From the Executive Director

Mission Considered

By Gigi Bolt

In his groundbreaking 1963 essay, theatre visionary and first Ford Foundation director of arts and culture W. McNeil (Mac) Lowry put forward 10 arguments for the importance of the arts in the U.S. that became in effect the unofficial mission statement for the not-for-profit theatre field. He championed the arts in part as:

Forty-three years later, the James Irvine Foundation has published a thoughtful working paper entitled Critical Issues Facing the Arts in California [download pdf], calling for a reexamination of the context, if not the fundamental working assumptions, of the field today. The paper identifies five critical issues challenging the cultural sector in California in the wake of major demographic, economic, technological and social changes. Its authors suggest that the arts fields have been slow to react to shifts in the cultural ecosystem. They assert the need for an energetic field response based on "the evolving dynamics of cultural provision and consumption." The report cautions against assuming that nonprofit arts and culture will continue to be "the primary delivery mechanism for the cultural experience."

Under the title "Access," Critical Issues considers the impact of evolving technologies that have resulted in an explosion of cultural content, the personalization of the cultural experience (in the words of former National Endowment for the Arts chairman Bill Ivey, "the curatorial me"), and niche marketing as exemplified by Amazon and Netflix. The impact of demographics is also discussed—not only in terms of ethnicity but also in terms of the relative age variance within groups. In addition, the report notes the blurring of lines between the commercial and amateur as well as between for-profit and not-for-profit. The issues raised have been on my mind since reading the report. I'm grateful to its researchers and writers for a penetrating analysis that will no doubt elicit lively debate in the coming months.

Few would deny that environmental and structural shifts are affecting our field or argue the need to respond purposefully and effectively. But do these changes call into question the assumptions upon which the field has been built? Is there a need to revise our collective mission statement? What does it mean to be a not-for-profit theatre today?

The mission of for-profit theatre is embodied in its name. The value and purpose of the not-for-profit field accrues from the meaning we invest in it. In most of our theatres the work emanates from a genuine and deep engagement with community. As Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis has said, "The stage has always been a place that gives people a stake in the story." The not-for-profit field's relationship with community takes a long view—through conversations conceived as continuing not only over months or a season but over years or a lifetime.

Not-for-profit theatre is also dedicated to a personal connection. From the essential person-to-person work of Minneapolis-based Ten Thousand Things Theater Company profiled in this issue, to resident theatres throughout the country that have built an audience one by one, theatre is dedicated to a personal, direct, shared experience not available in the wired world.

Through not-for-profit theatre, people have access to artists whose work reflects complexity and ambiguity, context and nuance. August Wilson described writing from "the tributary streams of culture, history and experience." I was interested to read news reports recently that the Pentagon is considering a plan to embed cultural anthropologists with the troops in Iraq to deepen their understanding of the country's culture. Like cultural anthropologists, the best theatres take us beyond a simplified vision to a recognition of multiple perspectives and choices.

Within the mission of not-for-profit theatre is a commitment to authenticity, to an artist's voice and vision, even as mass media increasingly fashions its message in response to consumer taste and interest—witness a recent article that noted a certain news story was "gaining in popularity." Theatre strives to offer work that derives from both a genuine conversation with community and an artist's unconstrained voice. The Goodman Theatre's Robert Falls, speaking to a gathering of artists, put it this way: "I'm invigorated by what it means to be alive in the world today, to tell the truth with integrity in the light of a loss of innocence and a changed world."

The Irvine paper illuminates new realities that will affect the work of the field for years to come. We must imagine anew how we reach people, the nature of the event and the possibilities of connection. And we must keep before us the fundamental imperative to create meaningful, distinctive work.

But as for the field's mission—the vision and commitment that have inspired its work for the last half century—does it still hold true? Does it continue to encompass our purpose and value and spirit? I say yes—fully and passionately yes, with potentially even greater power and impact than ever before. We need only trust the inspiration within, continue to believe in ourselves and each other, and imagine the possibilities.