Why I Think This Article is Wrong (and you should too)

The article in question:
http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2013/07/a-new-education-for-a-new-theatre/
Further reading at:
http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2013/06/on-saying-it-to-their-faces/

First, I'd like to point out that this article is very well-intentioned, and I think it makes some good points, but then takes them too far.  You might also call me a cynic.

Walters, in http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2013/06/business-model-the-next-frontier/, points out that the current business model of theatre is fairly unsustainable.  I agree.  He seems to think that through "innovation", Facebook, Foursquare, etc, we can start something new.  He proposes locking a number of people in a room and writing about what they say.  I'm skeptical.  I'll be getting back to this.

There's business in making actors.  Performing arts schools, theatre education classes, and high-priced theatre degrees all are making money off of people's belief that one day they can be an actor/director/theatre professional.  So it is no surprise that upon graduation, with thousands and thousands of dollars of student debt, many are surprised to find that their dream isn't quite "as seen on TV"?  Like PhDs, trained actors are flooding the market.

I agree with Walters, that actors should feel empowered to make their own art.  However, unlike writing or painting, acting is collaborative, and once the work has been produced, it is over.  The most an actor can do by themselves is a one-person show, as long as they can find a space and an audience.  Training students to start their own theatre companies will result in a lot of start-up theatre companies, which is not necessarily the best thing for any community.

The way I see it:  X number of people in a community would want to see a show.  Companies, foundations, and governments have X amount of money to donate to theatre companies.  If you double the number of theatre companies in a town, the number of audience members and available money does NOT double as well.  Everyone gets less.  Established companies close, and new companies falter to get off the ground.  No one is able to making a living at it, and so what we find is a lot of community theatres fighting each other for a limited audience.

I don't see that as a good thing.

We cannot make more audiences by wishing.  We cannot make our audiences richer by crossing our fingers.  If we want more audiences, we need to have theatres that have the funds for marketing and the will to engage the community.  These theatres need to let recent graduates in to play with them, instead of forcing them out into the world.  Give them space.  Let them come and learn.  Making the theatre community start by reaching out into its own community.  Use collaboration and joint marketing efforts to send troupes of established theatres out into small communities.

As I said before, I believe Walter has some good ideas about making the theatre education process much more realistic.  However, we also need to be cautious that we don't flood the market with theatre companies instead of actors, because then we are back at square one where no one is making a living at theatre and because of creating such a large supply, we have devalued the performance itself.