{"id":2916,"date":"2023-07-20T05:06:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=2916"},"modified":"2023-07-20T05:06:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:06:30","slug":"whats-wrong-with-the-theatre-is-whats-wrong-with-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/07\/whats-wrong-with-the-theatre-is-whats-wrong-with-society\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Wrong with the Theatre is What’s Wrong With Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the New York Times<\/em>, Isaac Butler sounds the alarm<\/a> for the fate of live theatre in the US:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The American theater is on the verge of collapse. …<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Regional and nonprofit theaters were in trouble well before 2020 and the force majeure of the pandemic. Most regional and nonprofit theaters were built on a subscription model, in which loyal patrons paid for a full season of tickets upfront. Foundation grants, donations and single ticket sales made up the balance of the budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For much of the 20th century, this model worked. It locked in money and audiences, mitigated the risk of new or experimental shows and cultivated a dedicated base of enthusiasts. But this model has been withering for the entire 21st century. Subscriber numbers are falling, and nothing has arisen to take the place of that revenue or that audience. Not surprisingly, ticket prices have gotten higher, making new audiences more challenging to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This smoldering crisis was exacerbated by the pandemic, a ruinous event that has closed theaters, broken the theatergoing habit for audiences and led to a calamitous increase in costs at a moment when they can least be absorbed. A collapse in the nonprofit sector doesn\u2019t just mean fewer theaters and fewer shows across the country; it also means less ambitious work, fewer risks taken and smaller casts. The reverberations will be felt up and down the theatrical chain, and a new generation of talent will be neglected. As with a bank collapse, in which a few foundering institutions can bring down a whole system, the entire ecosystem of American theater is imperiled. And American theater is too important to fail.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

His solution? A federal government bailout, similar to how it has in past decades bailed out banks and the automobile industry (neither of which was without controversy and dissent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cites the Federal Theatre Project from the Great Depression as a model, and I wish arts commentators would stop citing a program from nine decades ago<\/em> that was meant to solve a problem of widespread and devastating economic depression and unemployment with the main goal of simply getting people to some sort, any sort<\/em>, of job. The current US unemployment rate is 3.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also thinks the National Endowment for the Arts could use a boost in funding, and, sure, but that is hardly going to turn around, or even make much of a dent, in the finances of live theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here is what he does not<\/em> mention: audiences. Let’s go to the pre-pandemic 2017 NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts<\/a>. In that year, 9% of US adults attended a nonmusical live stage play. The numbers break down to rates of 10% for urban residents (who would have better access to live theatre) and 6% for rural. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is the real difficulty in talking about how to “bail out” theatre, and it goes beyond the decline in people opting for subscriptions, or the perpetual march of cost disease in the live performing arts. You cannot save an art form if people are not interested in attending. Nor can you easily call for an infusion of public funds into subsidizing such a minority taste (and what tends to be a rather well-off minority at that). Theatre, orchestral music, opera, ballet, need an interested and knowledgeable (if not connoisseur-level) cohort of people who make a point of getting out of the house, with all of its attractions of quality big-screens and sound systems, to attend a live show. The problem is us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnote: this was noted a long time ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the New York Times, Isaac Butler sounds the alarm for the fate of live theatre in the US: The American theater is on the verge of collapse. … Regional and nonprofit theaters were in trouble well before 2020 and the force majeure of the pandemic. Most regional and nonprofit theaters were built on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-L2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2817,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/02\/can-you-scale-the-house-at-the-movie-theatre\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":0},"title":"Can you scale the house at the movie theatre?: Updated (no, you can’t)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"US cinema chain AMC has announced it will start to have differential prices for movie seating: Three pricing tiers will soon be offered. For example, the highest-end \u201cPreferred\u201d tier are in the middle of the theaters and will be priced at a \u201cslight premium\u201d compared to its \u201cStandard\u201d tier, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"At the movies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rose-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":804,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/05\/why-do-seniors-get-discounts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":1},"title":"Why do seniors get discounts?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Priceonomics blog: You\u2019ve seen them on the bus, in museums, and at movie theaters: senior discounts. As a reward for being old, senior citizens pay a quarter less for bus fare, a small fortune less for movie tickets, and receive discounts generally all over the place. If you\u2019re\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"they don't look poor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/cocoon-300x232.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":986,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/08\/whatever\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":2},"title":"Whatever","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"August 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post reports that Forum Theater will not charge an advance price on tickets, but instead will have audience members pay after the show, whatever amount they think is right: Michael Dove, Forum\u2019s artistic director, says that he has long been concerned about what it means to be a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"where's my director of development?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/busker-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2910,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/07\/producing-and-exhibiting-arts-as-a-nonprofit-entity-is-a-qualified-tax-exempt-activity\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":3},"title":"Producing and exhibiting arts as a nonprofit entity is a qualified tax exempt activity","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's what the Internal Revenue Service says: Organizations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, educational, or other specified purposes and that meet certain other requirements are tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Organizations whose primary focus is literary or educational are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mitchell_Opera_House-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1885,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2015\/04\/are-nonprofit-arts-organizations-special\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":4},"title":"Are nonprofit arts organizations special?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"April 16, 2015 marked the opening session of a conference held at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, on Advancing the Field(s) of Nonprofit Management: New Structures, New Solutions. I was asked to speak about the arts, specifically about relationships between nonprofit arts organizations and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blood alone moves the wheels of history!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/my-speech.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1667,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/11\/arts-policy-and-the-election\/","url_meta":{"origin":2916,"position":5},"title":"Arts, policy, and the election (updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Barry's Blog has a post on the consequences of the election, anticipating Republican gains in the House and likely control of the Senate, calling the post 'What Tomorrow's Election Means for the Nonprofit Arts.' Good question! He writes: On the federal level, if the Democrats maintain control of the Senate,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"what's the big deal?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Voters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2916"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2923,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916\/revisions\/2923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}