2020年,新冠疫情導致全球戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)陷入停滯,但這并不是戲劇界第一次面臨生存危機。細數(shù)戲劇界曾經(jīng)的遭遇:9/11事件、二戰(zhàn)時期的倫敦閃電戰(zhàn)等襲擊造成文藝活動中斷,顛覆性技術——諸如電影和電視的出現(xiàn)改變了消費者的行為習慣。從莎士比亞時代到如今,包括艾滋病等流行病的大流行,摧毀了一代藝術家。
在每場境遇中,戲劇界都經(jīng)歷了淪陷、新生、重歸強大這三個過程。毫無疑問,全球劇院現(xiàn)在正在遭遇寒冬,而且最黑暗的日子或許還未到來。但通過戲劇界今年所經(jīng)歷的挑戰(zhàn),及其所觸發(fā)的轉(zhuǎn)折和變動,我們或許能夠窺見一二它的未來。
以下是關于戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)變革的五個預測:
百老匯的節(jié)目將會轉(zhuǎn)移內(nèi)容焦點
代表劇院所有者及制片人的行業(yè)組織——百老匯聯(lián)盟(Broadway League)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,在最近一季的百老匯觀眾中,有35%是當?shù)鼐用瘢?5%是游客。據(jù)該聯(lián)盟估計,百老匯要到2025年才能完全恢復其游客數(shù)量。因此,百老匯需要針對來自紐約及其郊區(qū)的35%的當?shù)赜^眾來開發(fā)和制作內(nèi)容,并減少對國際游客(占19%)和美國國內(nèi)游客(占46%)的依賴,從數(shù)據(jù)也可以看出,這兩撥游客是疫情前百老匯的主要觀眾。
這也就意味著,一些飽受外地游客喜愛而長盛不衰的劇目可能會停演。對于這些經(jīng)典作品,當?shù)赜^眾已經(jīng)看膩了,他們更感興趣的是新鮮出爐的音樂劇、“造星戲”以及限量演出和音樂會活動等。生產(chǎn)商還將試圖降低成本結構,目前他們需要賣出接近滿座的門票,才能實現(xiàn)扭虧為盈。預計預算緊縮,還將導致企業(yè)和劇目創(chuàng)作規(guī)模的縮小。另一個傳統(tǒng)的全球戲劇旅游圣地——倫敦西區(qū),也很有可能會發(fā)生類似的變化。
紐約和倫敦的“替代品”將會出現(xiàn)
在劇院迷們能夠安全回到紐約和倫敦這兩個“快樂老家”之前,他們該到哪里去尋求刺激、滿足戲癮呢?答案是:他們的目光將放在離家更近的地方,發(fā)掘高質(zhì)量的戲劇專業(yè)產(chǎn)品。
預計美國現(xiàn)有的非營利地方影院,以及英國受補貼影院將引領兩地的戲劇界復蘇。由于票房收入僅占年度預算的一部分,這些影院可以更好地應對票房下降的影響,維持生存甚至表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異。觀眾一旦體驗到這些劇院制作的高質(zhì)量專業(yè)演出,就更有可能成為其永久顧客。在恢復方面,這些地方場館之后或?qū)⒊修k美國、英國的商業(yè)巡回演出,通常能獲得龐大的觀眾客源。
英美以外的劇院迷同樣會把目光投向國內(nèi)。德國、西班牙、澳大利亞、日本以及新劇院不斷涌現(xiàn)的中國,都將涌現(xiàn)出一批批英美地方性劇院的“全球版本”。曾經(jīng)鐘情于倫敦、紐約劇院的觀眾,則會轉(zhuǎn)向身邊,去尋找那些質(zhì)量和數(shù)量都在不斷提高的地方性優(yōu)秀劇院。
“創(chuàng)意階層”將會移居
疫情期間,許多演員、導演、編劇及戲劇行業(yè)工作者離開了城市文化中心,搬到了空間更廣闊的、生活和工作成本更低的地方。同時,他們學會了如何更好地遠程工作和協(xié)作,從視頻試鏡到通過Zoom做開發(fā)或前期制作工作等等。
在疫情常態(tài)之下,許多創(chuàng)意人員會發(fā)現(xiàn),他們可以繼續(xù)以這樣的遠程方式工作,而不會對他們的職業(yè)生涯造成負面影響。因此制片人和選角導演不能再指望創(chuàng)意人員住在生活成本最昂貴的城市,以便隨時進行線下溝通。此外,如果我之前所述關于劇院地理轉(zhuǎn)移的預測是正確的,藝術家們將傾向于移居到演出多的地方,并被吸引至那些劇場眾多且生活成本較低的城市(諸如明尼阿波利斯、亞特蘭大、克利夫蘭等等)。
劇院內(nèi)容將越來越多地出現(xiàn)在大小各類屏幕上
隨著《漢密爾頓》在迪士尼+上大獲成功,HBO Max上的《美國烏托邦》、亞馬遜Prime上的《憲法對我的意義》也獲得不俗反響,一種依托于劇院制作的流媒體商業(yè)模式或許已經(jīng)建立起來。
流媒體平臺越來越需要節(jié)目制作,制作人降低風險、獲取最大化收益的需求也越來越旺盛——利益對接就此出現(xiàn)。兩者合作的合同標準肯定需要重新審查,以讓仍在舞臺上表演的現(xiàn)場戲劇作品允許在平臺上播放,但切實的互惠互利模式的存在,將持續(xù)推動“流媒體x戲劇”這一新結合的流行。
