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Wednesday, October 05, 2022
Cal Shakes might not produce any of its own shows next summer under new leadership model
Datebook: California Shakespeare Theater is instituting a new leadership structure and a new programming model, which might mean it doesn’t produce any of its own shows next summer at the Bruns Amphitheater.
2. This news about Cal Shakes is interesting. If I am reading this right, it sounds like they are becoming a producing house that invites other theaters to use their space. I think this is a pivot that can be wonderful as Cal Shakes uses its name to benefit other organizations, but I’m worried this is actually a last ditch effort to recoup finances after the pandemic. I would hate for them to try to elevate other artists only to go bankrupt and completely close in the middle of it. Hopefully this venture is successful enough to keep Cal Shakes in business. I am surprised that an organization would choose to go this direction, but I think it could be a really fulfilling way of continuing to produce theater as it allows you to elevate the work of other people. I wonder if it will make Cal Shakes more widely known as is their stated goal.
This is a very interesting article. I think this could be a smart move for the company. By switching to co-producing, they will still be able to make art, but do it in a way that shares the financial burden. It will be interesting to see how their community reacts to the change. This theatre has been around for a long time and this is a huge change. I find it interesting that the company found the physical space of a theatre to be more important than actually producing productions. At first glance that seems backwards to me, however I do see how the impact could be placed on what shows are brought to the space to be brought to an audience over having to move locations and not be able to serve the community at all. I also found the change in leadership structure to be interesting. I wish their new executive director good luck as any restructuring is hard to jump into.
2 comments:
2. This news about Cal Shakes is interesting. If I am reading this right, it sounds like they are becoming a producing house that invites other theaters to use their space. I think this is a pivot that can be wonderful as Cal Shakes uses its name to benefit other organizations, but I’m worried this is actually a last ditch effort to recoup finances after the pandemic. I would hate for them to try to elevate other artists only to go bankrupt and completely close in the middle of it. Hopefully this venture is successful enough to keep Cal Shakes in business. I am surprised that an organization would choose to go this direction, but I think it could be a really fulfilling way of continuing to produce theater as it allows you to elevate the work of other people. I wonder if it will make Cal Shakes more widely known as is their stated goal.
This is a very interesting article. I think this could be a smart move for the company. By switching to co-producing, they will still be able to make art, but do it in a way that shares the financial burden. It will be interesting to see how their community reacts to the change. This theatre has been around for a long time and this is a huge change. I find it interesting that the company found the physical space of a theatre to be more important than actually producing productions. At first glance that seems backwards to me, however I do see how the impact could be placed on what shows are brought to the space to be brought to an audience over having to move locations and not be able to serve the community at all. I also found the change in leadership structure to be interesting. I wish their new executive director good luck as any restructuring is hard to jump into.
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