Here’s a piece that’s probably not going to make it as a column
in this week’s edition of Kitsap A&E. So you get to read it
here instead:
I read with dismay the other day an item in the AARP bulletin
(don’t laugh; my folks send it to me) about how families are coping
with the economic hard times wrought by … well, we all know what
they were wrought by. But if I level blame, I’m told, the
terrorists win.
The poll asked a few questions of two age groups — 50 to 64, and
65-plus — about whether they were finding it more difficult to
afford food, gas, medicine and utilities.
Outside of the essentials — the $4.20-a-gallon tank of gas, the
$3.25 tub of faux butter and $3 loaf of bread, staggering
prescription costs and heating-cooling bills — the sharpest
downturn mentioned by respondents was spending on entertainment and
dining out.
Sixty-seven percent of the 50-to-64 folks polled said they were
cutting down on the dollars they could shell out for a restaurant
meal, a movie, a ballgame, a concert or a play. In the older age
group, 46 percent admitted they were circling the wagons and
staying home more to fight the high cost of living.
Those are ominous numbers for everybody, but especially for
restaurant owners, movie theater proprietors and concert
promoters.
And if you think those people have it tough, try running a small,
independent live theater group, one that depends almost entirely on
ticket sales and donations to provide its annual budget.
Granted, it’s not like anybody in the local theater community is
losing a salary behind the current downturn — you can’t lose what
you never had. None of those folks ever actually “make” anything
putting on plays, anyway. They’re volunteers, who often put nearly
as much time into their avocation as goes into their wage-earning
day jobs.
Even with an all-volunteer work force, the overhead involved with
running a community theater group is daunting: The ones who don’t
have to pay rent on a venue, or pay for upkeep of a venue they
might happen to own or be entrusted with, are lucky. But all face
royalties for the scripts they choose to perform, plus the cost of
set and costume material or rental. Add on the inevitable
“miscellaneous” costs, and then toss in the expense of fuel to get
all those actors, directors, musicians, costumers, set-builders et
al to and from rehearsals and performances, and you’re talking
about a massive commitment on a modest scale.
It’s never been easy. The current recession (you call it what you
want; I’m callin’ it a recession) makes it even tougher, as the
AARP poll shows.
Some of our local groups are more strapped than others. Bremerton
Community Theatre hit the jackpot earlier this season, selling out
their entire run of “The Sound of Music” and even adding a show in
its 225-seat playhouse. A show like that helps the ol’ cash-flow
situation, no doubt.
There are others, though, that don’t have nearly as many seats to
sell, and are trying to fill a different niche than a big,
family-pleasing musical like “The Sound of Music” fills. They’re
already used to 30 or 40 in the house each night, and now are
struggling to get by with even less ticket revenue.
I would fret a lot less if there was any logic, in the Darwinian
sense, to the local volunteers’ struggles. If the new Eddie Murphy
movie was actually a better choice for expenditure of some precious
entertainment dollars than one of the local community theater
offerings, I’d just chalk it up to survival of the fittest.
But Eddie’s track record for good movies isn’t too impressive. And
even if you can’t do without his trademark smirk and shtick, it’ll
turn up sooner or later (probably sooner, given that aforementioned
track record) on demand, on video shelves, and on free TV (well, as
free as anything administered by the Moneygrubber Cable
Company).
On the other hand, a Bremerton Symphony concert happens once. The
shows at the Admiral and other venues are one-night stands. A local
theater group trots out its productions for a few weekends, and
then they’re gone. No on-demand, no DVD, no Blu-ray.
And the local folks are doing a lot more than just trying real
hard. A lot of what you can see and hear in local concert halls and
on local stages ranges from adequate to extraordinary, giving you a
chance to see a really good representation of something you might
not otherwise ever get a chance to witness live … and at a fraction
of the cost of boating over to see one of the big Seattle outfits
perform it.
I know there are only so many dollars to go around. But in your
budgeting, please keep in mind that the local arts and
entertainment scene is a huge part of what makes Kitsap and
surroundings such a unique and appealing place. By spending your
entertainment bucks on them, you’re helping them weather the
current drought, so that they’ll be here when times get better.
Not to mention, you might see or hear something you might never
forget.