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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Today's Theatre Collective

Interesting piece in the current Stage Directions by Bret Love on "New Visions in Artistic Direction."

Meaning...

[M]any theatrical companies have found that the singular vision A.D. model doesn’t work for them, instead turning to more democratic systems that share the balance of power among several artistic directors, or in some cases, a whole ensemble.
The two chief examples cited are the Neo-Futurists and Atlanta's Out of Hand Theatre.

Maria Knispel, from the latter, offers an important caveat:
“Don’t do it because you’re trying to be democratic,” Knispel warns. “Do it only if it is the best artistic choice for your company. Be very careful. The key to successful artistic ‘power sharing’— which is a dangerous way to think of it — is knowing that you have the same artistic goals. You must love and respect those with whom you share something this personal and precious.”
In other words...do it rarely, right?

Just kidding.

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