Don’t schedule shows the same weekends as other groups. It seems everyone does a fall show and a spring show. And more often than not they are scheduled right over each other. Not only does this cut down on the talent pool auditioning for shows, but it dilutes everyone’s audience and prevents actors from seeing each other’s shows. I don’t know why this happens. A lot of theatres in our area publicize their seasons well in advance (Marshall University, Charleston Stage Company, Kanawha Players, Charleston Light Opera Guild (to some degree), and it’s not difficult to know these dates, but inevitably, we’ll end up with 5 shows happening the same 2 weekends twice a year, and a dry spell the rest of the year. And then sometimes 3 groups in our region within 90 miles of each other mount the exact same show at the same time or within weeks of each other.
You're absolutely right, this happens way too often. There have been efforts to put a stop to the problem - there's an informal gathering of local performing groups that meets at least a couple of times a year to compare schedule dates and shows.
But even with that, conflict is sometimes avoidable. Christmas shows are a great example - if your group wants to put on a Christmas show, you want it to run sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That only gives you three or four weekends to choose from, and you usually want to avoid the weekend just after Thanksgiving (so you have more rehearsal time) and the weekend before Christmas (because no one wants to be busy that close to the holiday). So now we're down to two or three weekends, and you haven't even looked at what stages are available and when - after all, there are other organizations (outside of theatre groups) doing holiday shows.
Scheduling shows without running into another group takes a combination of skill and luck. As you say, most groups run shows in the fall and spring - so their rehearsals usually start in September or January. Allow six to eight weeks for rehearsal, and they're all ready to take the stage around November or March. You have to avoid holidays - Easter, Spring Break, Thanksgiving - and sports events, especially Marshall's home games. For First Stage, we also have to take into consideration school events - Prom, Show Choir performances, All-State Chorus - the list goes on and on. Even if your group manages its own theater, you have conflicts to work around - other groups schedule events, too.
So all that has to be taken into consideration. I really think that most groups try their hardest to avoid scheduling against other groups - but sometimes you just run out of options. It's especially difficult when you have to find a stage to rent.
As to the question of groups in nearby towns scheduling the same shows, I think that rarely enters into the decision as to whether or not to stage a show. If Seussical runs in Ashland and Charleston, should Huntington stay away from it? Everyone wants to do (and is doing) High School Musical, everyone will want to do Wicked when it becomes available - who can blame them? Since there seems to be very little spillover in audience from each town (aside from the theatre fans, of course), it doesn't surprise me that each town tackles the shows in its own way.
So I guess my answer to the question is, from what I've seen, everyone tries to avoid conflicts - honest - but it doesn't always work out.
8 comments:
Chuck hit the nail on the head when he said scheduling is hard when you are having to find a stage to rent. Many of the groups Ryan listed already have a home which makes it easier to set a schedule in advance. We at First Stage find ourselves as guests trying not to wear out our welcome in local churches that are kind enough to give us a place to rehearse. As for a venue, sometimes it is simply next to impossible to find an opening and then to have it not go up against another group....you can forget it. We do try very hard to consider all the groups and as Chuck pointed out, because we deal with kids, we have to also consider all the school events as well. I for one am doing my part to try to set an example with my new dance studio. I am having my "recital" show in late winter instead of spring, that way I do not conflict with other studios or theater groups. I do have to say that for the most part, we all try to work together...we all end up in the same show at one point or another and we share the common and wonderful bond of being "Theatre People". Our biggest problem is that we have too much Theater.... That makes Huntington a very rich and wonderful place to live.
I agree to a point.
I don't think the problem is malicious, for the most part, in scheduling shows against each other. If it happens, it happens, but the biggest problem is that sometimes they don't even overlap in an intelligent way.
The big thing you don't want to lose is a possible audience. Chances are good that, not only are the people going to have to choose which show to see, you're also not allowing the ACTORS and CREW of the other show to see YOUR show. And let's face it, other "theatre" people are going to be a fairly large draw, or should be, anyway, if they care about their craft/art.
No doubt scheduling is hard. But from a professional standpoint, if you're using the entire year, it would make things a lot easier.
I'm still waiting to see Ryan's investigation of the last few years worth of shows, when they ran, what they ran, etc. I think it will open some eyes to the fact that nearly everything is lumped together about 3 or 4 times in a 365 day period.
Instead of being afraid of certain dates, we should embrace them. Marshall games and holidays shouldn't be a "downside". They should be "opportunity". Especially football game days, because it's an automatic influx of people in the area. Are they playing in the afternoon? Have a show at night. Are they playing at night? Have a show in the afternoon, or two shows that day. Give them something else to do IN ADDITION to going to the game. Especially the folks that come in for the whole weekend just to catch the game on Saturday.
I think another thing we need to look at is the fact that if a new organization sprung up in town, and it was a professional organization (again, read: we pay people), we can't be afraid to have performances on a holiday weekend. There are too many people looking to do something else besides wonder why everything is closed on Good Friday.
