COMMENTARY
Jack Avis isn't certain what to call it: "It's the honeymoon or the purgatory stage," he says. That's quite a difference, but it fully represents where Mill Mountain Theatre's future rests at this moment.
Roanoke's only professional/equity live theater will be closed for nearly a year as it attempts to pull in some financial support, to close old accounts, to determine exactly what it is and how that fits in with the community. MMT had, frankly, lost its way in recent years and dwindling support--the economy aside--underscored that. There was not the feeling during the Patrick Benton administration that the theater was the strong part of the community it had been. Benton was the artistic and executive director brought in to do wondrous things. He didn't. The productions were stale and little-attended, he fired a popular children's theater director and MMT felt apart for the first time in memory.
Lawrence says the board refuses to put the blame for the demise anywhere but on itself: "We accept the blame," she says emphatically.
Now, the board of directors--which, admittedly, had not been as involved during the past couple of years as it had been in the past--is trying to clean up a mess of Bush proportions. It is trying to avoid bankruptcy with very little money, appease season ticket holders who have no plays to attend, pay vendors it can pay and talk the rest into making donations. It's an extremely difficult position in the best of times and MMT now has to deal with a faltering economy and the gorilla in the room, the new Taubman Museum of Art, whose financial needs are huge.
Board President Jack Avis (Avis Construction) and member Cynthia Lawrence (Design Marketing) talked candidly today about the future of Mill Mountain Theatre and admitted that "what happened needed to happen." Lawrence says that the original plan was to keep MMT open through April and close only two of this season's plays, but circumstances resulted in the abrupt announcement to close in January (with "Driving Miss Daisy" finishing its run Sunday and the rooms going dark).
MMT is working out a deal to retain a core of three employees who've shown loyalty, creativity and a set of necessary skills. It has been "working with people holding debt," says Avis, and attempting to placate disgruntled season ticket holders--people who could be instrumental in a comeback.
The board has had a number of long, involved meetings about the future and from the conversation with us, it appears its members are fully open to suggestion.
Already, MMT has put together task forces on resources and tasks and an advisory board with, as Lawrence points out, "a mix of skill sets" that can be of benefit to the theater over the long haul. Business is heavily represented, since its support is vital. Board members are talking to members of the business community, hoping to elicit financial support and volunteers.
For years, MMT was a nationally-recognized innovator in small-city theater. It was studied, copied and deeply admired. It was--and is--the only artform in the Roanoke Valley that has reached that exhaulted status. The new art museum aspires to that level of respect, but it is new and, though its architecture has received good reviews and its collection is admirable, it has yet to achieve the full appreciation the theater has had for years. Frankly, that takes time and consistent success.
MMT's makeover comes at a time of declining contributions to the arts and attendance that is down across the board. The mix is also out of kilter at Mill Mountain, which had 40 percent seat purchases and 60 percent corporate sponsorship during the most recent season. That's an exact flop from what is anticipated and what is desired. People simply stopped coming and business has had to take up the slack--which didn't happen to the degree necessary to keep the theater open.
Avis and Lawrence point to the strong desire to make the arts community in this region much more of a cooperative, supportive effort. Arts executive directors have met monthly for years and these two board members would like to see board members from the organizations emulate that meeting. They'd like to see egos checked at the door and would anticipate participants would take part on an equal basis.
Much of this is realtively new-think for this region, but it makes considerable sense. When Susan Jennings was head of the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge and Kay Strickland ran the transportation museum, they were constantly urging the arts community to combine forces. It happened sporadically, but never with the full effect it could have had if it had been the success they envisioned.
Now would be a good time to try that again for the sake of everybody. The business community would do well to support this effort and the resurgence of Mill Mountain Theatre specifically. A healthy, vibrant arts community has helped make this region desirable for those opening businesses and that community must remain alive if we are to benefit from its impact.
--DAN SMITH
No comments:
Post a Comment