“She gives a great variety of opportunities to see what's developing in the field,” said Randall, who has been a supporter of Curtain Call since its inception. It’s become a major draw for regular subscribers like Harvey Randall of Niskayuna. Max reads 500 to 600 plays a year when planning Curtain Call’s season, and she aims to create a season that’s 90 percent new titles and regional premieres. “It's super important for them that people who want to see good theater here in the Capital Region have a place where they can.”Ĭurtain Call balances its season with recognizable titles, like the upcoming stage adaptation of Stephen King’s “Misery,” with newer works like “Tiny Houses,” which runs until Oct. “The Curtain Call crew always, on their tiny budget, makes the magic happen,” she said. Even as Curtain Call moved to its newer, larger venue, Trubitt said prices haven’t changed even though the new space and production caliber would warrant a raise. The move may seem unusual in a time when many businesses are raising prices to combat COVID-19 setbacks, but Curtain Call has always been focused on keeping theater accessible. Hooking younger audiences can be challenging, especially since theater is now competing against streaming services and social media platforms, but if this program gets one kid to perk up during a Curtain Call production and think, “I want to experience more of this,” then that means the program was a success, Max said. Theater audiences tend to skew older, which Max said is wonderful, but she knows building new audiences is necessary to keep the theater alive. The hope is to invest in the future of theater audiences and practitioners. “They're always on the pulse of trying to keep theater very real and accessible,” Trubitt said. When Max describes the new initiative during her curtain speech before “Tiny Houses,” the audience has responded with applause, including longtime patron Lisa Trubitt who hasn’t missed a show in over 20 years. This season subscribers can take their children or grandchildren between the ages of 10 and 17 (old enough to sit through a play) to any show for free. “But I think we’re making a comeback, and we're still doing our mission, and that's producing quality theater and regional premieres.”Ĭurtain Call’s new program aims to help with this audience rebound while inviting in a new generation. “We're definitely not where we started,” she said. While patrons are ready to return and figure out their “new normal,” some are still nervous, making the bounce back slow but steady, Max said. The theater is back to full capacity seating, masks still required, but ticket sales have yet to reach pre-pandemic numbers. The theater eased into live performances by drastically limiting audience sizes for social distancing and requiring masks and proof of vaccination. Three decades, 200-plus productions and one pandemic later, the show continues to go on for Curtain Call, though Max said audience numbers are still rebounding after the early pandemic shutdowns.Īfter closing down in March 2020, Curtain Call reopened in May 2021. One morning, inspiration struck – Max could open her own theater company here. Because New York City was a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, it was hard for Max to regularly audition and continue working in theater while raising her children. Max, her husband and two daughters moved from Laguna Hills, California, where Max acted, to Upstate New York in 1988. “We know that we want to build them as audience patrons, but also they're going to strike an interest, and hopefully a lot of them may want to go into the arts.” Now, Curtain Call is celebrating its 30-year journey by looking ahead to the next 30 years with a new audience outreach program aimed at introducing kids and teens to theater. Since Carol Max founded the company in 1992, Curtain Call has been building its own tiny homes across the Capital Region, starting at Caffe Lena, traveling through dinner theater circuits in Saratoga and Albany and landing in Latham, where it upgraded from a 99-seat church on Old Loudon Road to a 134-seat church a mile down the road. It’s fitting that Curtain Call Theatre opened its 30th season with the regional premiere of Chelsea Marcantel’s “Tiny Houses,” a play about a young couple building a tiny house in Oregon. At 30, Curtain Call Theatre looks to grow young audiencesįounder Carol Max offering free tickets this season to anyone age 10-17
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