The importance of being earners
The grand old ladies of Polish theater may not have the lead roles for much longer. Their understudies, in the shape of new independent theaters, are grumbling about how state subsidies for the arts are being divvied up, and are demanding a thorough reform of how Polish theater is funded. One answer is business patronage of the arts, but with companies taking a cautious approach to the productions they attach their name to, it could be a while before Polish businesspeople turn into latter-day Medicis.
If you're looking for luvvies, than Wrocław may prove just the ticket. A number of major productions in recent months have made the town a temporary Mecca for theater and opera lovers in Poland.
Recently Wrocław Opera's highly acclaimed The Twilight of the Gods attracted an international audience of thousands. Similarly, more than 20,000 people saw Carmen in the city's Hala Ludowa. The cost of these mega-productions frequently exceeds zł.1 million - far more than the public money the production companies receives in subsidies - but a sterling reputation and major ad campaigns are keeping the stalls packed.
Not all cities and theaters can boast Wrocław's high profile. Although public funds are available for Poland's 178 state- or city-owned theaters and musical institutions, independent venues have to get by on their own steam. Nonetheless, the number of small private theaters, which rely for venues on institutional theaters that have their own permanent seats, is growing, and now amounts to roughly 400.
To be or not to be
Janusz Pietkiewicz, director of the Theater and Music Department at the City of Warsaw, says that apart from the National Opera, which is supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Warsaw has 18 production companies operating on 30 stages. "This year's subsidy given to these theaters amounts to zł.87.7 million, which has increased by 50 percent over the last three years. For example, the Roma theater receives an annual subsidy of zł.11 million," says Pietkiewicz.
Krystyna Janda, an actress who also runs the independent Polonia theater, says that a meager total of zł.1.5 million has been given to independent theaters that applied for subsidies. "The proportions are incomparable," she says.
Currently, institutional theaters have few concerns about receiving funding, leading to accusations that they are not spending public money wisely. Roman Osadnik, director of the Polonia, would like to see these theaters getting subsidies to cover administrative costs alone. "They should apply for funding to cover production. They don't have to worry if a production is successful or not. But for us it is a 'to be or not to be' situation," says Osadnik.
Pietkiewicz says that budgets are regularly audited by the Supreme Chamber of Control (NIK) and the City Bureau of Audit and Control and adds that there has been no abuse so far. He says the attendance rate indicates the artistic value of these productions; in Warsaw theaters, this is estimated at 84 percent.
Outsourcing production
Piotr Duda, producer at the Montownia, agrees with Osadnik and Janda that the state or the city should provide funding for independent theaters, adding that every single złoty ought to be spent wisely. "I see a point in putting on a performance for an audience of one if it has an artistic reason. But for other performances, attendance may be high but the money earned can be spent thoughtlessly. For example, maintaining a set-building workshop where many people work but only do something just before a premiere is costly," Duda adds.
He gives the example of French theaters, where a small number of paid employees can manage performances with audiences of over 700 people. Private and alternative theaters employ only a few administrative workers but hire actors and additional workers for particular projects, and get their props and scenery from external companies, thus reducing costs.
Andrzej Marczewski, the former director of many institutional theaters and the man behind the Marczewski Theater, says that theaters offering a commercial repertoire should make their own living and the state should only subsidize those with a specific remit or more ambitious projects. "In Paris there are only a few state theaters. In Warsaw there are too many and the repertoire in some of them, such as the Kwadrat, the Syrena and the Komedia, overlaps. First of all, the city should make a decision about what kind of theaters it wants," he says.
Making ends meet
Thanks to a law issued in 2004 and the Operational Programs of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, theaters and foundations are able to apply for additional funds for specific productions. Many independent theaters have already benefited from this. The Polonia recently received zł.100,000 to stage Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, which will be the first play to be performed on the theater's new big stage, due to open this fall.
Duda says that these grants cover only about 15 percent of the production cost. "The city helps us at the early stage of the production. Then we break even just by selling tickets, leasing the hall, organizing courses," he adds.
Krystyna Janda wants to create a body of sponsors, 10 companies that will buy 20 seats for their employees for every show in the season. "This will allow us to complete two productions and perhaps one smaller one," believes Janda. To this end, Osadnik says the Polonia is cooperating with the Business Center Club, an employers' organization. There is already a number of companies, including Opoczno, Centrostal, Górażdże Cement and Knauf, which are sponsoring the renovation of the old Polonia cinema.
Pietkiewicz says that Warsaw's City Hall wants to help independent institutions, and is currently looking for city-owned venues to be renovated and let to private production companies that do not have their stages. "This would enable theater groups to come with their funds, stage the performances and take the tickets. The first of these should be ready before the fall," says Pietkiewicz. Marczewski adds that private theaters could run festivals as a way of earning additional money.
Modern-day Medicis
In the meantime, both theaters offering mega-productions, such as the Wrocław Opera, and small institutions are hungry for additional sponsors and patrons. Companies such as Bank BPH, PKO BP, KGHM Polska Miedź, Orange, Polkomtel and many others have a budget for cultural sponsoring and patronage. Some of them even spend more than zł.1 million a year on supporting cultural institutions and events.
However, they have very strict selection procedures, the number of firms involved in patronage is low, and they are generally reluctant to sponsor controversial productions. "A company which was going to support the production of Wozzeck moved their funds to a different production as soon as they found out that the image of the company could be affected by the confusion which accompanied the rehearsals and the discussion about limits to artistic freedom." says Marek Szyjko, financial director at the Polish National Opera. A similar situation took place in the Polonia, where a sponsor withdrew completely when it discovered that the theater was planning to stage Darkroom and Field Tests on Ukrainian Sex.
Władysław Kołomański, deputy director of public relations at Bank BPH, explains that when deciding which performance to support, the bank considers the impact the production may have on the bank's image and on current and prospective customers. "Our reputation is an asset so we avoid taking part in projects that might not be in accordance with our strategy," he says. Mieczysław Piotrowski, a spokesperson for KGHM, and Marcin Gruszka from Orange share this opinion. Companies perceive cultural sponsorship as top-level advertising targeted at affluent and opinion-forming customers.
Politically correct
Montownia's Duda believes that there is too much political correctness in patronage. "There are very few people who understand the idea of cultural sponsorship. Everything is on an unclear footing and this leads to suspicions. Sponsoring initiatives such as Montownia means supporting something that has been created from nothing, something that is economically justified. Becoming a patron gives a sponsor additional splendor and credibility, and improves their image," he says.
Timothy King retired from the World Bank and is currently writing a book on the economics of opera. He says that in many countries, such as the US, UK and France, there are foundations established by individuals that regularly donate a certain amount of money for opera. Pietkiewicz says that London's Covent Garden has three such foundations with thousands of members: "Real patronage is when a person comes, gives money and doesn't interfere in the repertoire. In Poland this almost does not exist."
Marczewski identifies another way the financial situation could be improved. "Minister Izabela Cywińska wanted to carry out a thorough reform of theaters at the beginning of the 1990s, but hesitated and since then each Minister has been afraid to do it or has not been interested in doing it. Without such reform, this situation won't change and the big subsidies will continue to be blown and we will need to reconsider how to finance independent theaters anyway," he says.
Piotr Duda and Krystyna Janda, along with other actors and producers such as Anna Wołek and Redbad Klynstra, are appealing to the Culture Committee of the Sejm to make room for private cultural institutions in Poland. It seems the young upstarts are keen to give the grand old ladies of Polish theater a run for their money.
