Our news feed here now includes the work of Matthias Merkel Hess from his Eco Art Blog. Matthias is also responsible for Mammut. Mammut is a biannual magazine dedicated to exploring all forms of creative production that have a relationship with nature, landscape and environmentalism——or what they call ecological aesthetics. Featuring scholarly investigations, reports on current discussions and debates, and artist’s projects, Mammut is a sourcebook for readers seeking to understand the intersection of art and nature. It is edited by Matthias Merkel Hess and Roman Jaster and designed by Roman Jaster. You can order Mammut or download a pdf at their website: http://www.mammutmagazine.org/
Ian Garrett
Goods ideas from Ken Davenport
Ken Davenport writes a blog called producer’s perspective at http://www.theproducersperspective.com. He is also involved in BroadwaySpace.com, a social networking site for theater in NYC, with a focus on the commercial (as opposed to BigCheapTheater.com, a social networking site for small theater, primarily in Los Angeles).
We’d like to direct you to two posts he made this week. One is on the ever present New York Playbill, the half sheet folded programs that people collect to fill bookcases. They aren’t solely a NYC thing, the Alley Theatre and other Regional Houses use them as well and there is a company in LA that produce’s a similar publication called a Stagebill. Whatever you want to call it, a lot of them get printed (in advance) and a lot get trashed without much thought.Â
His ideas:
– Could we allow customers to leave their Playbills for the next patron (we could put a sleeve on the back of the seat in front of the customer, and the Playbill could be like an airline magazine. Take it if you want, leave it if you don’t.)Â
– Could we charge $1 for the Playbills and use the money to plant trees to offset the paper we’re burning through (in the same way that trucking companies like Clark Transfer dedicate monies to offsetting carbon emissions
– What about removing the casting information from the Playbills altogether so they don’t have to be reprinted as often, and using new inserts each week or each day (London doesn’t even have Playbills)
– Issue one Playbill for every two people or have the ushers add “share your playbills” messages to their “be seated” speeches.
The first and third ideas are my favorites, but you can take a look at the original post by clicking here.Â
I also want to direct some attention to his writing on the impact of the economy on theater:
Those of us here working on the Big Broadway tend not to worry about what’s happening in the hinterlands, but we should, because it affects us all.
Actors’ Equity Association just lost three major employers, and our investors and writers just lost three major distribution houses that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties every year. That means it just got a little harder to recoup shows and for writers to earn money post-Broadway.
This is in referrence to the troubles faced by The Magic Theatre in San Francisco, North Shore Music Theatre (running HSM2 of all things and on the losing end), and Carousel Dinner Theatre in Ohio.Â
Staging Concepts Goes Green
Reprinted from Lighting & Sound America, October 3, 2008:
Staging Concepts, the maker of stage risers and modular staging pieces, reports that it has begun offering products that can be built using eco-friendly materials. The benefits of the materials range from wood certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) to steel with a recycled content value as high as 100%. These products can contribute towards satisfying several LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits.
In addition, Staging Concepts, Inc. has become a member of the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). The USGBC is a 501(c)(3) non profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings and communities that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy place to live and work.
Links:
- Staging Concepts’ green product line at Arcat.com
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ProTech Announces GreenScene
Reprinted from Lighting & Sound America Online, October 2, 2008:
Protech Theatrical Services Las Vegas announces its plans to re-direct its product lines to manufacture “green†products. “We will be making every effort to use recycled, organic, and natural materials and methods to create a new line of products that will be made of raw and recycled materials that will reduce our carbon footprint and make a difference to our planet,†said Will Brants, president of Protech and now GreenScene. “It has been too long that we have taken part in the wasteful use of our planet’s precious resources,†he added.
Revealing his first new GreenScene products at LDI in Las Vegas, Brants reports that virtually all stage equipment is manufactured from steel, castings, aluminum, plastics, and nylon, a high percentage of which are recyclable. Protech’s challenge was to implement a higher percentage of recycled raw materials that could be manufactured and performance-tested to conform to stringent industry standards. Brants and his R & D team worked for the last 16 months to find new manufacturing methods and new sources and expertise.
Brants took his mission to his own manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, which reduced their landfill output by 90%, by placing recycling bins on site and training employees. The plant also switched to all recycled paper products, energy-efficient lighting, and more efficient air conditioning.
One challenge faced was to find recycled materials that were certifiable, at a reasonable cost. “I even contacted DuPont and, to my surprise, they responded to me and were very cooperative and willing to support my efforts to find sources for recycled nylon right here in my own country,†Brant says, adding that he is issuing a challenge to the industry: “What are you doing for your planet?†He calls for an open forum to solicit ideas from anyone who knows of new sources for raw and recycled materials and new technology to continue to reduce our collective carbon footprint.
