Media Ethnography

For my media ethnography assessment, inspired by Tara's examination of Gopher games, I chose to discuss the trend of the Minneapolis theatre scene and it's unavoidable money troubles.

Last night, at Woyzeck we had ten audience members for our first show, and five audience members for our second show. Tonight, Thursday, we have one hundred and fifty tickets pre-sold for all three shows. Obviously, there is a large disparity here due, most likely, to a growing trend in audience attendance I will speak more on later. Weekends are really the "banking" points of a a show's run. It is just incredibly difficult to get patrons in seats during the Monday through Thursday portion of the week without offering a discounted incentive. This is understandable, though. People work during the week, have appointments and errands, and probably need to get up early the following morning. For performers, some shows often offer Monday night performances if they want to include actors, crew, and techs in their audience. This is because most runs are "dark," or have the night off, on Mondays.

Last night, I spoke with two members of the audience about their days after the last show.

Nick:
Nick is a recent graduate of University of the U. His degree is in theatre arts, and he came to see the show because he saw the last version, knew a lot of people in the cast, and really liked all the "shots up on Facebook." I asked Nick how many plays he sees a month. He thought about it for a second, and asked if he was supposed to imagine if he was not working on anything himself. I said yes. "Oh, probably at least two a month. Sometimes one each week. You know, Allison, depends what's playing." I then asked Nick what he thought about people our age and younger seeing shows. He told me that most people our age and younger have probably never stepped foot in a theater. "Most people I know who see theatre, are involved/ were involved in theatre at some point in their lives. I also think it is kind of stigmatized for dudes to come and see plays on their own. Not me, though. I don't care. And, its stupid, look at your show, it's like a haunted house- which people love. I don't know, I don't get it." I asked Nick if he thought cost was a factor. He told me it was probably the biggest factor to more people not being able to, or thinking to attend shows. He explained that he never actively went to see shows as a young person, because he had no money. Only once he was in college, working, and getting student discounts could he afford to go out and see performances. I asked him if he sees much dance theatre. Nick told me that he did not, though he wished he did. Lastly, I asked Nick if shows featuring new media in them draw him in over others: "Yes and no," he explained. I think it has to be done well. Sometimes it seems gimmicky and I don't like that, but other times it is really cool. Like the person to film scene in Brief Encounter the Guthrie brought in, that was amazing."

Linda: Linda is in her early fifties (I did not get to ask her where she worked), and is a major follower of dance theatre. She told me that she loves Black Label Movement's work, and came to the show expecting to see more of a dance concert and was pleasantly surprised with the "museum-like qualities and theatricality" of the show. I asked Linda if she saw much theatre, and she told me that her husband was more into theatre, and that they would occasionally go to the Guthrie to see shows there. When I asked her if her husband came with her to see the show, she told me, "No, he is a pretty traditional guy when it comes to shows. No offense, but he would have hated this. That's just him, though. He used to turn his nose up at dance, as well, but has warmed up to it over the years." I asked Linda what other theaters she liked to go to, and she responded that she really loved going to the Walker and seeing outside dance companies, but it was pretty expensive, and she also enjoyed going to the Ritz theater for dance concerts. I asked her if she had ever been to the Bedlam or Bryant Lake Bowl. She told me she had been to BLB a few times times and really enjoyed herself, and had never been to Bedlam, but had heard "interesting things." When asked how many shows she sees a month, Linda told me she saw one or two a month. Lastly, I asked Linda if shows featuring media, or media sources featuring shows played into her choosing to see certain performances over others: "Yes, I do like when projections and things like that are used, especially in dance. It is so beautiful to see the form and line of the body against the lines of the projection" and "Yes, I have the Facebook now, my daughter is so embarrassed. I joined the groups of the dance companies I really like and get their invites, and it helps me schedule which shows I want to see instead of sifted through all the postcards!"

Reflections:
Right now, theaters are suffering. It is currently better to be a company than a venue. Several companies I work with around the Cities have had issues with empty opening and mid-run sections of shows, and then selling out their last four performances making the ever looming threat of breaking even more and more dire. On the flip side, several venues around the Cities, such as the Southern, are taking the risk out of putting up shows for themselves and putting it on the invited company. The Southern now sets monetary goals for each weekends take for any show they let in their doors. If the company does not make its goal, the company must make up for the money lost from house totals. It seems harsh, but is actually an insurance policy for the Southern to keep them in the black. Running a space is incredibly expensive and theaters closing around the Twin Cities has everything to do with money rather than talent or integrity. Check out this article about Jeune Lune for a sad example of bankruptcy ruining art:

On the subject of cost to audience members, an interesting division of patrons occurs at different theaters. At theaters like the Guthrie, Orpheum, State, and Walker, ticket costs are high. Most patrons of these theaters are well to do, frequently attend those theaters, and are usually forty years old and above. These venues generally show "straight" plays and musicals, with the Walker being the exception. Theaters such as the Southern, Mixed Blood, Red Eye, and the Jungle are middle sized theaters that serve, generally a more diverse population of people, and art, bring in younger crowds, late 20's and up, and feature more experimental shows with shorter runs, and younger casts. Finally, theaters like Bedlam, Open Eye Figure Theatre, and Bryant Lake Bowl serve the counter culture of the theater community and offer off-the-cuff new works, bar and bike culture within the theater space, and maintain incredibly young audiences ranging from late teens to 90's.

When examining venue, it seems that Minneapolis theatre is a hobby for the privileged, despite groups like Bedlam (who also just lost their space, but will reopen soon) doing their best to incorporate diversity and community based activities. But, there is one company that stands out among the rest for promoting social justice and has making theatre assessable to all. This is Ten Thousand Things Theatre. Artistic Director Michelle Hensley gets some of the best actors in Minneapolis together to work on classics from the canon and then brings her actors to community centers, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, rehab centers, and other spaces where access to art is sparse and puts on the shows for free. The company works with minimal sets and sound, and the lights stay on the whole time so the audience can see each other experiencing the performance. TTT chooses plays that have real meaning for their audiences. Last year, the company performed Othello and Endgame and Hensley said that their community audiences related to them on deep levels. The women incarcerated in the correctional facilities felt Clove's pain in his restlessness. The adolescents at Native American Community Center understood the Othello's horror after learning of his double cross. The company makes theatre personally significant to it's audience. In addition to their free, community shows, TTT also performs at Open Book for paying audiences to help fund their efforts in the community.