Theatre Design & Technology - May 1967 - 22

LUTZ: Let me say that when we talk about the sort of theatres with which Krauss is concerned west of the Rockies,
we have about seven, three of which have failed. Of the
four that are left, three of them are run by one management. That chain of three theatres is doing very well perhaps not as well as their first year, when the idea was
a novelty, but they are still showing profits. I think that the
problem with the other theatres has been in the management.
KRAUSS: I think more of the problem has to do with saturation within a certain geographical area.
QUESTION: Is there something to be learned about operating a theatre which will make the process less precarious?
KRAUSS: Well, the choice of the site is very important ..
QUESTION: I do not mean specifics, I am thinking about
general principles.
KRAWITZ: First, I basically disagree with Mr. Krauss. He
is a pessimist. He has to be, judging from the way he runs
his theatres. He has been very successful on the surface,
but his basis must lead to disaster. I came to that conclusion some fifteen years ago, and I decided to get out of
that kind of theatre.
When I started in summer theatre, it was similar to resident
theatre - as it is evidenced by the Arena Theatre in Washington, D. C. After one summer when, to our amazement,
we broke even, we decided to adopt the "star summer
theatre" system. In those days, this was a system where
you had a resident company, and you invited guest stars
to participate. Well, in 1949-50 the costs started rising,
and several accountants started to sharpen their pencils.
The feeling was that one had to operate more economically.
Together with several star's agents, these accountants decided that if one star could stay with the same company
for more time, this would be a considerable saving. Up until
then, the star had rehearsed for seven days and played for
many weeks. This was a very economic way of operating.

Except. . it destroyed something - the resident group. Now,
I restricted the movement of attractions from one theatre to
another, precisely so that I could preserve the resident nature. I felt that each theatre should be producing - that
each theatre should have its own identity.
We are losing the art of producing because your producers
are becoming landlords. Soon, they cease to mind the product and only mind the real estate. After all, the leasing of
land, and theatres, can become a risky big business.
With the decl ine in the demand for producers comes the
decline in the ability to produce good shows. There is
simply not enough business around to attract new talent.
Occasionally, a person like Mr. Krauss comes along who is
so clever that he can make his operations succeed - in the
sense of making more income than expenses. But he is no
longer in the theatre business.
As an example, these package landlords must have a "product." They have to have Ella Fitzgerald, Steve and Edie, or
Johnny Carson as attractions. I am not saying that there is
something wrong with these people, but they are variety,
not theatrical attractions. The problem is that there is not
enough "packageable" legitimate theatre which can adapt
itself to this sort of operation.
The advantage of repertory, genuine repertory, is that:
(1) you have an unlimited product - you have all the great
literature of the theatre to calion. You never have the fear
of running out of product - the fear of all real estate operations. Then (2), if you organize as a repertory theatre, you

don't emphasize anyone play. This has been a problem on
Broadway as well as in stock. There, you put all your effort
behind one play. You are all the way out if you don't get
your reviews. At certain repertory theatres, the Metropolitan
for example, you can live through your flops because you
have an audience which is faithful to the organization. Of
course, there are managerial problems. One is called upon
to produce skills, rather than to route them.
I think that there is more satisfaction to be had in producing eleven products than there is routing one product eleven
times. Further, the skills developed in the process are more
useful in the general sense. Also, the participants make a
better living for the simple reason that they do not live
with the peak and valley of existence or non-existence.
Take a look at the music industry for a moment. As a performance group, they have prospered with the repertory
concept.
The disadvantage of repertory is that you have to work on
many products at the same time. You must orient yourself
to a single institution in a single place. You cannot have a
gold mine affair, (i.e., "hit" profits); the gold-seeking aspect is out. On the other side, all the members of such a
repertory situation have the opportunity of participation continuously, with the hope for a stable future of reasonable
artistic development.

Recent Patents

3.200.281
TWO-FlLAI\IEl"T I:-ICA ...... DESCE;\IT LA1\IP FOR
l"0l"·DA77.U ...... G IIIGl1 AND LOW BEAMS
IN AUTO\101llLE HEADLIGHTS
Rolf 1\!ickley, 8/111 Elisabethslrasse, 1\111nich, Germaoy
Filed Oct, 8, 1962, Ser. No. 228.928
Claims priority, application Germany, Oct. 9, 1961,
1\1 51,258
1 Claim. (CI. 313-111)
In a non-dazzling incandescent lamp comprising two
incandescent lamp filaments for high and down beams and
a paraboloid reflector, the improved anti-daZZling coostruction comprising
as a high beam illuminating means, a coiled filament of
U-shaped configuration with the arms of the "u"
extending rearwardly with respect to the opening of
said paraboloid reflector,
said coiled filament of U-''';Iped configuration being
positioned in the horizontal plane of the optical axis
of said paraboloid reflector with the outer limits of
the arm·connecting portion of the U-shaped filament
extending only slightly beyond tbe focal point of
said paraboloid reflector,
a low beam illuminating means comprising a coiled
filament of straight configuration

. r-n--t-------

said coiled filament of straight configuration positioned
in the horizontal plane of the optical axis of said
paraboloid reflector and extending between the arms
and to the rear of the central portion of said filament of U-shaped configuration,
and a single anti-dazzle shield extending over that portion of said filaments back of the focal point of
said reflector.

THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

MAY 1967

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