WA Repeats
Sat, 16 Feb 2008, 01:30 pmdead28 posts in thread
WA Repeats
Sat, 16 Feb 2008, 01:30 pmJust a thought about WA Theatre and the lack of inspiration to try something different - every year is like a repeat. Consider the following:
1)
2007 Limelight Theatre - Cabaret // 2008 Kwinana Theatre Workshop - Cabaret
Tough act to follow - winner of Best Musical 2007 Finley’s (so why?)
2)
2007 GRADS - Importance of being Earnest // 2008 Limelight - Importance of being Earnest
This show is done almost every year - lets make a joint promise to give it a break for 5 years!
3)
2008 Marloo - Pirates of Penzance // 2008 G&S Society (city) - Pirates of Penzance
I know which production I would rather see!!
4)
2006 Playlovers - Seussical // 2008 Mandurah - Seussical
Again another tough match - give it a few years to settle
And there are lots more - this does not help create a fresh theatrical market. Two points:
1) let's mix it up a bit and ensure we are not repeating ourselves (5 year gaps)
2) Take risks - too many theatres just play it safe - take a chance; there is so much more theatre work out there which has yet to be touched.
Just thoughts .........
DW
WA Repeats
Sun, 17 Feb 2008, 11:56 amYou could almost recommend The Importance of Being Earnest as THE play to do to stave off financial ruin. It always gets an audience and you don't pay royalties...
As for Cabaret and Seussical - geography needs to be considered. Wanneroo and Kwinana and Pinjarra all have very loyal LOCAL audiences who comprise the bulk of their bums on seats. Lets say that makes 80% of the crowd. You will lose some of the remaining 20% of travelling audience. You make up the difference by riding on the coat tails of the previous show and gaining " Darn, I missed that and I heard it was good." audiences and the "Oh I loved that and would like to see it done again." audiences as well as the "I was in that show and I bet they can't do it as well as we did." audience So financially it makes a great deal of sense.
I'd love to see more new things too, but as a former club president, I know what it is like to worry about the financial side.
Oh and there are THREE versions of Pirates this year. Manpac are doing it too.