From the Executive Director

Considering the Moment

By Gigi Bolt

For years, upon opening American Theatre, I turned first to From the Executive Director to see what Ben Cameron had been thinking about recently. Sometimes he was pondering a new idea, other times he brought context and insight to a perplexing issue, or he exhorted us to take enlightened action or simply to care more deeply. Always he called forth the better angels of our nature. The column was a reflection of the spirit and substance of Ben’s contribution to TCG. Together he and Joan Channick led the organization with unsurpassed energy, passion, insight and generosity.

Ben preceded me in this role as he also served before me as director of the theatre program at the National Endowment for the Arts. I’m privileged and delighted to have been asked to serve as interim executive director of TCG. Though I’ve been in the office for only a few days, I find myself already immersed in the very full agenda laid out for the coming months.

Concurrently, I’ve found myself thinking about the remarkable impact of both TCG and the Endowment on theatre in America. Both stories are replete with the vivid detail of good narrative and the challenges encountered in working toward a great purpose. I’m struck by the two institutions’ shared goals and complementary missions, albeit with differences in approach and emphasis. TCG directly serves arts organizations and artists who in turn benefit the public, whereas the Endowment works in partnership with arts organizations to provide access to all Americans.

In 1965 the ambitions of the newly appointed National Council on the Arts were large. Its members indicated their intent to support “any existing professional group which...has the leadership and vitality for growth” and “new professional groups to be formed with strong local and regional support.” They also created a category “to give outstanding new American plays a forum for exposure and appreciation.” Thus the Council charted a direction, in no way preordained, that to this day inspires America’s voice expressed through theatre.

The Endowment’s early importance to the field was vividly illustrated by the composition of its panels. A 1972 roster of theatre panelists included Harold Prince, Joseph Papp, Zelda Fichandler, Lloyd Richards, Peter Zeisler, Robert Brustein, Gordon Davidson, John Lahr, Jean-Claude van Itallie and Donald Seawell. As Peter Donnelly, then managing director of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, said in 1976, “What has been accomplished in the last decade with the assistance of the Endowment has been quite phenomenal. A theatre which for all practical purposes did not exist except in New York has been created nationally.” Over the ensuing decades, Endowment support expanded to reach a multiplicity of voices. Its purpose and strength derive from its diversity and decentralization. Through its grants, partnerships, leadership initiatives and national voice, the agency engages in an ongoing conversation about American culture, and its work has transformed our cultural landscape. It’s hard to imagine a city today without the exchange of ideas, social interaction and spiritual sustenance to be found in its theatres and other arts organizations.

TCG’s development and contributions in many ways mirror that of the Endowment. Founded in 1961 to support a dozen or so companies dedicated to the pursuit of theatre as an art form, its 447 member theatres today are strikingly diverse in size and geography as well as aesthetic and cultural viewpoint. For TCG to successfully nurture the field, it must anticipate the world in the making, and imagine the world that could be—in Ben’s words, “a world where children and adults realize their creative and intellectual potential, where there is a sense of global accord, and where citizens lead lives free from economic want.” In 2001, in pursuit of this vision, TCG identified four ambitious long-term goals. They challenge the organization to radically expand the number of Americans who attend the not-for-profit theatre while also deepening their experience; to cultivate, nurture and retain the field’s best talent; to secure resources sufficient for the field to withstand shifts in the funding environment; and to optimize America’s presence in a global community of theatre.

You already know of several programs and activities underway in furtherance of these aims. One is Free Night of Theater, TCG’s audience development program piloted in 2005 that will expand to 15 cities this October. Support for individual artists, technicians and administrators, long at the heart of TCG’s activities, has been advanced recently through the Fox Foundation Actor Fellowships. International exchange, collaboration and understanding are now TCG priorities. And the board and staff are exploring ideas for a bold project with the potential to enhance the stability of the field.

Both the Endowment’s and TCG’s work reflect our deepest values and the recognition that the vitality of the arts and the country are inextricably linked. The mission of each responds to the inherent question, “What kind of society do we want?” We’re a country that is continually recreating itself. In the words of Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomás Masaryk, “Democracy is a discussion.” Our artists reflect the diversity and debate that animate our democracy, and they help us mediate that democratic discussion to bridge worlds.

As you prepare for a new season, and as TCG envisions its future, I’m filled with gratitude for your work. The empathic citizenry contemplated by the Endowment, and the inspired artistry encouraged by TCG, are given life and possibility within your theatres. The future awaits....