Front of House, Front of Mind
I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a professional theatre in Houston, or rather, what it means to be perceived as a professional theatre in Houston.
4th Wall, since Kim and I founded it in 2011, has paid everyone involved in our productions, and we've always hired actors who are members of our union, Actors Equity Association. We are one of six theatres in Houston that produce as a full partner of Equity; in other words, we are an Equity theatre. Does that qualify?
I was sitting in another Equity theatre's audience a couple of weeks ago when a patron sitting behind me, engaged by a friend of mine, said, "I've never heard of 4th Wall Theatre!" Does that disqualify?
4th Wall has won many awards, and been the recipient of grants, including from the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts. Does that qualify?
Our patrons sit in folding chairs. Does that disqualify?
I'm baffled, and I wonder sometimes if our audience is baffled, too?
I don't think so, though. The 4th Wall audience is there because you love our work and our aesthetic. You know that when you walk into Spring Street Studios, what you see will be professional.
I guess I'm talking about other theatre patrons in the city who pull up to a theatre and find a valet, and a parking garage, and a nice bar in the lobby, and plush seats inside, and think they're in a professional situation, whether the work onstage is of a professional standard or not.
Like it or not, that happens - that perception starts when someone drives up to our building.
As artistic director, my purview is what happens on the stage, but I'm becoming increasingly aware of the entire experience at 4th Wall. Our new managing director, Jennifer Dean, and our staff, Catherine Dunaway and Gabriel Velazquez, have made giant strides in presenting Studio 101 as a safe, professional space. And I'm pledging to you now that I'm going to join in the effort to make the experience of being in Studio 101 mirror what you see on stage.
Don't worry, we are still unwavering in our mission that includes working towards paying all of our artists at 4th Wall a living wage - that's the leader of everything we do. But I'm now convinced that new audiences may need more help on the front end to get them into the right mood for what we have to offer.
Sorry if I sound humorless about this; I'm frustrated. The solution is, of course, time and money; and those are two things that are always in short supply in the non-profit theatre world. And I'm frustrated because I've always thought that the work on stage should speak for itself, and I'm finding that, more and more, that's just not the way it works.
If you have ideas about any of the above, hit me up at philip@4thwalltheatreco.com
Until next time,
Philip
