The Globe and Mail: Now playing: Canadian Stage is … The Incredible Shrinking Theatre Company.
Since taking control of Toronto’s largest non-for-profit theatrical laboratory three years ago, mad scientist (aka artistic and general director) Matthew Jocelyn has aimed and fired his shrink-ray gun at just about everything.
2 comments:
I think the idea of less is more works in many facets of life. It is as though we are so busy and stressed out as individuals that simplicity has definite draws. So why wouldn't that work in theatre? I understand that that could be a difficult decision to make, since in the industry since so many companies are finding it hard to stay afloat anyway. So cutting performances and seating, could seem terrifying. However, I can see the value in it, because it could drive up sales and interest since it is such a limited engagement. But like he says at the end '...who knows?' in reference that this decision could truly save them. We always say that the arts are about taking risks pushing the boundaries and whatnot, and I think that with even the the 'safe' shows and ideas putting people in the red that it should be even more true. Because we don't know what will work or not, so we might as well try.
One would think that downsizing in response to economic changes would be a fairly normal course of action, but it is one that most regional theatres seem to have tremendous trouble with. These theatres seem to prefer sizzling out in a final blaze of glory to turning down the heat a little and surviving. As this article points out, this is partially because theatres often have to plan their seasons a year and a half to two years in advance. Planning in that time frame makes it difficult to respond to sudden economic crises and extraordinary events. It also makes it very easy to think that by the time the plans you are making now come to fruition, the current economic situation will be better and there will be no reason to downsize. But really, more theatres should consider downsizing in the interest of survival. It is still possible to make fantastic, worthwhile art on a tight budget; you just have to be creative about it. I am thinking specifically of last year’s Intiman Theatre disaster that almost lead to the permanent closure of one of Seattle’s best theatres. After going bankrupt and nearly closing, Intiman finally got their act together and implemented some smarter policies. If they had considered implementing the same policies sooner instead for blundering along hoping for things to get better, then they never would have come so close to closing permanently.
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