Monday, March 06, 2006
Theatrical Community
Out of the blue, we were faced with a thrilling and daunting opportunity: the chance to participate in the purchase of a building. The building was to include performance and office space, as well as a scene shop, and the plan involved a lot of architectural redesign. The money required was terrifying, and frankly, well beyond our fundraising means. It was the kind of choice that we'd love to consider in 5 to 10 years. At the moment, it wasn't really a viable option. That isn't to say that if we had decided this was the right choice, we wouldn't have thrown ourselves completely into the task of finding the cash somewhere. But as we discussed it, we soon realized that this particular opportunity wasn't right. In terms of our work and our needs, what would best benefit the company would be office and rehearsal space, more than a dedicated performance space. Better to have a site where we can get together and make work that we then take to our audience (or prospective audience) than to take on the burden of creating a new performance destination as well as the challenge of getting people to come to it. Resource-wise, that's not ideal for us.
What was great, though, was the other part of this opportunity--the chance to work together with other groups to create a theatrical community. There are so many emerging companies competing for attention, and if you're a theatergoer, or a potential donor, the question is always which things are worth your time. An opportunity to join forces with other companies in a similar situation is appealing to us because it allows us to consolidate resources and present ourselves as a package deal: you like us, check these guys out; you like them, look what we can do. That's the practical consideration. What's even more important is that we have faith in and respect for the work these other groups do. Their missions inspire us, their interests overlap with ours, they're good people, and good artists, and good professionals.
I'm being vague because this group doesn't currently exist, and we don't yet know what form it would take if it did. But the chance to create it and the potential it has is hugely exciting.
What was great, though, was the other part of this opportunity--the chance to work together with other groups to create a theatrical community. There are so many emerging companies competing for attention, and if you're a theatergoer, or a potential donor, the question is always which things are worth your time. An opportunity to join forces with other companies in a similar situation is appealing to us because it allows us to consolidate resources and present ourselves as a package deal: you like us, check these guys out; you like them, look what we can do. That's the practical consideration. What's even more important is that we have faith in and respect for the work these other groups do. Their missions inspire us, their interests overlap with ours, they're good people, and good artists, and good professionals.
I'm being vague because this group doesn't currently exist, and we don't yet know what form it would take if it did. But the chance to create it and the potential it has is hugely exciting.
