Kings Playhouse reducing its hours — and staffing — to focus on events

One of the oldest theatrical venues in P.E.I. is reducing its hours and staffing to focus solely on hosting events like concerts, plays, weddings and meetings.

The Kings Playhouse in Georgetown announced the change in a post on its Facebook page in late April. The building itself is owned by the Town of Three Rivers, but operational decisions are made by a volunteer board of directors, which is made up of seven people.

"We've done this to sort of balance our ability to manage people, time and events in that space with the resources we have," said board chair Greg Snow.

Snow said there will be minimal change to what types of events and performances will be presented at the Playhouse, which bills itself as "Canada's longest-running theatre" with Harry Houdini and Donald Sutherland among those who have performed at the site since 1887.

"We will still be offering a full program of performances, entertainment, musicals, plays; still be hosting meetings and events," Snow said.

According to the Playhouse's website, the theatre will now open its doors just one hour before show time to prepare for events and let patrons buy last-minute tickets.

Longtime employees out of work

The majority of Islanders who run the 287-seat theatre do so on a volunteer basis, save for executive director John Connolly, who's been in the position since last fall.

"We have to reduce the workload of the person in that role," Snow said. "It is very demanding as it is, just fulfilling the performance side of the calendar. So we had to look for ways to make that job manageable by one person and in a way that didn't crush their personal life."

Because the building won't be open every day, four people who are typically hired through the province's Employment Development Agency (EDA) won't be offered work this summer.

The King's Playhouse in Georgetown has undergone many changes over the years, and recent upgrades include new fire retardant stage curtains, a retractable stage floor, and a new digital soundboard. (Jessica Doria-Brown/CBC)

"The decision was not made spontaneously. It was not made recently. It was not made without due consideration," said Snow.

The Playhouse notified the province of the change back in January, and Snow said two EDA employees will still be hired for the summer season.

"We have filed an application for what we think to be the number of people required and the duties required of them, and we have been assigned two employees," he said.

Snow added that the hiring process is facilitated by the province, and the Playhouse has no role in the interviewing or application process.

Concerns being voiced

For longtime Playhouse patron and donor Melissa Batchilder, the reduction in Employment Development Agency employees is a concern. She grew up in Georgetown and owns a house there, although she lives in Boston for most of the year.

"When I learned that these roles were being eliminated and dug into it a bit more, what I discovered is that it would leave four really vulnerable members of our community without a means to have an income year-round," Batchilder said.

The program employs Islanders who have barriers to finding employment. The Kings Playhouse has used it since 1999, hiring about six or seven people for up to 13 weeks each summer. That's just shy of the 700 hours needed to qualify for Employment Insurance benefits in that part of P.E.I.

A statement from the province's Department of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population says the Employment Development Agency's "Special Projects Program" employs more than 400 residents annually, covering 100 per cent of employees' pay at the minimum wage. That's currently $15.40 an hour.

The Kings Playhouse will continue to offer community-oriented theatre and events, like the Thanksgiving dinner organized after post-tropical storm Fiona. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC)

Batchilder says she reached out to the Playhouse to voice her concerns before she posted an open letter to the organization on social media.

"These are people that I've known all my life and I deeply care about," she said.

Batchilder says she's spoken with some of the EDA employees, who aren't clear on why the decision was made. "They're left feeling like they did something wrong — and that is not the case.

"These are people that I've known all my life and I deeply care about."

Instrumental in running the theatre

The EDA employees were a well-known presence at the facility, working in many capacities including front-of-house, cleaning, maintenance and food preparation.

"They have been instrumental in providing maintenance, hospitality and a general sense of welcome at the Playhouse," Batchilder said. "But the other piece of it is that their employment has provided them with a sense of belonging."

The Kings Playhouse in Georgetown has a more than 130-year long history, but newer upgrades like a digital soundboard bring it into the modern era. (Jessica Doria-Brown/CBC News)

Batchilder doesn't think the Playhouse has a business case to eliminate the roles, since the employees' wages were covered entirely by the EDA program.

Snow said the financial cost to the Playhouse was not a deciding factor; the extra workload involved in safely managing that size of staff was.

"This is a response to the sometimes-crushing load that has been placed on the executive director," he said. "There's been three in my time... The previous two have expressed how emotionally draining it has been, and their interests, their well-being has to be taken into consideration too."

One of those would have been Batchilder's sister, longtime executive director Haley Zavo, who stepped down in 2023.

Snow said the Playhouse would happily provide a reference for the EDA employees to get hired elsewhere.

But Batchilder said it's not that easy, given so few places in Georgetown participate in the program.

"In terms of finding employment there, they already have been identified as people with barriers," she said. "It could be transportation, but it may be something along the lines of health issues or capacity issues."

Visitor centre moving

On another note, the theatre's restricted operating hours mean the building will no longer act as an Island Welcome Centre for the area.

"Not having to meet the requirements of that program will give us the opportunity to focus our time on the performance and event aspects of the Playhouse," Snow said.

He suggested a tourism centre isn't as crucial as it once was, since visitor habits have changed so much.

"The first stop is not the Information Centre. It is the phone in their pocket, when it comes to looking for restaurants, for accommodation, for events, for other activities in the area," he said.

In a statement to CBC News, Tourism P.E.I. said it's aware of interested parties within the municipality who are considering a bid to take over running the Island Welcome Centre.

Public consultation continues

Meanwhile, the Playhouse is going through a public consultation process that will continue through the summer in the form of a questionnaire on its website.

The Kings Playhouse currently has a public consultation survey linked on its website where patrons and community members can give feedback. (kingsplayhouse.com)

"We're very interested in hearing what our audience and other stakeholders in the town and visitors and people in the community think [and] have to say," said Snow.

He said he's open to hearing all feedback – both positive and negative – from the public.

"We understand the people in the community who care about the people who are affected by this change," he said. "We appreciate their sincerity, we appreciate what they have to say and we hear it. It's difficult to ignore."