A Venue for All

Before 2020 more than 35 million people attended live theatre at the more than 1,800 regional theatres across the country annually.  That is more than twice the number of people attending professional football games, and that doesn’t include the more than 1,800 community theatres across the country. According to a recent report, the non-profit theatre industry contributed 3.6 billion to the GDP, part of the 1.7 trillion of the creative economy contribution nationally.  Changes in demographics with a younger generation that  

While some may jump to the conclusion that the theatre industry may be healthy and protected against the ravages of tariffs and economic downturns, that assumption would be premature.  As we know from economic history, there is no bullet proof or recession proof industry.  Live theatre suffered during the covid shutdown, and now still down nearly 25% with the slow recovery theatre organizations are rebuilding, however they face challenges that were present before covid and were only hastened by the lockdown. Changes in demographics of the new generation that don’t support arts and institutions in the same manner as their parents.  They are looking for greater flexibility and not being locked into subscriptions; they want immediacy, and they are looking for stories that speak to them and not their parents. And to a large extent, audiences are searching for greater equity and diversity, true equity creating stories for communities by artists from that community rather than just a symbolic representation of the communities.  So how do theatre organizations engage an audience in today’s environment, and how do theatres meet the challenges for raising costs and stagnant of falling subscriptions? 

For a long-time the non-profit world was built on the “church model”: develop a mission-centric identity, build a community, develop a ladder of participation and giving. This is a dependable plan for non-profit development.  Included in this model is facilities development.  When developing a theatre company, most begin with a group that do a couple of shows together; they form an identity, develop a formal legal structure (non-profit), and eventually they want to grow and own their own home.  But with that comes all the headaches of home ownership: producing shows throughout the year; fulltime staff for daily operations; and ongoing administrative and utility costs. With the downturn in governmental funding and subscriptions, and the slow recovery of audience attendance, developing and maintaining a theatre solely for one organization is unfeasible for many small and medium-sized theatre companies, just as the dream of homeownership is slipping away from millennials and generation z.  The emerging model is the creation of shared resources: from sharing production elements, shared marketing, collaborations, and shared facilities.  In Los Angeles the newly founded LA Theatre Commons’s mission is to connect theatre makers to each other, the community and audiences. (https://theatrecommonsla.org); Theatre across the country are developing collaborative working relationships to continue their work, connect with new audiences and lower the costs of creating theatre, such as Theatre Wit shared Space program in Chicago, the West Village Rehearsal Co-op in New York; and the Creative Collaborative Initiative in Toronto, Canada.  These are small, independent theatre companies, sharing space and resources to reduce overhead for all.  

More than just sharing resources (props, costumes, and scenic elements), or theatre spaces, theatre companies are collaborating on projects together, creating dynamic opportunities to reach new audiences. Museums and theatre companies to create immersive experiences, libraries working with theatres for literacy festivals, symphonies and dance companies collaborating on new interpretations and performances to symphonic music.  Performing arts breaking down from the ridged categories and expanding to create community wide support for the arts. 

There are numerous examples of small theatre complexes with multiple venues ranging in size between 40 seats to 250 seats. This is a focus on community-based theatre and music organizations.  These organizations are community driven, with professionals and community members participating together, for the entertainment and enrichment of the community.  These types of projects are local economic drivers.  For every $1 invested in community based non-profit arts programs, the return on investment is $2.58 community the return on investment is.  Theatres retain entertainment dollars in a community and have the potential of attracting entertainment dollars into the community from the surrounding areas. 

The Santa Clarita Theatre Center is a collaborative project between nearly 30 non-profit and independent theatre and musical groups.  Working to fill the void of resources in a community that, until 1990, had only one theatre company.  There is very limited rehearsal space, no production facilities for scenic, costumes or props, and one independent theatre, the future of which is questionable because of rising lease costs. The goal of the project is two-fold: developed a multi-venue facility that is owned by the non-profit, or the local city with a long-term lease to operate the facility, protecting the facility from either losing the lease to a property sale, or from changing municipal focus. Second, the shared facility is an opportunity to create shared audience development for the community.  This facility will the first of its kind in the Northern Los Angeles County region, serving Santa Clarita and the surrounding area.  Not only is theatre an economic driver, but a vehicle for social change and community development.  Theatre gives audiences the ability to see conversation for differing perspectives and works to develop empathy.  A theatre center brings greater equity and diversity to groups that are underrepresented, and whose voices could otherwise be pushed to the side.   

The Santa Clarita Theatre sounds like an ambitious project; however, it is a necessity for our growing community and a needed resource, not solely for the artistic value it brings, but for the continued community development and prosperity it will bring.