St. Louis Magazine - January 2014 - St. Louis, Missouri: Ron Himes stands next to a photographer at the back of Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center. A social-media consultant and Harris-Stowe’s facilities manager look on as the photographer snaps pictures. The venue is significantly smaller than the 470-seat Grandel Theatre, where his theater company, The Black Rep, performed for two decades. Here, shows are scheduled around basketball games and other events, so the photographer tries to work quickly.
1 comment:
A very interesting story. It's a shame to hear what happened to Himes's company, but heartening to hear that the cause isn't abandoned, and has adjusted to a new "era." I think the situation that lead to the Black Rep's fall from their greatest venue has a significance beyond just the situation at hand. Quoted in the article, "There is great support for the arts in St. Louis, but there’s minimal support for the arts of St. Louis," speaks to a phenomenon I've seen in my own hometown, where great theatre companies with rich histories have been trying desperate outreach techniques (if they survive at all). Live theatre is simply not patronized, especially when stay-at-home entertainment is so much more convenient, in terms of time and money spent. If you don't have an introduction to live theatre that shows you the incomparable thrill of a live performance, going out to see a show would be laughably unappetizing. As we can see across America. Community theatre, if not an ingrained community culture, cannot survive. 'Tis a shame!
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