Erie County Budget Cuts--In the Heart of Darkness

It has been few interesting months for Erie County cultural groups.

The Evil Erie County Empire swept in and Darth Collins imposed his imperial will on the people of the Creative Class. This overlord proclaimed he was cutting funding and the days of free handouts were over for these groups while those he deemed worthy were saved from his lightsaber cuts to the Erie County budget.

Okay, you get the point.

Anyone involved in the Arts receiving Erie County funding is up in arms to protest this extreme measure and proclaiming that Collins is taking away quality of life and depriving an economic engine of needed resources. The loudest voices are those who have had a longstanding budget dependencies on Erie County funding and now face the daunting task of filling these huge, and potentially crippling, gaps in their own budgets.

Although American Rep Theater of WNY has never received Erie County funding, ART retained allegiance to those who faced these extreme measures as well as shared in disgust with Collins' arrogance in determining which cultural groups were worthwhile or relevant.

As the cries of protest grew louder and calls for unity echoed throughout, it became apparent that those voices who put themselves in a position to be spokespeople for all were actually acting out of self-preservation with an sense of entitlement based on reputation and establishment.

Indeed, in a recent interview on WECK with an artistic director of a reputed theater company, this individual indicated that those established theater of 20 years were committed to the community whereas some unestablished theaters who "parachute in" or are "hit and run" are not.

I was shocked to hear this comment and, in attempt to gain some clarity, wrote this individual only to get a personal attack detailing my lack of being a team player and "sniping from the sidelines". The overall feel of the response was that I lack the experience and insight to see the bigger picture and that my energies should be spent fighting Collins.

Okay, fair enough to sling this, but the issue of explaining what was meant by "hit and run" theaters was never addressed leaving me the impression that the big picture is if your cultural group lacks reputation or is unestablished, shut up, sit down, and support efforts to save the budgets of those who are established.

So what is this big picture?

There's the big picture of government. This country is in one of the worst economic downturns since the 1930's, New York State is broke and local government budgets are stretched to provide the common amenities to the public. In light of this, the Collins cuts are necessary evils in the name of governing.

The idea that a cultural group should be entitled to have their funding restored means Collins would have to close, for example, a Buffalo General Hospital trauma unit in order to do this. Government 101 says restored funding for cultural programs would mean another program would have money cut or eliminated. What serves the County better? BOCES buses for special needs students or an art gallery?

Everyone has to tighten their belts in this current economic condition. The cultural groups are a small fraction of those who are suffering. Libraries are being closed, county workers are being laid-off and parks are being closed because of Erie County budget cuts. Overall, everyone is forced to adapt to these present conditions, and, most importantly, nobody should have a sense of entitlement in these times.

So when a business colleague calls me and tells me "Your people are laying on County Hall steps and there's a Grim Reaper hovering over them. What's up with that?" I shrug it off. "Nothing. Creative folks being creative."

I do not begrudge anyone who makes the effort to express dissent. There is tremendous value in the Arts community having a united front. What makes protest worthwhile is the result and how it achieves that goal. For example, restaurants have seen a 2% growth in this economy, why not petition Erie County restaurants to sponsor one boutique theater and one smaller art gallery per year? Corporate sponsorship of the arts in below national average in Erie County, so why not organize boycotts of businesses that fail to support the arts?

Not sure if holding up small, harmless signs "Stop Cutting Cultural Funding", or wearing Halloween costumes will get Chris Collins to overturn his budget cuts. If anything, it gives those who are outside the Arts another reason not to take us seriously. If the Cultural groups need to come up with a message, it should be an acknowledgement that not one group is entitled to funding because they have reputation or are established.

To say one Cultural group or another helps improve the way of life in Erie County and therefore is entitled to keep its Erie County funding is arrogant and reflects the same judgemental blindness diplayed by Collins.

Trauma units improve the way of life in Erie County and that, for me, is the "bigger picture".

Matthew LaChiusa is the 2009 winner of the Artvoice Awards Emanuel Fried award for Best Original Play, and is the Eexecutive/Artistic Director for American Repertory Theater of WNY.

Four Seasons and Still Kicking

American Repertory Theater of Western New York is proud to be entering into the fourth season and, as the Executive/Artistic Director for the company, I find this to be an amazing accomplishment.

In December 2007, just before ART became an official 501 C3, this country entered into one of the worst economic collapses since the Great Depression. To compound the lack of fiscal resources were accelerated cuts in Federal and State funding of the Arts as well as limited investments by foundations and individuals.

Additionally, it was becoming increasingly apparent that established Cultural 501 C3's were the main focus of the public and private sector investments. Whatever crumbs left over were to be greedily fought over by the less prominent Cultural entities. Newcomers who lacked the history and reputation were left to find progressive ways of generating income without this support.

In this economic climate, Cultural organizations were placed in a Darwinian contest of strength and weakness with the winners being those with the loudest voice and the biggest reputation. Sadly, being the "most fittest" did not amount to being the best in what was presented on stage.

In this vacuum of quality, ART has been able to survive.

ART does not depend on celebrity endorsements to justify their works nor lives off the reputation set forth by one's grandparents to support the works. ART survives because of the dedication of presenting a good story with a careful eye on presentation without trendy gimmicks or pretension.

And this approach seems to be working because despite the lack of government funding, deep-pockets for marketing or generations of subscribers, and with several local nominations and an award for theater excellence, ART is still kicking.

Onto our fourth season!

I am excited about our fourth season because we have chosen to salute the Golden Age of American Television.

Before American TV gave itself over to programming for ratings and not quality, this creative engine produced numerous and endearing American cultural icons as well as some of the most creative American writers and filmmakers in our pop-culture history which has directly influenced characters, TV show themes and films of the late 20th and early 21st century.

ART has chosen to do three works that all differ in style but best capture the essences of the Golden Age of American Television.

The first in the season is an stage adaption of the classic, Sci-Fi meets Morality Play, Twilight Zone entitled Twilight Zone Redux. Adapted by Drew McCabe and co-directed by Kristin Bentley, three classic TWZ stories are rendered for theater presentation with careful attention to the pathos of each characters as well as dedication to the writing style that made these TV shows classic.

Second show of the season is a homage piece to Alfred Hitchcock written by Gary Earl Ross entitled Murder Squared. Mr. Ross does a wonderful job capturing the nuance of the famed suspense writer but also the film-noir of early American TV. Honest and compelling, this piece is right out of the script-rooms of NBC.

The last production of the season features the semi-biographic story of Neil Simon's experiences as a junior writer for the TV variety show, Your Show of Shows, featuring the legendary Sid Caesar. Laughter on the 23rd Floor mixes both the sharp wit of Simon with the all-but-accurate characterisations of famed American writers, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Carl Reiner. Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a comedic, historical insight into American TV during a time when networks began to put ratings over quality.

Overall, this season should be entertaining to say the least. Whether you were able to watch these programs or just a gleam in your grand-father's eyes, this fourth season has something for you.

We'll see you around.

Matthew LaChiusa is the Executive/Artistic Director for American Rep Theater of WNY and is excited to be co-directing with Robert Ball of Ujima Theater with "Murder Squared"