Theater companies need to support each other
I was recently talking theater to three gentlemen who are hoping to start a magazine devoted to local playhouses, and I was surprised when one asked, “Why do so many theaters hate each other?” I had thought those days were over, or half over. But these men had only begun to contact artistic directors, so they were coming to me with a fresh viewpoint.
There was a time when troupes were extremely territorial. Most behaved as if other theaters didn’t exist. There was a lot of bad-mouthing. This made no sense to me since artists can only help themselves by communicating with fellow players. And as a team, they could fight the real enemy: ambivalent audiences.
Some argue that they shouldn’t be beefing up the competition. But this isn’t an either/or situation. The problem in attracting Vegas audiences is that they’re not inclined to go to the theater. If they get hooked on one play, might not they want to see others — or a variety of others?
It’s curious, for example, that so many scripts here are repeated, even though we have yet to see many great works. (One gentleman at the meeting said, “I feel like I see the same 12 plays over and over again.”)
Last week, I attended A.R. Gurney’s man-loves-dog comedy “Sylvia” (which wraps up its Nevada Conservatory run Sunday), and I had just seen it two months ago at Las Vegas Little Theatre. We had two George S. Kaufman/Moss Hart comedies opening the same weekend, and a third Moss Hart work shortly afterward. “Jewtopia” was announced for the Little Theatre, until the Jewish Repertory got the rights pulled so they could do it (they’re union, so they get first dibs).
Wouldn’t it make sense for the theaters to better interact? Some don’t care about duplications because they feel they have their own audience. But it certainly doesn’t enrich the arts scene.
Then, too, since playhouses have different strengths, wouldn’t it be helpful if informal seminars were regularly scheduled so that knowledge could be shared? Imagine top-notch set designers sharing secrets about how to deal with tight budgets. Or gifted directors talking about how to get the best out of all kinds of performers. Or well-liked artistic directors explaining how to get volunteers to want to work with you. Or successful publicity people giving tips on how to get your show attention.
The situation has improved. Playhouses often use their program notes to advertise other group’s shows. There’s an invitation-only Facebook page devoted to organizational dialogue. And there are fewer actors who perform for only one theater.
It’s understandable that troupes are busy fine-tuning their own product. But I hope it’s obvious that the city would benefit if artists cared more about one another.
After all, they all have the same mission.
Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat@ aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.