Empty chairs at the Severance building
After the show finished, I started counting the number of people in the audience. Then I stood up and counted the number of seats at capacity. And I determined:
More people need to see Artists Repertory Theatre's production of "Glengarry Glen Ross."
On Saturday night -- the second night of the run -- only 16 people showed up to see this wonderfully acted piece of local theater. I counted 33 empty seats. On Sunday, eight people were there, according to Bee theater critic and fellow Beehiver Donald Munro. At least it outnumbered the cast of seven. Could it be that Fresno was just waiting for his review? (By the way, I'm seconding his opening sentence.)
I don't know why there aren't more people showing up. I know that Good Company Players routinely sells out shows, and it has two venues with performances four to five times a week each. Then again, Good Company probably hasn't uttered the number of F-bombs in 30 years that I heard in a span of an hour and half Saturday night. And, granted, ART is part of this new wave of upstart companies that don't necessarily have a built-in audience. (Though I would've guessed that GCP fave Gordon Moore, whose performance as George is more memorable than Alan Arkin's was in the movie, would have filled a house on his own.)
But that is what's so disturbing to me. There are a lot of local theater groups (Woodward Shakespeare, Ventoux, Epic, Aithon, FresYes, to name a few -- email me if I forgot you), so I wonder if there is cause for concern that ART, which already has established a reputation for quality (its productions of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "All in the Timing" are ones I can vouch for), can't sell more tickets.
If ART can't make Fresno pay attention, who can?
Is the run of 11 dates over four weeks too long? Is there not enough marketing? Does nobody read The Bee's "7" on Fridays? Is it the abundance of offensive language in this particular play? (And if that's the case, what chance do they have with "The Rocky Horror Show" in the fall?)
As I said earlier, I don't have the answer.
I just know that I would have been discouraged if I were one of the cast members this weekend. And yet, at least one of them wasn't. After the show, I voiced my concern, and he told me that he noticed the audience wasn't as responsive as opening night (which I assume was more full, presumably with friends and family), but that he still felt their presence.
There's something special about live performance (of any art) that is more immediate and unique than any static viewing. It's that tension in the air. It only happens when there is a direct give and take between the artist(s) and the audience. The burden is almost entirely on the performer to create it with a good performance. All the audience has to do is show up.
The thing about Saturday night is, even though the audience was smaller than I would have liked, that tension was there. I just hope more people get to experience it.
Comments:
Having the Film Festival going on might have attributed to the low attendance. I went opening night and I plan on going back to see the show again. I loved it! :)
Posted by: Renee N at April 21, 2008 4:46 PM
And there was also Vintage Days and live music every where.
Honestly, I don't associate the building with a place to go to see theater. You sit in folding chairs. It's not Second Space or GCP. I know, those are apples and oranges but I just don't feel the connection between a dance studio and a place to see great theater.
What could change that? Great advertising, promotions and time.
Posted by: V at April 21, 2008 9:16 PM
film fest, vintage days. good points. and if anyone reading went to either and plans on going to this show, please comment.
as for the space, dont let the photo above fool you. the venue is versatile, and the current setup (same as the rogue, but with a full set) suits just fine for room. certainly no less comfy than gcp's theaters.
now, the $15 ticket is another story. i would have been happier with 10. (which is what i paid because a buddy called for $12 advance tix, and i gave him only 20. but thats just how i roll.)
Posted by: Will at April 21, 2008 9:43 PM
I will be there with "bells on" (and friends) this weekend. :) I have been looking forward to this show for quite some time.
Posted by: Sarah Lofgren at April 21, 2008 11:10 PM
Getting folks to the gig is always always always a problem.
Whether you are independently producing theater , dance or music.
When you're talking about Good Company Players, you're talking about an organization that's been around for YEARS and YEARS ---they have people, like my mother-in-law for example, who, as a matter of habit will attend 4 or 5 (at least) of their shows per year. That takes time and consistency to build.
Lots of times I've stood outside of a marginally attended music show with others and we've been baffled as to why, in a town of half-a-gazillion people there were only 12 people in the club---if there's an EASY answer, we'd all like to know.
Marcel Nunis of the Rogue Festival wrote a mini-essay on the subject. I think it's called The Tao of Butts in Seats and might be found at RogueFestival.com if you search around a bit. And while on the subject of Rogue Festival---this is another example of building for YEARS. AND, and I think this is a VERY important point---it's an example of a monstrously huge cooperation/coordination between many artists/press/concerned community members----there's a big buy in from a big number of people who wish for it to succeed.
My opinion: Creating such community and cooperation is KEY in getting support for the arts.
p.s. yeah, Artists Repertory Theater delivers the goods. They're great. I wish that was all it took.
Posted by: blake at April 22, 2008 8:30 AM
I saw the show Friday night AND Sunday afternoon, and I actually think I saw a better show on Sunday. Those eight in the Sunday audience (seven, not counting myself) were very responsive, laughing when the production provided an outlet for that...
Quick word on the venue - it's extremely versatile, and the ART set for this show was incredible. The play calls for two very different settings (restaurant and office) and the production handled that challenge in a way that was every bit as creative as audiences have been used to seeing at Second Space and other more established venues around the Valley. The chair seating isn't folding chairs. They aren't barcalounger comfortable, but they aren't awful. Walk into the space - and it doesn't feel like a dance studio the way most of the Rogue Festival performances at Severance did. That's not a knock on any of those productions - having as many shows booked in the psace in the short amount of time the Festival runs necessitates spartan stage design. With THIS production, though, ART seems to have been very careful to create and preserve the "experience" of theater instead of just "performance". I think the space reflects that care.
Oh yeah...also?...The directing and acting is top-notch. Gordon Moore desrves some sort of award for his Aaronow, and there isn't a weak link in the whole cast.
Posted by: Jay Parks at April 22, 2008 8:37 AM
Can the newer companies that have started over the past few years sustain themselves with lower ticket prices? It's costs a chunk to put up a show and without revenue how can they survive?
And Will, the last time you went to the movies (going all out with the popcorn/soda/tickets/etc) did you get out of there for only $20?
Posted by: Renee N at April 22, 2008 9:15 AM
The topic of marketing arts organizations, building audience, creating buzz. . . they're pretty hot in the theatrical blogosphere. A few I recommend for regular reading are The Mission Paradox Blog and The Next Stage, which runs a monthly column on theatrical marketing.
And I, for one, actually prefer my theatre in non-traditional spaces. Takes the hundreds of years of formalism out of the equation and forces audiences to consider new ways of interacting with the production. Sometimes it results in an amazing interaction between performer and audience member.
Posted by: Heather at April 24, 2008 9:29 PM
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