“There’s a danger of theatre being represented as some kind of elite art form”; Is theatre financially inaccessible and purely the reserve of the wealthy?
I was recently inspired after reading this article to look into the stigma of ‘elitism’ which for some is attached to the theatre and its associates.
I conducted a survey around people’s theatregoing habits and what their impressions of the theatre are, both as an audience member and as a participant. I hypothesised that it is much harder to become involved in theatre-making if you are from a lower-income family, as you do not necessarily have the financial means to get involved in stage schools and youth theatre groups when you are financially dependant on parents as a minor. Then, when you are old enough to be financially independent, your lack of experience may become a barrier to involvement in productions and “widening participation” initiatives run by local theatres - I have been rejected from several of these due to “lack of experience”. Even if finance and prior experience does not inhibit you from being able to participate in existing projects, lower-income backgrounds mean that you are less likely to be able to fund new projects and start up your own arts practice.
As somebody from a low-income family who now produces theatre, I can speak from experience when I say that I often find cost to be the main barrier between me and my arts practice. I have to work 40 hours a week to be able to afford to take part in arts schemes and work voluntarily on projects at local theatre organisations in order to bolster my theatre experience and to put money into my own productions. However, this means that I am left with little time and energy to actually do the projects and take part in activities within my local theatre community. It’s a vicious cycle.
My question to you is this:
Do you feel that it is fair to say that the arts, and theatre more specifically, are largely viewed as “elite” and inaccessible? Lack of advertisement outside the existing community and rising costs seem to be the top things keeping audiences away – lack of financial stability and opportunities seem to be stifling new voices in theatre-making. Where do you stand on this issue?
The overall result of my survey was that people largely associated the theatre with a higher standard of behaviour, living and expectations; it was viewed as a treat, with almost all who responded saying that they would love to go more often if only it were cheaper. Only three out of the 26 participants had never been involved in any kind of theatre practice, including school plays, amateur productions and GCSE drama, with most of those who had been involved stating that they would love to get involved in the future if lack of time to invest and money to afford it did not inhibit them. These results largely backed up my hypothesis, but showed that it was not necessarily restricted to low-income backgrounds but to general lack of exposure to opportunities. Elitism in a different form, perhaps?
Choice comments from the survey:
· “I think theatre needs to become destigmatised – there’s a danger of theatre being represented as some kind of elite art form, and when a group or practitioner conduct themselves as if this is the case then it becomes off-putting”.
· “Cost is the main barrier in producing theatre”
· “The price would encourage me to do these activities more often if they were cheaper. The cost does generally prevent me from taking part”
· “The cost of joining a group prevents me from wanting to take part”
· “I love going to the theatre and, were it cheaper, would much more often”