Misguided Anger

Chicago Trib critic Chris Jones posted a review of Outrageous Fortune, the book about the state of the new American play.  His review of the book - or at least of some of the views expressed in the book - are pretty blunt and some may disagree with them.  But he does say something that struck me as particularly interesting:

But at the point where the complainants in “Outrageous Fortunes” go after the paying customers, the book starts to become absurdly self-indulgent.

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When I was coming up through law school, I quickly observed that there was a lot of angry people involved in the legal profession.  That's part of the reason I left the field.

Imagine my surprise when I came to the arts and realized that there are a lot of angry people here as well.

I'm not saying much of the anger isn't jusified.  There are some really harsh (and unfair) realities about life in the for profit and non profit arts.

But I worry that many of us are taking our anger out on the wrong people . . . the paying customers.

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That critique doesn't apply to everyone, of course.  But still, I have found myself in far too many situations where I was stunned at the level of hostility we toss at the people who fill out seats (or that we wish would fill our seats).

We call them stupid and ignorant.  We mock them for their love of reality TV and other things that we consider "not art".

If they choose to spend $60 a ticket to see a show at some big institution, then we consider them sell outs to corporate culture.  We just assume they are people without taste when they go to see Wicked, Jersey Boys, the Nutcracker Suite or the Harry Potter exhibit at the museum.

We don't want our audience to be old because, let's be honest, old people suck. 

If the audience was young that's cool but, let's be honest . . . young people are typically broke so want we really want is people who are both young and can help us finance our ambitions.

We don't think about the times someone went to an arts gallery, asked a question about an painting and got treated like a moron because of it.

We don't think about the times they scrapped together some money to see a play only to find that it was a gigantic exercise in self love that wasn't even worth leaving the house for.

Instead, some of us lay the blame for our artistic and financial struggles at their feet.

If they were just more cultured, informed people then all of us could write our plays or paint our paintings and make a living.

Or at least that's what we think.

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I admit my perspective on this is a bit biased.

I've had leadership roles at two arts organizations.  Interacting with audiences has been a highlight for me.

The two audiences couldn't have appeared to be more different.  One was primarily African-American, the other primarily white (but diversifying).  But they had a lot in common, they were smart, they tried their best to appreciate the art on stage, they really hoped they would enjoy their experience.

Sure, there were nights when I wished there more people in the audience.  Sure, I have had encounters with arts goers (and non arts goers) that have driven me up a wall.

But in the midst of all those experience I have always tried to remember that without people, without those weird, complex, irrational, PEOPLE . . . the performing arts can't function as a business.

We have to remember that those people out there are no different from us.  We can't be angry at them just because they don't make the choice we wish they would make.

Our job, our opportunity, is to connect with their hearts, minds and imaginations again.

Because no government is going to bail out the arts.

No corporation is going to write a check big enough to keep us going.

No foundation is ever going to hand out enough money to give artists a living wage.

If we are going to build a world where art and those who produce it, can thrive, it's going to come from one person at a time.

 

 

Comments

[CatRocketship]

Another important component is hostility at people who DON'T fill seats. They don't buy tickets, memberships, art, and we forget that we aren't welfare sites but businesses, whether we're 501c3s or not. The fact that people aren't investing should probably reflect more on us than it does on them.

[Bil]

I agree, there's a lot of hostility directed at audience both present and absent. A business that involves human interaction - any business, not just an arts business - where the business depends on people walking in through the doors and paying in advance for a product or for entertainment has no right to piss and moan that no one shows up, or that those who do show up don't appreciate it enough or don't behave exactly as they should. We can maybe complain if someone forgets to turn off their cell phone, but that's part of the risk. Finding an audience is hard work, and it SHOULD be hard work, and getting repeat business SHOULD be hard work, because artists don't deserve easy money any more than any other businessperson.

[nick]

Theatre is not necessarily an entertainment product. Theatre is not necessarily a business.

If we separate the art form from box office, we may find that it is less our job to find an audience; it is more the job of the audience to find us.

If we demand an exchange that is not market orientated, the character of the audience will alter accordingly.

Attending theatre might be less like great meal at a restaurant and more like a great workout at a gym.

[Adam]

Nick,

I don't really know if you can separate the art form from the box office . . . or even that you should. I agree that we should ask more of our audience then for them to just crack open their wallets.

I'm a bit confused by your gym analogy, help me understand it.

[nick]

Hi Adam,

No, we will never separate theatre from box office as long as the art form we compare to is film. But what if we were to compare theatre to the art form of poetry.

Going to gym is not usually a strickly enjoyable undertaking. It's not "entertainment" per se. We do it to get in shape, etc. Likewise theatre might ask its audience to exercise muscles not normally used when viewing other entertainments such as television or film.

Theatre is what the audience brings to experience as much as anything else. If they have come in a passive manner to to be entertained is starkly different than the reader who enters the realm of a poem.

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