Today's LA Times reported on the "subtle and not-so-subtle blurring of commercial and nonprofit realms" as applied in this article, to the theater world. As noted in the article, the "issue boils down to procedures, values and most important, who's in control."
And as stated toward the end of this piece:
This unfortunate shift in the balance of power between art and commerce is evident in the way bragging rights for the largest theaters in our area derive from snagging Broadway tryouts and tours to their subscriber-based houses. What's conspicuously missing isn't just bold vision but the courage to buck the commercializing trend.
But the fault, dear theater-lovers, is as much our own as it is our mushy leaders. After all, for many of us the words La Jolla Playhouse are synonymous with flashy products such as "Jersey Boys" and Billy Crystal's "700 Sundays" and what gets everyone's mouth watering is the word that "9 to 5: The Musical" will premiere at the Ahmanson this fall.
Lately, artistic directors seem more intent on wooing consumers than cultivating audiences. The chief losers in all of this are artists. The notion that there is a pile of masterpieces being overlooked while resources are squandered on yet another movie-turned-musical may be a wishful myth. Yet there are playwrights with potential masterpieces in them who are not being given a chance to evolve in the current corporate climate. Patch has helped quite a few of them in his long career in Southern California.
Before bidding him adieu, let's thank him for enriching our stages. And then let's all spend some time trying to figure out the secrets of his unbusiness-like legacy.
Effectively we must all be thinking about where nonprofit begins and ends, well beyond the theater void. There are indeed core questions about control, voice, public interest and most importantly, purpose. There are no simple answers except for those who would not ask these questions. But for donors, these are the questions that frame giving.