MACTEditor’s note: Last week I published an article by Howard Sherman (https://hesherman.com/) regarding the “put-downs” regarding community theatre. Here are a few of the responses his article got on his website.
From Amy: Unfortunately, the snobbery starts young. I attended a university with a well-known musical theatre program. A few years ago, I went to a student-run production for non-majors, and had the misfortune of being seated next to a group of theatre majors who spent the entire show mocking the performers on stage. Yes, the performances and production values weren’t on par with the Equity playhouse that staged the drama program’s shows, but that wasn’t the point. These were students who probably did theatre in high school, but had no desire to make a career of it. They were just having fun.
At one point, one student suggested they yell out “Drama ’09!” during the curtain call, I guess to assert their supposed authority over the non-majors, and just be jerks.
I was sorely tempted to turn around and remind these kids that they were spending $180,000 on a degree to wait tables, while the non-majors may not have the same level of dance skills because they were too busy with their bio-chemistry coursework.
I grew up going to community theatre. Most people do. Most professionals got their start there- whether they like to admit it or not- as a tree or a Munchkin or a child of the King of Siam. People seem to believe there’s a cut-off at what time community theatre is no longer acceptable, as though it’s something that should be outgrown, and that’s really unfortunate.
From Rebecca: Howard Sherman, speaking the truth once again. I will freely admit that there was a time when I used to look down my nose at “community theater.” Then I grew up and wised up. When the community theater in your town has triple the subscriber base of the professional theatre you are struggling to keep alive, you have to ask yourself– what is the REAL value of theatre to this community? And are we providing that value as well as this group of committed volunteers?
We don’t expect people who play sports to play until they are 18 and then either go pro or be couch potatoes for the rest of their lives. We see the value of a wide range of people of varying skill participating throughout their lives.
Community theatres build audiences for professional theatres. They spark passion and provide opportunity to young people who become the artists that shape the future of the artform. And they put a little bit of revenue in the pockets of playwrights. We need to thank them. And, we need to figure out what we can learn from them.
From Mark: Wonderful post, Howard. I suspect that there’s a lot of head nodding from readers between the coasts. As many here have posted, the lines get blurred in many communities. Blurred to the point of uselessness.
At the end of the day, it’s all just theatre. I see some brilliant “community” theatre, and some deadly “professional”. Not only should we stop using the term to disparage theatres, we should probably stop using the term. Trying to draw fine lines between “community” vs. “semi-professional” vs “professional” is a semantical exercise, and usually is only there to make you feel that you can look down on a lower rung.
Shouldn’t all theatre be community theatre? Aren’t we all trying to serve our communities?
From Mishia: Well put Rebecca. I felt the same way about community theatre once, until I moved to NC and worked for a fully-staffed community theatre that is run by a woman with over 30 years experience as an actor, director and business manager. She set me straight. : ) Then I moved to MN where a crossover of professional and volunteer is the norm. At the community theatre level I’ve worked with people who have acted at the Guthrie and regularly work paid jobs in our region. Here there is a respect for the work and privilege of making art, even if it means volunteering time and talent. One of the community theatres I direct for has a good-sized budget and full staff and turns a profit regularly, unlike a lot of the smaller professional companies. And, working with actors of all levels of experience keeps me on my toes and allows me to use all my directorial skills. So glad I “wised up.”
More responses next week.