美国国家公共电台 NPR--Theater never recovered from COVID — and now change is no longer a choice

Theater never recovered from COVID — and now change is no longer a choice

Transcript¹

Many of the problems facing the nonprofit theater industry in the U.S. right now — from scant² resources to the lack of diversity — have been around for ages.

But before the pandemic, performing arts groups were so focused on raising the curtain each night it was easier to ignore long-standing problems than fix them.

Now, thanks to a combination of lackluster ticket sales and an end to government relief, they have no choice but to try out new things in order to secure a future.

"The key question is, what are the things that are being done in order to emerge from the pandemic in a sustainable way?" said Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO of Theatre Communications Group, a support organization for the nation's performing arts sector³.

No one has the answer. But organizations around the country are at least trying to find creative new solutions.

Overhauling⁴ systems at Oregon Shakespeare Festival

At Oregon Shakespeare Festival, securing a future means focusing on the stuff that most audience members don't see, much less think about: overhauling systems behind the scenes.

At a recent company meeting, interim⁵ executive artistic⁶ director Nataki Garrett explained how Oregon Shakespeare, founded in 1935, planned to correct years of deficits⁷ and declines in revenue.

"I have to change the way we do development, the way we market, the way we do finance, the way IT functions, instead of sort of plugging in the holes and filling in the gaps, which is what we've been doing," Garrett said at an all-staff meeting recently. "We didn't want to disturb the art. We have to disturb the art now."

The company recently slashed⁸ its expenses. It laid off and furloughed about 10 percent of its staff and cut two productions from the upcoming season. But the kind of ambitious reset⁹ Garrett imagines actually takes more money.

The company hopes to launch an $80 million fundraising campaign and it reached into its endowment for $4 million to cover emergency operating costs. Garrett told NPR she now wants millions more unlocked.

But endowment board chair Eric Johnson said that for legal reasons, his hands are tied for now.

"This endowment has already done a huge amount to help rise to the occasion of this crisis," Johnson said. "Additional distributions at this time of any substantial magnitude become extraordinarily¹⁰ difficult – if they're even possible."

Garrett said even if additional funding does not come through from the endowment, she plans to do whatever she can to save her institution.

Working toward diversity at Control Group Productions

For many performing arts groups, the future means diversity. That's true at the Denver-based Control Group Productions; which is why the theater company recently acquired an old school bus.

"It's a 2006 Thomas HDX 32-foot freightliner," artistic director Patrick Mueller said. "We actually bought it on Craigslist from a guy in Ontario, Calif. Flew out and drove it home."

Mueller said his nomadic¹¹ company had performed in places like warehouses¹², theaters and even an old slaughterhouse. But the social justice reckonings of the past few years propelled Control Group to try to make more of an impact — and that means reaching new, more diverse audiences.

"We are a small grassroots organization," he said. "It's hard to get beyond our friends of friends of friends."

Staging plays on buses or trains or horse-drawn carts is nothing new. But the company's associate director Caroline Sharkey said that for the company, the bus isn't just a novelty. It's fully¹³ integrated into the action.

"We're taking people to places that they know," Sharkey said. "And we're shifting their expectations for those places. So that every time they go back, the memory of the art is still there."

Much of The End, Control Group's immersive production about climate change, unfolds on the bus. It visits some of Denver's most toxic¹⁴ hotspots, like the SunCor oil refinery¹⁵ and a polluted part of the Platte River, on its way to a fictional¹⁶ safe harbor known as "The Refuge."

The Refuge: You'll Never Have to Worry About Anything, Ever Again from Control Group Productions on Vimeo.

Artistic director Mueller said for the Denver run of the show last summer (he's planning a version for San Diego audiences later this year), Control Group wanted to engage people who live in places like Commerce City, where the oil refinery is located. The company enlisted¹⁷ local environmental activists¹⁸ to help with outreach.

But one of those activists, Harmony Cummings, the founder¹⁹ of the Green House Connection Center, said the people who live in the shadow of the refinery often don't have the bandwidth to think about attending an experimental physical theater show on a bus.

"The problems in these communities – where am I going to live? Do I have enough food? – are so large, that it's hard to even talk to people about any of the environmental injustices," Cummings said.

Mueller understands this. He said Control Group is currently developing partnerships²⁰ with theater makers²¹ in underrepresented communities aimed at supporting those companies' production efforts. But diversifying²² audiences will take time.

Sharing resources at West Village Rehearsal²³ Co-Op

In expensive New York City, small performing arts organizations are putting their energy into sharing resources.

"As we saw during the pandemic, arts organizations that were working on their own were struggling on their own," said Randi Berry, executive director of IndieSpace, a nonprofit that provides support to New York City's sprawling²⁴ indie theater community. "When we have an amazing resource for the community, the more people that can get their hands in it, the better."

IndieSpace is one of the main forces behind the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op, a rehearsal studio located in the Meatpacking District, one of the most upscale neighborhoods of Manhattan. (Louis Vuitton is a fellow tenant²⁵.)

IndieSpace, together with several downtown theater companies — Rattlestick Playwrights²⁶ Theater, HERE and New Ohio Theatre — worked with the local community board, politicians and property owners to secure a 99-year lease on the basement of the building, exclusively for the use of small, local performing arts organizations.

"We love a good basement — it's quiet, dark and cool," said Berry. "And those spaces aren't generating a tremendous amount of income for the owners anyway."

In a city where it's not unusual to pay $50 or $60 an hour for rehearsal space, the co-op costs just $10 an hour. Selected Black and indigenous²⁷ theater-makers have access for free.

"Not a cent! Which is great, because we have not a cent right now!" said Nedra Marie Taylor, the co-founder of The Grove²⁸ Theater, a new endeavor using the co-op for community events, with the goal of eventually building a complex for Black theater artists in Midtown Manhattan.

Taylor said the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op is vital to her group's larger effort.

"Having a physical space in which people can share story, just say hi in passing, it's going to boost morale," Taylor said. "Especially for the indie theater community, who's been so hard hit in the past few years."

IndieSpace's Berry said brokering²⁹ the real estate deal for the West Village Co-Op took years, and there's already a waiting list of theaters that want to use it. She wants to see the model replicated³⁰ throughout New York City.

"We have to commit to doing this over and over and over again," Berry said. "That's when the real impact is felt."

Looking to the future

Theatre Communications Group's Eyring said it's this kind of long-term thinking that will secure the future of the non-profit theater industry, albeit³¹ that it's not how cash-strapped arts organizations are accustomed to operating.

"I would advise any company to have a three-to-five year plan for rebalancing their organizations, to get away from the urgency of the moment, even though it's there," Eyring said.

Yet, she added: "When we get there, our theater ecology, it'll be in a

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

8 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

10 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

11 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

12 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

16 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

17 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

20 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

21 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

23 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

24 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

25 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

26 playwrights   

n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We're studying dramatic texts by sixteenth century playwrights. 我们正在研究16 世纪戏剧作家的戏剧文本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hung-chien asked who the playwrights were. 鸿渐问谁写的剧本。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

27 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

28 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

29 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

30 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

31 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。