tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7398139335366037888.post6988665117446998883..comments2023-10-24T06:32:19.404-07:00Comments on State of the Art: I miss CAST. I wish more people did.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7398139335366037888.post-36754396172519919052014-08-19T12:20:47.205-07:002014-08-19T12:20:47.205-07:00Good question, Bird. I, too, have been pleased to ...Good question, Bird. I, too, have been pleased to see audiences respond so vigorously at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte.<br /><br />Here are a few differences that might be crucial:<br /><br />ATC has a stand-alone theater with an easy-to-see marquee on a well-traveled street (Stonewall), and people know where to find it. CAST did not have those advantages. And CAST relocated three seasons ago to a larger, more expensive space that was harder to pay for.<br /><br />ATC has a full-time staff that can spread out the division of labor among production, play reading, marketing and media, patron care, etc. CAST never rose to that level; it briefly had a separate managing director near the end but was otherwise mostly a one-person enterprise, with help coming from the Simmons family.<br /><br />ATC tends to do at least two populist plays, such as "Dream a Little Dream" and "The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical," every season. Those sell themselves and make possible some of the less-known fare. For good or ill, CAST didn't do that.<br /><br />There are other differences, but those are three big ones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7398139335366037888.post-13677474613579017832014-08-19T05:49:28.373-07:002014-08-19T05:49:28.373-07:00It may be comparing apples to oranges - or at leas...It may be comparing apples to oranges - or at least apples to pears - but, from a logistics standpoint, how did CAST stack up against Actor's Theater of Charlotte (ATC)? I ask because they appeared to be about the same size and targeting the same audience. Yet, I've gone to many ATC shows and very few haven't been mostly if not completely full.<br /><br />Do you think it is a difference in venue, selection of material, promotion, or something else?Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7398139335366037888.post-62710276152050363092014-08-18T15:43:57.238-07:002014-08-18T15:43:57.238-07:00They're not identically the same, but this rem...They're not identically the same, but this reminds me of the demise of New York City Opera including an artistic battle with the board, loss of funding,adventurous programming. <br /><br />FWIW, I think people have neither the time nor money to be adventurous in their entertainment.<br /><br />A night at the theater (or opera) requires an end-to-end commitment of 3-5 hours. There is the cost of the evening-tickets, attire, food and beverage, maybe a babysitter, etc. There's the exhaustion of having been at work all day, dealing with our post-crash era.<br /><br />All that means few people want to be challenged by programming, let alone see a dud. They want to be entertained. They can easily stay home and watch an array of 500 channels on audio/video systems that recreate the theater experience.<br /><br />It's a very small group of patrons that can consistently support live theater (or New York City Opera.) Unfortunately, this reality is leaves little room for adventures. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com