THEATRE MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN THE REGIONS OF LATVIA

Abstract

The research concerns the future of professional arts outside the capital and aims to examine the situation of professional theatre art in the regions, comparing the impact of state theatre and municipal theatre status on artistic processes. The study focuses on comparing the operating models of two Latvian regional theatres – the Liepāja Theatre and the Daugavpils Theatre. Both theatres are the only professional theatres in their respective regions and have similar objective parameters. However, their management models differ – the Daugavpils Theatre is a direct state administration institution, while the Liepāja Theatre is a municipal capital company or a limited liability company with all shares controlled by the Liepāja City Municipality. The study compares the budgeting principles of the two theatres and analyses the statistical data and the tasks set for the theatres by the supervisory institutions. Likewise, it compares the artistic principles of the two theatres and records the results of their professional activities, using nominations for the national annual prize “Spēlmaņu nakts” as a criterion. The study concludes that the theatre management model does not directly impact performance in the short term. However, in the long term, the municipal model poses several risks. The remuneration criteria in public theatres are considerably more transparent, whereas in a municipal theatre, they are determined by the subjective decisions of two board members. Therefore, changing the board without changing the operating model does not guarantee a positive change in the theatre.