The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1959-09-25
By VICTOR MEEKINS

cine In attendance at the Lost
Colony, the great outdoor drama
which has run 10 seasons on Roa-
noke Island, there rises up a certain
group of knowing people, who say
the day of the Outdoor Drama is
over.
There is another group of people
who offer another view and at
tempt defensive tactics by shouting
that some other out door drama had
falling off in business also.
Having been one of the small
group who helped to found The
Lost Colony nearly % years ago.;
having served on it's Board of Di-
rectors on two separate occasions,
and having been kicked off al
couple times because others on the
Board didn't like to have the facts
known about the Lost Colony, II
feel myself qualified to offer some
statements about its past, present
and future.
/ have always been it's we'll
wisher and booster, but not afraid
to tell the truth about it when l
detected certain practices being
used that have contributed to it's
nlisfortunes.
These practices, knew were bad
from the start because they orgi-
mated in greed, financial or politi-
cal, or for the sake of prestige or
to reward relatives and friends.
! do not lay all the fault as do
some people, for the the Lost
Co3ony's decline, that it's manager
doesn't know show business suf-
ficienay to keep it booming. l
have no doubt that the manager
does all of which he is capable. He
may work hard and do all he knows
to do. but that is not enough. The
Lost Colony. to get another good
start, needs additional ability. An
increase toward a competent ex-
perienced staff.
The Lost Colony needs, most of
all, promotion, and promotion by
people who know show business. Its
great misfortune is that those who
are connected with it are apollo
gists. 1t needs to be run by people
who are not afraid Of positive ac-
ton. These persons, it goes with
1out saying, need to have some
ideas, and some dedication to the
cause. The Board of Directors is
loaded with dead-heads. ] will de-
scribe some of them. They fall in
several categories. A mere handful
of them live in Dare County land
these really rule the business, or
nisr-ule it, to be more accurate
Others were put on the Board
merely to be Eyes men,. They
never contribute anything in ideas,
labor or money toward the show.
They merely allow small hand
full TO hold a caucus in September,
name the new members, the man.
ager, and when the annual meeting
is held in Raleigh in December,
everything goes through; no one
else has any voice, nor opportunity
to advance a new idea, much less
to seek its adoption.
Year after year the Lost Colony
declines, and as in all types of bust
ness, operation costs increase. The
management itself doesn't know
what has happened. Always on the
defensive, and never awakened to
an awareness of the necessity and
the value of positive promotion, ex-
cuses are made. 1t is a pitiful and
disgusting, adolescent and absurd
list of them. Stock excuse is that
some other shows had less attend
ance. Why not say that Jones'
garage had less business because
Smiths garage in Hyde County had
loss of business also: Another eX-
cuse: 1t rained so many nights.
Picture shows, and ball games have
rainy nights; but these have never
been used to excuse decline in gross
business. Rainy nights and set
backs need to be anticipated in in
creased advertising and promotion.
Any business which doesn't in
crease from year to year, is going
backward, even though income is
static. 1t is going backwards, be-
cause costs of operation increase.
In the case of the Lost Colony, its
attendance has declined from 81
1877 in 1853 to 34,123 during the
season just closed.
Now we must consider that this
decline has occurred in the face of
greater opportunity than ever
existed, to find patrons for the
show. The Dare Beaches, north of
Oregon Inlet alone, now has 100
to the one visitor they had back
in 1887 when the Lost Colony be-
gan. In all na1rows down to the
lack of promotion, not to the de-
ficiences of the local manager,
whose job is to keep things rolling
at home. The deficiency in man
agement is one that has not been
provided at all in recent years. We