Movies should be a perfect example of this. There's a reason that blockbuster movies are shoved out (many times before they are even ready) for a Holiday. Christmas, Easter, New Years, Thanksgiving, Halloween, July 4th... it's because they know that people have the time off and they are looking for something to do. And, more often than not, those movies rake in HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars. I've been back here long enough to see the lines down the escalators on Easter weekend at Pullman Square to see movies. We need not be afraid of it. We need to embrace it.
-M
I’m glad some people are making the effort not to piggyback other shows.
I’m compiling a calendar that, in addition to a history of past shows, lists all of the shows announced already for the remainder of 2007 and into 2008. It’s ALREADY easy to see where the shows are clumping and where the dry spells are. It just seems that it would be common sense to want to produce a show when you would have the greatest chance to attract as much of the theatre-going audience as possible rather than having to share with several other groups at once.
MTI won’t issue rights for a show if there is a touring production of that show in the same region within a certain block of time… I can only assume that it is because it tends to dilute the audience?
I can understand how scheduling would be more difficult for a theatre that didn't have it's own stage. However, all of the Huntington theatre companies I referred to DO have their own spaces, (with the exception of Renaissance Players for their production of "Nunsense".)
My examples were “Fiddler” and “Hair” running on the exact same dates last October, and this April, when no fewer than 4 Huntington shows ( “Nunsense”, “The Music Man”, “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Guys”) ran in a ten day period from April 20 to 30.
A 10 day window to see 4 Huntington shows???
I understand that most groups want a spring and a fall show…nothing wrong with that…but do they have to fall on the same exact weekends?
Christmas shows are a different story because you have a very limited window....it pretty much HAS to be done in the small window between Thanksgiving and Christmas or there’s no point...and almost EVERYONE does a Christmas show, so you can’t do a lot about that.
I just brought it up this scheduling thing as part of a post suggesting ways to increase audiences so we are financially able to stretch and try more challenging and exciting shows.
There must be other things we can do to increase chances of success other than just always picking the safe crowd-pleaser shows, or packing the stage with as many people as possible to ensure that we’ll have plenty of friends and family members to fill the audience.
I agree that Huntington does have a lot of theatre. We just have too much of the same kind, in my opinion.
Mary and I have been fighting the good fight together for more years than we'd care to admit (along with the other members of the board), looking for venues for First Stage while dancing around impossible schedules. All part of the fun, right?
Mike, I think it'd be great for a group to offer a show during a holiday - and with the right promotion, I think it'd do well. But you're right, it would almost have to be a professional group doing it. All the other groups around here are, for the most part, volunteers, and you'll have a tough time getting them to show up on a holiday. But I'd love to see it happen! As to avoiding Marshall sports, I agree - it's not a major conflict with a theatre show, and if scheduled carefully it can even help the attendance. The ideal is to schedule your event on a weekend when there's more or less nothing else happening - that way you'll get even the most casual theatre-goer who's looking for something to do. But those weekends are rare indeed.
Ryan, you're right, MTI won't allow community theatre to tackle a touring show that comes within a certain distance because they don't want the local show to take money away from the professional one (via ticket sales).
And you're right about having shows so close together making it difficult on the person who wants to see those shows. Of the six shows you mentioned, I managed to see only three, despite my best efforts.
But again, there are extenuating circumstances - "Music Man," for example, moved from its original dates to make room for "Cats" in March (it was on the same stage). I have no idea why they didn't move "Man" later in the spring, though, to avoid the crunch.
Marshall, of coures, has the right idea - it announces its lineup by the end of spring for the next year - but volunteer groups struggle to work that far ahead of time.
And I absolutely agree that we have too much of the same kind of theatre. I'm all for diversity!
In the unabashed plug department, that's why I'm pleased with the next First Stage season. Yes, we're doing "High School Musical" (can't get more mainstream than that), but we're also doing "Children of Eden," which hasn't been done around here (as far as I know). Diversity!
I know! That's awesome. I have heard the CD, but I have never seen "Children of Eden", and I'm looking forward to it! Bravo for choosing it! I hope it helps to demonstrate that new material for our area does draw a crowd! I will definitely be there.
The only time that I'm aware of Children of Eden being produced in the tri-state, ever, was in Ashland. A local group there did it at the Paramount. I saw it and loved it, but that was nigh on 10 years ago. It's a great show, and you can't go wrong with the same guy that did Godspell and Wicked, can you? I call him "SS". We're old pals. And it's a great, inspired choice for the kids, too.
It's almost sad that the children's theatre is doing the most diverse work around here... Les Mis, Cats, High School Musical, Children of Eden.... Viva la First Stage!!
If only we could rally the troops and show this place that adults can play that game too....
-M
Rally the troops, eh? I like that idea! Oh, and I'll suggest your slogan to the board: Viva la First Stage! I like it!
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