Well, the storm has mostly passed, and all our gulf coast friends came out w/ nary a scratch, including the DIVA MASTER , who bravely rode out the storm at DIVA HQ with only a case of Boones Farm Strawberry Hill and a loaded 30 ought six to scare off any potential looters or mutant zombies that might have been awakened by the wrath of Mamma Nature. (course I hear there's lots of those types just roamin' freely in South Mississippi! lol)
Anyhoo, I'm headed back down south to my good friend and sometime blog troller the Coach's wedding. For any of you in the gulf area that might be interested, there will be a reception Sunday on the coast. Holler at me if you want details.
SO- as I take off for a few days, here's a good question for all of you to ponder-if you could have your own theatre what would it be like? Where would it be? What kind of season would you do? What shows? Would you do original work? Equity, non, or a mix? (If you happen to work as an AD of MD, feel free to talk about your dream situation...and if you HAVE your own , or like Dustin and Joy are in the midst of starting one, tell us what it'll be like) Let's really get some good chatter going on this one folks.
BTW- Point totals as follows
Anon in the boro (Fletch) FIVE big points (nailing that John Connely reference really pulled him out front)
Natalie-1
Dustin-1
Mikey-1
Diva Master- 1
Fletch is pulling away with it! This next one is easy, if you like musicals :)
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15 comments:
Got the SHOW, but whats the song title?
He shoots...HE SCORES!!!!
Ok Mac- I'll give you a half a point for the correction!
I was in the ground floor of a sketch comedy group. It was half and half with trained actors, and people who thought they were trained. Nonetheless, it was fun. I'm also starting an elementary theatre group. So, I have to say that if I started a professional theatre, I would want it to be populated with well trained professionals. I would want a small theatre so the focus wont be on the spectacle but on the acting. Small, intimate, unpretentious. CLassy.
-Phil
Good answer, Phil.
I thought about starting a Theatre alot when I got out of grad school (my idealism, not yet beaten out of me, was still fully intact)possibly in Austin, or Nashville. The closest I came was forming WOUNDED EAGLE down in Biloxi and producing plays there at an Arts Center and in Nashville, at a tiny little space called the BONGO AFTER HOURS THEATRE. It was hot, cramped, technically prehistoric and a bit overpriced...and I LOVED it! We put on shows there in the summers of 99 an 00, all original stuff. Used a good bit of the same company in MS as in Nash-vegas, and LOTS of Divas were involved (Millsy, Cann, Danny D, Andrea Crowe,Mac, etc...) and I have to say it was one of the most fullfilling theatre experiences of my life, as it was something WE did, from the ground up, with our material, our money, and a whole lotta love. It reminded those of us from USM alot of the old SHOWCASES we used to do on Mondays (they still doing those?) and for those BOONIES out there, alot like 2nd season, as well. So I guess what I really would love to form is something that can generate that real earthy feeling...that true love of the craft (the way most of us Divas felt at USM in the old days, when we immersed outselves in theatre 24/7) and the excitment that goes along with it. Be nice to find a way to recapture that again someday...
I would like to have a theatre building that had a space for smaller intimate productions that focused more on acting and then a space that was larger that could be used for larger-cast productions such as musicals and such. And just run the gamut on the types of plays produced: classics, absurdist, original works, all of it.
I go with Tim on the Wounded Eagle experience. It was groovy!
I recently visited Natchez and learned about their community theatre. I didn't get to go inside but it used to be a Methodist Church, a big one. Natchez is not as big as Hattiesburg but they do 10 shows (with a fairly good variety) a year at that place. Plus hosting other productions from schools in the area. Can't figure that one out.
From 9-4 I'd have theatre classes available for all ages ranging from puppetry, to dialects, to acting classes, to scene construction, to arts administration, to all of it in between. The educational aspect of the theatre is where the majority of the revenue would come from. I'd bus in school kids or do outreach work to perform the workshops for kids in school. Believe me, if you have a workshop for school students that hit on their core content, the school board will pay. Every few weeks or so flyers would be distributed all over (in the clubs, schools, web sites, etc.) to let people know what type of classes and shows were going on. I'd have 30 minute plays or skits performed during lunch hours so people could eat their bag lunch or whatever and see a little show. I'd have a barrellhouse piano player outside the theatre doors playing music, luring folks over and in. I'd also have other attention getting stuff happening outside the door.
I'd offer my space as a venue for touring comedy/imoprov troups from around the country. Hell, I'd even allow bands to use it. I'd offer midnite shows providing cutting edge, risque, shocking theatre (but not limited to that), and I'd want to use the space during "regular theatre hours" to perform the shows that I wanted to do or see.
If you can have a large educational base for funds, then you are gonna have money to use. There are always kids and adults who want to be a part of the theatre. Give 'em what they want at a fair price and make the magic happen with the proceeds.
Logistically impossible?
Nah.
And I'd have a Dakota Fanning film festival every Sunday starting at 2.
Come on Rick...you can do better than that!
I am formerly Andrea Crowe. I have been married one month today.
Anyway, I normally just read the e-mails and sit by quietly absorbing what is going on in other people's lives. I thought I would chime in on this one. I worked with Tim on a show at Bongo After Hours in Nashville when I lived there and I, too, love stuff that is about the work rather than financial concerns. I currently work at the Dallas Theater Center and honestly think this place is a pretty good deal. We have fantastic educational programs, a good mix of classic and new works, and a reading series that is some of the most powerful theater I have ever been been witness too. I think the reading series really speaks to the art of theatre and I hope we continue to pursue that avenue. Actors, stools and scripts.... that's it...no fluff....it's all about the words. If I were to have my own theatre I think the things I would like to see be different from the DTC is to incorporate a second series of newer, edgier, perhaps more controversial pieces that are not produced to pay the bills, but to further our mission. Of course as with all non-profit theaters we are a slave to the blue-hairs that are a huge part of our subscriber base that have fits if the f-bomb gets thrown in once in awhile. It's a tough business (as we all know). If there were a perfect formula we'd all be rich.
HEY ANDREA!
Congrats on the wedding...sorry we couldn't make it, but with a 6 month old, traveling is quite the challenge!
Hope all is well with you and the new hubby and Joy and I wish you all the best!
Thanks Tim!
I figured with a baby in the picture you wouldn't be able to make it. I wanted you to know you were certainly welcome if at all possible. It was a wonderful event and I am very happy. Hope parenthood is treating you and Joy well.
The theatre that I would start would be a theatre for children aged 5-18. The kids would act, direct, run tech etc... We had a theatre like this in Memphis, but our building was torn down in 2003 by a huge storm and the City has opted not to rebuild. We would do a mix of fairy tales or shows for little bitties and more thought provoking shows for the teenagers. We also had a student playwriting contest where the winners would be produced and directed by our students the following year. It rocked on so many levels!
Much, thanks!
If I had my own theatre, I'd probably shoot myself in the head. I would never have any time to myself, and I would go crazy (crazier, I guess). Going crazier would affect everyone I know. If I didn't shoot myself, there would be a line of people at my doorstep, waiting to kill me themselves.
Seriously though, if I had my own theatre, I think I'd go for a FOR-profit theatre. Non-profit is hard.
for profit, aka commercial is even harder kim. you gotta be loaded to the gills and accept the fact that you constantly lose money on shows.
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