Crushing debt says MMT board director Jason Bingham, and a downturn in the economy that eroded the sponsorship base and ticket sales, helped do in Mill Mountain, which will declare bankruptcy. There are other places to see plays around Roanoke (Hollins U., Jefferson Center - where the GAMUT troupe has been - even the Taubman Museum, where acting students stage productions).
But Todd Ristau, involved at MMT with No Shame Theatre, is also involved with a new venture set to open this spring, "Studio Roanoke." He sent out this memo today with his thoughts on that venture, owned by ZZ Top-looking Kenley Smith (pictured) and the demise of 40 year old Mill Mountain Theatre:
Yesterday it was announced that Mill Mountain Theatre, a leader in our region's arts community, would close its doors today. While the current production, Driving Miss Daisy, will continue its scheduled run, staff were let go effective today.
I don't have a lot of information, but from what I have gathered it sounds like the economy, downturn in ticket sales, dwindling donations, and rising debt all contributed to the Board taking the drastic step of shutting down operations to "reorganize."
I don't know what reorganization means, but from what I've heard, there is every intention to keep MMT viable by transforming it into a model that will work better in the new economy than the fully professional model operating under the heavy burden of Equity compliance. Perhaps MMT will return to its community theatre roots and return to the space like a phoenix from the flames.
I want to say plainly, whatever financial debts Mill Mountain Theatre may have accumulated are not equal to the cultural debt our community owes this marvelous theatre.
Obviously, our hearts and prayers are with Patrick Benton and the Mill Mountain staff, who have given so much to our community for so many years. This isn't going to be an easy time for any of them, and what we can do to help, we should do. (This includes going to see Driving Miss Daisy. If they can't sell out this show, it will be harder to argue for the theatre's possible return.)
Nothing at this point is certain, and you probably aren't interested in my speculation. You have plenty of your own. Because Mill Mountain Theatre's programming is linked to our MFA program, I wanted to answer some questions some of you might be having.
What about student readings and productions already planned?
The production of Ant Farm, by incoming candidate Ben R. Williams, as well as the readings of Elvis Blossom (Sunny daSilva) and Dear Abe (Adam Hahn) have been cancelled, along with the rest of Mill Mountain's season. We plan, however, to move them to Studio Roanoke at the earliest opportunity.
What does the loss of Mill Mountain Theatre mean to the playwriting program at Hollins?
The loss of Mill Mountain Theatre, our area's largest equity playhouse, will be deeply felt, but it is not by any means catastrophic. We continue to have hope that Mill Mountain will return in some form and continue its commitment to new play development along with corporate sponsors such as Norfolk Southern Railroad who underwrite their festival of new works. In addition, the Playwright's Lab has been aggressively building partnerships with theatres across the country that produce new plays, and that growing network will continue to be available to our students. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we will have the launch of Studio Roanoke later this Spring, as well as the re-opening of the lab space on campus which will continue to provide performance, reading, and experiential learning opportunities to our MFA playwrights.
What about No Shame Theatre?
Studio Roanoke will be opening its doors to the public very soon, and as the Artistic Director of Studio Roanoke, I'm happy to tell you that No Shame Theatre will have a home in our new space.
What about other alternative programming?
Studio Roanoke be offering a great deal of programming similar to what you were came to expect from Underground Roanoke at MMT. In addition to No Shame at its usual time and price, Studio Roanoke will also be offering a Tuesday Night Lounge series which will include a Poetry Lounge, a Comedy/Improv Lounge, and an Acoustic Lounge on a different Tuesday every month. Shows will be at 8PM.
We're also planning to have a fully mounted presentation of a new or unpublished play the last week of each month, presentations of touring works by other companies and guest artists, as well as special presentations such as readings, small scale productions, all ages music shows, theatre for young audiences, classes, workshops and guest speakers.
What will ticket prices be?
Studio Roanoke is committed to a flat ticket pricing scheme of $10 for all regular programming, and $5 for all late night programming (i.e. No Shame).
If Mill Mountain had to close its doors, why do you think Studio Roanoke will succeed?
Studio Roanoke will be operating on an entirely different model than Mill Mountain Theatre, as we will be more like a community theatre instead of having to meet the requirements of operating under professional contracts. As a result, our operating budget will be a tiny fraction of the funds needed to operate a theatre on the scale of Mill Mountain Theatre.
Our mission is also very different from MMT's in that we are coming into existence specifically to tackle new works development and all the risk that implies. To do this, we are in the process of building a donor base equally committed to creating a place where that risk can be taken and new work can be developed without worrying about success at the box office.
Our ongoing creative relationship with the playwriting program at Hollins also puts us in a position to offer some of the top talents in contemporary theatre to our community through shared resources.
Is Studio Roanoke trying to replace Mill Mountain Theatre?
We know that Studio Roanoke could never hope to fill the void left by the monumental and groundbreaking work Mill Mountain Theatre has been doing for over 40 years. Even so, we hope that by offering innovative programming such as MMT's Underground Roanoke was created to provide, we can preserve and extend a portion of Mill Mountain's commitment to new and challenging acts of theatre while building and expanding a local audience for it.
What can we do to help?
If you want a theatre in your community, you have to go to the theatre in your community. If you want to have artists, you need to subsidize them with donations so they can resist making art with profit as their only motivation. It is vital for people to realize that individual support for arts organizations is absolutely essential. Arts organizations don't function on a market driven model. The value of a play or an art object is not best measured in dollars.
As an Artistic Director opening a theatre when theatres all around me are closing their doors, I hope that you will take this to heart and remember that in our darkest times the arts are where we can turn to remember that life is worth living, people have value, and to find hope for the future.
Please join us in the ongoing conversation we'll begin this Spring at Studio Roanoke, and let's find out together what is possible.
Thank you,
Todd Ristau,
Director, Graduate Program in Playwriting at Hollins University and
Artistic Director Studio Roanoke
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