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University Players to cease operations due to budget realignment · Kvetch & Release

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  Over sixty years, sixty seasons, the University Players, the production arm of
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  the School of Dramatic Art at the University of Windsor, has produced full seasons
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  of professional, professional caliber plays every year, training ground for young theater artists,
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  actors, designers, teachers, directors, technicians, and stage managers to
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  prepare for their careers that they were going into. It is something that the
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  community has rallied around, and it is unfortunately something that seemingly is no longer
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  going to be existing anymore. University Players will cease operations. We have found
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  out from the University of Windsor as a result of a multi year strategy to
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  balance the base budget. This is a surprise. This is still relatively breaking
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  news today and it's very unfortunate. Joining me is an affected University of Windsor
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  staff member, the chair of the Windsor Essex Alliance, and a local producer
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  and director and board member with several different arts organizations locally. Kristin Siappis joins
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  me right now. Kristin really catching everyone off guard with this news today.
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  Absolutely, it's just devastating to hear it that the university has made this decision
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  to cease operations. With university players and seemingly without consultation of a lot of
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  the members and those involved in it. As I understand, you're in the
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  I don't know how to speak in this context right now. You were in
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  the midst of setting things up for productions that were going to be happening quite
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  soon but no longer. Yeah. Yeah, we had started our season renewal
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  process. We had announced our upcoming season. We were headed into season sixty
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  six. We have a very proud, long legacy within this community, and
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  we were ready to launch into our next season. We had designs ready,
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  costumes being builtudents had been cast, we had directors that you know, the
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  whole season was full steam ahead, and so this has really halted us in
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  our tracks. You know, I can't really speak on behalf of university players.
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  I can only speak on behalf of the staff of myself, you know,
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  as a staff member, there is it is really devastating, and when
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  you look at the impact that university players have had in our community. You
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  know, I think you mentioned earlier, John, that you've seen it posted
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  on social media already. The outpouring of support that we have had from the
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  theater community is just monumental. It's just been incredible to see so many people
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  stepping up and saying this isn't right. This is University Players has been the
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  foundation for so many of us that work in the arts and Winter Essex,
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  and it's an absolutely devastating loss, certainly for us, for the staff,
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  for the students, but really for the whole community. And I think that's
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  the thing that I really want people to take home, you know, when
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  they hear this story, is that, yes, there's staff affected, Yes
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  there are budgetary cuts. Yes, this effects, of course our students and
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  the way that the university chooses to deliver those programs. But really, you
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  know, University Players has been able to do so much in the community and
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  to see that the effect of that work halted now is just devastating for so
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  many different arts groups. So for those of us who didn't operate in the
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  arts community at the university, you know, I was in history and political
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  science, so I never had to deal with what it would have been like
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  to lose a you know, productions department. But I'm looking here at one
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  of the comments that has popped up on the social media posts that I put
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  out, where someone says, I can't imagine a theater department operating without productions.
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  It's such an important element of how to learn in this industry that relies
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  so heavily on trial by fire. What does this mean for someone who's starting
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  out their first year at university in September, you're in Windsor and this program
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  doesn't exist for them. Well, I think that's a big question question because
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  you know, when you look at the cuts that we are seeing, it's
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  just University Players that is ceasing operations at this time, and we don't really
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  have any further information. There's nothing else that I can share, and I
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  think there are a lot of questions from the students, from the staff,
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  from the faculty. You know, we need to see how this is all
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  going to unfold and how it will affect the School of Dramatic Art, as
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  the University Players sort of operates as a subsidiary of soda of the school,
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  and so we'll see how it all plays out. That's not to say that
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  the students don't have tons of performance opportunities within those classes, but for anybody
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  who's attended a University Player's production, you know that that it is it is
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  a full fledged theater company that operates within the School of Dramatic Art. It's
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  absolutely a gem across the country and in fact, one of the conversations that
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  I've had the sassigueys with a few grads who have said the training that they
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  received there is is second to none. And not just our community and Winter
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  Essex will be affected by this, but the professional industry as a whole,
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  because there are so many careers that have been launched through University Players. And
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  as I said, you know, the degree programs aren't changing as far as
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  we know at this point, so those I assume will still be on offer
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  and those students will have somewhat modified experience, whatever that looks like. But
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  the professional theater company within the school no longer exists, and I know that
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  that will be That's what all of us, you know, as a staff,
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  we're just heartbroken about to see that legacy halted, to not be able
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  to share that with the community any longer. So University Players is, of
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  course, you know, not the only production company in Windsor Essex, but
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  occupying a very unique space being on campus, being the dedicated one of university
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  students, and being able to mount smaller productions because of those opportunities I suppose,
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  and I don't mean smaller in a negative way, shape or form,
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  by any means and by all means, you know, please do correct me.
