By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter 
ALL THE world's a stage, but whither to stage a play? The theatre is a playwright's womb of creativity. It is where the play in its zygote state, mere words on a page, comes to be shaped into an organic being. The players take their parts and through the coercive efforts of the director, much to the joy or dismay of the playwright, breathe the words into life.
The theatre is where plays are introduced to the world. Well, most of them anyway.
Kingston boasts, though whether it should is questionable, fewer than 10 theatres. Most of them cater to small houses, have even smaller stages and limited technical capabilities. Most of the theatres are centred in or near New Kingston. The Pantry Play House on Dumphries Road and The Centerstage Theatre on Dominica Drive are a hop, skip and fast walk from the Knutsford Boulevard Hip Strip.
Not too far away is The Barn Theatre on Oxford Road, while The Little Theatre and The Little Little Theatre are less than a country mile away on Tom Redcam Avenue. The Dennis Scott Studio Theatre and amphitheatre at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts are also in the vicinity.
FLAILING
The once flagship of Jamaican theatre, The Ward, currently flailing for a respirator, is one of two theatres outside of this loop. The Philip Sherlock Centre at the University of the West Indies also falls outside.
Jamaica's theatre scene seems to be enjoying the bloom of a second youth. Over the past few years approximately six productions have opened in December for extended runs, with others cropping up throughout the year. Additionally, the fare has been varied. The question therefore arises, should this bloom continue, can the current infrastructure of the theatre industry accommodate further growth?
"We would probably need more theatres if more of us were to get up off our asses and write," says Michael Daley. Daley is currently assisting with Moses at the National Arena and has been producer of Jamaica Musical Theatre Company Productions, including Sarafina and Mama I Want To Sing. "I don't know how Jambiz stuck the cast that they do on that stage, because that's a very small theatre," he continued. Jambiz's annual productions, usually with a cast of five or six persons are based at the Centerstage theatre. Those The Sunday Gleaner spoke with generally agreed that either medium sized theatres or a performing arts centre is needed. Interestingly, should the Ward Theatre, currently resting wearily in the heart of downtown Kingston, be repaired (and Jamaicans be convinced to return to it), it would be exactly what the stage manager ordered. As it has been in the past, The Ward has the scope for elaborate productions with huge casts to be staged.
"We need theatres that are a little larger," said Daley. He noted that more theatres on the scale of the Philip Sherlock Centre at the University of the West Indies were necessary.
The Philip Sherlock Centre makes an attractive comparison because of the size of the stage, which allows for medium sized productions to be staged comfortably. Playwright Basil Dawkins, whose most recent production A Gift For Mom starts its United States tour this weekend, agrees though cautiously.
Dawkins points out that while the average theatre in Kingston seats between 150 and 500 persons, the city could benefit from theatres which seat between 300 and 500 persons. He noted that while a theatre that can seat 1,500 or 2,000 persons would be ideal, two or three additional medium sized theatres would be adequate.
However, Dawkins cautions on the side of economics. He noted that while a large theatre would be ideal 'uptown', the economics of it might not be friendly to investors who could possibly make more money turning the property into townhouses etc. Dawkins points out that though theatre seems to be growing it is heavily dependent on benefit performances, which make it a less profitable business than it appears.
Interestingly, the economics of theatre makes up a part of Dawkins belief in larger theatres. "As the costs (of staging a play) escalate, there is an extent to which you can increase the ticket costs," explains Dawkins. As such, a larger auditorium increases the producer's chances of recouping money spent on the production with fewer shows.
OUT OF TOWN
The question of auditorium size also impacts on theatre runs outside of Kingston. Jambiz International is one of the production companies that regularly tour the island with their plays. After starting in Kingston, productions such as Cindy-Relisha and the Deejay Prince and this year's Christopher Cum-Buck-Us make their way into rural Jamaica. Rosie Williams, production assistant with the company, pointed out that Jambiz generally selects venues that seat no less than 700 persons.
As a result, the productions often play in school auditoriums, when touring in rural Jamaica. She explains that the larger audiences are necessary to make touring economically feasible. Not only does the production have to travel with the set and cast, but they also have to take light and sound equipment, including body microphones, with them.
Even without a great increase in the number of plays being produced, current playwrights and producers sometimes have to play a juggling game to get a theatre, especially for an extended run.
Basil Dawkins says that he has had that problem in the not so recent past. He noted that at one time getting the space and the actors together at the same time was dependent on luck.
Indeed, luck of some kind intervened with Owen Ellis. The actor and playwright explains that he almost had no home for his latest production, Tings A Gwaan. The production is currently running at the Centerstage Theatre. Ellis explained that after trying to get a stage for the production since December, he thought he would have to take the production 'on the road'.
Ellis explained that the comedy revue would have played for a single weekend at Centerstage and then the venue would be changed according to availability. Ellis said that though it would be harder to market a production whose venue changed from one week to the next, it would not be impossible.
Ellis is in agreement that more and better equipped theatres are necessary, but he is not waiting around for them to appear. "We need to take the theatre somewhere else, since the conventional space isn't there," he said. Guided by this notion, Ellis says he has been working his poetic piece, Tick Tock, so that it can be staged at a venue like Backyaad on Constant Spring Road.
Daley agrees that the use of unconventional venues is certainly an option. He noted, however, that the problem with some of those spaces would be that one would have to take all the equipment along. He points to the successful staging of Noel Coward's one-act play, Come Into the Garden Maude, at the Redbones Blues Café in New Kingston in 2002. He noted that with the economic costs involved, garden-style theatres are probably the way to go.
UNCONVENTIONAL VENUES
Dawkins is more hesitant about the use of unconventional venues for productions. He points out that when one uses spaces not designated for theatre, the question of set and prop storage and other issues begin to arise.
Dawkins also notes that not only the auditorium size matters. "I think we need good theatres, meaning well equipped theatres," he said. Indeed, some of the smaller theatre spaces have very limited lighting, sound, storage, technical equipment and facilities for the actors. This idea of having better equipped theatres also found general assent.
Nicole Brown, president of the Jamaica Association of Dramatic Artistes (JADA), explained that space concerns aside, theatre practitioners need to take the business of their craft more seriously.
But like all businesses, growth is hard without the proper infrastructure. How well playwrights and producers continue to either craft stages out of other spaces or juggle the use of traditional theatres may well impact the development of the industry. Whether they are being brought back by benefits or otherwise, there is a resurgence of interest in theatre. The benefit concerts are allowing persons to see beyond misconceptions of Jamaican theatre. So maybe, it is time to build so that they can come.
