Yesterday's Northwest Herald carried an article about the possible shutting down of the Town Square Players, a Woodstock amateur theatrical group that has been on the scene for 40 years.
President Paul Lockwood says that dropping attendance has resulted in declining operating funds.
If musicals cost $30,-40,000 to stage, which requires the sale of 250 tickets at a minimum for each performance, and they averaged only 100 in the audience for "Importance of Being Earnest", have they addressed the core problems?
Are they presenting plays that audiences of today don't want to see?
Are they presenting too many shows in a series?
Are ticket prices too high?
Is the marketing and promotion of plays falling apart?
Are the Opera House rent and nickle-and-diming of all charges too high?
Maybe a change in venue is appropriate, as mentioned in the article. Woodstock North High School has a beautiful, state-of-the art auditorium/theater that the taxpayers are paying for. Would it be a lower-cost stage option?
If so, can District 200 rent it out, though, without endangering its tax status? Where does a stage company cross the line between non-profit status and being "in business"?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment