THEATRE

the war period and the almost universal depression in trade that occurred shortly after had its effect upon theatre economics as upon nearly all other forms of business. the building of modern theatres virtually ceased in most parts of the world from 1914 to 1920, owing either to pro- hibition of what in england was termed luxury building or to commercially prohibitive cost resulting from the economic up- heaval of the war. this cost has at least, if not more than, doubled; the expenditure on producing plays, 7.e., salaries of performers, wages of staff, prices of timber, canvas, materials and costumes, have risen similarly. then taxation, both ordi- nary and upon entertainment receipts, has been an adverse fac- tor. increased rates upon property—an item that may run from £2,000 to £4,000 per annum or more upon an individual theatre— the outlay upon advertisements, travelling expenses of touring companies and other sundry expenses have all added to running costs, and, except perhaps in the united states of america, the result has been to limit development and experiment. the revenue obtainable has not gencrally been com.nensurate with increased costs. the public has paid from 75% to 200% more than before the war for many classes of commodities, but entertainment managers in england have found it impossible without endanger- ing public patronage to raise admission prices to an extent com- parable with the rise in expenditure. on the continent of europe—germany, austria and the cen- tral states—the war produced even morc serious economic results than in england or the united states. the worst effects have been experienced in vienna, once a city of great theatrical and operatic activity. an impoverished and diminished nation could not support its luxury entertainments or those of a more edu- cational character to the same extent as in pre-war days. higher costs in every department necessitated higher prices of ad- mission, to which was added special state and municipal taxa- tion, with the result that except for a limited number of those who lived on capital or war time profits the great majority pat- ronised what had formerly been the cheaper sections of theatre accommodation. the sum total of these factors resulted, more particularly in central europe, in the impoverishment of man- agers and the reduction of many artists to a state where it was eed 765 almost impossible to earn sufficient to provide themselves with the bare necessities of jife. cost of construction the cost in 1914 of building and equipping a theatre in eng- land capable of accommodating something between 800 to 1,200 persons was between {£40,000 and £75,000, according to the local- itv and the degree of elaboration desired in architectural design, furnishing, decoration and equipment. a carefully prepared estimate of the cost of erecting a new theatre in the west end of london in 1925, consisting of ground floor and two tiers, to seat in all some 670 persons, showed this to be approximately {100,- ooo, made up as to £30,000 for a freehold site and £70,000 for construction, furnishing, equipment and outgoings during con- struction. upon this basis such a theatre when erected would involve an annual charge for interest on capital, local rates, depreciation of building, furnishing and equipment, cost of nu- cleus staff, heating, etc., approximating £12,500, or about £250 per week. in common with all other property, the rental values of existing theatres have tended to increase, although it is doubt- ful if generally the increase has been sufficient to compensate for the depreciation in the value of money. | apart from the rise in prices of materials and wages since 1914, many other matters account for increases in constructional cost. improvements in seating and in other details necessary to secure greater comfort have become essential and the muni- cipal authorities responsible for the safety and health of the pub- lic have made demands necessitating substantial capital outlay. exits are now required to have a better relation to the number of persons, whether performers or public. improved arrange- ments of seating and gangways have been designed to diminish risk of injury or loss of life in fire or panic. practical experience and investigation have resulted in regulations requiring better fire-resisling qualities of structural materials, scenery and hang- ings. also it is only within comparatively recent years that scientific systems of heating and ventilation have been made compulsory by the licensing authorities and found desirable by owners of theatres. the most elaborate installations for these purposes cost from {2,000 upwards according to the size of the theatre. another factor in increased costs has been the invention and installation of elaborate systems of stage lighting and the use of high powered modern lamps undreamt-of in the early years of the century. from one stage switchboard all lights can be oper- ated and different parts of the stage lit or put in shadow at will: the illuminative power can be easily diminished and changes of colour can be effected by the manipulation