Alas, poor theatre

Wayside Theatre in Middletown, Va., is struggling to stay afloat even as it celebrates its 50th anniversary season. The 2008 recession hurt, badly, but the bigger issue plaguing Wayside and many other members of the Virginia arts community is the struggle between high and pop culture: will the theater produce shows that please sophisticated and generous patrons but flop at the box office or ones that draw large audiences of folks whose enthusiasm for community arts stops short of actually donating money?

The wildly varying theatrical tastes of its community leave Wayside desperately trying to balance its budget and pay off its debts; directors are now considering whether to close the company.

Just over a week ago, the community theater began its 45-day campaign to raise $90,000. Since most supporter contributions are planned for over the next three or four years, Wayside finds itself in an immediate crisis. The theatre sees its campaign not only as a way to raise money but also to gauge interest in Wayside. "We'll find out if that support really does exist going forward," said Warner Crocker, Wayside's artistic director. "We have a lot of people in our community who love Wayside Theatre. Those folks deserve a vote too."

As of September 1, Wayside had raised $37,000. "We feel confident that [the goal] will be met," Crocker said. Wayside's financial troubles are not uncommon. Other theaters and art institutions have been struggling since the recession. At its peak, Wayside attracted 30,000 people per season to its 245 performances. Now, its numbers are down to 24-26,000 each year. "We've had a relatively disastrous summer at the box office," Crocker said. Its current show is Steel Magnolias, playing through Sept. 24.

"The folks who are capable of being donors ... are more interested in seeing us do our more adventurous fare," Crocker said. Donors prefer productions such as Striking 12, Deadman's Cell Phone, and Reunion: A Musical Epic in Miniature. Although contributors faithfully attend these performances, they don't come in large enough numbers to make them box office successes.

Conversely, program plays with live music are Wayside hits. Always Patsy Kline, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story and Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming drew substantial audiences. But attendees of such shows, Crocker notes, come for the music and only have an investment in that one-time event. These types of productions, usually featuring bluegrass or country music, are often held in January or February, when weather works to Wayside's benefit. "In most of the other venues, live music is being played outdoors," Crocker notes. "Typically, that's a slower time."

"We're getting opposite reactions," Crocker said of Wayside productions. He describes how some years ago one controversial play, Stonewall Jackson's House, prompted one attendee to say the play had great value while another proclaimed it garbage and she was never coming back again.

"It sounds like this particular company may be struggling with image and who they want to be," Dr. Gene Edward Veith, cultural commentator and provost of Patrick Henry College, said. "I don't think a theater can be everything to everybody."

Wayside's dilemma reflects a societal discrepancy in artistic tastes, according to Veith. "High culture takes education and sophistication," Veith said. "Milton prays for a 'fit audience, though few.'" Veith noted that high art culture has traditionally depended upon patrons, rather than being self-supporting. "Pop culture right now has tended to drive out the high culture," Veith said. "High culture is in an eclipse right now." An inherent cultural divide seems to be the bane of Wayside in the midst of financial upheaval.

"We've been really struggling, like many businesses, since the economy crash," Crocker said. "We feel that we have to have immediate gratification at the box office." Putting on shows that are popular for financial reasons may not be a good permanent strategy for Wayside. "What we've ended up doing is sacrificing long-term growth," Crocker said.

So far, most of Wayside's cuts have been in personnel-related expenses. Production staff and administration are down two positions each. The intern company shrunk from eight to three. But Wayside doesn't see itself cutting community education programs any time soon. "It's my belief that the education programs are something we want to preserve at all costs," Crocker said. He believes they are "vital in terms of growing tomorrow's audiences."

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