I recently received an e-mail asking a question that I’ve heard repeated for as long as I can remember. It’s usually phrased along the lines of; “When life is so complicated and people see enough bad news on television why does TCT do dramas? I mean, I go to the theatre to get away from it all. Besides; don’t the comedies sell better, anyway?” (It’s often phrased differently but the sentiment is the same.) So, why do we do what we do?
First of all, I love the question. I love getting feedback from our patrons and performers, even if it’s unflattering or not the exact feedback I’m looking for at the time. Such a question shows someone cares about us and as long as we’re talking together we can fix anything. It’s when people stop sharing their thoughts that I start to worry. This recent question came from my Artistic Director column in our Encore!, (the theatre’s newsletter), where I asked specifically, “Is the theatre going where you think it should be going?” We’ll soon begin our long rang planning sessions again and we wanted to solicite input as to how our community feels about it’s theatre. Currently our main stage season is a selection of eight productions. Of those shows three are musicals, one is our holiday show; Scrooge and A Christmas Survival Guide are recent examples of shows offered in the December slot. One musical is reserved for March and we try to keep that selection a bit more cutting edge – i.e. The Full Monty, Chicago, to name a few. And the third is our summer block buster. It’s sometimes strictly family fare, Beauty and the Beast for example, and sometimes it’s material that is fresh and new from Broadway such as our current summer production of The Producers.
We’ve found that a large number of people make their decision about whether or not they’ll purchase season memberships based on our musicals. We have a saying here, a season will either live or die by our musicals. Even so, adding more musicals is not something we can easily do. Musicals are quite expensive to produce. From growing royalty costs to the high expense of building the multiple sets and costumes and the additional cost of microphones and batteries. musicals are becoming more and more expensive each season. Not to mention the enormousdrain these productions have on our talent pool and facilities. For now, three musicals seems to be our maximum on the main-stage.
Of the five plays left, three tend to be comedies. We strive for a mixture here as well. We look for a romantic comedy ,like next season’s KOLD Radio for one slot, a frantic or broad comedy or farce such as Noises Off or Moonlight and Magnolias for another slot, and a classic comedy like The Odd Couple or Harveyfor the third slot. Next year we are opting out of a classical or established comedy so that we can bring youa unique serio-comedy, (that’s a term for a comedy with some serious undertones), called Outlaw that really made our Play Reading Committee buzz. It’s funny and quite unique. We have a unique challenge in selecting a season opener every year. We need a play that can tempt audiences in from the football stands in September and we’re hoping an original comedy/western/who-dun-it might do the trick.
The last two plays on our season tend to be dramas. Sometimes the October slot is a seasonal offering like Frankenstein or Dracula, or a thriller like Murder in Green Meadows or next season’s The Mousetrap. October, like September is still a big “football” month and dramas with a “bite” to them can sometimes bring new audiences to TCT that we don’t see during the rest of the season. Our October production of Misery was selected for that very reason. Therefore that first drama will tend to be a bit more “commercial” than our second offering. The second drama slot has tended as late to be a classical one, either a Shakespeare or an American classic like Death of a Salesman. This drama slot is offered to area schools and is heavily attended by the die-hard theatre goer who enjoys more “meat” in their entertainment. An admitted smaller audience, but a very appreciative one. But it’s our performers who get really excited about this slot. I had over fifty people audition for The Lion in Winter. That was three times the turn out for The Odd Couple.
You see, our season isn’t just about ticket sales. We’re here for the performers as well. They like challenges and they often fill the rehearsal hall for auditions for a Shakespeeare or a play with more substance than our normal fare. I have often felt like a servant of two masters. I need the performers as much as I need the audiences, yet sometimes these two groups are looking for two entirely different things from TCTA.
To that end we opt for a season that is eclectic. We believe that there is no sure fire way to please everyone every time, but by diversifying our season with a wider range of plays combined with a flexible membership package that gives our membership the opportunityto “pick and choose” their shows does help close the gap between those people who look for lighter entertainment, and those people who crave a more blended season. This seems to please more people than a strict diet of only musical or comedies. Comedies are certainly better sellers than dramas. They usually cost less than a third what a musical may cost to produce and actors and audiences love them. Unfortunately finding a good comedy can be incredibly difficult. Last season’s Play Reading Committee had more than a dozen “favorite” dramas to try and select only two from, but as for comedies, we had a mere five left in our final pool that we could all agreed on. Good comedies are hard to find and almost always never fare as well when we remount them as they did when they were first produced them. But that’s not the whole reason as to why we do what we do. I point to TCTA’s mission statement. The Topeka Civic Theatre and Academy has a two-fold purpose:1) to enrich the lives of people in Topeka and Northeast Kansas by creating a broad range of programs and artistically excellent theatrical experiences for their education, engagement and entertainment;2) to nurture inspired and aspiring avocational theatre artists and support volunteers by providing positive and exciting opportunities forshowcasing and developing performance, production and management skills. In a nut shell, our goal is to provide good theatre of wide variety for both performer and audience member alike. We strive for excellence in everything we do, and a diet of only comedies ormusicals is not a balanced one. I believe we’d lose performers and audience alike if we eventually went down that road. If I ate steak at every meal I’d grow pretty tired of it, no matter how much I may love it at first. Lots of typical dinner theatres do offer only comedies or musicals in their seasons. The lighter fare may sit well with their audiences, but there are theatre patrons that find such a shallow season uninviting. My good friend Twink Lynch used to say something I often repeat to this day. She once said that “The Topeka Civic Theatre isn’t a dinner theatre. It’s a theatre that happens to serve dinner.”