of a single switch. from a large switchboard hundreds of lights can be controlled by a single individual using the very simple mechanism. improvements in design in modern design the most important change, apart from sim- plification of decoration, has been the elimination of the boxes and all but one tier above the ground floor. in great britain the one tier principle is commen in cinema theatres, but the most notable example up to the present time (1926) of a dra- matic or variety theatre is the new liverpool empire, reopened in the autumn of 1925, which was designed and reconstructed at a cost of something over £160,000. this theatre is used for operatic, dramatic and variety entertainments of every kind. it has a sloped ground floor accommodating some 1,380 persons and one tier above accommodating about 1,100. there are no boxes and the rows of seats are so stepped in gradation as to give a good view of the stage from every point. ioyers, lounges, entrances and other conveniences are on a spacious scale. the stage is 100 ft. wide and 4o ft. deep, with a proscenium opening of 48 feet. elaborate appliances for ventilation and heating as well as a hydraulic lift for moving scenery and propertics from the street level to that of the stage above have been installed. as in many theatres nowadays, the stage and dressing room sections are fitted with sprinklers, from which floods of water can be released in case of fire. the system of stage lighting enables 766 elaborate changes and combinations of light and colour to be used by means of the footlights, the battens above the stage and the vertical lighting, the operation being easily and rapidly effected from the switchboard. in addition several powerful arc lights can be operated from above the tier to throw long beams of light of all colours to the stage. another important theatre reconstructed in 1922 is the the- atre royal, drury lane, london. the old theatre had four tiers above the ground floor level and a large number of boxes. the new premises have only three tiers above the ground level and eight boxes on each side. the reconsiruction of the interior cost approximately {150,000, and some idea of what is involved in modern theatre construction and equipment may be gained from the following facts. every seat is of the tip-up armchair type, the theatre having a total seating accommodation for 2,300 persons. in the matter of heating and ventilation, the plenum system has been adopted, i.c., the air is drawn from the outside, washed and warmed to any desired temperature and then forced by a centrifugal fan through underground ducts to all parts of the auditorium. suction sweeping plants electrically operated are used for cleaning the carpets, seating, etc. the auditorium has 400 separate light fittings, giving a total candle- power of over 60,000. the electric light, power, signal bells and telephone installations required some 15 m. of cable and 60,000 ft. of tube. on the stage an aggregate candle-power illumination of 40,000 can be obtained. in paris two new theatres have been constructed, both show- ing a great advance in regard to public comfort, heating and ventilation over the older type of parisian theatre. one is the theatre de la madeleine and the other the theatre de la micho- diere. both of these are theatres of the smaller type, appropriate for the intimate dramatic piece rather than for the large spectacu- lar productions seen in theatres of greater dimensions. employees —fpersons employed in a theatre are represented as in other industries by trade unions or other associations. these organisations have secured increases in rates of pay for their members that are from 75% to 100% above the pre-war levels. the musicians by the musicians’ union negotiate rates of pay for ordinary and overtime hours, rehearsals and other mat- ters on behalf of their members. the stage and electrical workers and all those who are employed in the “ front ” of the house are represented in england by the national association of theatrical employees. in great britain the stage guild, a composite and important organisation of actors, managers and authors, has for its main objects the promotion, improvement and advancement of the interests and status of the theatrical profession in all its branches. the constitution of the guild contains a definite proviso against the imposing of any regulations or the adoption of any object which would make the guild a trade union. a trade union organi- sation, the variety artistes’ federation, concerns itself with the conditions of contracts and other important matters aftect- ing the welfare of variety artists, but many of these perform in what are technically stage plays, e.g., the revues, in which mem- bers of the “ legitimate ” stage as well as of the variety are employed in london and the provinces. in the united states the actors’ equity association 1s a power- ful organisation which, after prolonged struggles, secured im- portant conditions in the contracts of employment and other benefits for the advantage and protection of its members. its authority is considerable. organisations