Members of Cape Breton’s Highland Arts Theatre Association held a special meeting Monday after a tumultuous two weeks that saw staff and eight board members quit, raising questions about leadership, work environment, decorum, and the finances of the theatre.

The new interim board — voted in a little more than a week ago — answered questions and responded to criticism from attendees during the 3½-hour meeting at the theatre in Sydney, N.S. About 65 people attended in person while more watched a livestream.

Lisa Penny, a member of the association, said the previous board was not transparent or responsive about several issues and she urged the interim board to do better.

“When there is an email sent to the board, could the board respond and answer the questions? Because I think that was the biggest issue that most of us had, we were asking questions and there were no answers coming back. There was just crickets,” she said.

The Highland Arts Theatre, also known as the HAT, is a non-profit organization that opened in 2014. It operates inside the former St. Andrew’s church in downtown Sydney. The association also owns a building on Charlotte Street where it runs educational programming, has offices for staff, and rents out a gym to a cheerleading group.

The recent upheaval followed a non-confidence vote in the board held during a March 1 emergency meeting. That meeting was called to address concerns over the Charlotte Street building, which had been closed in part due to concerns over lead paint, forcing the cheerleading group to find another space to practise. The building reopened after the meeting.

‘Walls are crumbling’

Several former staff members attended Monday’s meeting and spoke once the floor was opened to general questions. 

Deepti Limaye expressed concern that the HAT was still trying to open a second theatre in the Charlotte Street building despite the financial strains that led to her layoff. 

The building poses health and safety risks that need to be remedied, she said.

“Walls are crumbling, roofs leak, there’s mushrooms and mould on some of the walls, and the elevator has been out of commission for years. So it’s probably going to take a significant amount of money to fix it,” said Limaye.

Other former staff members alleged issues with workload, as well as leadership by the board and Wesley Colford, the HAT’s artistic and executive director.

The longtime head of production, Kayla Cormier, quit after the recent board resignations. Cormier said she still believes the former board is the best option for the theatre.

“They don’t know what they are … stepping into,” said Cormier, referring to the interim board. “Hopefully this meeting was eye-opening and that they are willing to put in the work.”

She said any future staff members will need real support moving forward to deal with the workload.

“A love for this place to keep them going is not enough. Sometimes it is a place of business, and I think that a lot needs to change before this is going to be sustainable for whoever comes in and replaces us.”

Colford countered that staff had been hired to ease Cormier’s workload, but that Cormier wasn’t satisfied. Those staff have since been laid off.

Colford attributed layoffs at the HAT to financial strain, including a projected $300,000 deficit that is now expected to be much lower at around $70,000. The hope is to rehire laid-off staff once the financial outlook improves, they said.

While the association has sourced $1.2 million in government funding, it cannot be used for staffing, Colford said.

Future of the HAT

Some members expressed worry about the sustainability of Colford’s workload as Colford is now serving as executive director and artistic director. The board said it’s committed to splitting Colford’s position in two, a move initiated by the previous board.

Jenn Power, who has experience in running non-profits, came to observe the meeting from her home in Orangedale. She suggested training for the new board and Colford — a suggestion new board president Peter Steele was receptive to. 

“Just going on hoping things will get better because we all love it, is absolutely not going to be successful … as somebody who’s observing a bit from the outside, but with a lot of inside expertise in governance and human resource management, there are definitely some policies and procedures that are missing here,” said Power.

The association will elect a board to replace the interim one at an annual general meeting in the coming weeks. 

In the meantime, Steele said he is happy with how the meeting went, despite some tense conversations.

“Even the negative stuff I heard tonight, I thought was so constructive and what a lot of people said was something that we needed to hear,” said Steele.

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