The Centre in the Square’s 2013-2014 lineup marks Sandra Bender’s first full season since taking over as CEO in 2012. With the lineup announced and tickets on sale, one wonders: Is there a special formula for creating an ideal season of the performing arts?
“My background in programming would tell you yes, there is,” said Bender, “but with a venue like the Centre, you kinda have to work with what you’ve got. We’ve got a calendar that’s quite complicated.”
So, the Broadway touring companies and resident performers like the K-W Symphony will be back, but in between, Bender and company have pinpointed certain goals to shape the season.
“The area of comedy is something that I wanted to bring back in a big way to the Centre,” said Bender. “We’ve also got kids’ programming, which I wanted to reintroduce. And we’ve also reintroduced a couple of things, like the OnStage format, which is bringing in quite a bit of contemporary performing arts. Those are areas that you can kind of control, even though you have to work with certain dates.”
There has been one goal above all others. “This year, I really wanted to find as many acts that had never performed at the Centre, to really put an emphasis around premieres,” said Bender.
On the comedy front, September 19 and 21 will offer the one-two punch of Martin Short and Whoopi Goldberg – yes, Sister Mary Clarence herself, and October 2 will bring noted Rob Ford antagonist Mary Walsh. One performer Bender is particularly excited for is Wanda Sykes, who, believe it or not, is making her Ontario performing debut.
“Her comedy is obviously a bit edgier, she’s very political, so I find her really fresh and outside the box of what we’ve normally had,” said Bender.
Musicians will include the legendary B.B. King (October 12), Canadian stalwarts Sloan (October 11), Ron Sexsmith (October 23), and Shrek’s favourite band, Smash Mouth (November 27). For Bender, the “big coup” is the Brian Setzer Orchestra, stopping by the Centre on November 25 for its tenth anniversary “Christmas Rocks!” tour.
“This is a phenomenal artist,” she said of Setzer, “someone who I’ve adored and seen perform in many different locations, and I feel really excited we were able to bring him to Kitchener, and it’s one of the exclusive dates in Canada.”
When asked if she’s learned any hard lessons in her short career as CEO, Bender responded, “I think for me, some of the lessons you learn – which is the normal thing when you introduce new content in the community – is you’ve really got to take the time to build a message and position. Sometimes you just have to keep consistently repeating certain genres.
“I think jazz, for example, is a great opportunity for the Centre to explore. But we had Macy Gray onstage last June – a phenomenal concert, but it certainly wasn’t a slam-dunk in terms of engaging a community that doesn’t traditionally know us in some genres. I think that will probably be the big learning curve for us.”
The season will kick off with an opening party on September 13, featuring an acrobatic mid-air dance performance by Bandaloop, the San Francisco-based company that specializes in – and this is a direct quote – “vertical dance.”
I really wanted to have something spectacular visually. I really wanted something that all ages could engage with. I was aware from some of the focus group research we’d done that people felt we weren’t all that accessible, so we’ve already introduced some new pricing levels to make ourselves more accessible.
Bandaloop’s two 18-minute performances will take place at Centre in the Square’s flytower on September 13 and 14, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The opening party will also feature musical performances by the Danny Michel Trio, (September 13), Jeremy Fischer (September 13-14), and Cuff the Duke (September 14).
More information about the upcoming season and tickets can be found at www.centreinthesquare.com.
