Purpose of ARTC

2007/02/09

Submitted by Hal Wiedeman

Executive Summary (aka Cliff's Notes)

The purpose of ARTC is to produce original audio theater. We need more original material. We need additional production capability.

What direction should we go with ARTC?

The direction must be something the individual members want to do. There must be some relationship between contribution and influence . Fortunately, we have the laws of supply and demand to help us establish what is of value.

Some examples (you can make up your own):

We have many more actors than we have roles for them to play; actors are therefore of limited value. We have writers; but we have a great need of good writing; good, prolific writers are therefore of great value.

The Prime Directive

The purpose of ARTC is to produce original audio theater.

The following are examples that do not work well with the concept .

Telephone Answering Machines, Music On Hold etc. is not theater.

Books On Tape are not original theater.

Snow, Glass, Apples is not original.

Dramatic Readings are not original theater.

Running a record label is not theater.

MRAP.

On the other hand, the following examples work well:

CD Productions

Live Shows at Conventions/Stage Door

Exceptions

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The fact of the matter is that occasionally we run into production opportunities that our members find intriguing or interesting for one reason or another that will conflict with the prime directive. As long as we recognize the situation for what it is and there are no adverse consequences (financial or time), we should accommodate these opportunities .

Challenges

In my opinion, the two biggest challenges facing ARTC are:

The generation of new, original material.

The studio production of same.

Fiscal stability is certainly important – but it really isn't the most important item. In a similar manner, food is important for life, but it doesn't feed the soul.

The generation of new programming is the most difficult of these challenges. TV networks spend vast fortunes pursuing a mere 15 hours per week of prime time . ARTC produced about 3 hours of original programming last year from a very small pool of active, but dedicated writers. We have to encourage our existing writers to write more and we have to find new ones. In my opinion, there is nothing more important to the future of ARTC than the writers . It is what makes ARTC unique; otherwise, we are just another regional theater group with a gimmick.

While the generation of new programming is tough, the challenge of actually producing the material is not trivial. There are studio projects that exist in a half finished limbo. To the untutored observer such as myself, progress on some projects appears to be glacial, if not actually retrograde. I do not know enough about the production process to suggest a cure for the situation. It may require more staff; It may require fewer projects; It may require more resources. In any event, it is a serious situation that needs to be addressed.