Summer theater must be accountable

I've listened to the recent dire cries for donations for CDA Summer Theatre, including those from Ellen Travolta and CST management in these pages. Personally and as a business owner, I have supported CST for over two decades. I have purchased more tickets than I needed, attended shows for which I had little appetite, encouraged friends to provide free or discounted housing to visiting talent, and generally spread the gospel highlighting the advantages of local high-quality professional theater. I can write a check and save CST, but I won't. And I question the prudence of encouraging others to do so.

The pleas for more money, including Ms. Travolta's suggestion of each person donating $50, sadly miss the mark on two fronts. First, the community provides a large amount of support for CST, a cultural entertainment organization which is not the United Way, the Women's Shelter, or the Boys and Girls Club. Busy community members and talented business owners donate time to serve on a volunteer Board of Directors. Individuals and businesses donate or discount materials or labor. People open their homes to CST and its company of visiting talent. Fundraisers are supported. People buy season tickets to shows they have no intention of attending. The local media provides low or no cost coverage of productions. However, CST is live theater which bills itself as "professional" but (here is the second omission) fails to accept any responsibility for the hole in which they now find themselves.

I clearly hear the loud pleas shouted from the rooftop for more money. What I do NOT hear or see is current management quietly staring in the mirror and accepting responsibility. In some ways, CST is a restaurant serving food that is clearly not adequately palatable to the customer base, albeit a demographically aging customer base. I can save CST, but for how long?

In a community of our size, we all have dozens of opportunities to invest our time and talents in worthy causes. Is CST harshly analyzing their management, their product, and their vision? This is what professional organizations do. This is what businesses do, what churches do, even what governments do, or it is done for them. Is CST taking accountability for their show selection, and evaluating the wisdom of repetitive casting, and the hiring of friends, family, and significant others to perform?

If Ms. Travolta, whose admittedly brilliant performances have brought much light to the CST stage over the past years, truly supports local professional theater, she will encourage this accountability and professional organizational soul-searching rather than a passing of the hat for donations to support the status quo.

I can save CST, but I cannot save it from itself. And so I won't.

Terry Sturdevant is a Post Falls resident.