From the Executive Director
The Spirit of 2010
By Teresa Eyring
As we end the first year of the second decade of the third millennium, I am reflecting on some of the wishes I had for 2010. In my first American Theatre column of the year, I asked readers to think about undertaking new experiments, busting boundaries and exploring the power of personal activism. In the months that followed, as I traveled the nation and the world, I saw those themes at play.
First and foremost, I witnessed vibrant, excellent theatre all across the U.S. Our nation and our theatre community have endured three tough years, as we've weathered the eighth documented recession since the resident theatre movement gained traction in the '50s and '60s. Knowing the downturn has depleted many companies' reserves of cash and hope, I expected to find more theatres with their spirits frayed and their houses echoingly empty. But instead, from South Florida to Northern California, from New York to rural Kansas, I encountered a sense of warmth, joy in the work, stamina and connection to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
I also encountered inventiveness and resolve—qualities that have long been hallmarks of our field and our work. Practitioners took advantage of opportunities, in part through TCG's services, to assess new ideas and strategies. The lively and well-attended Leadership Teleconferences on social media TCG organized this year displayed the field's commitment to experimenting with new tools for engaging communities.
I gained insight into the activist spirit that is fundamental to our collective enterprise. Hearing stories about organizations' early years, I was reminded that the establishment of theatres across the U.S. has almost always been an expression of civic and personal activism. This was true in 1935 when an Oregon schoolteacher proposed using an existing building to mount productions of Shakespeare, thus giving birth to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; it was also true in 1950, when Zelda and Tom Fichandler opened a theatre in Washington, D.C., that became Arena Stage; and when Sir Tyrone Guthrie and his founding partners placed an item in the New York Times, inviting communities across the U.S. to be home to a new repertory company. Our movement existed on a national scale—and most institutions began by way of the vision of one or two individuals—but their growth was fueled by local politicians and businesspeople and housewives and schoolchildren.
And that sense of activism continued in 2010, as local funders and individuals worked to ensure that artistically vibrant, sometimes financially strapped theatre institutions could survive and thrive—while also making way for new ideas and artistic life forms. To this end, we were inspired by the words of Chicago's mayor, Richard M. Daley, who spoke at TCG's National Conference last June about the centrality of the arts in cities. He remarked: "If you don't have theatre, you don't have society; and the way to change a city is through the arts." That's equally true for smaller communities such as Greensboro, N.C., where Triad Stage—a company that was founded just 10 years ago—continues with the help of community support and vision. In fact, a rurally based audience member, who lives an hour from that theatre, contacted TCG to say how proud she was that Triad's production of The Glass Menagerie was featured last month in this magazine.
Our activism is unique. It's a kind of activism not aimed simply at affecting a legislative outcome, but at cultivating the attention and engagement of citizens through art. Of course, legislative outcomes are also important, and we were thrilled this year that TCG hosted its largest-ever delegation at Arts Advocacy Day in April in Washington, D.C.
This year also saw a continuing expansion in person-to-person relationships across international borders. Boundaries faded, as theatre artists and administrators stepped up their global communication and collaboration. TCG facilitated participation of U.S. artists in the International Festival of Monodrama in the United Arab Emirates. We sent a delegation of 27 theatre leaders to the Bogotá International Theatre Festival. As a result of the latter trip, companies and artists are developing new projects, collaborations and friendships. A smaller delegation traveled to Spain for the Fira Tàrrega, a festival of outdoor and site-specific theatre. Our own 2010 National Conference hosted 35 international guests from 16 countries. Three months later, NYC-based organization Theatre Without Borders held a conference on theatre and peace building that brought together several hundred international practitioners—many of whom now know each other well from coming together in various contexts over the years.
As a new year arrives, we at TCG begin our march toward our own 50th anniversary. For half a century, we've been a catalyst for the resident theatre movement—a place for an expression of the activism of our field and a touchpoint for its diversity. We hope to continue providing inspiration and motivation at the center of our ongoing movement. Our National Conference in Los Angeles in June '11 will serve as a chance for the field to come together around important issues of today—and to help us continue to build and encourage the spirit and potential of our art form.
P.S. Happy holidays! If December is a time that you make charitable gifts, I want to let you know about our Society for the American Theatre. It is a new opportunity to support TCG and learn more about its work. Please consider joining us!
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