A deal at the Gas Station
Osborne Village venue offers a deal you won’t get at the pumps
Janice Sawka

Winnipeggers have a great deal to be proud of in the way they rallied together last fall to save the Gas Station Theatre from its final bow.

For those of you hazy on the details, here’s a quick recap:

In 2004, the theatre was in the process of being sold to the North West Company, operators of the Giant Tiger bargain stores, when the public rose up and said “No way.” A membership drive was held and the theatre’s membership surged from 100 to 750. Then the theatre got a reprieve, and the first order of business was to elect a new board interested in preserving the theatre as a thriving local venue.

But what next?

“I realize many people joined in the emotion of the moment to solve the immediate problem,” says Tremaine Burrows, the Gas Station’s new director of marketing. “Membership is an ongoing process and challenge. We must now earn the trust and respect of these members and keep them interested in continuing their support.”

Burrows had been involved with the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, which last year used the theatre as its principal venue. He was invited to sit in on the planning process with the new board to identify ways to keep the theatre viable. It soon became obvious that the people behind the comedy festival had the skills needed by the theatre, and they were asked to extend their Comedy Fest contracts and to work their magic for the theatre all year round.

Burrows talks like the marketing specialist he is as he details the theatre’s upcoming big event: The Gas Station Theatre Membership Celebration 2005.

“It’s three shows in one, and the $20 membership/admission ($15 for students, seniors and those with low incomes) would be a fair price for any one of these dynamite shows,” he enthuses. “There’s also a patio party, rain or shine, from 4:30 to 11 p.m., where the public can come and meet the Gas Station team, speak to us directly with concerns and suggestions, and enjoy some food. It’ll be healthier stuff — no hot dogs and fries, I promise, so parents can bring their kids.”

The shows, labelled Super Clean Grade (content suitable for families), High Octane (selections of comedy, theatre, dance and music) and Extremely Flammable (adult-oriented comedy, improv and music), are meant to be an encapsulation of “the many forms of performance that audiences have seen on the GS stage over the years.

The shows came about when so many local artists with past Gas Station ties answered a request to participate that the originally intended single show grew to three, which could then be divided by target audience.

“I’ve worked in the arts in Boston, Cleveland and Hamilton, and I can tell you there’s a real sense of an arts-scene community here,” Burrows says. “Artists with ideas find support here. In other places, it’s hyper-competitive and money stops the creative process instantly.

“This night is a thank you to that community. We invite the public to come down and celebrate how they saved this place and either become or renew their membership and have a stake in all the good things this theatre will do down the road.”