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  It seems as if this is like it's a it's not just a big
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  loss for as you were saying, on campus or even those outside of the
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  community, but just the arts community broadly here in our city losing that right
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  right well, I have the honor of the privallege of being able to be
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  involved with many different community theater groups across across the county, across the region,
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  and it really has been wonderful to see the outpouring of support from places
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  like windsorl like Music Theater and Act Windsor and Riverfuot Theater Company, because we
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  know that the leaders in those organizations are graduates of the School of Dramatic Art.
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  They know how important university players is and so it's heartbreaking to see that
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  loss on our impact in the community as well. Well. I guess I
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  would like to just leave you with the opportunity to share some of your last
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  last thoughts about this, what it means for the broader arts community, and
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  what you would hope to see maybe come out of this. If you know,
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  I don't think things can come back overnight by any means or anything can
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  fill that void. But is there an opportunity for the arts community to try
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  to come together to rally towards something else or is this just yet another sort
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  of kick them while they're down situation. Well, there's one thing about the
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  arts community. I will tell you, John, and you know this very
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  well, that you cannot kick us hard enough to keep us down. We
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  will keep going. We will keep going and nothing will stop us. And
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  so I will say a couple of things. Number One, the staff of
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  university players will continue making theater in this community. We cannot stop. We
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  will not stop. There will be opportunities for us to make and do and
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  create and make our impact in this community. And so whether that means,
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  you know, finding other ways to do it within the university or outside of
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  it, you will see our faces again. We're not going anywhere. And
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  I do think that this really speaks to the values that the university holds,
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  because these budgetary constraints are coming from far above the leadership and SODA and the
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  leadership in the faculty of our communities social sciences. This speaks to what we
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  value as a university and as an employer and as a member of this community,
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  a stakeholder in this community. And if the university can't step up and
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  say the arts are important to us and we value that they're impact in the
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  community, then I think that's the really devastating thing that we need to understand.
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  That it's not just about propping up an arts program that's suffering. It's
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  about making an impact in this community and being the stakeholder that we are within
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  the arts community here and across Canada. You cannot underscore that enough. That
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  we have made such a significant impact with the work that we have done,
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  and the devastating loss that we're experiencing now is just it's heartbreaking on so many
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  levels. So you know, really it says something about what the university is
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  valuing in this with that they can't find the small amount of money that it
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  would take in comparison to their entire budget to save these jobs and to save
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  these futures for these students. You know, that's the thing I think I
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  want to say strongly, if anything, I suppose that this is yet again
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  one of those perfect examples of show me your budget and I'll show you your
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  priorities, and that has been made in this case. And it's just very
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  disheartening to see such a storied and timely organization receive such an unceremonious shuddering in
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  the middle of the day, without any acknowledgment, in the middle of a
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  season, and the middle of so many people's hard work and dedication. But
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  Kristin, I want to thank you so much for joining me just to share
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  your individual personal thoughts about this. Thank you so much, John, Thank
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  you. Kristin Siappis is an Affected You Windsor staff member, chair of the
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  Windsor Essex Theater Alliance, as well as a local producer, director, and
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  board member with several different arts organizations.