Just like the rest of the world I hope 2010 will bring – on a global scale – peace and prosperity to all. I know that’s a tough one, but I am holding out for it.
For the theatre world, I wish that communities across the country would embrace the value of the arts, therefore providing arts education for every child; increased funding for artists and organizations, and that artists would remember and fulfill their responsibilities to their communities this of course would result in healthy audiences and future artists for the theatre for generations. Another tough one that I think we can work towards.
Since those two might take a bit longer than a year, I thought I would make some super specific requests that might be a little easier to achieve.
1. Cromer directs a NEW play in New York. No one can deny that David Cromer is a master in his field. His Our Town is by far the best show running in New York. He takes the words of a playwright and crafts magic while being completely and utterly true to the work and characters. If I was producing a revival of ANY American play, he would be the first person I would call which is why I am itching to see what he would do with a new play.
2. Our Town runs for another year in New York. If Norman Conquests couldn’t stay then Our Town must (in a perfect world we would have both). I wish this play were mandatory attendance for, well, everybody. I really think the world would be a better place and people would be kinder if everyone had to hear Wilder’s message through the vision of David Cromer. (Hey, look there, I found the first step towards achieving world peace – perhaps someone from the U.N. could get on arranging those tickets and we will need someone from London to send over those handy translators things for the Barrow Street Theatre to install). You think I am joking, but really I am not.
3. Please let someone announce plans/dates for Dolly Parton’s musical based on her life story. Not a big philosophical, industry-changing request here, I just think it will be brilliant.
4. Let above said musical star Kristin Chenoweth. Come on, can you imagine anyone else?
5. Lets make a few stars not just bring them in. I am not as frustrated as some about the “celebrity invasion” on and off-Broadway. As each show seems to have more and more names filling the lead and supporting roles I do have a concern. I hope we will still see those wonderful star-making roles that make a “unknown” (read veteran of the stage who is not a household name”) into an “over-night” sensation (read been working in theatres all over the country for YEARS). I personally was delighted when the rest of the country discovered the talents of Sarah Ramirez or that magical moment Kristin Chenoweth took the Tony stage and became a world-wide sensation. We theatre folks knew Jesse Tyler Ferguson before Spelling Bee but wasn’t it fun to share his brilliant humor with others – watch Modern Family. I can’t even begin to count how many times I have seen Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg on the stage. TV and Film (especially TV) are filled with actors who finally were noticed by Hollywood but had been treading the boards for years. I hope the New York community doesn’t forget to grow a few new stars while filling their shows with household names. After all in 10 years we need them to return to the stage as celebrities!
6. May Glee maintain it’s quality and not jump the shark during season two. This show is doing more to promote the arts than anything else has in my lifetime. Here’s hoping for a long and creative run.
7. Transparency and honesty about the toll of the economy on nonprofit theatre. Am I the only one waiting for the proverbial other shoe to fall regarding the true fate of the nonprofit field. It seems to me with the exception of a handful of theatres, we keep hearing everyone saying “it’s been a rough year, but we’re fine.” Before the economy tanked many if not most theatres were running an annual deficit – that famous “structural deficit” – and everybody is just doing fine? There sure are a lot of whispering conversations and rumors that it simply isn’t true. There are theatres that have laid off over half their staff and not a peep from them that they are in trouble. I don’t want these theatres to go away, but I fear that by the time they speak up it will be too late. The entire industry knows that the economic model of nonprofit theatre is crap and it never really worked in a broad scale, so let’s have a super honest conversation about it PUBLICALLY. Funders are going to get really sick of the “if we don’t raise X amount in 3 months we will have to close campaigns.” In fact they already are. If your company was poorly run over the last few years – admit it and solve it. If your company is in debt up to its eyeballs – admit it and come up with a plan to get out of it. If you have a looming deficit – come up with a plan to eliminiate it in the next three years (including the accumulated debt). Are we worried we will lose audiences? We won’t if our work is still good. Are we worried we will lose funders. We are more likely to lose them if we aren’t transparent. I fear with all this “times are bad, but put on a happy face” stuff we are digging a hole we won’t be able to get out of… The reality is that some theatres are going to close or scale back significantly – but it will be bad for the whole industry and those left standing it is one misleading, cover-up after another. For the sake of the whole industry it is time for those in trouble to stand up and let the world know, then do something about or exit stage left.
8. The theatre industry needs to do something, anything to get the playwright back from television. I don’t think that money is the only reason we have lost so many great playwrights to television – although it is a huge reason. I think control, respect and authority are key factors in addition to money. Television is the last medium for the writer is in charge (as executive producers). Theatre seems to have a growing trend stolen from the film world of an auteur/director, except theatre isn’t about editing so the whole concept is more or less flawed. I think this is a result of the overwrought and deeply flawed development process of readings and workshops and is killing the playwright/director partnership. We have spent so much time not producing work under the guise of improving it that we have stripped the playwright of much of the control, respect and authority that they used to have in theatre and couldn’t find elsewhere. It was their story and their stage. And as it is disappearing in many ways in the theatre it is readily available in television. But in the current scheme, a director is hired reading after reading, possibly followed by a workshop, rarely followed by a production to WORK on the play. Well, naturally, if the director wants to be hired again he or she sure better fix something in the play, because if there weren’t big problems to fix why would the play still be in the development process, right? Add in a producer or nonprofit artistic staff who know it is unlikely they will produced the play so they better give enough notes to let the playwright know they care, right? All along the way, chipping away at the place of the playwright in the process.
9. If you have to adapt – than let’s have some more musicals and plays derived from books rather than movies and song catalogues. There are simply so many great books out there that should be adapted to the stage, look how well that little show WICKED did, if you need inspiration.
10. Big one – let’s put all of our minds together and find a way to fund new ORIGINAL plays and to really develop them. I know I said these would all be specific, but I had to throw a super tough one in there at the end.
On a personal note, here are some of my resolutions:
I will regularly make more more time to read about what is happening in the industry. I think there will be a seismic shift in how we produce theatre in this country in the next few years, and I never seem to have enough time to study the trends and read all of the studies I want to, so I am going to make the time.
Of course relating to the above, I will write more blog posts. In the last few months, I have been a slacker (I KNOW). I will be writing more about the disappearing (eviscerated) line between nonprofit and for profit theatre; the attempts that some nonprofit theatres are making in changing their financial models; how we can remain relevant; and what form that seismic shift above will take! So here’s to an exciting 2010!
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