{"id":7101,"date":"2024-04-11T15:50:50","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T18:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=7101"},"modified":"2024-04-11T16:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:03:12","slug":"winds-of-change-to-reconsider-merger-with-astor-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2024\/04\/11\/winds-of-change-to-reconsider-merger-with-astor-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Winds of Change to reconsider merger with Astor Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nick Moase is the acting chairman of the Winds of Change theatre group. (Rick Conrad)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Winds of Change theatre group is holding a meeting on April 20 to discuss whether to end its year-long merger with Liverpool\u2019s Astor Theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nick Moase, acting chairman of the Winds of Change, said in an interview Wednesday that he called the meeting in response to concerns about recent controversy around the Astor. Moase is also the technical director for QCCR.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to make sure the community either wants to rescind this motion to become a part of the Astor Theatre and re-form as a society or if we are still comfortable going ahead and finishing up the merger with the Astor Theatre.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Winds of Change Dramatic Society members voted to merge with the Astor Theatre Society in February 2023. The idea was that the group would become a subcommittee of the Astor and bring along its $29,000 legacy fund to be used for theatrical productions at the theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

But recently, members and former members of the group wanted to re-examine the relationship. Ashley-Rose Goodwin resigned as the Astor\u2019s associate artistic director this March, shortly after the wrap of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies<\/a>. Goodwin was also the director of that show.<\/span><\/p>\n

After her resignation, a group of people lobbed several accusations about how the Astor was being run. One of them was a concern about what would happen to Winds of Change and its legacy fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do want to make it clear, some of the concern that came out of the community was that the Astor took off with our money after the Follies. And that’s not the case,” Moase says.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I have assurances from the operations manager of the theatre that the money was replenished to what it was. So the Follies up to and just after the production, actually I think was a success in terms of the merger. The name was used properly, the money was used properly, we didn\u2019t have to pay rental for the space.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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