I'm Moving

I was cross-posting for a while. Over that time I've been freshening up the diggs and unpacking everything, etc. Starting tomorrow I'll be phasing out blogger and posting full-time over at halcyontheatre.org/tonysblog. I got real inventive with the new title, I know.

Please update your bookmarks, if you're subscribed to the feed, you shouldn't notice a difference.

I'm not sure if I can migrate all the comments, but this will stay up as archives anyhoo, so you can still poke around.

On ATC/American Blues

Wow. I mean wow.

Not knowing the inner-workings there's a lot that I could only speculate about. I do know that in the ten years I've been here it's only been about a year and a half that I've heard anyone talking about ATC. They were there, and folks knew who they were, but not a lot of interest was happening. I can't speak to the whole history, just since I moved here nine years ago.

It wasn't that long ago that I was hearing rumors about the organization being broke to near bankruptcy. But I don't know how accurate that was, even though it was from "folks on the inside."

I think there are a lot of issues that came to a head. Egos, misunderstandings about business models, difficulties in diversifying an established mostly homogenous group.

From the comments on Chris Jones blog, it sounds like folks are doing their best to make the AD sound like an egotistical asshole; however, the ensemble having a publicist send out press releases to announce you're leaving in a huff, sounds like egotistical assholes. So I guess that's a push . . .

I know a lot of people think a board should support the artists. The should only get lots of money for artists to play with and take care of that boring legal stuff, etc.

Adam makes a great point.

You decide for yourself which side you're on. For me, it's just a reminder of how complex the relationship can be between a Board and an artistic staff.

Wait a minute, I'm wrong, it isn't complex at all.

The Board of Directors runs a nonprofit arts organization.

The Board of Directors runs your arts organization.

So if that Board is composed of artists, then they run it.

If it's composed of grey haired old ladies, they run it.

So if a fight breaks out between an ensemble and the Board and neither side is willing to budge, then the Board wins.

Boards run organizations. It is as simple as that. The job of a board is not to provide a pretty playground and step away. They are legally charged with setting the mission, and running the organization.

Artistic Directors are hired by the board to oversee and steer the organization, but the board can hire and fire AD's along with raising all of the money they need to support the art.

So where does the ensemble fit in? Every organization that has an ensemble has a different answer.

If the ensemble is so motivated to run their own company, why was an outside AD brought in? Why wasn't an ensemble member running the company?

Twenty five years is a long time to put into an organization. But how long has it been since most of the members were active in the day to day business? (If anyone out there knows, let me know in the comments.) It's extraordinarily problematic. If you've built something you shouldn't just be pushed aside. If you've stepped aside, you should step aside. Fewer roles and less input is the price paid for stepping back

Most ensemble companies are created for the sole purpose of getting those in the ensemble work. Two things tend to happen. One, they burn out and the company folds. Two, the folks in the ensemble get really successful and move on.

Any healthy company needs to change in order to grow. A pretty common occurrence happens, much like founders syndrome. Folks use their blood, sweat and tears to build a company, then get tired of running it. They bring other people on to do that for them, but do not want to give up the reins. . . If the company starts to go in a direction that is different from their original vision, you start to get conflict.

I can't help but think, at the bottom of all of this was a basic question that everyone struggles with: how do you act if when deciding between what is best for the company vs. what is best for yourself? That is where most issues between ensembles and organizations originate.

In the case of ATC/American Blues it seems like both sides wanted to have it their own way. Now they can.

Seeing this all play out in such a public forum (which is what you hope happens when you send out press releases) I think of two friends of mine in college.

Craig and Stu coached a JV football team. They were awful. Trying to get the kids to do anything was a battle. The closest game was a 46-6 loss. At one point they were down 56-0 nearing halftime. So they threw out the playbook and just tried to have fun. See how that worked.

They drew up a play that had the line offset and stacked. From right to left it went: tight end, center, guard, guard, tackle, tackle, tight end, wing. The defense didn't shift which meant there were seven people on offense to block two defenders. 7 vs. 2. They tried it four times in a row, for a five yard loss, four yard loss, three yard loss, and a two yard loss. 7 on 2 and they couldn't make it back to the line of scrimmage. They had tried to get the kids to act as a team for months.

The next week, Craig and Stu showed up for practice and the entire team was stoned in the locker room. The stepped outside trying to figure out what to do. After a second of hesitation they did the right thing and turned them in for smoking pot in the school. The second of hesitation was because "it was the first thing they did as a team all year."

The Snark Filter is Malfunctioning

I'm not normally one to filter my words. For better or worse, I tend to be honest. This can be problematic when people don't really want to know what you think. I use the term "filtering" with a bit of caution as I'm not very good at filtering in the first place. People who know me well rarely have any question about what I'm thinking.

I've noticed lately that when I begin to talk about certain things and certain companies a snark filter immediately begins to pop up. I don't want to sound overly snarky, so I try to filter it out or avoid talking about it.

It's difficult to talk about systemic issues without talking about specifics. But how to talk about companies and folks I disagree with without sounding like a rant or pure snark is proving difficult lately. Probably due to lack of sleep. I figure it's been about two and a half years since I had a full nights sleep.

