Looking Ahead

Now that the Christmas decorations have been struck and the noisemakers put away for the year, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and focus on the remainder of your season. For many people, January can be a month of probing introspection and personal appraisal. Many like to set goals (infamously dubbed as “resolutions”) for what they would like to accomplish in the year. In the theatre calendar, however, January is not necessarily the beginning of a new year. It’s the midway point of a season that began in the fall. During this period, several shows have already opened at most theatres, and the destinies of each have been determined. Perhaps one show has succeeded while the other has not — or maybe both have not. Perhaps, if Providence has intervened, both have recouped and then some.

Whatever the outcome, there are still a few more shows left to open for the remainder of the 2006-07 season. The success or failure of these remaining shows could spell the meteoric rise — or precipitous fall — of a theatre. With success comes a higher profile in the community and in the local press, perhaps more money (approved by the board of directors) for long overdue repairs or equipment upgrades, or maybe an aggressive marketing campaign to increase the audience base. With failure, the options grow increasingly more limited, with the final — and dire — end result being the demise of that theatre.

So right now, there’s a lot at stake for a lot of theatre companies nationwide. Much of their theatre’s future may be riding on what will be happening to them in the next few months. Taking this into account, I extend a heartfelt New Year’s best regards to all non-commercial theatres (community, regional, academic, ministry, etc.) that are approaching the remainder of the season (and the beginning of the next) with a mixture of excitement and optimism. Good luck to you all.

Iris Dorbian
Editor
Stage Directions