Last year, Creative Loafing‘s readers named Carolina Actors Studio Theatre Best Theater Company in our annual Best of Charlotte issue. That honor, however, did little to save the cool little theater company in NoDa.
Earlier today, the folks with CAST announced on Facebook that Gruesome Playground Injuries would be the company’s last production: “Due to economic strains that have challenged the theatre to keep its doors open for more than a year, the board reluctantly decided the organization cannot support another operating season.”
- Mert Jones
- From Angels in America
The most recent production at CAST, Angels in America, saw low attendance numbers – at least the night CL theater critic Perry Tannenbaum reviewed the show.
Tis a sad day in Charlotte’s theater community.
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The death of CAST
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2014.
Sure enjoyed the plays and concerts they used to have in Plaza Midwood. Never got to see the new space. Hope they keep producing shows at other venues at least.
It seems like Charlotte is overrun with small, poorly funded acting companies…. maybe that’s the problem. Too little talent spread too thin. I think I’ll stick to professional organizations with paid, professional artists from now on.
wow- SupportProfessionalArtists… You’re an ass. There are a lot of professional workers in the local theatre scene- along with up and coming people and some who just like to perform as a hobby. I sincerely doubt that an abundance of small shows running about town distract from bigger companies or even the touring shows. Should we say that Visual artists who haven’t had time to hone a craft yet should not have a place to put their work on display- to gain support or criticisms. Musicians looking to hone a voice to just to play for the hell of it- or to really bring the house down.
No- look at any other city that is close to scale- Austin, San Diego, Phoenix, Portland, Minneapolis (cities I’ve been in)… and they thrive on the fact that you can’t throw a cat without hitting a small upstart company. The fact that each little company mixes in a new set of people who might not come out at all helps bring up the entirety of the community. Of course some of the community supports itself- that’s why theatre goers are called theatre goers.
Charlotte has yet to even tap out their talent pool- have you ever been to an MTA awards… not that that is happening now. There are so many folks there who have not had a chance to work on a small or large scale who all have high caliber talent that the theatre companies have to do a better job of working outside their chosen few- IF THEY WANT TO.
There is a huge problem of retaining talent. With so few paying opportunities in the realm of art out there- across all art in this city- THAT is where the talent problem lies. Not overabundance of theatre companies.
That aside- my personal belief on the problems of theatre in Charlotte occurs in our choice of showings. The people aren’t coming because we aren’t giving them something they want to see. You can make art all damn day but if you don’t have something that brings in the door- then you’re eventually going to have to pack it up. Too many years of presenting stuff that is too ‘theatre’ and you end up with the general public giving up coming to see shows. Even once you do something people want to see- there’s the issue of overpricing that has become rampant. All these items- plus other economic issues- combined with attitudes like yours (Those who can’t see the forest for the damnable trees) have added up to such little support, public and governmental, (besides the tiresome and endless touring shows that pop through here) that those who are professionals can’t afford to work in their craft here cause cranks like you won’t come support their small efforts when given the chance. I think that does more to bring down a company in this city.
As it stands now- yes. Theatre is a niche activity that currently is not the first choice of our potential mainstream audience members in our neck of the woods. We have pussyfooted around for far too damn long sulking in our own whathaveyou’s since the rep dust up. none of daring to push hard or to make too much of a ruckus. Keeping our collective heads down lest we piss off some invisible ‘them’. Ask a random person on the street abotui lcoal theatre- I bet you they can’t name but 2… maaaaybe three places. And actor’s Theatre isn’t going to be on that list. 5 bux one of them isn’t even a theatre company. We have not made our ways into the mainstream and it’s our fault. Children’s theatre has made quite a push- even some of the smaller folks (like Shakespeare Carolina) have done their part. Let’s not forget the work that Charlotte Shakespeare does each summer to reach out to the greater masses. Even so- it’ too little effort. The flags we are waving blend into the background. WE ARE THEATRE DAMMIT- WE ARE BOLD! But as artists we live in fear. This is our town’s mistake… and that’s a sad sack to keep. And it’s our fault. The theatre community has even been shunned on the loaf- wedged, when they can fit it, into a tiny 8 point font on page 25. We need to become a nuisance to the city. We need to hit them with a firggin sledgehammer that can’t be ignored. We need to show them the importance of our presence- economic and otherwise… until there’s a critical mass. And not at the point that it’s almost too late as in the CAST/ Angels in America attempt via the loaf…. Theatre in this town should be in your face- everyday. Letting all of them know… what they are missing by just going to the big box, traveling MickyD’s theatre throwups.
Advertising is the engine that drives ANY enterprise. People don’t attend shows that they don’t know about.
This is really sad. I really loved attending CAST shows, but we got out of the habit when we moved further away and started a family. Wish everyone involved the best.