I write to you today in comlpaint of recent unfortunes. However, pointing out the splinter in your eye would be ignoring the plank in mine. I shall be frank:
We're not supporting the arts enough.
There are many reasons for this. The first, the foremost, the most essential: Money. The arts needs money to survive, we don't always have money to give them. Budgets are tight, no one knows that more than me. $10 for a really cheap show in Kansas City can seem like an unnecessary luxary. But then when it gets up to $15? $20? $30??? Please. Not to mention the gas, especially if you live in the suburbs. It just doesn't seem necessary or plausible to go see every show or view every art gallery in Kansas City.
But when a theater company or any other arts company goes under because too many people said they would support it, but then didn't ...Well, there's another issue.
Theatre. Is. Dying. It's a dying art. The movie industry and music industry have nothing to worry about in regards to money. I don't care how much they bitch and complain about "pirating", they're still raking in ridiculous amounts of cash. It doesn't matter how many people promise Paramount Pictures they'll come see their next new big-budget film; chances are, they're still going to make a killing off of it. But if 50 people promise their friends in a theater company they'll come see a show, or visit their friend's art gallery, and only about half of those people actually go... Well, needless to say there's major losses taken.
We can use any excuse we want: There isn't enough time, My weekend is booked, I don't have that kind of money right now, Why would I want to go see that, etc etc etc. But never forget what the arts is here to do: Open our eyes, educate us, elighten us, entertain us. Maybe you owe it to yourself to go see more art. Maybe you haven't even realized yet how important a role it can play in your life.
Or maybe you'll read this article and not have changed a bit.
The risk all artists run when they create something to be consumed.
Thanks anyway,
Corbin
Corbin,
ReplyDeleteI certainly do not disagree with your overall thesis. Fact of the matter is, the arts do not receive the support they need from the general public. Current statistics suggest that a grand total of 10% of a population will consider going to the theater. And by theater, I mean anything on a stage, including all of those wonderful touring Broadway shows where all the money goes back to New York.
However, your post seems to suggest that a theater will survive on ticket sales. Sadly, this is not true, and it hasn't been for some time. Most established professional theaters expect that ticket sales will cover 8%-10% of their budget. The rest they plan to get from donations, sponsorships, and artistic programming like education and royalties. Smaller theaters and community theaters often fare a little better, but still end up with ticket sales covering no more than 50% of the budget.
Your example above, where 50 people said they were going to come for an event, is striking. The Artist in me says "Great, 50 people, that's 500 dollars!" The budget-minded cynic says "I can count on 15 and I expect to get 150 bucks for the show." Most of the theaters I know of budget for a house at 30%. There are some exceptions, but those theaters have been around for well over 15 years.
And yes, Theater is dying. It has been dying for hundreds of years, and it will continue to die for hundreds more, save for the Apocalypse. Theater is an art form in change, and yes, that includes death. But Theater is cyclical, starting and ending hundreds of times over. That is part of what makes it interesting.
As for young companies, it's sad to hear when they fail, but not unexpected. The average theater company produces work for about 5 years. More than 70% of companies do not make it through the second year. There are any number of reasons that lead to this. A company in my home town just announced their closer due to the fact that they had to cancel the second show of the season do to weather related conditions, i.e. an inch of ice on everything. They could not plan for an inch of ice, it was not their fault. It just didn't work.
So yes, Theater and the Arts are in trouble, but that doesn't mean the fight is over. Sooner or later, the cycle will start again...
Best,
Josh