Links:
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Announcing CSPA Connect
You may have noticed a couple of small changes to the site. First f all, our page dedicated to the GreenSTAGE Program has come down. More on this soon, but it’s not going away, we’re retooling out certification efforts to better reflect growing partnership in the sustainable arts community.Â
We’ve also changed the name of the Wiki to the CSPA Online Resource Guide to make it clearer what it is, as opposed to what technology powers it. Of course the people that power it are you and me still.Â
But the bigger news is CSPA Connect. To add to our attempts to provide infrastructure, we’ve set up CSPA connect at cspaconnect.ning.com. CSPA Connect is a dedicated social network for those involved and interested in the activities of the CSPA to connect. We are big fans of transparency and sharing, so it seemed natural to provide this to our friends and members. It’s free and since it is built on the Ning Platform, you’re profile becomes a portable identity you can carry to other Ning based networks like BigCheapTheater.com for theaters big on concept, but cheap on funds are connecting, BroadwaySpace.com for New York Theater artists, and TheatreTribe.ning.com where people are envisioning new models of production.Â
Join when you get a chance.
ETC Gives the Green Light
From the ETC website, 11/21/08:
ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.) has not only led the entertainment- and architectural-lighting industry in technical innovation but is leading in green practices as well.
The company’s environmental policy is ‘committed to fostering a healthy, safe and sustainable global environment.’ ETC meets and exceeds compliance with the European Union’s WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive — practicing proper recycling of all products, including the disposal of electrical equipment. Within the ETC factory, reusable containers are used instead of disposable ones that produce further waste. ETC also adheres to the European Union environmental-safety directive RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), which regulates chemicals used in electrical and electronic equipment.
On a product level, ETC strives to develop greener, more energy-conscious lighting solutions. The new ETC architectural line, the Unison® Paradigm™ lighting control system, was engineered to regulate energy: detecting occupancy in rooms and automatically lowering light levels in vacant spaces, operating on a programmable timed-event schedule, and through ‘daylight harvesting’ — a light-detection capability that lowers electric lighting levels in response to incoming natural light.
ETC’s Source Four® fixtures are known globally for their high energy-efficiency. The Source Four spotlight has become the most efficient tungsten fixture for entertainment lighting — given its patented high-performance lamp (HPL) and dichroic ellipsoidal technology. ETC’s 575-watt Source Four fixtures shine as brightly as competitors’ 1000-watt fixtures — using 40% less energy. ETC also produces a full range of Source Four HID fixtures with high-intensity-discharge lamps that last up to 10,000 hours longer than other lamps, while maintaining over 90% efficiency.
ETC’s products and systems are helping customers and their buildings achieve the distinguished Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating. The largest LEED building, the silver-certified new Palazzo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, is equipped with ETC’s Unison system as well as over 100 Source Four fixtures. The Grand Rapids Art Museum, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the first art museum to achieve Gold LEED certification, also benefits from green-minded Unison control.
ETC has gone greener on the homefront too: the recent 78,000-square-foot addition at ETC’s Wisconsin headquarters was designed with minimal environmental impact in mind.  ETC’s Unison Paradigm system is used throughout the headquarters to maximize energy efficiencies. In the new construction, thick, heavy-duty metal panels were chosen to reduce excess material consumption. Software connected to the factory’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system was deployed to regulate energy use during peak hours to minimize overall energy consumption. ETC also installed a receiving dock equipped with an air lock to prevent temperature-regulated air loss. Doors, windows, and even asphalt materials were recycled during the construction process. The new addition uses electricity-frugal fluorescent lighting and contains eight huge skylights for optimal natural lighting — reducing need for electric light.
ETC’s property too is greener than ever, recently re-landscaped with almost 170 newly planted trees that will surround the headquarters with a canopy of natural dimming. In addition to tree planting, ETC is reducing future paper waste internally. The company has started a huge effort toward a ‘paperless office,’ in which all paper records will be transferred into electronically-archived copies. The project will take over a year to complete and will convert over three million pages of data into electronic format. All existing paper will be recycled.
Even ETC’s 2009 product catalog too is eco-friendly. The new cover is made from 100% recovered cotton, from textile-factory waste, and the catalog’s pages are made of FSC-certified paper — 30% recycled fiber and chlorine-free pulp from timber-managed forests.
Other links:
ETC products help Las Vegas’ Palazzo achieve LEED status
ETC to expand Middleton factory
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Green is the New Peach: Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit
The green economy is ready for take-off, and most Americans are jumping aboard Obama’s sustainable bandwagon. Will theaters join in the movement?  Imagine that you’re a non-profit arts organization competing for funding in a sector where financial resources are quickly dwindling. And that you’re based in a major American city plagued by drought and situated within a community that has just begun to realize its role in our growing environmental movement.
When Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, GA embarked on a search for a new home in 2003, the company settled on the building right next door.  Its new facility was formerly one of Atlanta’s most cherished restaurants, Herren’s. Theatrical Outfit’s use of the space is inherently green, in that it utilizes an existing space for the new building; but the restaurant-turned-theatre also carries rich historical and social meaning.  Herren’s was the first restaurant in Atlanta to voluntarily desegregate, and in fact, the first African-American couple to dine at Herren’s are now Theatrical Outfit subscribers. The building’s rich history matches Theatrical Outfit’s mission to present work indigenous to the culture of the American South. I can’t think of a better setting to tell stories of Atlanta’s past, present, and future than in a space that was once a leader in progressive social interaction among Atlanta’s important cultural groups.
Once Theatrical Outfit decided upon their new space at Herren’s, they were approached by a local donor who had been funding various green building projects throughout Atlanta. Theatrical Outfit voiced their commitment to explore green building to the anonymous funder, who was donating through the Kendeda Fund. Along with the anonymous donor’s $1 million dollar pledge, a gift of $1.4 million from two board members enabled the company to purchase the old restaurant. A three-year capital campaign raised the additional funds toward the $5 million required to build green. When the Balzar Theatre at Herren’s opened in December 2004 it was America’s first LEED-certified theatre. The building has earned a LEED Silver rating and the company’s management staff was able to keep their promise to the anonymous donor.
Locally supplied materials and recycled content constitute approximately 33% of the total material cost of the building. Additionally, all adhesives, sealants, paints, coating and carpets emit low or no volatile organic compounds. For example, the building’s carpeting was made from recycled glass. More than 75% of the demolition and construction waste, by weight, was diverted from the landfill.
The theatre utilizes a HVAC system that provides clean (and quiet) air to the facility by measuring the amount of carbon dioxide expelled by the audience, bringing in more fresh air as required, so the audience does not become oxygen-deprived and stays comfortable. Patrons using Theatrical Outfit’s restroom facilities will find light sensors, low-flow toilets and waterless urinals (with signage educating patrons about the purpose of the devices). Rainwater collected on the roof in a 7500-gallon tank is used in place of fresh water for toilet and sewage systems.
When purchasing concessions, patrons do not receive a plastic bottle or aluminum can. Instead, Theatrical Outfit serves soft drinks out of 2-liter bottles which are then recycled when empty. The City of Atlanta doesn’t pick up materials for recycling, so the company has developed an on-site recycling center where items are separated and transported to a local recycling conversion center. Additionally, patrons are encouraged to recycle their programs at the end of each performance.
Located in between two nearby public rail stations and with two county bus systems dropping off patrons directly in front of the facility, Theatrical Outfit was able to thrive in a time when rising fuel prices kept many Atlanta citizens from attending cultural programming. With a staggering person-to-car ratio, many in metropolitan Atlanta still view the act of driving into the city as part of the greater theatrical experience. The staff at Theatrical Outfit is exploring ways to increase patrons’ use of public transit, especially with the nearby downtown revitalization that enables safe, convenient mass transit options. Staff at the Balzar are already working toward reducing their own car travel, thanks to bicycle storage and shower and changing facilities for bicycle commuters.
The management team has further helped their employees reduce car transit by instituting a monthly “Green Dayâ€, when staff are encouraged to work from home and save the round trip drive into downtown Atlanta. The Green Days are planned around holidays and breaks in the organization’s programming. On each Green Day, the building’s heating and cooling are turned off to further increase energy savings. The organization’s Green Days have been a cost-saving hit with management and staff. When they are working on-site, the administrative office space is built with massive windows to utilize daylight, with personal lighting at work stations to decrease energy normally utilized for overhead lighting.
Theatrical Outfit’s artists have commented on the positive benefits of working in a green theatre. For example, skylights in the company’s rehearsal hall, which help save on energy costs, provide actors a much-needed connection to the natural world outside. Accounting for efficient lighting when building the new space has led to a 25% reduction in energy use compared to comparable structures.
Building green enabled the marketing team to pursue additional public relations opportunities beyond the simple arts feature stories and production reviews. The increased exposure the theatre has received from local newspapers, national arts organizations, green building websites, and curious eco-artists has helped quadruple their subscriber base in a period of only three years. Thanks to local colleges and universities, as well as a successful $10 student ticket program, the company is seeing its audience trend younger each season. With a majority of young Americans identifying themselves with green living, arts organizations who present works in green spaces may beat out the competition. With 118 theatre companies in Atlanta, any edge (green or otherwise) is crucial.Â
The majority of Theatrical Outfit’s programming deals with issues of civil and social rights. While the company doesn’t necessarily seek out plays and musicals that explore green living, they certainly look for opportunities to educate patrons about local ecological issues. During the company’s fall production of “Big Riverâ€, the company provided information about Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a local non-profit dedicated to preserving the most heavily used water resource in Georgia. Theatrical Outfit is a shining example of a forward-thinking theatre positioned ahead of the curve to ride out this current wave of fiscal and ecological uncertainty.
