you, your org, and/or your industry?"
Beth Marshall
Producing Artistic Director
Orlando Fringe Festival
In the past week, I received several email invitations to at least 5 local theatres/production companies asking me to bring people (comped) to their shows because tix sales were slim and they would rather play to a comped house than a no house, so to speak.
The economy has taken its toll on theatres (and already hard pressed business)
I see this first hand in the non-booked tix for our Annual All Hallows 10 fundraiser (Oct. 17th & 19th) I see this in the fewer amount of applications for the festival itself (last year I had triple the apps as what I currently have by this same date) and I saw this with the tix sales for L'Ange at The Garden Theatre and with Wasteland at The Margeson.It SUX! Of course, I see this as in budgetary grant funding cuts across the board in the arts, in school funding of the arts, in butts in seats in houses, in lighter attendance numbers at the Maitland Arts Fest just yesterday (which was lovely -BTW)
Now don't get me wrong. Theatre is a fun but difficult business as we all know too well. It is always a challenge to fill the seats and the bank accounts and make a living doing what we love. I get that, but trust me on this... the RECENT arts jobs cut in this town, downsized across the board, government funding cuts on arts non-profits and the high gas prices to even get out of the house to work or much less shows are not pretty. Sponsors are hurting and rethinking their contributions too. It is taking its toll.
This was the 1st year for the Orange County TDT grant that ALL applicants qualified for funding and not all applicants will be getting funding or the amount they asked for. Fortunately, Fringe is not one of them, but one of my closest friend's theatre's was, which effects her budget ALOT, which in turn affects what she can pay presenting companies to produce in her theatre, which in turn affects what shows get presented and what independent producers like myself are paid and can afford to pay the artists I hire, which affects YOU!
What can we do? Margot Knight (CEO/PREZ of United Arts) and her staff often send out advocacy alerts to us all to write our commissioners (both city and county), Mayors, Senators and high -up politicians to express our concerns and needs for art funding.
I do this EVERY TIME. Others on my staff and some on my board do this as well.
I encourage ALL artists and arts lovers to do this...because it DOES help. The more they hear from us the more we (arts) are in their minds and on their agendas.
So please help!
Start with writing and buying tix and donating to the arts! We are at the point where we must ACT not only on stage but off. We must support each other!
I also know that most people reading this blog are already democratic voters...but in the rare case you are fence sitting on your vote...I strongly encourage you to look at the arts plan of each candidate and weigh that into your decision, because it is gonna matter.
It is no big surprise that arts is among the FIRST (if not the FIRST) to get cut on a line item of a national budget. It is almost always never brought up in interviews, debates or sometimes even on the websites of candidates...PLEASE think about this when you vote.