Acorn Under Threat

A front page, banner headline in the Comment News proclaims "Curtain may fall on tiny theatre". The article goes on to report that the City of Gosnells has told Acorn Theatre that their building may be demolished. The city had apparently hoped that Acorn would move to the Don Russel Performing Arts Centre or another venue.Acorn Theatre President, Sue Thomas, has been an occasional contributor here on the ITA website. Sue reportedly was told by the council that the land needed to be sold to fincance the $80 million redevelopment of the Gosnells town centre. I hope you can keep us all informed, Sue. I'm sure many of us would love to support your company in anyway we can.I believe many community theatre companies are under threat; they just haven't realised it yet. Most community theatres are heavily subsidised by local government and in a "user-pays" society this situation cannot continue for long.Recreation and leisure are serious business with serious money involved. The proliferation of "community" recreation centres has brought with it a marked change in the way our community views the principle of paying for leisure. Most people don't bat an eyelid at paying a few dollars a couple of times per week to play a game of squash, tennis or some other sport. Many pay a small fortune regularly to attend a gym and participate in fitness classes. (In my opinion, the reality is that community recreation centres are fast becoming little more than glorified shopping centres.)Local authorities will find it harder and harder to justify reduced hire rates and rental for community theatre companies when all other users pay a full commercial fee. Costs for community theatre companies will rise and clubs will find themselves collecting $2 from cast and crew at the door every night to cover the cost of hiring a rehearsal venue.Think i'm kidding?The committee of the Graduate Dramatic Society (Grads) recently met with ex-Festival of Perth Director, David Blenkinsop. David has been engaged by the University of WA to undertake a study into Sport & Culture on Campus. The study will make recommendations about what types of activities the university should be supporting. The sporting model of people paying annual fee in excess of $100 and then a per use charge each time they use the sporting facilities was held up as a model for culture on campus.Are there any community theatre companies out there that charge more than $100 per year for membership and then a fee everytime you rehearse for a show? Oh, and then you'd better treble your ticket prices to cover the declining membership. Any takers to join this club?Good luck Acorn. We're all going to need it.CheersGrant