Project Description
Toronto, Ontario, 1996
In 1996 Janis Barlow was Interim General Manager for the Factory Theatre, a 28-year old resident company whose mandate is to produce new Canadian plays. Plagued by years of annual deficits, the company was struggling under a debt-load of almost half its annual operating budget. The Factory Theatre’s facility was a rented Victorian mansion that had been converted in 1984 to house two performance facilities, a 230-seat mainstage and a 100-seat cabaret space.
J. Barlow undertook extensive organizational assessments and strategic planning sessions with the staff and board, and developed a five-year business plan to stabilize the company. With the assistance of Interim Administrator/Associate Director Rebecca Cann, J. Barlow guided the company through a critical period of artistic, financial and organizational instability, solidified relations with key stakeholders, and provided a critical assessment of facility and infrastructure issues.