What does this really mean in San Diego’s regional theatre?
Oh dear reader, I pimped out my blog into this pretty website to do more journalism on top of theatre criticism, and the days just fly by under me. Anywhoosies, I had been meaning to write something about this important topic, and when I came across Cara Joy’s reflection on regional theatre, more things to say came to mind (the usual, if you are familiar here). Then Chalamat came with his take on opera and ballet, and here we are…
I will reference a couple of points from Cara’s piece, then dive in with my own. She mentions going to see theatres in different cities when traveling the country, as well as keys to success, consistency, and says that “communication with the community and connection with the community is always essential.” Then, what got me going was a database that Broadway World has with theatres in different cities, and when I scrolled down to see San Diego, I was like ????, because half of the theatre companies in this city are not there, so let us begin:
1. Timmy’s take on opera and ballet being dead and whatever: This obviously has to be taken with a grain of salt, or as my grandma would say, “tómalo de quien viene,” yet, the point with this massive (or viral) debate is that if you truly do not consume the performing arts, you will consider them dead. Especially in this day and age, where “trends” are a thing more than ever, and if you do not do the same thing everybody else does, it is your social ending. Any theatre kid would say, “Who cares?” and move on. And everybody needs to as well because the performing arts (gird your loins) are not for everybody, and the issue with consistency is trying to reach everybody and then segmenting when a play has a Latin American, Asian, non-white playwright, topic, cast, etc.
2. Keys to success and consistency: Let me elaborate when I say the performing arts are not for everybody. Well, nothing can be for everybody. Is From Another Zero for everybody? Is Taylor Swift for everybody? Is JLo? (I will get to her as well). This is a root issue in America, and when I say America, I mean from Greenland to Patagonia, with poor funding for schools, cuts to arts, theatre programs, and so on. Teaching our kids and youth to appreciate the arts is becoming more challenging, and it shouldn’t be, but that is the reality, fighting against the current. Let us not go too far; look at the Washington Post and the New York Times and all their nixing, and we go back to another root issue: the way it is consumed, or, well, consumerism. I am an avid fan of Warwick’s Tea Time, a Zoom meeting with some of the publishing houses’ reps they work with, where they discuss the latest books coming out and recommendations. I am so addicted, I cannot begin to tell you, dear reader, but I am there practically every Monday at 4:00 p.m. In one of the Zooms, the publishing community was mourning the Washington Post laying off its book critic, Ron Charles, and the publishers asking, “What will we do now?” to which I chimed in saying, “Grassroots baby.” -hence the vice of consumerism, or well, putting all your eggs in one basket. (Ron created a Substack and is inviting audiences to join him there, his new home.)
3.“Communication with the community and connection with the community is always essential.”: Theatre companies catered to the same audience for decades. The season subscribers, the donors, and the audience, or single-ticket buyers, all looked the same and consumed the same media, which was the one that theatres advertised in, feeding the circle that would close in on them and choke them. Then COVID 19 hits, people were scared, dying, and when it “ended,” many stopped going to the theatre or aged out. Now with social media, people branching out, content creators and influencers, there are different sides and perspectives. Still, the vice continues.Viral influencers are being invited to talk about shows, but as far as San Diego is concerned, I only see them reviewing musicals in Downtown, Hillcrest, and La Jolla. I do not see them going to Vista, Convoy, or Liberty Station. Let alone Chula Vista, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. Another thing is that many do not even live in San Diego, and I will not even go into my marketing nature and question their following, conversion, and ROI…
It is bonkers that over the past year, people have come up to me at theatres during a performance to share that they read something I wrote. Bonkers! I bring this up because there was a person next to me at a performance who agreed with a perspective I wrote about on here about segmentation, adding that they had worked in a theatre for a long time and when the Latino show would come across the season, the company would be like CALL ALL THE LATINOS, write the director’s note in Spanish too…same for the Asian shows, the African American shows, and so on. For me, writing a director’s note in Spanish for one show and then the rest of the season going back to only English tells me that I am only welcomed or thought of, only for shows that involve the color of my skin and where I come from. Not my likes or interests. Or, that my likes and interests are only reduced to where I come from, my skin color, assuming that I am monolingual and will not understand a play with an all-Black cast, or feel things when I see a California-based Japanese concentration camp on stage. Which brings me to the hard truth: there was no connection to begin with or a true sense of community, only quotas.
I want to believe that the intention is truly there, but it gets lost in execution.
Now, Taylor Swift (lol), even though there are a million Swifties out there, when she came out with her latest album “The Life of a Showgirl,” some in the performing arts were not too happy… they forgot once they heard “The Fate of Ophelia” and memorized the viral choreo.
JLo. I just saw (finally) Kiss of the Spiderwoman and…ay…I have seen JLo in her Vegas residency. Unlike Tay-Tay, Lopez is a true showgirl and knows how to move an audience, but not for musical theatre or an Academy Award. Creating another version of this movie 40 years later did not surpass its predecessor, with four nominations and a win. Although for me, Tonatiuh is the true star. By the by, in 2023, a Noise Within in Pasadena invited me to review their production of the straight play, and it was stellar.
Going back to the performing arts, not being for everybody, do not come for me.
I follow one particular influencer or content creator, and the amount of plays they see in a month is mind-blowing. When the show has swings or understudies, they see it again. When it changes casts again, and they save the same program in its different versions. I have seen three shows in one day. Even though I still have the stamina, what this creator does is too much for me, and I cannot do it. That is an example of where my point lies.
Regarding the BWW list and half of the theatres in San Diego not being there, hey, maybe they do not wish to be there. It depends on several factors, including the company’s mission statement, values, and goals. In these times, marketing-wise, what worked in January does not work in February, and “reinvention” is not working that well either.
Playing devil’s advocate, maybe the people who read the director’s note in Spanish for that show with Latin American tints got curious about the rest of the season and will come back…if they do, how will the engagement be then?
