I guess I’m the one who asked for more discussion, and this is one of those topics I can discuss ALL day. So for those who get bored easy, feel free to move along, for those who enjoy a good rant, pull up a seat.
Well... If I had to answer this question as succinctly as possible I would have to say... Nothing! Well that's not entirely true. We did use some first time directors this year, but I don't think that was a conscious decision of "risk."
We do have a first time playwright who is a long time member of our Theater. His first work is close to completion and it is really quite good. I'm hoping we will take the "risk." We have one of those communities that can fill our theater, but only if something they are already familiar with. I.e., the play was a Broadway smash, it's got Neil Simon's name on it, they had to read the book in High School, they love the music, or they’ve seen it a hundred times. So in many ways, I guess I approve of the comfort zone our group is carving out for itself.
I know we don't and probably won't do many of those plays that are suppose to be "Actor's" shows or the shows the director tells you in his application "I have always wanted to do..." (Real Estate Add talk like Fixer Upper, means no other theater was crazy enough to do the show. Nor will we likely find too many shows whose author lacked an adequate grasp on the English language to transport the audience to the place they need to go and has instead had to substitute more "colorful" language, not to make the piece more "real" but for no more apparent reason than to shock them awake. Equally unlikely will be those shows we most often hear listed when the discussion turns to "Stretching" the community. It is very unlikely that "In Your Face!" will be next year’s catchy season ticket theme slogan.
Yes, I’m ok with all that. Because after all why do we really do armature theater? “Amateur” is from the French for doing something for “the love of it.” And that’s why most of us are really here; because we don’t get paid and it isn’t ALWAYS fun. But we do love it. So while we may want to do the “occasional” stretch piece, we have to always remember our audience. For audience in the Greek means “those who hear”. And without them who would we play to? We must maintain our financial stability to maintain our theater, or again in the Greek, “seeing place,” for if we don’t where would these pieces ever be seen? Bottom line is, as much as we might want to stretch and educate, we have to remember the bottom like. As an old friend and director of mine use to say, “Tried and true may not be new, but it puts butts in the seats!”
Till next we trod the boards…

MartyW