paisleypiper's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- who will attend the arts in 20 years Last night, Quinn and I went to see a play at our local reparatory theatre. Our city is blessed with a world class rep theatre even though we are far from being a world class city. Yet I�m worried about the theatre because when I go, I feel I am so much younger than everyone that I should be in short pants still. Most of the people who get out and go to plays arrive in their nice ensemble, the ladies with their hair recently set glowing like white orbs as the house lights go down. The average theatre-goer needs special hearing devices. Although I am singling out our seniors I do not mean to mock them. More I marvel at the difference between what is worth the effort. Every performing arts event I attend, most of the people are seniors. Has it always been that way, or did they go to plays when they were younger? I don�t have an answer to this question, but I suspect that this group of people has been play-going people for decades. I never want to rag on young people or people boldly rolling to the meadow of middle age. I asked myself about barriers, namely the cost of tickets. But, our rep theatre, located at the university, has $5 tickets for students available 30 minutes before the show -- no more costly or unpredictable than running to a movie. I know most of the performing arts about town have similar deals. For non-students our rep theatre has $10 tickets available in advance. They are in the back, but I�ve sat back there plenty of times and in a venue that small there are not bad seats. The sloped seating makes this a good place to sit to take in the full stage. I keep thinking about why the main crowd for the performing arts will, sooner than later, make their transitions and who will fill the seats? Will there be a revolution in performing arts culture? Because I think I have figured out the barrier � it�s a barrier of dress code. The idea of getting tickets for something subdued way in advance, of wearing a suit or a nice outfit to sit still for three hours in a tight space, this contradicts our culturally movement to the casual, ultra casual even. And I wonder whether that makes a larger impact than I imagine. Why do people get gussied up for the theatre? I feel a sense of duty to wear something equivalent to going to a nice restaurant. For me, it feels like the respectful way to dress. Because hundreds of people have worked extremely hard to pull off the moving experience which is a play. I love plays, when they are high-quality, and find myself tearing up at the end even if the resolution is felicitous because the entire experience moves me. Plays offer, for me at least, a more cathartic experience than movies. They are more intimate, perhaps, more personal. Every performance is unique rather than a simulation. Of course I love movies. I adore movies. I see them all the time. But the theatre is a special treat for me. The relationship between looking is different with a play. An example. Last night we saw a Tom Stoppard play and the cast and crew met the challenges of having multiple times in people�s lives occur simultaneously on stage. In a movie, there would have been more focus on singular, multiple perspective� close cuts, and scenes from many different angles of view. In this play, some areas fell dark to show movement from the �present� to an �earlier time� that was controlled by memory and the reading of letters. The characters from the different time would stand in darkness and watch the action. And sometimes they would move through the plane of action to give an eerie sense of place and time. A movie would not be able to do this. It wouldn�t be good movie-making. I would watch the movie and say � that�s just like a play. They are different art forms. But I think this larger scene way of viewing a play adds to what moves me about them. I just hope that the dress and class revolution transforms itself enough to open the arts for all � it feels great to plop down $10-15 dollars on a play or a symphony performance. Quinn and I cannot afford it often, but every once in a while we treat ourselves. And it never fails to be a great thrill. Here�s a random thought. This trend of raising money by selling bricks with people�s names, seats with people�s names � this scriti politi � strikes me as an intriguing blend of graffiti and advertising. I just hadn�t thought of it until last night at the theatre when the managing director announced they would be raising money for new seats through giving patrons the opportunity to purchase seats in the names of loved ones. A bit like a way of legal tagging? I say whatever works because it is hard to be an arts organization. At the same time, it makes it perfectly clear who is who to walk down a sidewalk and see the names of the people who could afford to �care.� Happy Friday! I better get back to work�. 9:02 a.m. - 2003-05-23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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