July 17,
2014
Out of
Class Story #2
Live
Theatre
Kalamazoo, a unique and artistically
strong community in Southwest Michigan, boasts a particularly healthy and
active theatre network, despite its size and Midwest location.
The city of Kalamazoo houses 11
theatre venues within its meager 25.11 square mile area, all of which experience
success. This does not count the high schools along the city’s outskirts, which
would bring the count closer to 15. HOW
DO YOU KNOW THIS? AND HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO OTHER PLACES?
“It [live theatre] is thriving,”
said Nicki Poer, Director of Education and Outreach at The Kalamazoo Civic
Theatre.
Joan Herrington, Chair of Western
Michigan University’s Theatre Department, said, “The fact that we can all produce
and that we can all survive despite the number of us is really amazing.”
The vast number of theatrical
endeavors within the city is varied in origin and mission. There is everything
from semi-professional theatre and community theatre to university and high
school theatre, and each brings something different to Kalamazoo’s citizens
“I think that’s why it’s so cool
here is that everybody’s so different,” said Poer.
Community theatre is a key component
of Kalamazoo’s entertainment, especially because it allows for a wide variety
of people with different occupations and backgrounds to come together and
create as well as experience. HOW DO YOU
KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
Poer said The Kalamazoo Civic
Theatre is unique in that it offers different opportunities for multiple age
levels. There are 13 shows each season. Of those shows, seven are main stage
productions for anyone over 18 years of age, three are part of the Civic Youth
Theatre for children under 18, and three are for seniors age 50 and over as
part of the Senior Reader’s Theatre.
The Civic, as some other community
theatres do, offers summer classes through its Academy of Theatre Arts program,
which Poer said continues the theatre’s legacy of education through hands-on
experience.
Community theatre is all about bringing
volunteers together to learn and create. Poer said staff at The Civic enjoys
teaching community volunteers skills while allowing them to help out with
productions.
In addition, The Civic is ranked as one of the
top community theatres in the nation. This sets The Civic apart from other community
theatres in the area, for it provides a sense of professionalism and vast knowledge
of the industry. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?
ATTRIBUTE!
Kalamazoo is also the location of
several colleges, two of which have theatrical programs that bring university
theatre to the community. While university theatre is similar to community theatre
in an educational capacity, although more so at the university level, there are
many differences.
“We tend to do more adventuresome
stuff, some stuff that’s more social justice kind of work, more new, edgier
plays,” Herrington said of Western Michigan University’s theatre productions,
while The Civic tends to stick to more mainstream shows.
Herrington said the university still has a
subscriber base and provides the same opportunity for the community to see
shows, but everyone on the stage is under 25 years old, and students do all
work on the shows.
One major difference, said Herrington, is how
Western’s season is picked.
“When we pick a season, we have a little bit of
a different mission than The Civic, for example… We need to pick a season that
addresses the pedagogical needs of our students,” Herrington said.
WHAT ARE
THOSE NEEDS? AND WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SHOWS LINKED TO NEEDS? SHOW ME
EXAMPLES; DON’T JUST TELL ME THERE ARE
Because Western’s theatre program is
self-supporting from ticket sales and donor contributions, Herrington added,
“We also can’t live in an academic bubble… We have to find a balance, and
that’s unique to us.”
HOW MUCH
MONEY DOES IT BRING IN THROUGH THOSE SOURCES?
Yet another type of theatre in the city is that
performed by high school students. There are several high schools in and around
Kalamazoo that produce plays and musicals during the academic year, but that
experience is much different than that of university or community theatres.
Lou Price, a teacher and director of Mattawan High
School’s Theatre Department, said casting, for example, is much different.
Price said he and other high school directors
must work with a limited talent pool of students whereas universities and
community theatres have a larger pool to pull from. He said some, like the
equity theatre Farmer’s Alley, can even afford to bring in talent to fill
roles.
Price also said the material he is allowed to
choose is limited much more so than that of community and especially university
shows.
“It depends on your community,” said Price, and
the Kalamazoo area, particularly closer to Mattawan, is fairly conservative.
This conservative nature limits the productions
that Mattawan High School can produce and limits the material students are
exposed to.
SUCH AS?
EXAMPLES, PLEASE
Price said universities like Western, however,
tend to choose bolder, more experimental and controversial productions for
their seasons, which allows students to gain insight and experience with that
subject matter.
SUCH AS?
EXAMPLES
There are much larger conflicts than a
conservative community, though, for all Kalamazoo theatres.
All theatres in the area felt the economic
struggle of 2009, which reduced both attendance and donations, but they are
finally coming back in full force.
DON’T
JUST TELL ME; OFFER EXAMPLES OF ATTENDANCE/REVENUES AT SOME OF THESE PLACES SO
WE CAN SEE THE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR STATEMENT THAT IT’S COMING BACK IN FULL FORCE
High schools, however, continue to face smaller
and smaller budgets and less community and school district support, said Price.
AGAIN,
SHOW ME THE MONEY FIGURES TO SUPPORT THIS CLAIM. FACT-TEST WHAT PRICE IS SAYING
BY LOOKING AT AND SHARING THE DOLLAR NUMBERS
Despite the struggles that the area’s theatres
face, they have experienced much success, mostly due to Theatre Kalamazoo, an
organization that promotes the diversity and richness of the area’s theatre and
helps to make theatre more accessible to the public. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
“We work together on marketing because we don’t
think of ourselves as competitors… Theatre in Kalamazoo is like one thing with
a lot of different components,” said Herrington, who is also a member of the
Theatre Kalamazoo collaboration.
Thanks to Theatre Kalamazoo, residents are able
to enjoy an array of productions throughout the community and experience how
they help each other through pooling advertising dollars and producing balanced
seasons. AGAIN, ATTRIBUTE!
Clark, a Kalamazoo resident of 22 years, said,
“We're so lucky in Kalamazoo to have such a wide variety of wonderful theater
opportunities, from old favorites like the New Vic, Barn Theatre and The Civic
to the new but highly successful Farmer’s Alley.”
Clark said, “I love theater, and it is a big
part of why I love living in this community that values the arts.”
When asked about her hopes for the future of
live theatres in Kalamazoo, Herrington said, “I just hope that we [Kalamazoo
theatres] remain strong. I hope that we are a community where young people feel
like they can start theatres, and new theatres can grow, and new projects can
grow, and there can be opportunities for young artists to be here… We really
need to invest in them and make sure that we are cultivating the next
generation of theatre artists.”
Word Count: 1084
Source Sheet
Name:
Joan Herrington
Title:
Chair & Professor (Western Michigan University Theatre Department)
Phone
Number: 387-3224
Email
Address: joan.herrington@wmich.edu
Name:
Nicki Poer
Title:
Director of Education & Outreach (The Kalamazoo Civic Theatre)
Phone
Number: 269-343-2280 ext. 1117
Email
Address: NPoer@kazoocivic.com
Name:
Lou Price
Title:
Teacher & Director (Mattawan High School)
Phone
Number: 269-271-4301
Email Address: lprice@mattawanschools.org
Name: Beth Clark
Title: Kalamazoo Resident of 22 years
Phone Number: (269) 267-9818
ASSIGNMENT
GRADE: (redacted)
INSTRUCTOR
COMMENTS: NICE JOB WITH SOME GREAT QUOTES. BUT WE ARE SORELY IN NEED OF
ATTENDANCE, REVENUE AND BUDGET DATA TO SUPPORT MANY OF YOUR KEY POINTS.
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