Read Olmos’ entire post—prompted by cancellation of his own play—at the link. It’s a widespread conundrum for sure…
“And so there is this disconnect between the people and those that provide for the people; each of them waiting on the other to make some sort of move that will allow them both to get what they want. Specifically in the arts, we have people who enjoy culture waiting on artistic institutions to be bold in their ventures and present something ambitious and never-seen-before. Meanwhile, the artistic institutions are waiting for their audiences to show them that they have a true open’ness and willingness to something off the beaten path. As if some checker game, where it is locked and each player is waiting for the other to make a sacrifice in order to keep the game going.
Audiences will never be able to show theaters how far their tastes run if never given the chance, and theaters will never be able to take a chance if audiences are scared to leave their comfort zone. Producing new work requires work on both ends.”
