A theatre — any kind of theatre — needs an audience. Whether it’s a
for-profit professional theatre or a non-profit community, college, or
high-school theatre, somebody has to sit in the house and watch the
show. And, if the audience pays for their tickets, then the sales are
helping support the production company, in which case the audience is
necessary for the company to survive.
A few years ago, a community theatre in my area decided to change
their programming: they wanted to “ramp it up” and head toward becoming a
regional theatre. That’s fine, but, unfortunately, they did not pay
attention to their audience, or to the previous type of...