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Updated: 04 July 2010
Finance and prices
Last month I wrote about our ticket prices having to rise.
That decision has been taken and the new prices can be seen by
following the ‘Coming soon’ links on the right to the show
pages for our new season’s productions.
As I have stated previously, this does not make us the most expensive
LTG house in the country but it does mean that we will now be charging
prices that more closely reflect the costs of creating the work and
those of theatres working to similar standards. All we have to do now
is to make sure that the quality of the work continues to support the
price. Poor theatre costs as much for us to make as great theatre.
Timber, electricity, paint and the thousand and one other physical
elements that make a play in a material sense are bought on the open
market. We pay what every other theatre, including professional ones
pay. Where we have a potential advantage is that we don’t have
to pay our artistes and designers and it is the quality of the acting
and directing and effects that create the art experience for which we
charge. The challenge therefore really comes back to maintaining our
focus on the recruitment and retention of the best available talents
in these key areas.
The move: another delay
The date for the return of tenders from the contractors pitching for
the build has been delayed by two weeks at the request of most of
them. They simply needed more time. Accordingly, the scrutiny will
take place in early July and may well have happened by the time you
read this.
Phil Reynolds and Ron Grey
At the AGM I awarded the Ron Grey Award to Phil Reynolds. The award is
in the gift of the chairman and was inaugurated in 1997 by the then
chairman, David Fletcher. It is awarded for ‘inconspicuous but
valuable contribution’ and named after Ron Grey, a designer,
set builder and general ‘good egg’ about the place who was
the first recipient. The award itself is appropriately inconspicuous:
there is no trophy or certificate.
Phil is an accomplished actor and director and is one of our casting
directors, but did not receive it for those activities: they are far
too conspicuous. Phil received it because of his invisible
contributions as editor of our monthly programme/newsletter, for his
immense work as our webmaster, archive researcher and proofreader
extraordinaire (every piece of work that we emit for public
consumption is proofed by him), for his tireless generation of
voiceovers as the telephone voice of the theatre information message,
for the mobile phone warning and other FOH announcements on show
nights and for being a man who can always be relied upon for
logical and analytic answers to questions posed. What would we do
without him?
(Footnote: Ron Grey himself, incidentally, is sadly leaving the area
shortly and we wish him and his wife well for the future.)
Contact me
If you would like more detail about anything I have said here or
just want to chat – or complain – about any other aspect
of the theatre that concerns you, please get in touch. I am always
happy to talk.
Contact me by phone on 07763 974264, or via email to
chairman@loft-theatre.co.uk.
Michael Rayns
Chairman
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