NPR: Many of us have a venue we love - a theater or concert space where we really feel at home. But what do you do if that place goes through radical change? Well, that is what has been happening with audiences here in the D.C. region ever since President Trump took over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts eight months ago. Trump abruptly fired its leaders, dismissed board members, criticized past programming as too woke. NPR's Elizabeth Blair wanted to find out where the fans are going.
8 comments:
I think it is really interesting the way people are going about this. When thinking about the way the Kennedy Center was changing leadership, I knew people would go elsewhere for work, but I didn't realize how many people would go elsewhere to watch and attend these performances formally held there. The fact that the orchestra had to find a different place to perform when that had been its home for so long is really sad when thinking about it. Because of this new leadership, I wonder how many people are actually going to attend shows there and how this is going to affect ticket sales. It is great the way that other venues are being so welcoming in taking these companies or other actors around the city and still allowing them to perform. The arts are a really tricky area to be involved in right now and will always be due to the creativity and stories it tells and the number of people who disagree or don't want to see these ideas expressed on stage.
I wish I could say I’m surprised that audiences who once attended events at the Kennedy Center are now choosing to go elsewhere. After listening to the article and seeing what’s been happening with censorship across America, it makes sense. The stories that today’s audiences are interested in aren’t the same ones the Kennedy Center seems to be trying to reach. I looked at what’s currently on stage, and honestly, none of the shows or events caught my interest. It’s sad to see this transition, but I can’t say I’m surprised that both artists and audiences are seeking out other spaces; places where they feel welcomed, supported, and comfortable putting their work on stage. We’ll have to see what happens in the future, but for now, this outcome is exactly what I expected.
I’ve been following the situation with the Kennedy Center ever since the changes in leadership were first announced. As a resident within the Washington DC area, it comes as no surprise to me that Kennedy Center followers are starting to look for quality theatre elsewhere. I’ve frequented many of the DC theaters, and though theaters such as the National Theatre and Ford’s Theatre are two of the most popular with many Broadway Tours stopping there, the Kennedy Center has always been to me, and many others, the primary grand theatre in DC. While it makes me sad to see this situation unfold and the impact it has had on audiences, it does make me proud in a sense to see that people are willing to look elsewhere by sticking to their principal beliefs. I think this will definitely end up negatively impacting the Kennedy Center, while positively impacting the other regional theaters. My biggest hope is that smaller DC regional theatres, such as Spooky Action Theatre or the GALA Hispanic Theatre will also benefit from this shift, and not just the already popular ones.
Something that was very briefly mentioned in this article but that I think is worth mentioning is that the current Kennedy Center leadership is trying to pivot to “faith-based programming” as a means to attract new audiences. I wonder how successful that will be, and I’m also interested in seeing what faith-based programming means in this context. I think there are ways to have works that are faith-based, powerful, transformative works, but oftentimes in this era when something means “faith-based” it means a play with a very narrow worldview that is dismissive or even hateful of other walks of life. Given the direction of this current administration, I fear that they likely mean the second option. I absolutely detest when people use religion to hide their hatred, as I feel like no matter what you believe in, believing that others genuinely deserve to suffer for not agreeing with you is wrong on so many levels.
It’s no surprise to me that the Kennedy Center’s audience is changing. As the current Administration has taken over and implemented sweeping changes, I fully anticipated that the fundamental changes would drive people away from the Kennedy Center. Audiences are now choosing venues like the National Theatre or Ford’s Theatre as a replacement, and I think that’s honestly a good thing. The one major issue with the Kennedy Center’s audience leaving is that when the time comes to restore it to its former glory, I fear the audience may not return, as their trust in what was once a grand national institution has now been broken. The other thing is that the Kennedy Center does receive some revenue from ticket sales, and dramatically less tickets being sold could really hurt the venue. Though I support this boycott, I hope the current administration doesn’t see the boycott as an excuse to kill the center entirely amidst the massive cuts across the government.
It’s such a shame that this is happening to the Kennedy Center. I lived relatively close to the venue and over the years of getting more into theatre, I became way more interested in attending a performance there. Of course, as soon as I find the time to go, new issues begin with leadership and performers leaving the venue. I don’t blame anyone though for leaving, there really is no reason that people should be fired or shows being canceled because of them being “too woke.” I just hope that this problem can be resolved one day. The venue is such a historic place and I want it to be able to produce the productions it once did. I was able to go to the Kennedy Center once when I was in the 4th grade, and it’s a place I one day hope to revisit, whether it’s to work on a production or watch one.
In the face of all of the insane changes to the Kennedy Center, I’m definitely not surprised that a decent proportion of its regular audience has decided to leave. I’m curious about exact ticket sale/audience attendance rates with the changes in programming. It’s a really tragic representation of what is going on in America; however, I’m glad to see that those audience members are continuing to support the arts and the groups that brought them to the Kennedy Center in the first place. Washington D.C., definitely has a very well-established and high-quality theater and performing arts scene, and I’m glad that other theaters in the area are continuing to do their thing, in a sense, replacing what is left by the Kennedy Center overhaul. I hope that the silver lining of this is that smaller theaters in the D.C. area gain a new audience and are able to gain popularity.
I have written so many articles about the Kennedy Center and its recent changes. Most of my responses are to the news and it is just me going on some angry tangent about how ridiculous it is. What this article did for me was force me to stop and think outside the Kennedy Center. I think in situations like this that fill me with lots of emotions it is important to stop and realize that it is still ok. Like yes this is upsetting and should not be happening but there are so many other theatres in DC. And so many of those theatres are doing really good and impactful work. I like that so many of the comments in this were about people discovering new venues they would not have gone to before or had not known about. So while it is unfortunate that they are no longer going to the Kennedy Center I am grateful that there are other options. I think about the one theatre in my hometown and what this situation would look like in a place that doesn't have other options.
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