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Musicians Hurt in Theatre Closing
Musicians Hurt in Theatre Closing
Date Posted: March 03 2009
Written By: Mike Jeffers
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For those of you who have been receiving our weekly e-blasts you will know of the praise that I have given to the Morse Theatre in Rogers Park. The management at the theatre seemed to have it all happening. Lots of energy, a great concept and an incredible facility to showcase talent from all genres of music, unfortunately just four months after the Morse opened they are closing the doors.
March 7th the doors will close and although I am sure it will open again, just because of the sheer money involved how could it not, it will be surprising if it is utilized with the original concept of the theatre in mind. Sure the Morse Theatre was helping to revitalize an important neighborhood in Chicago, Rogers Park, so the residents will be hurt by the closing. The businesses around the Morse that would benefit from an additional 300 plus people coming to the neighborhood for a performance will take a financial hit. But the group that will take the largest hit will be the musicians in Chicago.
As usual when poor management and in fighting take hold on a venue the first thing people talk about is the impact on the neighborhood and the employees that are being fired. Usually the last thing people talk about is how this will effect the musicians that put tons of hard work in to promoting shows at the theatre, the hours and hours of rehearsal to make the performance topnotch and all the extra promotion that a theatre receives from musicians calling in favors in order to get something posted or written about on a local website or newspaper.
I know how many Chicago musicians spent hours and hours working on rehearsing sets to perform, the hours that musicians worried about how to get people out to the show, the anxiety a musician feels when they are performing and the crowd is light in attendance and they are worried that the theatre won’t have them back. These are all things that musicians worry about in addition to performing at the highest level possible.
Yes the closing of the Morse Theatre is very disappointing but I hope the next time you hear of a performance space closing you keep in mind the real people the closing will affect and that is the musicians.
Comment on this Article!
Comments
Subject of Comment: light attendence
Comment: I drove to the theatre to hear Dan Cray's trio on a Wednesday night in January. There was nowhere to park-no lot or valet, and the street parking was filled for the blocks around the club. After half an hour of looking for a parking spot I gave up and went home. If parking is that hard on a week night then imagine the problem on weekends. I am sorry but not surprised that they closed.
Kelly Brand
Subject of Comment: Payment to Musicians
Comment:
I heard from some sources that the Morse had a habit of paying Musicians next to nothing or nothing to perform there.
Mike Staron
Subject of Comment: The real people being hurt are the musicians.
Comment: Unfortunately it's all part and parcel with the business!
Subject of Comment: What the article made me think of in regards to our group.
Comment: We agree completely with the article - closing of businesses, discontinuance of school programs [why is it that music still gets cut from the budget first?!], and pretty much everything that goes down in society as "bad news" seriously affects musicians... as they tend to be the most sensitive in the entertainment arena.
When you're doing your best and it's coming from the heart & soul, there's an electrical energy flowing through the air that only live music can give.
It takes a huge amount of time and money investments and commitment, and an experts knowledge of running a tight ship on a shoestring budget to keep a club open. The paper-thin, sometimes non-existant, profit margin makes breaking even look like up.
To offset this bad news with good, could you please make special mention of Bill & Debbie Gilmore - owners of Bill's Blues Bar at in Evanston; and Sam & Eva Moneim- owners of Mango's Mexican Restaurant & Club in Niles - they are remarkably talented, kind people with the experience that can only be acquired by years of perseverance and determination to 'Hang In There Baby' ... and their venues generously support live entertainment.
Musically yours,
Lorrie & Wendell Brenner of Sidemen Big Band
Subject of Comment: Parking
Comment: I had the opportunity to play there and in my opinion it was probably the best room in Chicago for live music in many ways. It was almost to good to be true but the parking situation was really unbelievalbe. I am not suprised it closed since there really was nowhere to park.
It is a huge loss to the musicians of Chicago.
James Sanders
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