STEPHENVILLE ± Eva Moore is remaining tight-lipped on details over her departure from the Stephenville Theatre Festival.
The festival’s board of directors is looking for a new artistic director/producer for their 2011 season after the departure of Moore, as reported Monday by Transcontinental Media.
In an email, Moore said she feels the board has presented the facts surrounding her departure incorrectly, but declined further comment until she speaks with her lawyer.
She did, however, release a statement on her departure detailing her move to Ontario for the winter months, with expectations to return to Stephenville in the spring.
“After arriving in Ontario, I received an email from the chair of the (Stephenville Theatre Festival) board of directors stating they were redefining and advertising the position of artistic producer/director and that I was ‘welcome to apply for the position.’”
Chairperson Mike Dawson said the board was looking to take more control on decisions that would be made regarding the festival and wanted to do up a new contract that would reflect the interests of the board and the festival.
“A new contract was struck that would reflect those interests and Eva wasn’t interested in it,” he said.
He said the board has been able to pay down enough of the current debt to secure financing for the 2011 season, which is expected to be four weeks long. Last year’s festival ran for six weeks.
That debt was approximately $60,000 and Dawson said they’ve been able to reduce it to $20,000. That amount is with a government agency with whom he said they’ve been able to work out a payment plan.
“Because of this we are able to still secure funding for the upcoming season, which will be going ahead,” he said.
In relation to the festival season itself, it’s tentatively set to begin in mid-July and run for four weeks.
Dawson said they already have three people who have expressed an interest in the position and could get even more by their deadline of March 5.
He is hoping the hiring committee will be able to make a decision on the new artistic director/producer by the end of next week and make an announcement shortly afterwards.
Moore is currently the artistic producer for the New Actors’ Colony Theatre in Ontario.
Stephenville Theatre Festival was founded by Maxim Mazumdar in 1979 as the first professional summer theatre festival in Newfoundland and Labrador.
