Community Theatre Standard in my town
Thu, 2 Sept 2010, 10:55 amalberto4 posts in thread
Community Theatre Standard in my town
Thu, 2 Sept 2010, 10:55 amI would just like peoples opinions with this. I have been involved with theatre quite a lot over the years, but in the last 5 years or so have settled down and become an active patron rather than a participant. Up until the last 12 months or so I have been quite happy with my local theatre company. They produced many good shows in the last few years from Fiddler on the Roof, some good one act plays, to Oliver and Little Shop of Horrors. At one point they even had a very strong youth branch. Sadly this has been in rapid decline over the past 12 months since the companies committee changed. There has been little advertising if any of auditions, and the shows picked are from what I have heard pretty dodgy, so much so that there have been no auditionees attending and some of the shows have had to be cancelled. The youth branch no longer does any shows, I don't even know if they are still around. The brilliant reputation of Musicals that have been done in the past five years or so has been cut to pieces as there is no show to the community that the company is interested in quality. Furthermore the one act plays that have been recently shown have the companies name immalgimated with a company that is no longer in existence. I have had little to do with the company I know, but it is sad to see a strong reputation and good company go down the drain the way it is currently. I have also heard from others more involved with the company that they have ostrisized many people that were active participants and were even producing new Australian work that has won awards outside of the company.
I dont know, has anyone else encountered this problem in a theatre company near them? What measures can be taken to rebuild it? Should I become a member and try to turn it around? Or should I just focus on other theatre companies a little further away?
Thanks for your time.
Albert
albertoThu, 2 Sept 2010, 10:55 am
I would just like peoples opinions with this. I have been involved with theatre quite a lot over the years, but in the last 5 years or so have settled down and become an active patron rather than a participant. Up until the last 12 months or so I have been quite happy with my local theatre company. They produced many good shows in the last few years from Fiddler on the Roof, some good one act plays, to Oliver and Little Shop of Horrors. At one point they even had a very strong youth branch. Sadly this has been in rapid decline over the past 12 months since the companies committee changed. There has been little advertising if any of auditions, and the shows picked are from what I have heard pretty dodgy, so much so that there have been no auditionees attending and some of the shows have had to be cancelled. The youth branch no longer does any shows, I don't even know if they are still around. The brilliant reputation of Musicals that have been done in the past five years or so has been cut to pieces as there is no show to the community that the company is interested in quality. Furthermore the one act plays that have been recently shown have the companies name immalgimated with a company that is no longer in existence. I have had little to do with the company I know, but it is sad to see a strong reputation and good company go down the drain the way it is currently. I have also heard from others more involved with the company that they have ostrisized many people that were active participants and were even producing new Australian work that has won awards outside of the company.
I dont know, has anyone else encountered this problem in a theatre company near them? What measures can be taken to rebuild it? Should I become a member and try to turn it around? Or should I just focus on other theatre companies a little further away?
Thanks for your time.
Albert
Emma MarieThu, 2 Sept 2010, 11:31 am
Where to go from here?
I have had this experience also and sadly I just don't know what the answer is.
With the company that I was involved with it was a matter of the club not wanting any help, it was almost like they couldn't see that they were doing anything wrong at all and when anyone other than the committee had an idea to put forward it was instantly squashed.
There was no forward thinking and no planning for the future. Any ideas that the committee didn't like never even got considered. The ostracized people who were trying to help as if accepting the help was a sign of weakness.
I guess there is a few things we can do:
- We can become active members again, join the committee and hope a couple of others with views to save the company will come forward also.
- We can keep pushing our ideas, suggestions and offers for assistance and when we get rejected time and again, keep offering. Just as auditionees we will always get 100 no's to 1 yes, we have to push through the rejection.
- Accept defeat and move on. Find a club which is more open to accepting help, of which is producing good shows and promoting new talent.
- Create our own company. A long shot but still viable in some places. Do all the things that we believe is missing from the current company. A bit of healthy competition is usually always helpful in improving a business, even show business.
The answer isn't an easy one and unfortunately there will always be those who take advice as criticism or as a personal attack on their abilities. It is easier to shut people out than to let them in.
Walter PlingeThu, 18 Nov 2010, 05:11 pm
Almost sounds like the
Almost sounds like the Kyneton Theatre Company there Alberto. My advise if it is would be to travel elsewhere!