與此同時,電影院也在經(jīng)歷著顛覆。雖然影院放映的獨家“劇場式”窗口多年來一直處于收緊階段,但華納兄弟公司最近的聲明中說,圣誕節(jié)當天,《神奇女俠1984》在兩家影院上映的同時,其兄弟平臺HBO Max也會同步上線——這意味著,影院“壟斷式”電影放映的模式或?qū)⒈淮蚱啤S捎诠蚕硎降挠^影體驗,電影院仍將是消費者“觀看行為”的首選。但同時,伴隨著專用于影院的電影制作的減少,其他類型的公司可能會在影院內(nèi)容(包括電影和直播)方面獲得市場機會。
不妨想象一下這樣的一種節(jié)目組合:在任何給定的時間,一家多銀幕電影院同時播放著最新的漫威超級英雄電影,美國大學生體育協(xié)會籃球聯(lián)賽的巡回賽,新一季的Netflix系列劇集,以及百老匯或倫敦西區(qū)制作的戲劇現(xiàn)場直播。有了這些基于本地的觀影行為,通過在線化的方式加持,全球劇院的整體觀眾數(shù)量甚至可以得到增加。那些曾經(jīng)站在劇院大門之外的人,也有了接觸到其作品的機會,無論是經(jīng)濟上的(百老匯的平均票價達到了145美元),地理上的(最知名的作品劇目主要集中在紐約和倫敦),還是語言上的(這些作品幾乎只用英語表演)。
表演者工會或?qū)⒑喜?/strong>
2012年,由于電影和電視之間司法界限日漸模糊,美國演員工會(SAG)和美國電視與廣播藝術家聯(lián)合會(AFTRA)這兩個組織得以合并。而在電影和直播影院方面,美國演員權益協(xié)會(AEA)和SAG、AFTRA之間的司法界限,也因疫情而變得模糊不清。
整個夏天,這兩個協(xié)會都陷在司法糾紛中。盡管有臨時性的折衷方案,但當劇場直播模式成為常態(tài)時,每一部作品都需要與表演者簽訂兩個工會的合同。由于許多AEA成員、SAG/AFTRA成員之間都是互通的,這兩個聯(lián)盟似乎有可能也走向合并的道路(但不算是迫在眉睫的需求)。
沒有人可以精準地預測未來。但無可辯駁,“世界各國政府均承認,戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)是受新冠疫情影響最嚴重、最遲才能完全恢復的產(chǎn)業(yè)之一”——這才是確保劇院未來光明的最佳方案。
如果戲劇藝術家們得到了他們需要的支持,那么世界接下來要做的,只是“挑選入座”,靜觀“劇院們”重復它已經(jīng)反反復復“表演”了幾個世紀的關鍵詞:淪陷,新生,重歸強大。(財富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者邁克爾?巴拉(Michael Barra)是全球媒體版權包裝和現(xiàn)場舞臺制作公司——Lively McCabe娛樂的首席執(zhí)行官。
編譯:楊二一
2020年,新冠疫情導致全球戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)陷入停滯,但這并不是戲劇界第一次面臨生存危機。細數(shù)戲劇界曾經(jīng)的遭遇:9/11事件、二戰(zhàn)時期的倫敦閃電戰(zhàn)等襲擊造成文藝活動中斷,顛覆性技術——諸如電影和電視的出現(xiàn)改變了消費者的行為習慣。從莎士比亞時代到如今,包括艾滋病等流行病的大流行,摧毀了一代藝術家。
在每場境遇中,戲劇界都經(jīng)歷了淪陷、新生、重歸強大這三個過程。毫無疑問,全球劇院現(xiàn)在正在遭遇寒冬,而且最黑暗的日子或許還未到來。但通過戲劇界今年所經(jīng)歷的挑戰(zhàn),及其所觸發(fā)的轉(zhuǎn)折和變動,我們或許能夠窺見一二它的未來。
以下是關于戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)變革的五個預測:
百老匯的節(jié)目將會轉(zhuǎn)移內(nèi)容焦點
代表劇院所有者及制片人的行業(yè)組織——百老匯聯(lián)盟(Broadway League)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,在最近一季的百老匯觀眾中,有35%是當?shù)鼐用瘢?5%是游客。據(jù)該聯(lián)盟估計,百老匯要到2025年才能完全恢復其游客數(shù)量。因此,百老匯需要針對來自紐約及其郊區(qū)的35%的當?shù)赜^眾來開發(fā)和制作內(nèi)容,并減少對國際游客(占19%)和美國國內(nèi)游客(占46%)的依賴,從數(shù)據(jù)也可以看出,這兩撥游客是疫情前百老匯的主要觀眾。
這也就意味著,一些飽受外地游客喜愛而長盛不衰的劇目可能會停演。對于這些經(jīng)典作品,當?shù)赜^眾已經(jīng)看膩了,他們更感興趣的是新鮮出爐的音樂劇、“造星戲”以及限量演出和音樂會活動等。生產(chǎn)商還將試圖降低成本結構,目前他們需要賣出接近滿座的門票,才能實現(xiàn)扭虧為盈。預計預算緊縮,還將導致企業(yè)和劇目創(chuàng)作規(guī)模的縮小。另一個傳統(tǒng)的全球戲劇旅游圣地——倫敦西區(qū),也很有可能會發(fā)生類似的變化。
