How good is Columbus Theater? Good enough? As good as most cities this size? Comparable to Atlanta?
Having a vibrant theater community depends on four things:
1. Venues-to have good theater, a city must have plenty of stages of different sizes for both the established organizations and those with new ideas.
2. Production talent-people who know how to direct and stage shows.
3. Acting talent-experienced and talented actors who love the stage.
4. Audiences-Whatever the resources a city has, it must also have people who want to expand their theater experiences.
So how does Columbus rate?
Columbus has three venues that are as good as any in the country and one average stage-the Liberty. The Springer Opera house is a large and beautifully executed venue and serves its resident theater well. There's no bad seats and the stage and backstage are large enough to create sweeping shows. Since it has a resident theater, it's not available for most other shows although it can be rented at a substantial cost. Small shows simply won't fit there.
The River Center for the performing arts has an excellent 150 seat black box theater that would be perfect for small shows in any configuration including the round. Unfortunately, the Center has chosen to make its use so expensive and restrictive that it's not used at all. A week end show costs $500 plus, $500 setup, plus $125 for cleanup, plus Tech (which could be several people) plus $125 lighting, plus security, sales tax and box office. The Center argues that it provides rehearsal and performance space for the Columbus State University Theater department but they have their own building now and have no use for this space. It's one of the shames of the city that this publicly financed theater is sitting empty.
Columbus State University has two theater spaces-one with a traditional stage and a black box available for any configuration. Although both of these spaces would do for smaller productions, they are University spaces and generally unavailable.
The Liberty was both a movie theater and a performance space which is now used exclusively for performance. It's adequate but has had trouble drawing audiences because of its location-an unjustifiable opinion.
There are other spaces. The old movie theater on Broadway now owned by Richard Bickerstaff held performances until recently. It has little parking though and is configured for music. Columbus State has a couple of other less than adequate spaces on main campus. There was a space on Broadway called the Human Experience theater which rented out for small productions but it's now turned into a bar. The Loft, usually a bar, can be used as a theater space.
So the verdict on the first criteria is mixed. There are great spaces, but they're unavailable. Columbus gets a C+ on venues.
1 comment:
I agree that we need more venues, but I don't think it is the lack of actors, directors, etc. that we don't. I think it is the lack of audience. Until we find a way to branch out to other areas in Columbus we are pigeonholed into our basic theatre crowd, with is vibrant, but small.
On the record, although the black box at RiverCenter may have been intended at the beginning to be a community space or a rehearsal space for CSU theatre, that space has never been used for CSU rehearsal and is, indeed, under the purview of Schwob who uses it as a classroom.
I think C can be given for the venue question.
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