Curt Columbus, artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company, assisted by Trinity Rep’s Jennifer Salcido, chats with projo.com readers online in the Providence Journal newsroom on Thursday.

The Providence Journal / Kathy Borchers

Curt Columbus, artistic director of Providence-based Trinity Repertory Company, told projo.com readers during a lunchtime online chat Thursday that he was “excited” by Travel & Leisure magazine’s naming of Providence as the fourth-best theater city in the nation.

“Right behind much larger cities like New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis (not Los Angeles!). It just goes to show that theater grown locally can be celebrated nationally and we’re proud to be part of Rhode Island,” Columbus said.

Here’s a sampling of some of the other questions readers asked Columbus during the chat:

Hope: How is Trinity Rep doing this year with the downturn in the economy? I’m sure it’s hurting a lot of theater business.

Curt Columbus: Well Hope, last year was a tough year, no lie. But this year we are seeing signs that things are improving. We are fortunate that we’re located in a community and that we have a good price point (you can take in a show for as little as $10!), because people are still coming to us to see shows. I know New York theater is having a very difficult time right now.

TimB: Hi Curt, I’m wondering how you see the future of American regional theater given that the current generation of kids seem more interested in Guitar Hero, texting and YouTube than they are with going to a play or a musical.

Curt Columbus: For years now, Tim, I’ve been asked the question: “How does the theater compete with other media?” We don’t. The live experience is unique to what we do: collecting in a room around entertainment and ideas is fundamental to the theater, especially theater at Trinity. We’re quite different from Guitar Hero, et al. I watch lots of young audiences watch our work — and if they have been part of the conversation with us, that is they’ve had workshops and interactions with our actors, which we offer to all of the young people who come to Trinity, then they are some of the best audiences that we have.

Channing Gray: How do you pick the season, and has the economy affected the plays you have chosen this year?

Curt Columbus: I pick the season around a theme or an idea. I try to respond to what is going on in the world with the shows that we produce and to the questions that are raised by our times. When I started picking the season last year, we had not entered the economic downturn but I had already thought of the theme of second chances; all of the plays that we’re doing this year speak to that theme. Just for example, Shooting Star, [which began previews Friday], is about two people who meet after 25 years and have to decide if they’re still in love. As for the economy, the economy hasn’t directly affected how I pick plays but the economy is one of the burning questions of our time, so if you notice a dialogue — that’s why it’s happening.

Trinfan: What does “failure” mean to you? In terms of a play or audience response or something else, is there an example of it you can point to?

Curt Columbus: Boy, that’s a great question. Failure, I think, to me would be the absence of risk. The absence of high standards. The absence of energy and passion. I don’t think that even shows that are unpopular are failures. I think mediocrity is far worse than unpopularity.

Courtjester: Curt, the audience for live theater seems to get older and older. Theater not only has to compete for attention with television and movies but it now must compete with things like YouTube and chat rooms and a number of other forms of electronic interaction. How can theater compete with this? Have you ever considered live streaming or posting parts of performances on forums such as YouTube as a way to attract more attention and notice?

Curt Columbus: I have to respectfully disagree with the assertion that theater audiences are getting older and older. You definitely have an older crowd who make up a core part of our audience, but with Cabaret, the benches were FILLED with young people! That’s not an exaggeration; I witnessed it for two weeks in a row. We also have a thriving education program that literally has 10,000 to 20,000 students each year that take part. I think it’s a fallacy that it’s harder for us to compete with other media. We just have to deepen our commitment to dialogue. Those other media don’t notice if you’re there or not; theater does. Concerning YouTube and live streaming technology, we do utilize that technology where appropriate.

Gus: Have you ever sat in on one of the student matinee shows at Trinity? How do student audiences react differently to your plays?

Curt Columbus: Oh yes! They are some of my favorite audiences! Watching A Raisin in the Sun with 520 students was one of the greatest privileges of my life. You could have heard a pin drop, and they leapt to their feet at the end. We just did a student matinee of Cabaret that was one of the greatest shows that we had. Again, students leapt to their feet. I always tell people that one of my favorite experiences (can you tell I watch a lot of the student matinees?) was during a student matinee of Cherry Orchard when Joe Wilson Jr. said, “I bought the orchard” and a little eighth-grade girl jumped to her feet and shouted “YES! I told you he was gonna do that!” As a Chekhov translator, it was one of the finest moments of my life.

TimB: How does the theater scene in Providence compare to that of your experience as an artistic director in Chicago?

Curt Columbus: Well, it’s very different in that Chicago had over 200 theaters in the city. We have far fewer in Rhode Island and yet, Trinity is part of a large regional network. I was just up in Boston last night seeing Tim Crowe at Speakeasy Theater, which was a delight. So I guess my “community” is a little more geographically dispersed, but I’m finding a lot of amazing colleagues here in the arts scene and that’s one of the great things about Rhode Island. The Travel & Leisure article recognizes not only Trinity’s work but the work of our colleagues at Gamm, at Perishable, at Black Rep, and 2nd Story, as well as all of the wonderful work being done by the smaller companies and student companies in Rhode Island.

KP: At a time when it seems that our citizens are either becoming more and more isolated or gathering only to have what I would call uncivil dialogue, do you think there are contributions that the theater can make?

Curt Columbus: Yes, and KP I’m going to answer your next question as well regarding talkbacks. (Why they are important, and what they are). I, too, am really troubled by the shrill conversation or what passes for conversation in this country. I find that we no longer listen, and that we no longer encounter people who are outside of our thought group, if you will. People who watch one news channel stay on that news channel, and talk to people who stay on that news channel, and this happens on both ends of the political spectrum. The theater is one of the last places where you accidentally encounter people who don’t think or believe the way that you do. They are sitting in the audience right next to you, you rub up against ideas that are not your own and you walk in the shoes of people who are not like you. This is the great gift of the theater and I have always felt that talking back at the end of a production is integral to the whole experience. When I got here, we added post-show talkbacks for every single performance. They are not lead by an “expert,” but by moderators from our community. Board members, retirees, students, all ages, classes, every walk of life. These discussions are a big part of how we see ourselves as being part of a civil society and a civil dialogue. I’ve been particularly gratified because Broadway is now doing talkbacks. So yet again, we’re an industry leader.

Greenville_momma: Is William Petersen from CSI ever going to come back to Trinity again? We loved him in the Dublin Carol and I would love to see him on stage again. Maybe he could play Scrooge in Christmas Carol one year?

Curt Columbus: Funny that you ask — I talked to Billy a couple of months ago about coming back to Rhode Island. He would LOVE to come, and we are talking projects, but we haven’t found exactly the right one yet. He’s an amazing actor and I hope we can find the right project soon.

pcotter@projo.com