There’s a sketch of next season on artistic directors' walls or computers right now. Maybe it’s a bunch of Post-its on a whiteboard, maybe an elaborate Excel spreadsheet, or just some scribbled lines in a notebook — but there’s an idea about the future. My guess, if the theater is paying attention, is that those plans just got a lot more complicated in the past couple of weeks.
A lot is going on. You could think about the fires that have decimated neighborhoods and livelihoods across Southern California. Or you could glance at the news and see the dismantling of DEI programs, NIH funding, and countless other norms in the past week. Suffice it to say, the world as we experienced it on January 1st of 2025 isn’t the same world we are experiencing today.
So how does theater respond?
This question is in part both artistic and economic. Economically, especially in a blue state, the outlook has to be a little troubling. If past is prologue, we’ll see a shift in the giving priorities of patrons. The zip codes affected by our fires surely include some significant donors. One has to imagine that giving will take a pause. Then think of all the lives disrupted, not just the homeowners but all the businesses and people that support them. Then think of all the giving that might have gone to the arts that now is supporting a friend’s GoFundMe or another charity. Wrap in the political climate and that donation to a theater company may seem like a luxury at this moment. This is before considering how all of this might affect audience sizes. Remember, the price of a ticket never covers the cost of the show — it’s a combination of earned income (ticket sales) and contributed income (donations). In American theater, those run about 50/50.
So on that imaginary season planning board, some of those Post-its are moving based on dollars.
The more interesting question is how do you program artistically for this moment?
Through that lens, next year’s season announcements will tell you a lot about your favorite theater company. How do they imagine the world around them? Is this, forgive the expression, a five-alarm fire that requires an immediate response? Is it a moment to do overtly political works in response to our climate and times? Or will it be steady-as-she-goes — light comedies and crowd-pleasing fare? Through the selection of plays, you’ll get a sense of how that theater company sees its role, its audience, and its place in the community.
As you begin to see next-season announcements over the coming months, ask yourself if what you're seeing reflects our time. If it does, double down on your support. If it doesn’t, that’s not a good sign for theater or our communities.
This is Anthony Byrnes opening the curtain of LA Theater for KCRW.