The funny thing is that since I asked for feedback I’ve heard from all kinds of people and the expressions are across the board. In one day I heard from a gentleman who said he’s tired of farces and latter that very afternoon a lady wrote me an e-mail asking me why we didn’t have a farce on next season’s schedule. “I love those shows.” She wrote me. Another women recently sent me an e-mail asking why we do Shakespeare. But while I was speaking at a local civic group recently over the lunch hour, their group thanked me for returning Shakespeare to our stage. “We love seeing plays and you’re the only local group doing them.” One particularly enthusiastic woman remarked to me during the question/answer period of my speech.
I don’t really expect a consensus from everyone about what TCTA should or shouldn’t produce. The question is too vague, really. But perhaps the wide range of responses point to the idea that the eclectic nature of our season is indeed more likely to appeal to a wider range of theatre enthusiasts. And since we allow our members to move there tickets around to any show they want, we are in essence allowing you to select your season along with us. No matter the reason or how vague the question may seem, we’re not done asking it. I’m still compiling responses and I want to include as much data as possible. So I ask again; “Is TCT going where you want it to go?” Please email me or post your response to this question. We want so much to hear from more people and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Shannon Reilly
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July 11th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Having more than a vague interest in this topic, I’m glad to read this. I obviously am in the pro-Shakespeare/Classic camp, and find it galling when confronted with the notion that these works shouldn’t be seen at TCT. Setting aside questions of taste (which, as stated, are impossible to completely resolve), the most obvious point to be made is the need for balance, which Shannon states effectively in multiple contexts. A secondary point that deserves greater mention is the benefit to area schools. Having participated in the last two productions of Shakespeare at TCT, I’ve had a lot of opportunity to hear from both students and teachers about how much they gain from seeing these plays performed. Students talk about how they more clearly understand the text; teachers talk about how it inspires their students to ask more questions and become more engaged. If we gained nothing further from these shows, it might be said that they’re worth the effort.
But the fact is, we gain a good deal more than that. As Shannon said, there are a number of performers and audience who value these productions above all else that TCT does. These works are “classic” for a reason- they speak to aspects of our basic humanity, and are essential parts of the development of the theatre in society, both past and present. Producing these works is part of what I feel that a good theatre should do, and there is no mistaking that TCT has built itself into a very good theatre.
For those who disagree, I can understand the pull. We all seek our share of uncomplicated distractions- to “get away from it all”, as Shannon’s e-mailer put it. And in fairness, there are musicals and comedies that deserve to be held up as “classics” in their own right. But to contend (as some have) that the entire season should omit dramatic fare is overzealous at best.
The key is balance, both fiscally and thematically. Having no access to TCT’s finances, I can only guess at figures. But I have a hard time believing that MacBeth did worse than Cabaret, from a financial perspective. That’s not a slight to Cabaret- merely an example of how surprises happen, and why theatres can’t strictly offer musicals as a failsafe. Thematically, Shannon’s “steak” analogy is a good one- as it’s said, variety is the spice of life. Anything can be made mundane through overexposure.
With all of that said, my answer to Shannon’s question is a qualified “yes”- pleased with current progress and hopeful that the shows I love are not genuinely threatened. I have performed in two Shakespearean shows for TCT, and I hold each production up as work that I felt proud to display to this community. I’m also proud to have seen and heard some of the positive responses that TCT receives for these types of shows. I respect that there are some who don’t value this fare. However, the season is dominated by musicals and comedies; I fail to see how our theatre will be stronger in any respect by rendering that dominance complete. Musicals and comedies are necessary parts of the theatrical season- but they aren’t the only parts that we need at TCT.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I agree. I think that theatre’s are obligated to produce the classics and expose audiences to shows they might not otherwise see. I understand the financial obligation to get “butts in seats”, but the artistic duty must not be forgotten. I know of another community theatre in which there seems to be an unwritten rule to do any play written by Neil Simon and any farce, because those are the shows that the audience will come to see. Education of audiences and exposing them to the classics (which I was once told the audiences “didn’t get”) as well as more thought-provoking fare often goes by the wayside. I’m very happy that TCT provides audiences and actors with diverse seasons to choose from, seasons which entertain and allow actors to grow.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
People go to the theater for many different reasons. I tend to prefer dramas, which is consistent with my preference for ‘meaningful’ movies…and books. I don’t dislike comedy, but many commercially successful movies aren’t funny to me. I agree that the key is balance: for both the performers and audience. Another key, at least in choosing productions, is quality. I’m not a die-hard theater-goer, but enjoy going. I did attend The Producers, and even tho I don’t know much about what is required to produce a musical, I left the theater thinking: that was SOME production! I have a better understanding from the description in the third paragraph of the original post. I also left the theater thinking that I must write a note about how much I enjoyed The Producers, and compliment both the performers and everyone behind the scenes, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry for that because The Producers was excellent. I have total stage fright and cannot even imagine how much of themselves the actors put into their performances. Even tho the audience applauds, I’m sure a note would have also been appreciated. So, I digress. The bottom line for us is that we enjoy going to the theater and have preferences, but will still attend when we have a chance. (Our schedules right now, due to work and a long-distance relationship, are such that we can seldom attend, but hope to attend more often in the future.) I think the description of how shows are selected is a good approach to meeting the mission of the theater and should continue. Thanks. (PS: I am overall totally impressed with Topeka Civic Theater. I’ve only lived in Topeka a short time and am sorry I did not attend sooner, and sorry our schedules don’t allow us to attend every performance. We’ve attended a similar theater in Overland Park, which is also good, but the theater right here in Topeka is at least equal if not better. And closer, and in the community.)