Theater : That’s the Ticket for Attendance

The credo of that grand old dame, the Laguna Playhouse, might well be: “Give ‘em what they want and they will come.” On the eve of its 75th season, Orange County’s oldest theater company has shown remarkable growth, particularly at a time when many troupes are glad just to be holding their own.

Playhouse attendance at the Moulton Theater in Laguna Beach has increased 21% over the last five years, according to executive director Richard Stein, with total annual income rising 42% for the same period. Meanwhile, last season’s subscribers are flocking back at a record pace. And he expects a younger, larger, more diversified audience of non-subscribers.

The nonprofit playhouse sold a total of 64,000 tickets in the 1993-94 season and had overall income of $1.24 million--$8,500 more than expenditures--Stein said earlier this week.

That contrasts with 53,000 tickets and $875,000 for the 1989-90 season, when the playhouse ran a $96,000 deficit. The playhouse’s preliminary budget for next season is $1.36 million, he said.

“We’ve had our highest rate of subscription renewals since I’ve been here,” said Stein, who took over in 1990. “That is a vote of confidence from our existing audience.” Eight out of every 10 subscribers have signed up again.

But new subscriptions have lagged, confirming signs that 1) many playgoers want greater flexibility in picking shows than the traditional season subscription and 2) theaters may have to adjust their season-ticket policies if they want to thrive, no matter what the appeal of their shows.

“There has been a shift from the heavy subscriber audiences of the ‘70s and ‘80s to more single-ticket buying,” Stein noted. “It’s partly a function of the economy. People seem reluctant to buy now for something they will get later. It’s also a function of younger audiences with a more spontaneous lifestyle. They prefer to pick and choose shows as the whim strikes.”

The playhouse still depends on subscribers for the overwhelming majority of its audience, though last season’s subscription base of roughly 7,700 season ticket-holders (the same number anticipated for next season) was down from a record high of 8,800 three years ago.

But single-ticket buyers more than made up for that decline, and Stein sees future growth increasingly tied to theatergoers who don’t necessarily want to see every production.

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Accordingly, the playhouse now offers a season ticket called the FlexPass, which entitles patrons to a variable combination of admissions instead of a traditional subscription for the same seat on the same night for each play. What the FlexPass sacrifices in seating preference it gains in user-friendly scheduling.

“More creative thinking has to go into developing audiences,” Stein said. “Changing trends in society dictate more diverse audiences, and we have to realize some of those people will not subscribe to the customary season tickets offered by most companies.

“But we still need to forge a link between the audience and the theater, as opposed to a one-shot ticket buyer,” he added. “Over and above the financial security that subscriptions provide for the theater, they establish an extended artistic relationship with the audience. You miss that if most of your patrons come on a sporadic basis.”

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PLAY IT AGAIN, ART: Despite its name, the Alternative Repertory Theatre offers mainstream plays almost exclusively. Next season, for example, it will produce “Macbeth,” “The Death of a Salesman” and “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.”

For the first time, however, ART will launch a New Play Festival (to run tonight through Sunday) at its storefront theater in Santa Ana.

“It’s been five years since we’ve done readings of any new works, and we’ve never done a whole festival before,” ART artistic director Patricia L. Terry said recently.

Three original scripts will receive staged readings, all at 8 p.m.: S. Michele McFadden’s “Circles,” (Friday); Bill Barnett’s “Sometimes a Cigar Is Just a Cigar,” (Saturday); Laurie Freed’s “Saucer City” (Sunday).

Terry describes the first as “a character exploration” of five women who meet for a 50th birthday party, the second as “a very funny multicultural ethnic piece” about a Jewish family and a black family, and the third as “a psycho-mystery” about a government conspiracy to hide UFO phenomena.

Ticket proceeds will go to ART’s air-conditioning fund. So far the troupe has raised $2,500 toward a much-need cooling unit in its small venue. It is looking to raise another $2,500. Single-ticket admission is $5. The troupe is also offering a “New Play Festival Package” for $50.

Come again?

The package price includes admission to all three plays, a $20 donation for the fund and a down payment on a “pay-as-you-go” subscription for next season. (714) 836-7929.

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GOING, GOING . . . : The imminent fate of the Irvine Barclay Theatre does not hang in the balance. But representatives of its three owners--the city of Irvine, UC Irvine and the nonprofit Barclay management company--met Thursday night behind closed doors to discuss the theater’s long-term financial self-sufficiency.

The city of Irvine now contributes $425,000 to the Barclay’s annual operating budget. UCI contributes $212,000. Both would like to see the day when they don’t have to put up that kind of money. Barclay President Douglas C. Rankin said earlier this week he did not expect any immediate changes.

Deanna Manning, manager of Irvine’s department of community services, agreed: “The city is committed to the theater. But it wants to take a look at the agreement to see if there is any way for all three parties to position themselves better.

Manning said she did not expect to see “any definitive decision” about future city contributions “until next spring at the earliest,” when the city formulates its budget for fiscal 1996.

Thursday’s meeting, held at the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, “is just the beginning of discussions,” she said.