A unique toolbox for show business
Although the association was officially founded in 2011, the movement that gave birth to Teatricus started in 2008. The platform was created in response to complaints from the performing arts field revolving around a lack of access to information. It was also created to help improve working conditions, communication and to increase earnings.
After spending 10 years organizing international tours, the platform’s founder, Simon Gauthier, thought of creating a tool that would bring together professionals from the artistic and cultural fields. He would do so thanks to the expertise acquired through his company, Lumin-ART Productions.
Thanks to financial support provided by Emploi-Québec, the Ministère du Développement Économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation and by the Business Development Bank of Canada, Teatricus 1.0 is launched in December.
The Teatricus platform is at first a cultural calendar, but it rapidly evolves to become, as some performing arts professionals call it, “Quebec’s cultural database”. It is also during 2011 that the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) acknowledges the growing impact of new digital technologies in the cultural field. Given the positive response from the field’s professionals and their support for digital technology, a platform such as Teatricus now serves a relevant purpose. Hence, Regroupement Teatricus becomes an officially registered company.
Success comes early. After celebrating its first anniversary, Teatricus already has more than 1,200 members, which compels it to offer other organizations to merge with its database and, by doing so, combine their various resources.
Teatricus carries out a pilot project intended to create a digital show catalogue which would address the needs of networkers, broadcasters and producers. What will come out of this project is Canada’s first tour planning software, which enables users to automatically track the technical impediments of each tour venue. Having witnessed the organization’s technological evolution, Musicaction conveys its platform, Propagez.ca, to Regroupement Teatricus. Acquiring this digital technology will, for the first time, make it possible to organize a whole tour on a single platform: show, event and tour promotion, broadcaster search and ticket sale.
The platform is presented in Quebec City at the Forum mondial de la langue française in front of the heads of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC).
Regroupement Teatricus establishes a code of ethics, a conflict of interest policy, an employment policy, a communication procedure between management and the board of directors as well as an annual meeting calendar. The organization also reviews its existing general regulations and its member classifications.
April: In order to give a presentation of its platform, Regroupement Teatricus organizes a first issue table with several Canadian network broadcasters. In May, Teatricus is at it again, presenting its platform this time to the Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d’événements artistiques unis (RIDEAU). This presentation helps generate a real desire from the broadcasters to use the platform.
May: The Cirque du Soleil announces the elimination of 3,500 jobs and asks Teatricus to help relocate the laid off workers throughout Quebec’s art industry.
June: Musication and the Canada Music Fund provide Teatricus with a second round of financial support for the Propagez.ca platform.
July: Through a partnership with Teatricus, the Association des professionnels des arts de la scène du Québec (APASQ) and the Réseau des Scènes Alternatives du Québec (RSAQ) add their members, over 150 established professionals and 65 venues, to the organization’s platform, thus extending its base to over 2,400 members.
Regroupement Teatricus wishes to provide more support to emerging artists. To do so, it establishes in January a partnership with the Réseau intercollégial des activités socioculturelles du Québec (RIASQ). The organization offers its services to the winning artists, selected by a panel of judges made up of arts professionals. Regroupement Teatricus also lends its support to the Vue sur la Relève festival, which every year enables over forty artists to perform.
As part of the Mesure pour le développement numérique program (platforms and digital networks), the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) offers, in March, financial support for Teatricus 2.0 and for the creation of an INTERACTIVE show catalogue intended for emerging artists.
In September, the organization launches Propagez.ca 2.0, a more intuitive and user-friendly version of its platform which enables music industry professionals to promote their concerts on the social networking sites and on Quebec’s cultural calendars.
Five years after first being launched, Teatricus’ platform is now used on a regular basis by over 3,000 professionals. On the back of this success and in order to better address its members’ needs, the organization decides once again to innovate.
During the Cultures, Sociétés et Numérique international symposium, Regroupement Teatricus offers a preview of carrefourdesarts.ca, a more user-friendly, ergonomic, 2.0 version of its platform. About 50 people attend the symposium, among which: Quebec Government representatives (from the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication); Canadian Government representatives (from Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Commission for Unesco); Quebec academics and researchers; cultural players and representatives of such organizations as ADISQ, SODEC, ANEL, CALQ, etc. Attending the symposium are also: French Government representatives (from the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication and the Department of Foreign Affairs); representatives from international organizations (such as UNESCO and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie); European and African researchers, academics and cultural players.