Monday, August 28, 2017
How a Low-Budget Theatre Can Still Go High-Tech
Playbill: Producing theatre at the local level has its inherent challenges. Few, if any, community theatres or schools have the kinds of budgets that Broadway producers do when they’re putting on a show, which call for creative thinking for sets, costumes, and staging.
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6 comments:
I really liked the ideas within this article, like being creative and offering specific ideas like the technology to fill in orchestral spaces. The one thing I'm not sure about with this article is that sometimes theaters cannot even afford the cheaper more basic products, but I completely agree with Danny Henning in that, "it creates an incredible opportunity for creativity and growth." Theaters can do so much with very little, they just have to find new ways to show it.
A major issue in the contemporary theatre world is the lack of accessibility from every angle. Ticket prices for big-name shows tend to be very steep, restricting the audience that can feasibly afford these tickets without breaking the bank. Further, for smaller-scale theatres or theatres with smaller budgets, producing technically complex shows can be nigh impossible. Thus, I feel that Music Theatre International (MTI)'s move to reduce many of the barriers on the technical side of a production to be an incredibly prudent decision. By reducing the barrier to producing a highly technical show, such as Rock of Ages or Avenue Q, MTI has effectively widened the audience these shows can reach insofar as geographic availability is concerned. In truth, lowering these barriers is likely not a solely philanthropic move. In lowering the barriers to producing theatre, MTI can make more money on licensing rights and technical element rentals/sales.
The article brings up the use of rental props and music to enhance the shows but after working in a community theatre on a shoestring budget I have seen that theatres don't need rentals. Hannah in her comment mentions that many companies can't afford the rentals, something that I've experienced first hand. One nice thing about theater companies having to create their own props is if they make the investment into making all the props and costumes, they can rent them out and break even on productions that usually end up causing debt. This does create a somewhat different style to the show as the props aren't the professional grade of MTI's rentals. Though, each new production of a show should have some differences as there is a different creative team behind it. Though what happens when the music is simplified or altered, with permission from licensing companies. Sometimes I've seen theatres just simplify the tracks on their own and just cut out an instrument part. This concerns me if a company simplifies the musical scores on their own instead of using electric tracks ran on OrchExtra or SFtracks. Does this ruin the integrity of the show? Of course, seeing Rock of Ages is very different when on Broadway and when at a local community theatre but how critical is it to have all the instrumental parts? Could this in a way change a show so drastically that it has a completely different message?
I think it is really awesome how Samuel French has been so proactive in creating resources that allow more theaters to produce the high scale productions that we are seeing on Broadway. I agree with Mr. Henning in his statement about how doing these challenging productions provides a great opportunity to get creative. What I was most surprised by when reading this article is the Abbott program. Going digital seems like the obvious step for any printing company, but that other features that this program presents go beyond expectation. It is cool to hear that there is a feature that can benefit every type of theater maker, from stage managers to actors, the program seems to have really set the bar for what an online script can be. Overall, I agree with this article when it says that all pieces of theater should be attainable at the community level. I think it is awesome that such a well-know printing company has done so much to aid these community theaters in their ambitious goals.
I appreciated how this article delved into specific suggestions to how smaller budgets can still pursue technically complex shows. A lot of time is spent trying to brainstorm creative solutions to expensive problems, and the steps that several licensing companies have taken to broaden the community that can successfully execute their shows have taken a step in a really wonderful and inclusive direction. I really liked Henning’s quote about technically demanding shows being opportunities for creativity and growth, and that creativity and growth in younger and lower budget companies is essential to the continuation and development of theatre as a whole.
I think that this article brings up some good points for those first looking at which shows to do and some upfront ways to help combat the possible restrictive costs and complexity. I think that to those who have a clear vision of how they want to do a show this is great advice because they usually know that they are already starting off with the knowledge of the shows complexity, and the understanding of the company’s capabilities. However this can also be seen as dangerous advice because it can encourage those making the initial decisions that all shows are possible and they don’t have a plan before committing to the shows or through the process they change their mind and want the complex spectacle that they dreamed of or what they watched on their bootleg copy of the Broadway show. There are rental options out in the world but they can often be more costly than one thinks just starting out and then you’re left with no money for labor. I would caution more towards building for stock set pieces and or building a set for a show with little changes that can fulfill the needs for the season of shows one wants to do.
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