紐約和倫敦的“替代品”將會出現(xiàn)
在劇院迷們能夠安全回到紐約和倫敦這兩個“快樂老家”之前,他們該到哪里去尋求刺激、滿足戲癮呢?答案是:他們的目光將放在離家更近的地方,發(fā)掘高質(zhì)量的戲劇專業(yè)產(chǎn)品。
預計美國現(xiàn)有的非營利地方影院,以及英國受補貼影院將引領兩地的戲劇界復蘇。由于票房收入僅占年度預算的一部分,這些影院可以更好地應對票房下降的影響,維持生存甚至表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異。觀眾一旦體驗到這些劇院制作的高質(zhì)量專業(yè)演出,就更有可能成為其永久顧客。在恢復方面,這些地方場館之后或?qū)⒊修k美國、英國的商業(yè)巡回演出,通常能獲得龐大的觀眾客源。
英美以外的劇院迷同樣會把目光投向國內(nèi)。德國、西班牙、澳大利亞、日本以及新劇院不斷涌現(xiàn)的中國,都將涌現(xiàn)出一批批英美地方性劇院的“全球版本”。曾經(jīng)鐘情于倫敦、紐約劇院的觀眾,則會轉(zhuǎn)向身邊,去尋找那些質(zhì)量和數(shù)量都在不斷提高的地方性優(yōu)秀劇院。
“創(chuàng)意階層”將會移居
疫情期間,許多演員、導演、編劇及戲劇行業(yè)工作者離開了城市文化中心,搬到了空間更廣闊的、生活和工作成本更低的地方。同時,他們學會了如何更好地遠程工作和協(xié)作,從視頻試鏡到通過Zoom做開發(fā)或前期制作工作等等。
在疫情常態(tài)之下,許多創(chuàng)意人員會發(fā)現(xiàn),他們可以繼續(xù)以這樣的遠程方式工作,而不會對他們的職業(yè)生涯造成負面影響。因此制片人和選角導演不能再指望創(chuàng)意人員住在生活成本最昂貴的城市,以便隨時進行線下溝通。此外,如果我之前所述關于劇院地理轉(zhuǎn)移的預測是正確的,藝術家們將傾向于移居到演出多的地方,并被吸引至那些劇場眾多且生活成本較低的城市(諸如明尼阿波利斯、亞特蘭大、克利夫蘭等等)。
劇院內(nèi)容將越來越多地出現(xiàn)在大小各類屏幕上
隨著《漢密爾頓》在迪士尼+上大獲成功,HBO Max上的《美國烏托邦》、亞馬遜Prime上的《憲法對我的意義》也獲得不俗反響,一種依托于劇院制作的流媒體商業(yè)模式或許已經(jīng)建立起來。
流媒體平臺越來越需要節(jié)目制作,制作人降低風險、獲取最大化收益的需求也越來越旺盛——利益對接就此出現(xiàn)。兩者合作的合同標準肯定需要重新審查,以讓仍在舞臺上表演的現(xiàn)場戲劇作品允許在平臺上播放,但切實的互惠互利模式的存在,將持續(xù)推動“流媒體x戲劇”這一新結合的流行。
與此同時,電影院也在經(jīng)歷著顛覆。雖然影院放映的獨家“劇場式”窗口多年來一直處于收緊階段,但華納兄弟公司最近的聲明中說,圣誕節(jié)當天,《神奇女俠1984》在兩家影院上映的同時,其兄弟平臺HBO Max也會同步上線——這意味著,影院“壟斷式”電影放映的模式或?qū)⒈淮蚱?。由于共享式的觀影體驗,電影院仍將是消費者“觀看行為”的首選。但同時,伴隨著專用于影院的電影制作的減少,其他類型的公司可能會在影院內(nèi)容(包括電影和直播)方面獲得市場機會。
不妨想象一下這樣的一種節(jié)目組合:在任何給定的時間,一家多銀幕電影院同時播放著最新的漫威超級英雄電影,美國大學生體育協(xié)會籃球聯(lián)賽的巡回賽,新一季的Netflix系列劇集,以及百老匯或倫敦西區(qū)制作的戲劇現(xiàn)場直播。有了這些基于本地的觀影行為,通過在線化的方式加持,全球劇院的整體觀眾數(shù)量甚至可以得到增加。那些曾經(jīng)站在劇院大門之外的人,也有了接觸到其作品的機會,無論是經(jīng)濟上的(百老匯的平均票價達到了145美元),地理上的(最知名的作品劇目主要集中在紐約和倫敦),還是語言上的(這些作品幾乎只用英語表演)。
表演者工會或?qū)⒑喜?/strong>
2012年,由于電影和電視之間司法界限日漸模糊,美國演員工會(SAG)和美國電視與廣播藝術家聯(lián)合會(AFTRA)這兩個組織得以合并。而在電影和直播影院方面,美國演員權益協(xié)會(AEA)和SAG、AFTRA之間的司法界限,也因疫情而變得模糊不清。
整個夏天,這兩個協(xié)會都陷在司法糾紛中。盡管有臨時性的折衷方案,但當劇場直播模式成為常態(tài)時,每一部作品都需要與表演者簽訂兩個工會的合同。由于許多AEA成員、SAG/AFTRA成員之間都是互通的,這兩個聯(lián)盟似乎有可能也走向合并的道路(但不算是迫在眉睫的需求)。
沒有人可以精準地預測未來。但無可辯駁,“世界各國政府均承認,戲劇產(chǎn)業(yè)是受新冠疫情影響最嚴重、最遲才能完全恢復的產(chǎn)業(yè)之一”——這才是確保劇院未來光明的最佳方案。
