Arts Freezing in May
posted by on March 15 at 11:18 AM
Update on the I Am My Own Wife situation in this week’s theater column.
Short version: This week, two theaters—the Rep (budget $9.6 million) and ArtsWest (budget $794,000)—both announced they would be doing I Am My Own Wife in May of 2008. Both were surprised by the other’s announcement—having two productions of the same play in the same season just ain’t done.
The play (a solo show based on the real life of a prominent transvestite who outlasted both the Nazi and Communist regimes in Germany) was to have been produced by the Empty Space back before the Space collapsed, allegedly with a dream team: Allison Narver directing, Nick Garrison starring, and Jennifer Zeyl designing. Rumor is the Rep has taken in the scuttled Empty Space production.
Making for (if the rumors are true) a nasty equation: One midsized theater closed, a big theater took in the orphaned production, which is now locking horns with another midsized theater over the show.
But who has the rights to the play?
First, a call to Dramatists Play Services in New York: They “don’t talk to the press” but indicated that neither theater has the rights.
Second, a call to ArtsWest: Executive director Alan Harrison read his contract, signed by Dramatists on December 8, 2006, over the phone: ArtsWest has the rights.
Third, an email from the Rep: “Due to some record keeping errors within the Dramatists Play Service we both currently have the rights. We are working it out and should have a solution within a day or two.”
This was news to Harrison at ArtsWest. He says he’s left multiple messages with Dramatists and the Rep and nobody’s called him back. But he’s the one holding a paper contract. Nobody seems to agree on what’s happening.
Would the Rep throw its weight around to get the production? Would the Empty Space crew feel queasy about that? Or will ArtsWest get the production, leaving the Rep—and, by proxy, the memory of the Empty Space—out in the cold? Who will be freezing come May?
I’d be more excited to see the Narver-Garrison-Zeyl triumverate than ArtsWest’s proposed production (starring Nick DeSantis). So how about some horse trading? Narver’s production gets to go up at ArtsWest and DeSantis gets a guaranteed part in whatever replacement show the Rep puts up in May ‘08.
Deal?
This may be lame, but while I'd go see this show at the Rep, I'm not really that into going to West Seattle to see it. I hope the Rep gets custody.
Nick Garrison can lick my ice cream cone any day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7rY_jZLvJo
Well, as the old saying goes, "possession is 9/10ths of the law", and Harrison would seem to have a pretty air-tight claim, given his possession of a signed contract.
However, the potential royalties from a Rep production are going to be astronomical compared to what ArtsWest is most likely paying, so it's possible Dramatists may try to cut the rug out from under them by ceding rights to SRT (in which case, Harrison probably has grounds for a lawsuit - IF he or his board wants to spend valuable income to fight a breach-of-contract battle in court).
But, for the moment the more relevent question would seem to be, "would two consecutive productions of the same play necessarily have a negative impact on either company's box office?"
Although ArtsWest, being the smaller of the two, clearly has more to risk in the event patrons decide to forego their production in favor of the Rep's, my guess is, there isn't going to be so much overlap between the two audiences to cause much significant impact either way.
The reality is, this sort of contiguous programming happens fairly frequently, particularly with works from musical theatre and Shakespearean repertoires: I can recall sometime in the early/mid '90's, when there were something like five separate productions of "West Side Story" scheduled at companies from Olympia to Everett in a nine-month period. Granted that's a pretty broad geographic spread, with little chance of audience overlap, but still, just one example of what can happen.
Brendan, great post, except, why would Narver/Garrison/Zeyl rather do their show at ArtsWest than the Rep? And why would the Rep trade NGZ for DeSantis? Why wouldn't they just send goons in masks with little axes to West Seattle and... wait, I've got to stop watching Deadwood.
Just to add a bit of intrigue, it's odd no one at the Rep has called back Alan Harrison, since his job before Executive Director of ArtsWest was Director of Communications and Marketing at the Seattle Rep.
Also, if the Rep gets the rights from ArtsWest that would make two seasons in a row in which a bigger theater snatched the rights out of the hands of ArtsWest. This years ArtsWest lost the rights to "Journey's End" for a production taking place in NYC.
There is no 'leaving' out in the cold, ArtsWest is already there. Which sucks because it is a fine mid-range theater that is largely ignored by east Seattle yet does good to great work and is a wonderful place to work that pays well without being Equity. It is one of my favorite places to work and it is truly unfair how often it gets sideline for no reason other than it's across a bridge.
I second Comte's comment @ 3. ArtsWest and the Rep are not fighting for the same audience. The whole reason ArtsWest exists is because West Seattleites don't want to have to drive downtown for theatre. It's an embarrassing snafu for DPS, though. Nice work, guys.
GOod site
Good site
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).