Theatre management procedures: an operations manual for the cultural center theatres in Taiwan, the Republic of China

Abstract

This internship and the resulting study grew from an offer by the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (The Fulbright Foundation), Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, to develop an operations manual for the Cultural Center Theatres in the Province of Taiwan, Republic of China. From their beginning the Cultural Centers of the Republic of China have needed to organize a plan of operations that would help them to better fulfill the demands that had been placed on the facilities by the local population and those patrons visiting the community. The best interests of the Cultural Center Theatres can be served by developing an operations manual consistent with the guidelines designed specifically for the unique needs of the Cultural Center Theatres' staffs and their patrons.

This study for the operations manual is based on the following premises: (1) by starting with current Chinese performing arts management practices and blending with it Western" theatre management techniques, a unique format for operations of the Cultural Centers theatres will increase efficiency of their management and safety procedures; (2) the operations manual will provide the administrators and staff of the Cultural Center Theatres with standardized and systematic methods for management of the facility; and (3) implementation of the operations manual will result in increased efficiency, maintenance and use of the present facilities and serve as a role model for the operations of new facilities yet to be built.

The completed study fulfills the objective implicit in the second premise. The validity of the first and third premises can be evaluated after the operations manual has been in use for a minimum of one year.

The study focuses on four major areas: (1) the history and background study of the needs of Cultural Center facilities in the Republic of China; (2) involvement of the offices of the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (The Fulbright Foundation), Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, in this project; (3) the observation and notations of the individual Cultural Center Theatres' needs and those unique needs of the Chinese people and culture to be served by the facilities; and (4) the application and writing of found solutions to those needs into the operations manual for the Cultural Center Theatres of Taiwan, Republic of China.