SHOULD IT ALL GO AWAY?

My friend Twink Lynch once said; Topeka Civic Theatre is not a dinner theatre. It is a theatre that happens to serve dinner.” Though it may seem like a perplexing statement to some of you, I’ve often quoted that phrase. Simply put, TCT does not offer typical dinner theatre fare. Our offerings are eclectic and range from classical to farce or musical to macabre. I’m proud of that. And so should all of our patrons and volunteers alike.

 

But honestly, even when Twink made that statement years ago, we both knew that there are some shows that, even though we may want to offer them, we could never do them. Either their appeal was too limited or the subject matter was too difficult for us to present these plays on a simple eight show season in a small theatre north of the river. So when we made the big move from the Warehouse to the Gage School, we turned an old gymnasium into our new Studio Theatre, and suddenly all things seemed possible. Ten years ago we began our regular Studio Series. Three annual shows that we could not possible mount anywhere else. Productions that offer our actors and audiences alike a fresh and invigorating new theatre experience. But now I ask you a difficult question . . . should it all go away?

 

You see, even though I’ve been told by many audience members and volunteers alike how much they appreciate having the opportunity to see shows that only the Studio season could offer, we are seeing a rather significant decline in attendance in the past few years. And though an occasional show will pop up that will sell out entire nights or even production runs, those are the extreme exception, and unfortunately not the rule.

 

I’m reminded of a time many years ago when my wife and I had gone out to eat. We weren’t married yet, just dating. The year was 1996.  The waiter at our table found out I worked at TCT and he said; “Can I ask you something?” I of course said he could and then the young man said rather curtly;”Why do you guys do so many dumb musicals and old plays? Why don’t you do something of substance once and a while?”

 

I then asked the young man if he had come to our production of Les Liaisons Dangeresuses. A rather heavy and substantial drama we had closed a month earlier. “No;” he said, “I missed it. I was going to go, but I got busy.”

 

“Then,” I said; “you are the reason, or at least part of it. The people who say they want something more substantial need to support us when we offer it, or we won’t be able to offer it anymore. The people who like those ‘dumb’ musicals or ‘old plays’ as you call them come when we offer it. It’s up to you to support us when we offer other more weighty shows. If you don’t, we cannot continue to even try to mount such shows.”

 

Needless to say, we had little contact with our waiter after that, but one dinner with a small tip later, I got to thinking about our waiter. It never occurred to him that the sale of tickets is directly related to programming. His apathy about attending a play that might have appealed to him had as much affect on us as it would have had he come. To him, we simple offer plays and musicals, so what’s the difference between offering more or less of a heavier season, he probably thought. But for us, the two topics are forever linked.

 

And I believe that at TCT we’ve walked that fine line between commercial and artistic productions quite deftly. Sometimes they meet, sometimes they don’t. But even the lightest, “corn-ball” show is presented as artistically as possible and I’m proud of all we do. Don’t get me wrong, I like the occasional “escapist” theatre from time to time myself. The world is far too heavy if we can’t get away to laugh and hum a few bars of music from time to time. But we need the meatier stuff, too.

 

But when I’m asked why TCT does so many “silly little farces” or “old musicals” my answer is always the same. Whether you like them or not, they sell tickets and make shows like Death of a Salesman and A Shayna Maidel  possible. And they make the Studio shows possible too. But these productions still need your support to survive.

 

Of course in this economic climate some of us are cutting back. I know my family is. But we noticed this trend even before the big “slow down” began. Now, I know not every show is everyone’s cup of tea, but the Studio Series needs to be supported or it cannot survive. Though I rarely get to work in there myself, to me the best and most interesting plays in northeast Kansas happen in the Oldfather Theatre. But if they don’t sell, they’ll have to stop. Like any business, the product created needs to sell or change to a viable product that does sell, or it must be discontinued and we’re no different on that count. It is called show business after all.

 

The Studio was never meant to really make a profit, but it can’t become a financial drain either. The goal has always been to produce shows that we could never produce on the Sheffel stage. Shows that are either a little too intimate that it is felt they’re effect would be a lost in our larger venue, (i.e. Tuesday’s With Morrie), or shows that featured strong language or adult situations that seemed to necessary to the plot to remove it from the action, (i.e. Beauty Queen of Lenaan), or musicals that may be lots of fun but lack a recognizable score causing them to be financially impossible for the main-stage to produce them, (I.e. Striking Twelve or Starmites).

 

The consistent thing I’ve heard over the past ten years of offering these shows has been resounding gratitude from actors and audiences alike. And this theatre is made better, if not richer, when we are able to mount productions like How I Learned to Drive or Fat Pig. The work done in that space betters the performer and the patron at the same time. And as much as the Sheffel stage has become more and more of a commercial venue, it is balanced by the Oldfather season.

 

            Last night I had the pleasure of attending on of the final rehearsals for Third. Though still two days from opening the production was just top notch. I was amazed by the performances and even though I’ve read and reread the play multiple times, it makes me think about the questions it poses all over again every time I witness this production. The cast, direction, designs, and crew are all strong. I wish I could say the same for ticket sales.

 

We have a diamond here in the center of TCT’s building. It’s called the Oldfather Theatre. Through those doors we have witnessed the best and worst of the human condition. We saw Shakespeare return to TCT here. We were a part of the villainy of being told; “it’s a privilege to pee” here. We witnessed grief and joy in Three Viewings, we questioned the nature of a father’s love for his son in The Sum Of Us, and we felt the anguish of death in Lonely Planet. We saw two actors become an entire Irish village in Stones in his Pockets, and we relived the tragedy of terrorism in Women of Lockerbie.

 

Each and every one of those productions, as well as the many I haven’t mentioned, have stayed with me. I’ve been in awe of the work done in the Oldfather Theatre. And I’m equally excited about the play, Third, which opens this Friday. Please join me in supporting the fine work of this wonderful cast and crew. And spread the word about TCT’s Studio Series. We need to keep such glorious opportunities alive and well for years to come.

 

Sincerely,

 Shannon Reilly, Artistic Director

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Artistic Directors Remarks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.