Links:
“Green News†at Theatrical Outfit’s website
BuildingGreen.com’s overview of the Balzer Theater
The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Building Technologies Program overview of the Balzer
“Visions of vibrancy come to life downtown†in the Atlanta Business Chronicle
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Directions to your Theater
How do I get to your theater using transit?
Internet driving directions have been available for over a decade now. MapQuest is a bit old school and Yahoo Maps picked it up a bit, but it seems Google Maps are everywhere now. They are in our browsers, in stand alone programs, embedded on everyone’s website and a feature on our phones. If you don’t have an iphone or android you might have a GPS instead or you might have all of these. In the car dominated roads of Los Angeles you might even be so old school as to have a Thomas Guide in the pocket behind your passenger seat.
So, if I can Google any address and get step by step directions with an estimation of transit time from any other location, print it out, text it to myself or email it my smart phone (if I didn’t look it up there to begin with) and plug it into my GPS to have a robot speak turn by turn directions to me and show me live traffic conditions, WHY do so many theaters give me such detailed directions on their website?
These detailed directions from the north, south, east or west are general and don’t take into account alternatives if traffic is bad or a road is under construction. They aren’t necessary. Maybe, if you have parking (who has ample parking?) you want me to know how to get into it, but I don’t need directions from Pasadena to your parking lot or to know that the neighborhood behind your theater is permitted for one block south of Melrose. You just need to tell me where to park if I drive.
What would be useful? Transit directions. There are over a dozen transit agencies in the area: Metro, Culver City Bus, the Big Blue Bus, Burbank Bus, Foothills Transit, Santa Clarita Transit, etc. and they operate local buses, rapid buses, commuter buses, subway, light rail and heavy rail. It’s confusing to try and get around on the buses. But with traffic, the fluid cost of gasoline, and the expense of parking, wouldn’t it be great to know how to get to your theater without a car? And how to get back home.
I’m not asking for you to give me full details, but maybe a list of the buses that come within a quarter mile or even a half a mile of your theater. Unless you’re tucked in the hills or back in a nieghborhood I can only imagine that there are buses passing by regularly and that you may be lucky enough to be close to a metro rail stop! I know for a fact the theaters on Santa Monica, that is to say Theater Row, get radio interference from the buses passing by.
Google does now offer walking and transit directions. Metro, the largest such agency in LA, is not on Google Transit yet (Burbank is though), but they are in talks to be up soon(ish?). That might solve a portion of this issue. And if you can find a bus that goes nearby you can get the walking instructions. Hopefully, with the passing of Measure R, we will see even more convenient and extensive transit options.
But, until we all know the bus system, the subway gets to Santa Monica and we can get bus by bus instructions for transit on Google or our tom tom, why not make it easy for me to get there? Maybe I’ll have to get there a little earlier and stay a little later to catch my desired bus. Maybe I’ll have a couple drinks from concessions cause I don’t have to worry about driving and I don’t have to pay for parking or the valet for the restaurant down the street. And maybe I’ll even stick around the area for a while and help with the local feeling by eating nearby in a walkable restaurant or kill some time in a local shop. Best of all I’ll arrive without any road rage and be more open and excited about the show.
Theaters in Trouble
A few articles out there on economic trouble putting theaters in peril and even closing their doors:
On Blog Stage:Â More Shows Are Closings, But Broadway Is OptimisticÂ
The list of Broadway shows closing in January has reached double digits, the New York Daily News noted yesterday. Many of those are early curtain calls related to a struggling economy, as we’ve been reporting daily on Blog Stage andBackStage.com, but some seasonal shows with scheduled closings are contributing to the exaggerated stats.
At the Village Voice:Downtown’s Ohio Theatre Likely to Close
Before 66 Wooster Street became the Ohio Theatre and various apartments, it had a former life as a textile factory. Theatrical legend has it that before the first performance–in what was then called the Open Space–the cast and crew went down on hands and knees, armed with magnets, pulling decades of dropped pins and needles from the floorboard. Many years later, the Ohio is on pins and needles again. The building that houses the Ohio is being sold, and in a few weeks or months the Ohio Theatre will almost certainly cease to exist.
And on Bloomberg: Silicon Valley Theater Collapses, Blames ‘Tarzan’ Co-ProducerÂ
Silicon Valley’s largest performing- arts organization is preparing to file for bankruptcy this week and blames a theater in Atlanta, 2,442 miles east, for its collapse.