The artistic producer at the City of Ottawa's theatres said he is mystified after he was laid off Monday.

Charles McFarland, who ran programs at the Centrepointe Theatre and the Shenkman Arts Centre, believes he was part of a larger rollout of budget cuts.

"We'd all been asked to look for cuts in our department. I guess it turned out to be me," McFarland, who was employed by the city since 2006, told the CBC's Ashley Burke Tuesday.

"[I'm] shocked, mystified. In six years with the city, every year there's been a performance evaluation, which has been stellar," he said.

McFarland oversaw the development of the Shenkman Arts Centre and the expansion of Centrepointe Theatre and also brought performances such as the award-winning musical "Spring Awakening" to Ottawa.

He is also a co-founder and director at the Ottawa Shakespeare Company and an instructor at the Ottawa Theatre School.

'A sad day', says chair of arts committee

Catherine O'Grady, the chair of the city's arts, heritage and cultural advisory commitee, said not many people have McFarland's breadth of theatre knowledge.

Charles McFarland was responsible for programming at both the Shenkman Arts Centre and the Centrepointe Theatre. (CBC)

"He has made an important contribution to the city.... So I think it's a sad day," said O'Grady.

The executive director of Arts Court, Linda Balduzzi, said she received the news in an email Monday.

The city notified her the theatre's managers would take over McFarland's responsiblities.

"It did raise some questions at Art Court," said Balduzzi. "How does this impact the operations of Shenkman and Centrepointe? Will this change anything in the community?"