Director Producer Educational Innovator in Theater. SEEING the UNSEEN potential in Storytelling & Placemaking. Creator of DIG IN @ Berkeley Rep and OUR STORIES at Laguna Playhouse
I’m interested in people’s thoughts about the rise in costs & attendance being the driving factors for limited success as described in this article. I’m curious about finding ways to nurture artistic creation without a rush to product. “Why now?” is the essential question I ask when choosing to produce/direct work. What are your thoughts about how we create theatrical experiences that speak to this moment?
I agree with Darrick. Ironically, the very things that producers see as necessary to draw crowds are the same things that keep me away (aside from ridiculous prices). I have little interest in nostalgia-driven projects or movie adaptations. But even things that I am interested in need to be in an appropriate price range. I look at comedians and musical artists who I adore, and prices are $300 a ticket (Looking at you, Childish Gambino and Iliza Shlesinger). And honestly, when I have been to New York, the off and off-broadway shows have always been more intimate, memorable, and just straight up enjoyable than anything I've ended up seeing on Broadway. But I'm not the target audience.
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5moPeople who earn money, usually invest it in things that have some sort of payoff for them. That could be the a really satisfying production in which the experience is worth the price of admission. In a struggling economy, many people find that the available disposable income has decreased as they attempt to cover the necessities like food, housing and clothing. When taxed to a high degree for societal programs that seem to benefit no one but the administrators, again disposable income may not be spent of the artistry for the soul. People will find cheaper alternatives to feed their souls, as they struggle to feed their own families and are compelled to feed everyone else who does not participate in trading time and labor for wages or capital. It is sad when art dies from from being choked out by the necessity of making ends meet.