representative of the employers now exist in most countries. these concern themselves with negotiations with the employees’ organisations on questions affecting forms of contract, hours and conditions of labour, the fixing of a mini- mum wage and other matters of common interest, as well as with legislation affecting cither the capital or labour employed in the entertainment industry. producing and running costs in great britain the cost of producing a non-musical play for a medium sized theatre—that is to say, the scenery, costumes, prop- theatre erties, rehearsals, salaries and wages—may be put at between £1,000 and £2,000. the corresponding cost for musical comedies and revues may run from £5,000 to £15,000. the expenditure per week for running a non-musical play would be from {£800 to {1,200. this expenditure would cover salaries of actors, stage staff (including carpenters, electricians and others) management, accountancy, box-office, check-takers and other persons em- ployed in the “ front” of the house; advertising and printing; lighting, heating and sundry expenses and authors’ royalties (generally a percentage of the receipts). the surplus of receipts over weekly running expenses must first be devoted to paying off the production expenses. if the run of the play continues long enough for this to be done then profits may be made; if the run is short, as often happens, the production cost may wholly or partly be lost. if to the running costs mentioned above be added the weekly fixed charges for, rent, rates, repairs, depreciation and “ front ”’ of house staff, it will be seen that the cost of running a theatre with an average non-musical play may be from {950 to £1,500 or more per week. the revenue capacity would be about {200 to £250 per perform- ance or {1,400 to £2,000 (according to the size of theatre) per week, inclusive, of supplemental income from bars, etc. in the larger theatres and for musical comedies or revues, expenditure may run from {£2,000 to £2,5co or more per week; the receipts from an outstanding success may in such cases be from £2,500 to £5,000 or more weekly, according to the holding capacity of the theatre and the number of performances given. theatrical enterprises are very susceptible to temporary ad- verse causes, ¢.g., inclement weather in winter time; great heat in summer; industrial upheavals and crises, sickness of the leading actors engaged, and any of these factors may—unless, which is unusual, large capital resources are available to tide over a bad period—determine the fate of a play irrespective of its merit. experience has shown, too, that a large proportion of failures are unavoidable and substantial profits are required to secure over a period of years a reasonable degree of stability and of financial success. the entire financial liability of maintaining and running a theatre is rarely undertaken in england by a single individual or company. the theatre owner or lessee may let his theatre for a fixed weekly or annual sum, and beyond sometimes an approval of the plays to be produced has no concern with the presentation of the plays. more commonly, however, the theatre-owner enters into a sharing arrangement—in effect, a kind of partner- ship with the producer of the plays. in turn the producer often forms his own company or syndicate for the financing of his participation in the arrangement. receipts are shared upon an agreed basis, the producer paying out of his share for everything scen and heard upon the stage, and sometimes a proportion of other agreed outgoings such as advertising. the lessee or owner pays all fixed expenses such as rent, rates, taxes, as well as for the staff and organisation of the “‘ front of the house.”” such an arrangement is usually determinable at the end of a fixed period, or when the receipts fall below a certain sum for an agreed mini- mum number of weeks. from the foregoing it will be seen that the successful theatre owner, manager or lessee must be a capable man of business. he should also possess imagination, and something more thana casual knowledge of the technical and artistic side of the theatre. he must be familiar with theatre design and equipment, struc- ture and maintenance; he should similarly be capable of forming a judgment of plays, of actors and the taste of the public. in the opinion of some people a division of the business from the artistic side is considered desirable to secure the best results, but as a rule a clear division is not to be found. generally, close co- operation, sympathy and understanding of all the factors by all those engaged in a theatre organisation are essential. vital as is the literary side of the theatre, important as are the scenic and costume design and the art of the actor and of the producer or stage director, the development of the theatre as an institution and its success commercially as well as in public estimation must in the long run depend, not upon isolated triumphs of great artis- theology tic effort financially unsuccessful, but upon a wholesome respect for the well laid and hard foundation stones of economic facts and law. cw. p.)