THE IMPACT OF EPAC
Eugene, Sept. 24, 1982.
Long black and silver limousines roll up to the sidewalk. Men in black ties
and ladies in long gowns sashay through the doors and are lost in the crowd.
Huge spotlights swing about, cutting the night with their blazing beams. The
Eugene Performing Arts Center is ready for its opening performance
When The Eugene Performing Arts Center (EPAC) opens its doors for
the first time this fall, many people will marvel. Others will worry.
The $25 million facility is bound to have an enormous effect on the local
arts community, local businesses, future employees and the Eugene
audience at large What these effects will be can only be seen after the center
is in full operation, and the grand opening hoopla has given way to the
everyday grind Here, however, are a few educated guesses.
AWARENESS OF THE ARTS
One of the few things most people
in the arts community agree on is that
the performing arts center will gener
ate a new public awareness and in
terest in the performing arts Riley
Grannan, one of the creative directors
of the Eugene Ballet, says he thinks
this awareness will be an important
asset “The more dance is seen, the
more converts we ll have ’’
“The main thing we re trying to do,”
says Luke Bandle, public relations
director for EPAC, “is to train people
to come into town in the evenings
People in Eugene are TV people
They’re used to spending the even
ings watching the cable We need to
get them used to including the per
forming arts in their lives “
Will this interest in the arts result in
an upswing in local arts? Although
many people think so, others are not
so sure
COMPETITION FROM
NATIONAL ACTS
There are not enough local arts
groups in Eugene to fill the 3,500
seats of EPAC’s two auditoriums
every night, which means imported
talent will also be a big part of the
Eugene arts scene in the future Will
this spell death for local groups that
are now struggling to sell enough
tickets to cover their bills, without
having to compete with road acts? Will
audiences shell out $20 to see the
Eugene Ballet when they could have
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet at the same
price?
Bandle say« the competition will be
healthy ‘ Competition is exciting. It
you don't have someone better than
you come and play, you have no
yardstick to go from."
But there is a financial side of the
national competition question, one
which worries David Lunney, produc
ing director of the Oregon Repertory
Theatre (ORT)
"Road events are fine," says Lun
ney "They're a natural component of
the arts center But they take money
out of the community Suppose Elvis
came in. took $100,000, and everyone
had a great time But the next day,
Elvis is gone, and we have $100,000
less in the community "
"It’s like building a silk factory, with
all the machines and equipment Then
you say did anybody get any worms?'.
No, they didn't Did anyone think
about raising them here? No, we have
to buy them, and then return them
when we re done with them. That's no
way to do business "
"What we need to do," says Lun
ney, "is make this an export business
rather than an import business No
matter what you like to think, this is a
business, and we've got to invest in
our product a competitive product
attractive to tourists "
BUCKS: TOURISTS’
Others feel that the EPAC will prove
to be an import business, as people
from all over the Willamette valley
flock to the center to see events, and
leave their money in nearby restaur
ants, hotels and stores
Dick Reynolds, Executive Director
of EPAC, estimates that this tourist
money will amount to approximately
eight or nine million dollars, which will
be “turned over" in Eugene cash
registers three or four times, leaving
an end effect of up to $27 million.
The central question is whether the
performing arts center will be able to
attract enough large audiences to
keep it alive financially. Bandle is
confident. “People say we re going to
have a white elephant on our hands,”
she says. “I say no, we’ve got a white
horse that we re going to ride to
economic victory."
Others have their doubts. Although
Bandle says that EPAC is striving to
make a portion of the tickets available
tor under 3>iu tor most events, a tact
sheet for the center says that only 228
of the large auditorium’s 2,523 seats
have been set aside for low cost tick
ets. The current recession spreads far
outside the Eugene city limits, and
many people can’t afford their rent,
much less $20 to see Marvin Hamlisch
at the EPAC.
“Tourism is subject to the same
hazards as other industries. It won't
protect us from the economic down
turn that’s hurting the forest products
industry,” said Jack Ohm of the
Eugene Downtown Association at an
OSPIRG-sponsored forum on the
EPAC opening held Saturday at the
University.
BUCKS: ARTISTS’
Another financial problem with the
center is that local arts groups may
find their budgets don’t go as far in the
huge, professionally-oriented EPAC
auditorium as they did in the smaller,
volunteer-oriented situations. The
ORT, for instance, recently an
nounced that it will not be able to
afford to put on shows at EPAC, de
spite heavily discounted rent rates for
local arts groups “It’s the cost of
producing in there In a brand new
500-seat theater, you've got to
produce a production that looks like it
belongs in a brand new 500-seat
theater."
As a result, production costs would
be two to three times what they are for
current productions, costs the ORT
can’t afford. "You can go in there,
and everyone loves the first show, but
when you balance the books, where
are you? You can’t keep on doing
two-person plays all season,’’ says
Lunney continued on page 2B
7th Ave. frieze-out: a preview
EPAC Operations Director David
Pelletier calls the center "the Ferrari
of concert halls," and from all
accounts, the label fits Combining
state-of-the-art technology and
old-fashioned craftsmanship, the
center is a pleasure to the eyes and
the ears
Our tour starts as we cross the
ramp from the parking structure into
the main building Black circles on
the walls gradually become
mirrorized, reflecting splotches of
color from our clothing as we pass
We enter the building to see huge
Douglas fir beams spread across a
wide, open air lobby, with transparent
and opaque wafts
Works of art are ail around the
place. A frieze of ceramic masks
extend in a line across the wall,
coming to face level as we descend
the cantilevered stairs A bronze
umbrella leans against a wall, as if
someone left it by accident A fused
glass work shines above the ticket
windows A small room off the main
lobby is wallpapered in sheet music,
and a stick figure in the center racks
its brain in search of the missing
chord
The large auditorium is a work of
art in itself A 52 by 58 foot stage, the
largest in the Pacific Northwest,
commands the view of over 2.500
seats If the excellent acoustics don't
carry the performer's sound well
enough, a 6,000 watt sound system is
sure to help
The stage curtain, a 40 by 60 foot
sheet of mauve tones, features 14
foot blackberry bushes, silver-lined
clouds and, of course, Oregon rain
The ceiling is a green basket-weave
design with gold leaf edging
The small theater is equally
impressive 500 seats face a smaller,
less formal stage The small theater is
set up to handle dances, movies,
plays, or music events, with excellent
lighting and sound systems
As we end our tour, it is fitting that
we glance down at one more piece of
artwork near the exit a torn ticket
stub, cast in bronze, lies discarded
on the floor
by matt meyer