Re: RAT Marx in Soho (in LA)

[The Independent Eye <bards@independenteye.org>]

>I don't know if I buy all of this justifying of
>ticket prices by comparing them to other
>over-priced stuff.  Do we really want theatre
>prices to become so status-quo?

	This seems to me to be a kind of wilful misunderstanding of what I
was saying.  "Justifying" wasn't my intent.  I was responding to several
who suggested that, given that the subject was Marx, charging $18 was
hypocritical.  My point was that by comparison with ticket prices in
general, this was hardly "overblown."  If we're not speaking comparatively,
then what *are* we talking about?  What price do you think isn't overblown?
Any price at all?  I'll agree that it's worth the search to find means of
eliminating box office totally as part of the ceremony of theatre.  But the
question here wasn't that - it was whether this was an outrageous price to
charge.

>as a side note, I can't say how angry I get when
>people make comparisons to Broadway ticket
>prices.  Like they're the example we're supposed
>to follow or something.

	No.

>And perhaps we've all felt 56 bucks was worth
>seeing some things-- However, how many people can
>afford that?

	Not many.  Not me, often.  But I do know a lot of students & others
who pay close to that for a concert.  And they may bitch about it, but that
doesn't seem to affect their enthusiasm for the musicians - they just
assume they're part of a rip-off system and accept it.

>And as far as the comment, "Production costs
>don't come down just because of your subject matter."
>Don't get me started!

	I guess your point is that theatres shouldn't have high production
costs that necessitate high ticket prices.  But frankly, it's probable that
a lot more people (and for that matter, a lot more working-class people)
will see his play, even at that price, than would see it in a little
50-seat black-box with no ad budget, even done for free.   There are just a
lot of people (radical leftists included) who don't care much for sitting
in black boxes on folding chairs staring at black curtains.  (Granted, some
people do, and granted, some of our theatres are much more pleasant than
that.)
But my point was that it takes a lot more to change the paradigm than just
cutting prices.

I just don't understand
>how theatres expect to reach people when the
>ticket prices are so high that only a select type
>of audience (in some cases-some subject matters--
>the WRONG audience) can even afford to be
>reached.

> The proletariat can't afford to see Marx.  That's a tragedy and a half.

	It's even more of a tragedy that most of the proletariat couldn't
care less about seeing Marx or any theatre, period.  It seems to me,
though, that it's of some positive utility for the bourgeoisie and the
capitalists to see it, since they have a bit more control over the public
dialogue - though to reach those people, the producers should probably
double the price.

>Tell Mr. Zinn we'll do his play at rm 120 theatre-- where theatre is FREE.

	Why do Zinn's play, if that endeavor seems flawed with hypocrisy?
Marx's work is in the public domain.  Nothing's stopping any of us from
creating our own piece, performing it for free, and connecting with union
halls, homeless shelters, etc. to promote it.  That would be a worthy thing
to do, and it'd be worth the experiment to see if his piece reaches
more/fewer people  and is more/less successful in its effect.  I'm working
in a different direction, so it won't be me, but it'd be a worthy endeavor.

	I'm sorry if my previous post seemed that it was defending the
status quo, or if this one seems a bit testy.  Our theatre left about
$90,000 in grant support behind when we left Philadelphia, which we did
precisely for the purpose of getting out from under the pleasant ass of the
status quo, and it's not an intellectual exercise for me right now to deal
with the question of how (economically) to do the work we need to do rather
than just go off and die somewhere.  One choice, Erik suggests, is not to
live off theatre, but, to be honest, I don't have any other skills that I
feel there's an ethical market for.  But I'm in full agreement with you
that radical change should happen, and working to do something about it.

Peace & joy-
Conrad










Visit The Independent Eye's website
at <http://www.independenteye.org>.





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