Interplayers looks to the short, long terms
WE ASKED Tamara Schupman, the new executive director of the Interplayers Ensemble, the key question about Spokane’s 24-year-old theatrical institution: Is its future secure? The answer comes in two parts.
“There is an air here of ‘we have a show to put on, and we’ll do anything it takes to get that going,’ ” said Schupman.
So a 2004-2005 season is set under new artistic director Nike Imoru. Actors and directors have been hired. Co-founders Bob and Joan Welch will return to star in the season opener, “Painting Churches,” a gesture applauded by many longtime theatergoers.
Financially, however, the situation is more troublesome — but not, said Schupman, insurmountable.
Interplayers has considerable outstanding debt as the result of three difficult financial years. The theater is in the midst of acquiring a new mortgage on its building, which will enable it to pay off creditors and have the cash to mount its season.
So Schupman is optimistic about solving the theater’s short-term financial problems. Yet it needs to turn around some long-term trends, the main one being a plummeting subscription base.
“We have half the subscribers we did five years ago,” said Schupman.
Most theaters try to fill about 60 to 65 percent of the seats with subscribers. Interplayers is down to 15 percent.
To make matters worse, Interplayers has not even been able to mail out season brochures and reminders to past subscribers. Those mailings are now in the works, but weeks behind schedule.
So putting more people in the seats this season is Schupman’s No. 1 priority. The future beyond this season may, in fact, hinge on it.
So if you are an Interplayers fan, or think you could be one, here’s what to do: Order a season subscription. Call 455-PLAY.
Check your play dates
Just a reminder: The Interplayers season opener has been delayed a week, to Sept. 9, to accommodate the switch to “Painting Churches,” with Bob and Joan Welch.
So those subscribers with tickets for the first week of the run have been reassigned to another date. You should have received a notice already.
If you’re happy with the new date, you need do nothing. Otherwise, call the Interplayers box office (455-PLAY) to get a different date.
Two symphony additions
Two new Spokane Symphony concerts were announced last week. Both of these are “specials” — meaning that they are extra added concerts in addition to the already announced regular season.
• Symphony on the Edge, Oct. 15, The Big Easy — The Big Easy Concert House is not exactly the traditional spot for a Spokane Symphony concert.
That’s the whole point. You can catch the symphony in an informal atmosphere, in a club with concert lighting and video screens and with food and drink available (but no smoking).
The musicians will be in T-shirts, not tuxes, yet don’t assume the music will be lightweight. They’ll play some of the more incendiary pieces in their repertoire.
Think “Bolero” and the like.
“We just wanted people to hear the music in a nontraditional setting,” said the symphony’s Annie Matlow.
• The Smothers Brothers, April 12, Spokane Opera House — Tom and Dick Smothers will return for an evening of comedy and music with the symphony. As they proved in a 1996 pops concert with the symphony, they make for a hysterical match with an orchestra.
Tickets for both shows go on sale Tuesday to symphony subscribers, and on Aug. 17 to the general public. Call the symphony at 624-1200 for details.
A Bravo for Selinger
The 2004 Bravo Award for support to the performing arts went to a leader who has worked tirelessly for the arts in Spokane for 25 years: Rosemary Selinger.
The award was presented during Allegro’s Royal Fireworks Concert last Sunday.
“I was never so shocked in my whole life,” Selinger said. “They really kept a secret.
“I was sitting there thinking about how nice it is that they do this for someone. Then I heard my name.”
She shouldn’t have been shocked. She’s a natural choice.
Selinger has served on the boards of WAMPUM, the Spokane Opera and the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. She was the president of the Spokane Symphony board and served on the national board of the American Symphony Orchestra League.
“I was used to arts being a way of life, having grown up in England,” said Selinger. “And when I came here, I realized how much was going on in Spokane.”
So she resolved to help nurture it. Spokane has been the better for it.
The award is given every year by Allegro co-founders Beverly Biggs and David Dutton.
Conducting the fastball
Morihiko Nakahara, the Spokane Symphony’s ebullient associate conductor, will demonstrate a different kind of talent Tuesday night: The ability to bring the heat.
Nakahara will throw out the first pitch in the Northwest League’s All-Star Game at Avista Stadium. Nakahara, a native of Japan who has been in the United States since he was 15, is a huge baseball fan.
A group of brass players will accompany him and play the national anthem.
Another conductor, slightly newer to baseball, will also be in attendance.
Eckart Preu, the symphony’s new music director, will attend his first-ever baseball game.
Cheaper Rod tickets
This just in: A discounted ticket price has just been announced for the Rod Stewart concert at the Spokane Arena, Aug. 13.
A new $35 ticket category is now available, as well as the previously announced $85 and $55 tickets, all through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).