Theatre's in trouble

I think many companies would be thoroughly envious of your capacity to break even with houses of 26 and less. I would imagine that many groups, particularly those having to hire a venue, have a break even point of 30 or more seats per night.> Any suggestion of where we can go to promote our theatre to a> younger audience, would be appreciated.> We are fine for when we do a "good English Comedy"> but our members have many other types of productions the would like> to perform, some of which are not to the Senior Citizens general approval.There are probably more than a few companies relying on their "seniors" audience to get by. Growing a younger audience could mean producing some shows that may not be fully appreciated by your "seniors" audience.Careful planning of a season that balances the interests of your audiences, together with reassuring both audiences that their custom is valued, should work.However, I would imagine that Acorn's situation is better than most. You don't need to sell that many seats to make something other than the usual fare break even.> So where did the rumours come from anyway Grant?from several clubs that i have spoken to recently and from the ita, too.The effect is patchy - some groups are thriving, but many are struggling with declining audiences and increasing costs. Pressure on community venues to generate revenue is likely to push genuine community groups out and replace them with commercial users.An art and craft class or dance school charging each student $5-10 per hour may be able to afford community venues at $20+ per hour. A community theatre company charging an annual membership of $20-40 can't possibly manage the same fees.Some local councils currently subsidise community theatre groups for much of this cost. Inevitably though councils are bound to ask why community theatre hirers are not paying the same rate. Community theatre companies will be told their members should be paying for their recreation. Just as some in the community pay fees for tennis and basketball courts, ovals, swimming pools and beach parking, so community theatre members will be expected to pay their way. Some clubs may find themselves faced with having to charge members for attending rehearsals - if they don't do this already.I'd like to think there is something the ITA might do to protect its members from these possibilities (probabilities? likelihoods?). But i'm not sure what it is.CheersGrant