Sunday, December 20, 2009
A+E, Theater, Atlanta

More butts in seats!

A wish list from Atlanta’s theater community

BY BERT OSBORNE

Dear Santa: I realize this is your busy season, and I apologize for waiting so late to write. But if you’re still in the process of making your list or checking it twice, please take heed of what some of Atlanta’s worthiest theater professionals want for Christmas—and the coming year.
 
Horizon co-artistic director Lisa Adler: “One thousand patrons in the Atlanta area giving $1,000 or more annually to support independent, nonprofit professional theaters. That would provide a stable base of support for a thriving community of theater artists to live, work and enrich our community. And give everyone a shot of hope for the future.” 

Actor’s Express artistic director Freddie Ashley: “Atlanta has the highest per capita cultural workforce in the nation, but we lag far behind comparable cities in terms of funding support. If Atlanta is to realize its destiny of being one of the great cities of the world, we simply must get more squarely behind arts and culture.” 

Actress Jill Jane Clements: “That opportunities for local directors and actors would grow along with salaries.”
 
Actor Christopher Ekholm: “Employment for all Atlanta actors—under an Actors’ Equity contract.”
 
Actress Suehyla El-Attar: “Audiences. For every show. Across the city. Full houses. Every night. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Oh, and if [Santa] could make sure that each audience member leaves his/her cell phone in the car prior to coming in, that would be wonderful.”
 
Actress Marianne Fraulo: “Even more of the partnership trend—robust collaborations among theater companies through co-productions, creative sharing of resources, creative approaches to scarce media coverage, crossover of talent pool and directors.” 

Georgia Shakespeare artistic director Richard Garner: “A significant source of annually renewable capital to serve as a ‘game-changer’ for the operating budgets of all the theaters here.”
 
Actress Marguerite Hannah: “Santa, please sustain all the theaters in Atlanta through this downward economic turn. Make live theater the exception to the rule when it comes to audience growth, so actors can work.” 

Actor Chris Kayser: “My wish for Atlanta theater would be to stay strong in these tough economic times—to continue to offer intelligent, challenging, well-written, well-acted, well-produced plays.”
 
Actor Rob Lawhon: “I would wish for new musicals and plays that aren’t based on some crappy movie. I guess ‘originality’ would sum it up in one word.”
 
Actress Bethany Anne Lind: “My wish would be that Atlanta would get the recognition it deserves on the national scene for producing some amazing work and hosting an incredibly creative, talented, hard-working and thriving artistic community.”
 
Actor Bill Murphey: “I’d wish for a healthier theater economy, which will mean more jobs for more people.”
 
Aurora co-artistic director Ann-Carol Pence: “I wish the media would highlight theater as a fine art, instead of lumping it into general entertainment. Theater will never be as lavish as the movies. Theater will never be the low-brow voyeurism of ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta.’ Theater will never be as pretentious as the opera or the symphony … but the stories we tell and the way each individual theater tells them help to shape Atlanta. We already notice the voice left by Jewish Theatre of the South. I don’t want to see what the absence of another great voice will do to the good stories Atlanta should be telling.”

Actor Matt Felten: "I would like there to be more awareness among the public about what is going on ... a bigger buzz and excitement for the great theater that goes on in the city."
 
Actress Tess Malis Kincaid: "I wish for more arts coverage in the press so that the rich theater scene we have here in metro Atlanta could get the promotion it so deserves."
 
Actor Daniel May: "Peace for the producers of Atlanta's theater."
 
Actor Googie Uterhardt: “More butts in seats!” SP