Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: PICT Classic Theatre announced today that “due to a significant shortfall in funding,” its production of “The Tempest,” which was scheduled to open on Oct. 10, has been canceled.
The production of “Educating Rita,” opening this weekend, will proceed as planned, but decisions about the remainder of the season will be made by PICT’s board of directors in the coming days, the company said in a statement.
4 comments:
I'm surprised we don't hear about this happening more often. I know that often this comes really close to happening and someone finds money at the last minute. I worked for a theater company once where our paychecks bounced right before load in. They asked us to please work anyway and we all walked out. I did not think the show was gonna happen but they found a donor at the last minute. I imagine most small theater companies like that one and PICT try to keep a few big fish on the line ready for catastrophe. So I wonder if they already used all theirs, or lost them in what the rumor mill says was a very dramatic firing of Mr. Paul. I also wonder what this means for PICT. It might just be a momentary lapse, but it could also be a symptom of a larger problem. It may take years but with all Ive heard about them recently PICT may be reaching their last show.
Like Isaac, I don’t think I’ve heard about this type of this happening before. Commercial productions cancel and flop all the time, but in the world of non-profit theaters it seems like a given that the season is going to make it onstage, because even if there’s never enough money, canceling a production altogether is surprising. The article also indicates that earlier in the season, PICT switched out a production of Saint Joan – a LOT of characters, period clothing and props – for a production of “Educating Rita”, which a cast of two and a box set; clearly, they were already struggling with funds and in the process of scaling back their season. I’m very curious to know why, even after doing that, they still find themselves having to cancel a production. Did donors they were counting on pull funding unexpectedly? Have finances not been properly managed over the past few years, leading to an inevitable and abrupt shortcoming?
The functioning of non-profit theatre company is such a tricky business, and it is always sad to hear about one who looks so on the brink of falling away. An interesting detail in the article called Alan Stanford both Executive and Artistic Director, which already notes a lack of staffing, and therefore the spreading out of resources that would ultimately prevent them from throwing the fundraisers and meeting the donors necessary to continue to grow the company.
Part of the issue here may be the place. Pittsburgh's theatre scene cannot be easy to keep afloat when there are so few community members truly interested in coming to see productions. The demographic of young people in this city versus New York, L.A., or Chicago is significantly smaller, and the lack of media attention and community that is received makes it incredibly difficult to keep a mid-sized company alive. I interned at a non-profit in Chicago this summer, and while funding issues were always present, the history of the company was able to stay afloat primarily because the community of companies in that city healthily compete and help each other to grow, which the city is widely known for. Such a community is less present in Pittsburgh, and the description of PICT is sadly not something that will draw new audiences in, therefore the existence of the company is based primarily on patrons and audiences that were already present. This raises many questions as to the ability to run a mid-sized company in a non-major theatre city. Questions that I do not have the answers to.
It’s unfortunate in any industry when you have a shortfall in funding. Especially a place like PICT that has been around for a little while. There are multiple factors that go into how the funding could have been achieved. It is quite unfortunate that the route this went through is a dilemma nobody wants to have to deal with. I enjoy watching the Tempest, and I know that it is not an easy show to produce. With the sizeable cast it needs to put on the show, unless of course you found a way to double cast. When you have a play announced, the season ticket holders don’t like to have something different in which they were expecting one thing. Downsizing a production does save time and money in the long run, but what does it say about the theatre itself. At this point with the theatres’ staff, they have to start figuring out where they went wrong in terms of getting the funding they need to not just put on some of their shows, but all of their shows.
Post a Comment