Published: March 3, 2020
Schamberger says that with 80 theatres in the Lower Mainland spanning an area between White Rock, Langley and West Vancouver, audiences are likely to pick a play closer to home, if they go to live shows at all.
Attracting new audiences is the theatre’s biggest challenge. The not-for-profit theatre company largely relies on ticket sales. But outside of popular shows like the annual Christmas pantomime, or a recent production of Fawlty Towers, audiences are down.
“It’s hard on the actors. Especially if you’re doing a comedy,” Schamberger says “We always run on the premise of ‘The show must go on!’ But there’s a thing as magical as the interaction between actor and audience, particularly in comedy.”
All of the actors and most of the production staff are volunteers.
Source: After 58 years in Vancouver, the show must go on at Metro Theatre | CBC News