如果戲劇藝術家們得到了他們需要的支持,那么世界接下來要做的,只是“挑選入座”,靜觀“劇院們”重復它已經(jīng)反反復復“表演”了幾個世紀的關鍵詞:淪陷,新生,重歸強大。(財富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者邁克爾?巴拉(Michael Barra)是全球媒體版權包裝和現(xiàn)場舞臺制作公司——Lively McCabe娛樂的首席執(zhí)行官。
編譯:楊二一
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the global theater industry to a standstill. But 2020 is not the first time that the industry has faced an existential crisis. The theater community has confronted acts of terror such as 9/11 or the London Blitz that shuttered cultural activity; disruptive technologies that shifted consumer behavior, like motion pictures and television; and even prior pandemics dating back to Shakespeare, including AIDS, which ravaged a generation of artists.
In each instance the industry has mourned, innovated, and emerged stronger. Make no mistake: Global theater is hurting right now, with its darkest days still to come. Yet the challenges experienced over this year, and the pivots and adjustments they’ve triggered, allow us to infer what may lie around the corner.
Here are five predictions:
Broadway programming will shift its focus
According to the Broadway League, the trade organization that represents theater owners and producers, Broadway audiences during the most recent complete season were made up of 35% local residents and 65% tourists. By the league’s estimates, Broadway will not fully regain its tourist audience until sometime in 2025. Thus, Broadway will need to develop and produce content tailored more towards the 35% of audiences that hail from New York City and its suburbs and rely less on the international tourists (19%) and domestic tourists (46%) that made up the majority of its pre-pandemic audience.
This likely means the shuttering of some tourist-friendly long-running musical productions, which may have exhausted their tristate audiences, in favor of recently opened musicals, star-vehicle plays, and special limited-run and concert events. Producers will also attempt to reduce their cost structure, which currently requires near-capacity ticket sales in order to turn profit. Expect to see tightened budgets leading to smaller companies and production scale. London’s West End, the other traditional global mecca for theater tourism, will most likely see similar changes.
