Longtime readers may recall I do post about theater from time to time. I’ve worked for many theater companies and started attending theater performances long before then. The Washington, DC area has close to 100 active theater companies, a fact that seems obvious when you realize how clearly Washington likes drama. Alas, pretty much all theaters were hard hit by the Pandemic.
Another issue then, and definitely now, is the availability of performance spaces. Now, at the risk of triggering a theater pedant to “well ahk-tu-ally” at me in iambic pentameter, my scientific wild guess, based on looking at theater seasons is that the number of productions and length of productions has diminished. The same companies where I’d see 4-5 productions for a year is now 3-4. Not only that, where shows might run for six or even eight weeks, I see a lot more shows running three to five. With all those weeks in a year not bringing in ticket sales, you realize that not all theater companies are going to be able to support their own building and facilities… even with grants.
For that reason, there have always been venues where these companies perform. You can think of these venues like the Warner or National downtown… only for local productions not touring productions. And venues have been increasingly difficult to come by, made all the more painful with the sale of the Source Theatre back in August.
So for that reason, it was nice to read Nicole Hertvik’s piece for the Washington City Paper about efforts by local officials and theater folk to keep performing spaces alive. The article also touches on District Fringe, an ad hoc group that sprung into existence to ensure DC continued to hold a summer fringe festival when Capital Fringe announced in January that its festival would not continue.
What I appreciate is how it helps you understand the pressures and sustained effort it takes to make spaces available, so perhaps this will give other people ideas.