Flagship or Dreadnought: Regional Theaters in America
With the recent blog by Annah Feinberg currently making the circuit, it seems a good time to chronicle the regional theater “movement.”
1910-1930s: The “Little Theatre Movement.” Few paid artists, but it reflected a community need. Killed by the Depression/WWII.
1947: Dallas – Margo Jones founded Theatre ’47.
1950: Washington, D.C. – Zelda Fichandler founded Arena Stage.
1959: Tyrone Guthrie placed an ad in The New York Times. Asked if any communities wanted to sponsor a resident theatre. 1963 – Guthrie Theatre opens in Minneapolis.
But this did not become a “movement” until the late ’60s when some plays moved from regionals to Broadway, turning many regional theater companies into minor-league baseball clubs.
People outside New York want to experience great plays relevant to their lives.
Unwieldy regionals often gauge success in the form of plays transferring to Broadway.
Irony or disconnect?
“Here we go, Rembrandt, here we go!” – Fans (who cheer) or audiences (who hear)?
“HOLD THAT NOTE! HOLD THAT NOTE!”
“PUSH ‘EM BACK! PUSH ‘EM BACK! NOW STEP, TOUCH, JETÉ AND HOLD!”
“S-C-E-N-E, SCEE-EEENE, SCEE-EEENE!”
Years ago, I sat in the third-to-top row of an NFL stadium with an artistic director friend. First game of the season. Even people behind us were screaming their heads off and waving their foam fingers. And the experience was more personally meaningful to them than many arts experiences I’ve loved.
Sports fans no more control the action of a game than arts fans do a play or concert. But they’re encouraged to be blitheringly engaged. And all too often, arts fans are encouraged to sit back and relax. Or shut up and listen. Like a lecture at school.
We wondered, can arts organizations find ways to encourage blithering? Or are we too clubby for that?
Cue the heavenly chorus…your nonprofit arts organization will never be hungry again!
Acting is not about performing; nor is painting about artistry; nor is music is about musicianship; nor is dancing about prowess.
Similarly, nonprofit arts organizations cannot be about exhibitions/performances.
The impact of the arts can be quantified. There are myriad studies. But the impact of any individual arts organization is not an equivalent discussion. Each organization must provide specific impact, or better, impact2.
Impact2 is the impact’s impact. As a food bank provides positive impact to a concrete number of families, its impact2 may be the number of households that escaped poverty from having had the gift of food in its worst times.
Many nonprofit arts organizations often define themselves by the quality of production. No surprise, then, that so many struggle to reach new donors. Quantify the impact2 of your nonprofit, and you’ll find your Grail.
If I ignore you, then you don’t exist! Hey! Why are you still there, existing???
Recent impressions from an interview for a development director position at a well-known theatre.
Managing director picks me up at airport. Interviews me in car. First impression… he drives, in more ways than one.
Dinner for eight. Laughs, rowdiness, and Malbec. Second impression…an uninhibited group.
The play. Well-performed one-man show. Third impression…no money.
The interview marathon. 6½ hours, no breaks. Fourth impression: disorganized thinkers.
Complete silence. For over two months, despite leaving message for managing director on his cell. Fifth impression: brutal place to work.
Sent email taking myself out of the search. Direct quote from board president: “I don’t know the protocol in the nonprofit world. In the engineering world, where [we] are both from, you don’t hear anything unless you are hired.” Final impression: they’re horrible at human relations…must be why they have no money.
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