Sock ‘n’ Buskin, Carleton’s student-run theatre company, has survived its financial troubles and is now focused on the next show in the coming weeks, according to co-artistic director Geoff Burnside.
“We should make a tiny profit this year based on the success of Rocky Horror,” Burnside said.
Burnside said that the success of The Rocky Horror Show was enough to set the theatre company on good financial footing even if their next play doesn’t sell any tickets.
“After paying for the theatre and everything like that it’s going to leave us with about $8,000 to put towards Love’s Labour’s Lost,” he said, referring to the Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s upcoming rendition of the Shakespearean play.
The show will be directed by Dave Dawson, founder of Black Sheep Theatre Company and a veteran director of Sock ‘n’ Buskin plays.
Dawson said he believes that having a variety of shows in a year is necessary to maintaining as wide an interest in theatre as possible.
“Part of what the Sock ‘n’ Buskin does is serve all of the different theatre audiences,” he said.
“The audience is obviously going to be smaller than it was for Rocky Horror,” he said.
Yet the show will also cost less, Dawson said, as theatres don’t have to buy production rights to put on Shakespearean plays.
Contemporary plays can cost even less, said John Ryan, a second-year humanities student and co-artistic director at Sock ‘n’ Buskin. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if next year there was a three-show season, including a contemporary play.
Dawson said that apart from entertaining the interests of audiences, Sock ‘n’ Buskin also provides valuable experience for people who want to get into theatre.
“Apart from the NAC, most of the theatre companies in Ottawa, professional theatre companies, have roots in this company,” he said. “So there’s a real legacy there that’s important to maintain.”
“There are lots of things for people to do at Sock ‘n’ Buskin, we’re just not sure if everyone is always aware of it,” Ryan said.
“It’s up to everyone to make it a success, not just the people running Sock ‘n’ Buskin,” Burnside said.
