AMERICAN THEATRE: In the latest news from a historic if bumpy theatre merger between Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) and Pittsburgh Public Theater (PPT), a new name for the combined theatre has been announced: Confluence Theater of Pittsburgh. Confluence’s name was reportedly chosen by Pittsburgh residents themselves. According to release from the new company, it will combine the musicals that Pittsburgh CLO is known for with the classic and contemporary plays typically produced by Pittsburgh Public Theater.
4 comments:
I am really excited to see what happens with the newly formed confluence theatre. Its cool to be in Pittsburgh right as all this change is happening. I truly hope that this merger can be the start of success for the newly formed company, but I do worry that starting the company with the firing of all employees at the public theatre without removing CLO employees will lead to a sort of power imbalance that leads to conflict within the newly formed company. I understand that they say they are prioritizing legacy employees but with all 11 employees removed from the public theatre and an unknown about how many positions are open and what those positions may be, It seems that the CLO is getting some kind of preferential outcome from the merger. I don’t think that we know enough as the public to truly understand if there actually is a power imbalance or if it just seems that way.
I remember Susan Tsu talking about this merge during one of our Basic Design classes. I am extremely excited to see how this new organization continues to develop as they begin this new journey. I am also glad that City Theater ultimately decided to not follow through with this merge, as these two powerhouse organizations may have overpowered City Theater's goals. For someone who got a lot of his theater experience from an educational program at a regional theater, I love that the Confluence Theater of Pittsburgh will continue to remain committed to CLO's educational programs. I am also excited that they are going to open up opportunities for university graduates, as that will likely be something that our class will have the chance to get involved in. I can't wait to see how this new organization develops and takes ideas and influence from both the Civic Light Opera and the Pittsburgh Public Theater.
Growing up with the Civic Light Opera, I was saddened by their past summer season. For years the CLO had a summer season with upwards of 10 productions, all well attended, and I loved going to the Benedum to admire their artful productions. I hope that this new merge with the Pittsburgh Public Theatre will allow them to return to producing more shows without sacrificing quality. This merge seems to be a very smart and strategic move by both organizations, and although I am disappointed that they weren’t garnering enough support to survive on their own, I’m glad that they are able to continue producing quality theatre. I am still concerned by the amount of artists the Public laid off earlier this summer, and desperately hope that Confluence will keep their work and prioritize employing these legacy artists, before bringing in new ones. I also hope that the current CLO Academy will be able to thrive, and even reach more students. I am eager to see their upcoming performances, as the Musical: A Christmas Carol is a CLO classic.
Mergers of two reputable organizations always catches my eye because the success could hinge on whether it has come about simply through the strength of integration of said partners or whether it is a case of merger of resources, (which we know that answer too). The missions and target audiences of the two organizations differ so greatly, to me this merger of CLO and The Public is a bet on the possibility of making them work that will enable them to rather compensate for the underlying differences in each other's missions. Of course, the name implies that the confluence of the two organizations is a merger of the two separate streams of activities. However, the actual decisions taken by the organization in question in the following years will determine whether the merger is anything else but a marketing strategy. I’m very interested to see the first program of the new organization for the first season.
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