufferin]. We took the city and the developers to the OMB. This process gave us a voice. We used the opportunity to begin speaking directly to the developers. It was incredible — there were a number who were ready to listen. We were able to move on all sorts of opportunities for the community and cultural sector very quickly. You can effect change. I think we’ve been able to address the key issue of use, of getting artists and artist spaces into the mix. And we’ve helped promote the value of better design.
Can Queen Street West keep its arty vibe?
With Artscape at the Shaw Street School, the proposed new Workman Arts theatre at CAMH, TMAC opening next year [the Toronto Media Arts Cluster, which includes Gallery TPW, Interaccess, Le Labo, the Canadian Film Distribution Centre, Charles Street Video and the Images Festival], plus the Gladstone and the Drake Hotel and The Theatre Centre, this is going to be an incredibly dynamic neighbourhood for contemporary art and performance.
THE THEATRE CENTRE POP-UP. 1095 Queen St. W. theatrecentre.org.