dkSez : : : : : : Don Kahle’s blog

Our community was saddened at the loss of Willamette Repertory Theatre, but sadness without action is pity. And Kirk Boyd and others deserve more than our pity. Ten years of struggle can teach us something, if we’re willing to learn. Some of those lessons can be learned by watching what Springfield is up to. The Wildish Theatre is a jewel of a little theatre, inadequate for professional theatre in many ways, but never mind the building itself. Notice that the Springfield City Council sagely stated that they don’t want to get into the theatre management business. Ah ha. How can we do what they are trying to do, just as we did a decade ago with the Eugene Celebration. How can we spin off management of the Hult Center to a non-profit organization? And how about putting the ticket booth on the street? Do you know how much it costs to heat that lobby every day, just so people can stand in line to buy tickets? And maybe we could replace the current configuration of Silva Hall with a versatile and unique black box theatre so the creative minds in town could really have some fun.