Viable alternatives to New York and London will emerge
Where will theater fans go to get their fix until they are able to safely travel back to New York and London? They will seek out—and find—high-quality professional productions closer to home.
Expect the existing circuits of nonprofit regional theaters in the U.S., and subsidized theaters in the U.K., to lead the recovery. As ticket sales represent only a portion of their annual budgets, these theaters can better weather lower capacities and still thrive. Once audiences experience the high-quality professional theater that they produce, those patrons are more likely to become permanent. In terms of recovery, the regionals will be followed by the commercial touring circuits in the U.S. and U.K. that bring productions from city to city and are presented by local venues, often with large subscriber bases.
Theater tourists from outside the U.S. and U.K. will similarly be looking closer to home. Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, and even emerging theater powerhouses like China will become the global versions of regional theaters, and audiences who’d previously travel to London or New York will travel shorter distances to find what is likely to be increasing quality and quantity of top theater.
The 'creative class' will migrate
During the pandemic, many actors, directors, writers, and others have vacated urban cultural centers for locales offering more space and affordability. While away, they’ve learned how to better work and collaborate remotely; from submitting video auditions to doing developmental or preproduction work via Zoom.
In the new reality, many creatives will find they can continue working in this fashion without negatively impacting their careers. Producers and casting directors can no longer expect creatives to live in the most expensive cities when they can easily come in when being paid to do so. Further, if the geographic shift of theater work mentioned in my previous prediction proves true, artists will tend to migrate to where the work is and gravitate towards cities with thriving theater scenes and lower costs of living (I’m looking at you, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Cleveland).
Theater content will increasingly appear on screens—big and small
With the recent successes of Hamilton on Disney+, American Utopia on HBO Max, and What the Constitution Means to Me on Amazon Prime, a business model for streaming currently or recently running theater productions has now become established.
With streaming platforms ever in need of programming, and producers increasingly in need of reducing risk and maximizing revenue, you have an alignment of interests that cannot be denied. To be sure, contractual standards with authors will need to be revisited to allow for screening of live theater productions that are still running onstage, but the existence of a clear mutual benefit should help the idea prevail.
At the same time, cinemas have been experiencing their own disruption. While the exclusive “theatrical” window for cinema exhibition has been tightening for years, the recent Warner Bros. announcement that Wonder Woman 1984 will debut Christmas Day in both cinemas and simultaneously on its sibling platform HBO Max may prove to be the end of the practice altogether. Cinema will remain the preferred consumer choice for “event viewing”—those viewing experiences that are enhanced by being shared communally. But with the output from studios earmarked for cinemas likely to decline, opportunities for others may arise for theater content, both filmed and live-streamed.
Imagine a mix of programming where at any given time a cinema multiplex may be showing the latest Marvel superhero film, the NCAA basketball tournament, a new season of a Netflix series, and the live stream of a Broadway or West End production. These local viewing opportunities could even grow the overall audience for global theater. It would make its product accessible to those who perhaps were previously excluded from the theater, whether by economics (the average ticket price for Broadway is $145, according to the Broadway League), by geography (the highest-profile productions are centered primarily in New York or London), or linguistically (those productions are staged almost exclusively in English).
Performers’ unions will consolidate
As recently as 2012 the clouding of the jurisdictional boundaries between what was considered film versus television resulted in the merger of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA). The pandemic has precipitated a similar blurring of the jurisdictional boundaries between the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and SAG/AFTRA when it comes to filmed and live-streamed theater.
The two unions were embroiled in a jurisdictional dispute all summer, with both unions issuing contracts to live-stream and/or film theater. A temporary compromise emerged, but the reality is that when filming and live-streaming theater becomes the norm, every production will need to engage their performers under contracts from two unions. With many AEA members also belonging to SAG/AFTRA and vice versa, a merger of those two unions seems very plausible, even if it isn’t imminent.
While no one can predict the future, what is indisputable is that the best way to ensure that theater will have a bright future is for governments worldwide to acknowledge that the sector has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic and will be among the last to fully recover. In the U.S., this should mean passing another round of small-business relief; ensuring the Save Our Stages Act—which aims to protect independent performing arts venues—is included in the next stimulus package; and most importantly, providing health and economic injury benefits to freelance artists.
If artists get the support they need, the world need only sit back and watch the global theater do what it’s done for centuries; mourn, innovate, and emerge stronger than ever.
Michael Barra is the CEO of Lively McCabe Entertainment, a global media rights packaging and live stage production company.