making theatre "mainstream"...
Fri, 26 May 2006, 01:12 pmabbz41 posts in thread
making theatre "mainstream"...
Fri, 26 May 2006, 01:12 pmHey all,
Abbey here, and a newbie to the forum. There's been a question on my mind...based on limited brain-picking from general public, and finding the general belief is theatre is not a "mainstream" source of entertainment the way rock concerts, movies and partying on a weekend at a club/bar/pub are...so....
Why is it that theatre is not "mainstream" the way film is? I believe to a larger extent it has to do with accessibility and conveneince, but there must be other reasons. Things like:
Is it because theatre going is generally seen as a "high-risk" venture? Because the stories are seen to be not as good? People do not want to confront the live actors and the potential breakdown of the fourth wall into personal space...? What is your opinion?
And yet another question: any thoughts on how to make theatre more mainstream?
Cheap?
Sat, 27 May 2006, 05:14 pmIt's not about being 'cheap' to create - most rock concerts have about ten times more lighting equipment (and not the cheap lights either) than a fringe performance.
It's about getting money back. Naturally you can sell tickets to U2 for ten times more than something from Bell Shakespeare - and why? Because the public would rather fork out the money for some laser light/deafening/bang your heads show than fork out some money for Romeo and Juliet that's exactly the same as it was several hundred years ago.
Music, sport etc. are much more beneficial to the government's income than theatre will ever be.
Perhaps this will change with the theatre board review - but I seriously doubt it.
In fact, someone should make a copy of the thoughts on this thread, and send it to the government as part of their submissions process...
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