CenterStage signals new chapter in Richmond’s arts community

"The possibilities are just unlimited," said Keith Martin, managing director of the Richmond Ballet, one of nine groups that will be resident companies at CenterStage. Martin speaks from experience: Before moving to Richmond, he worked on the launching of six performing-arts centers, in North Carolina and elsewhere. He predicts that with higher visibility and "cross-pollination of our audience base," the nine groups will experience double-digit increases in attendance, at least in the year after the opening.

"I think it's fabulous," exclaimed Janine Bell, artistic director of the Elegba Folklore Society, also a resident company. "For the first time, Richmond has a real performing-arts center in the center of the city, making a diverse collection of arts experiences available for all in the city and metro area. It will be an attraction and therefore impact the economic bottom line," she said.

With plans to strut their stuff at CenterStage's various venues -- the revamped Carpenter Theatre, the freshly minted 200-seat Gottwald Playhouse, the multipurpose Rhythm Hall -- it's hardly surprising that the resident companies should be optimistic. Nonresident groups will be able to book CenterStage spaces when available.

Some nonaffiliated members of the area's arts community are hopeful, too, foreseeing a trickledown of public enthusiasm. "I know there's been some speculation that CenterStage will hurt smaller and newer companies in the area," said Jacquie O'Connor, managing director of Henley Street Theatre Company. "I personally don't think that's true. Richmond has always embraced the arts, and creating a space that will broaden audience participation can only be good for everyone."

Joe Mattys, chairman of the Department of Arts at Randolph-Macon College, concurs. "My first reaction was of some concern. I thought it would detract from what everyone else could do. But I've reversed my thinking on that," Mattys said. Highly polished productions will come to town, and "that inspires people," he said. "It suggests there's a higher standard we all could reach. I think it's likely to improve the quality of work that's done locally, as well as the appetite for it."

Of course, not everyone is elated by CenterStage's debut, an event that coincides with a recession and follows the June release of a National Endowment for the Arts survey showing that attendance at performing-arts events plummeted by double digits between 1982 and 2008.

"I really do not know how [CenterStage] is going to affect K Dance and some of the local companies," said Kaye Weinstein Gary, K Dance's artistic director. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "I'm cautious -- and hopeful that this would stimulate more interest in the arts."

On a downright negative note, the blog SaveRichmond.com, which has criticized plans for the arts center in the past, recently found fault with (among other things) the lack of an artistic director. "Make no mistake, folks. This stuff matters," the Aug. 12 post declared.

CenterStage spokesman Jay Smith said an executive director will be hired. And, stating that CenterStage is "committed to diverse programming," he said that SMG, the venue-management firm that operates the center, "has a proven record of attracting diverse types of programming."

Experts outside Richmond have studied the impact of new performing-arts centers on local culture.

"It varies from community to community," depending in part on the planning the community has done, said Sandra Gibson, president of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, a Washington-based arts service organization.

Andrew Taylor, director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, has conducted research on the issue. He says the kickoff of a performance complex can put new pressure on the funding infrastructure of an arts ecology, presenting a challenge to groups that are resident at the new complex and groups that aren't. But he said a ribbon-cutting can prompt "a year of extraordinary energy and activity" as public awareness of culture -- including preexistent groups -- increases.

Many Richmond artists are banking on increased public awareness. Asked if he's concerned that Richmond Symphony patrons may, after noticing that CenterStage showcases other groups, divert some of their time and money to competitors, Richmond Symphony Executive Director David J. L. Fisk said: "Doesn't bother me at all, because rising tides lift all boats. It's like the concentration of retail. Retailers like being clustered, because it attracts people. So think of [CenterStage] as a mini cultural mall. There are going to be all these different opportunities and reasons for people to come."

The ballet's Martin agreed: "Good art begets good art begets good art. If someone's point of entry to Richmond CenterStage is the ballet, and they expand their horizons to see what wonderful programs are offered by our symphony and opera and the six smaller but equally vibrant arts organizations, that's a good thing. And conversely, those groups' dedicated audiences may get out of their comfort zone and experience what we have to offer."

Martin said the "total experience" of a ballet production will be better, because of CenterStage's state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and ample support spaces such as dressing rooms and a wing area. Moreover, he said, the resident-company setup will encourage groups to collaborate, leading to more adventurous art -- not to mention possibilities for crossover marketing.

Others also predicted a snowball effect. CenterStage will allow "people from all Richmond communities to synergize their energy and talent" said Derome Scott Smith, African American Repertory Theatre's artistic director.

Richmond Shakespeare Artistic Director Grant Mudge said the new center has already "revolutionized" how the resident companies collaborate. "As we continually meet, handling things like ticketing and ushering and what time of day does the loading dock open for us," he said, he and his colleagues "also say, 'You know what? Boy, the symphony would fit really well for this performance!'"

Mudge also pointed to another factor that could transform Richmond's arts landscape in the long term: CenterStage's education programs. The rollout of the facility's Genworth BrightLights Education Center will not happen for a few months, but plans include a digital learning lab, school partnerships, classes on crafts such as stage design, and more.

Such resources could, potentially, mold a new generation of arts supporters. Mudge is already planning a regionwide high school Shakespeare festival that will bring students to CenterStage to perform scenes that will be digitally streamed to area classrooms.

The full impact of CenterStage on Richmond's arts scene will only be clear over time. Even the resident companies have needed an orientation period, Martin said. "It's like when you test drive a car. Now that you know what all the little switches and bells and gadgets and whistles are for, you really want to give it a shakedown."

Celia Wren is a former managing editor of American Theatre magazine. Contact her at .