I'm a big believer in the fact that if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you told folks. I ain't got the time to make up niceties. (On a side note: if I hear another single actor complain about how they have so much less free time than I do--we may have an immediate misunderstanding.) I may just forget what I talked abut a few days ago. Makes it wiser to tell the truth.

I'm not sure if this new development is a good thing or not. Not that snark is my trade, but pure bs isn't either. Being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole rarely affects change. Sugar coating doesn't help much either. Being honest yet fair is a tough rope to walk.

But then again I'm always at my best when I'm under stress or a little fired up anyway, so maybe I should just let it rip.

What do you want to talk about? I'll probably tell you what I really think.

Women Can Write? Who Knew!

Announcing The Alcyone Festival 09 Halcyon Theatre is excited to announce the lineup for The Alcyone Festival 09. For this year's Alcyone Festival, we play with the notion that women only write small domestic dramas, picking a theme as far away from that as possible: terrorism, the cult of martyrdom and its effects upon the innocents. The Alcyone Festival 2009 features six phenomenal writers from across the globe in rotating repertory. For more info on these women, performance times and ticket information visit, us at halcyontheatre.org/alcyone09. You can help bring these women to the stage! By donating $5, the price of a latte, you can help us pay for the cost of producing the Alcyone Festival this summer, showcasing works by these incredible women. And we'll give you a free cup of coffee the next time you come see our show! Just click on the globe on your right! The Black Eyed by Betty Shamieh Four Arab women from across the ages meet in the afterlife. The group: the Biblical Delilah, a victim of the crusades, a suicide bomber and a contemporary architect, struggle to come to terms with their lives and their choices, in this surprising funny play that challenges traditional views on sex, family, and terrorism. The Black Eyed is a Chicago Premiere The Blessed Child by Astrid Saalbach Women rule the world, and men are reduced to pathetic house-slaves. No children have been born for decades, and humanity faces extinction. Then a female servant gets pregnant, apparently by divine intervention. She gives birth to the blessed child, who is half man and half beast. The play is a grotesque satire about a generation of adults so obsessed by their careers, ridiculous alternative lifestyles, and the pursuit of personal growth, that they no longer notice their children. Saalbach is the most popular Danish dramatist of her generation. This is the first US production of her work. Bounty Of Lace by Susan Merson In Tel Aviv, four women gather to drink tea while violence surrounds them in the streets. Judith, a young Jewish girl had an Arab lover, and is preparing to marry a Rabbi's son before her secret is discovered. The women try to escape to the beach for a few days and come to terms with the lives they've chosen. Bounty of Lace is a Chicago Premiere Fucking Parasites by Ninna Tersman Forced to flee their homelands with their persecuted parents, two teenagers are in New Zealand seeking asylum. Playing with dirty toys in a detention center, they are forced to deal with the complex issues of immigration and lost hope. It is a coming of age story through the eyes of teenaged refugees. Fucking Parasites is a World Premiere. Heads by EM Lewis A British Embassy worker, an American engineer, a network journalist and a freelance photographer are held captive in Iraq; as death draws close, each hostage must decide what he'll do to survive. Heads is a Chicago Premiere The Toymaker's War by Jennifer Fawcett In 1995, Sylvie was an idealistic young journalist who went to Bosnia to launch her career. Stumbling upon an isolated village of children, she met Milan, a young Bosnian Serb toymaker turned soldier, and his little sister, Lejla. Now, years later, Sylvie is a world-famous journalist being called to the Hague to testify in a war crimes trial. Her career in ruins and haunted by memories of the past, she must finally face what really happened. The Toymaker's War is a developmental production.

Help Me Out

Could I ask a favor?

What writer's (or writers') work do you wish you were able to see more of?

Let me know in the comments.

Thanks,

Note: we've already picked our shows for next year do you don't have to worry about me poaching them--At least not for a year :)

UPDATED: Comments are (No Longer) Down

Having technical issues with the comments. Please bear with me.

They're working again.

Your Website (probably) Sucks

I try and keep up with what other folks are doing. In order to see how we are faring, I subscribe to most of the companies blogs that I find. I get on mailing lists to see what folks are sending out. I periodically go through websites and see what other theatres are up to lately.

The League has a list of links to all the member theatres. I spent some time over the weekend going through them.

It is astonishing how many really awful websites are out there among Chicago theaters. (Thankfully, none as bad as this.) I know Kris has written about lame marketing, but a good website should be an absolute basic necessity for any company.

Ugly is one thing. Flash intros suck. But if the site's difficult to read, difficult to navigate and difficult to use--it's useless. (and it tends to make you look it as well.) If it's six months out of date, it's useless. It doesn't even have to be hyper-fancy. That's actually a problem with some sites. There's so much going on it cancels everything out.

A lot of folks don't even know what their website is for. Here's a catch-- what the website is for can change for different companies. Barrel of Monkeys is a completely different organization than Steppenwolf, Steep or The Artistic Home so it should have a different look, feel and purpose on it's website.

No website is perfect, but. . .Ten years ago many small companies couldn't afford to compete with the big boys. Nowadays, there is so much free software and free information on learning the basics of design out there that the only real excuse is lack of care.

What do you think? Which ones are the best and worst of the bunch (And why)?

Let me know in the comments.