Studio 180 Blog

With the launch of his much ballyhooed “Cut the Waist” program, Mayor Rob Ford has thrown down the gauntlet to Torontonians attempting to shake off some of that accumulated winter poundage. On the program’s website people are encouraged to “make a pledge to the charity of your choice and help the Ford brothers cut the waist.” The site enables individuals to make a per pound pledge to a not for profit/charitable organization of their choice as the Mayor endeavours to shed some 50 pounds before the end of June.

While the announcement was met with cynicism in some quarters (and the site flooded with irreverent, mock charities) this seems to me a pretty valuable opportunity to support Toronto’s vibrant theatre community. As many of you are aware, most independent theatres in this city function as not for profit organizations and would be viable recipients of pledges put forward by those supporting the program. These pledges could have two decidedly positive effects for the Arts community:

1) Calling attention to the value of Art in our cities
Given that every pledge is posted to the program’s website for public perusal (though some of the more provocative early posts have vanished), extending support to theatres throughout the city would serve to reinforce our recent assertion that the Arts play a vital role in any healthy city. The collective sigh of relief heard after the budget meetings this week is warranted but a collective sense of complacency or emerging sense of victory is not. We need to continue to assert the importance of Art in general and theatre in particular and the simple act of pledging support in a public forum can do just that.

2) Making a difference in a theatre’s bottom line
Of course a pledge is a nice gesture but if everyone follows through with their online promise – theatres everywhere will benefit from the monetary support. The point of this exercise isn’t to “stick it to the mayor” but to actually heighten grassroots charitable support for our Arts organizations. Obviously thousands already contribute to the work we and our colleagues do by purchasing tickets to shows throughout the city and that is truly the most direct and vital way of showing your support – but a small donation can go a long way for companies struggling to bring work to the stage. It’s easy to see a list of big money donors in show programs and think that philanthropy is solely the domain of the wealthy but even modest contributions can make a difference. You might even get a tax receipt and sense of contributing to the greater good out of it all.

It’s not radical activism but it is a tiny open window in an occasionally impenetrable fortress. Why not pry it open a little further? I know that for many in our community the notion of supporting a Ford Nation initiative isn’t high on a list of priorities but that seems cynical in the face of a Win/Win situation like the one that lies before us here. At last inspection there wasn’t a single theatre in the list of pledges. Let’s see if we can change that. A few pennies a pound could really add up.  A pledge to the waist is a vow that theatre is not a waste.

We encourage people to think far and wide of the organizations they’d like to support but of course we’d be delighted to be the recipients of engaged citizens’ generosity. If you’re interested in supporting Studio 180 be sure to visit our website to learn more about how you can contribute and the benefits of doing so. And if you’re interested in a little more bang for your buck – be sure to check out our special Block Party event coming up this April.