October 2008 Field Letter

Written on September 29, 2008

Dear Friends,

Before I launch into my report, I have two questions for you. First, Jenni Werner has asked me to solicit your thoughts and recommendations about how the TCG National Conference can be greener. We are in the process of planning for Baltimore 2009, and are working on an environmentally friendly design. Contact Jenni with ideas. Secondly, with a number of theatres in search mode for new managing directors, TCG is often asked for recommendations of people who are interested, qualified and available to serve on an interim basis as managing director of a theatre. If you or someone you know would like to be considered for such a post, please contact me.

When Robert Rubin, chairman of the Executive Committee of Citi and former Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, led our first Leadership Teleconference in April, he talked about how in his career, he’d never seen anything quite like what was happening in the economy at that point in time, noting that while everyone has their own predictions about what might occur next, we really don’t know. Since then, we’ve watched as the saga has become more and more surreal. And as the ancient Chinese saying/curse goes, “May you live in interesting times.” Now the question from theatres, from the media and from other sources is, “How is the economic environment affecting and going to affect our organizations and artistic communities?”

In past downturns, TCG members have suffered attendance losses, declines in funding and endowments. In the period following the economic downturn of 2001, deficits unsurprisingly became more common than break-even or surplus results—and attendance took a major dip, as did funding. Since then, we’ve experienced a gradual—though not complete—rebound in attendance and shifts in the economic composition of our organizations as a result of rethinking ways of doing things. Non-ticket related earned income grew as a percentage of budget (in part due to capital gains), we’re reporting more surpluses than deficits and a gradual improvement in working capital. And we know, anecdotally, that theatres are becoming more savvy about truly engaging their communities in the work—its creation and its relevance in these times. But we stand at a particular moment that is different, more complicated and strangely more fanciful. The inter-connectedness of each development is indisputable but also hard to track, and just as the economists have not been able to predict what’s next, it’s difficult to know the precise impacts on our organizations.

Our mini-fiscal survey, Taking Your Fiscal Pulse, designed to gauge our members’ fiscal health in the last six months, revealed more surpluses than deficits for FY08 and tickets sales that are, on average, on the rise. But theatres also continue to wrestle with cash flow issues and leadership burnout. So now this dramatic environmental curve ball, which some economists say will affect companies more than individuals, at least at the outset. But those companies represent many of our funders and trustees. And ultimately, the crunch will be felt or perceived to be felt by average citizens, who are also our audiences. We’d like to know your thoughts and observations to help us stay in touch with the field’s experience as we go forward. Contact me at any time. Much is being written on the crisis, but to gain a greater understanding, take a look at some of these sources:

Please register for the Fall Forum held on November 7-9. The theme is particularly timely this year: Radical Shifts: Governing Ahead of the Curve. Topics and speakers include a reflection on the results of the election with ABC News political guru Mark Halperin; an analysis of the status of the economic crisis and its potential impacts on theatres with Janet Babin, the Innovations reporter for American Public Media’s Marketplace, who reports extensively on economic trends and the arts; a panel discussion on the ongoing changes in cultural reporting and journalism with Leonard Jacobs, national theatre editor and first-string critic for Back Stage, Frank Rizzo, an arts reporter for the Hartford Courant, Variety, American Theatre and other periodicals, Dan Shelley, executive editor of Digital Media for WCBS-TV and WCBSTV.com and other media thought leaders; and a discussion of shifting demographics and the way theatres are adjusting to be more inclusive and reflective of the communities they serve.

During the last week of September, while the Wall Street bailout package was being designed and the first Obama-McCain debate occurred, I was in Madrid for the International Theatre Institute (ITI) World Congress. TCG is the U.S. Center for ITI and TCG artistic and international programs director, Emilya Cachapero, represents us on the executive committee of that body, which is affiliated with UNESCO. Forty plus nations were present at the meeting, and TCG had its own delegation including longtime veterans of ITI and international work—Martha Coigney and Ellen Stewart. While the meetings were mostly procedural, there were a few resonate issues that arose—one having to do with the failure of the Spanish government to grant visas to Sudanese performers, who were part of a Khartoum-based organization, the Center for Theatre in Conflict Zones. After a resolution was passed condemning the government’s rejection of visas, which was subsequently released to the press, the visas were granted and the Sudanese performers did arrive and perform. This moment struck a chord with me as I thought of the difficulties we face in getting artists into the U.S. and our efforts through the Performing Arts Alliance for legislative solutions to ease the process of obtaining these visas. Another issue had to do with the absence of a Latin American representative on the executive committee election slate. This occurred for a variety of reasons related to the self nomination process. But an ITI representative from Colombia argued fiercely that this situation must be rectified, and in the end, prevailed through a special resolution that required the executive committee to identify and appoint a representation from that region of the globe.

Being at those meetings, I was struck again by the phenomenal amount of theatre that exists in every corner of the earth, and that we share so many of the same challenges and aspirations. Many TCG theatres are engaged in international dialogue and exchange of one form or another. Others are interested but don’t know where to begin. One way to get a glimpse of what’s happening in many countries in a single visit is to attend a festival. Some festivals have special guest programs for theatre practitioners internationally. KadmusArts is a great source of information on festivals across the globe.

I had the honor and pleasure of visiting Oregon Shakespeare Festival in early September. It was my first time in Ashland, and I was overwhelmed by the dimensions of the work being done there. It’s rare to see true rotating repertory anymore. And I personally appreciate the intense energy of production staffs and their changeovers that allow audiences to see many different productions in a single day or weekend. Bill Rauch is working to expand and diversify the definition of classical work at OSF, and I was lucky to see The Clay Cart, a 2,000 year-old Indian social comedy about economic and political injustices, described by their dramaturg, Ketu Katrak, as a piece about how “character trumps wealth.” I spoke with the OSF board during their daylong meeting and was once again blown away by the passion and dedication that exists in boardrooms across America. This one was no exception.

Thank you to Steppenwolf’s Martha Lavey and David Hawkanson for visiting TCG and talking with TCG staff members about the status of Steppenwolf’s current key initiatives involving new work, audience loyalty and university relationships. They also talked about the energy around an organization-wide sensibility of Steppenwolf as a “public square” and what needs to be done to advance that characteristic.

It can be difficult to stay current on the rapidly changing environment for technology in which we exist. Brad Stephenson of Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Technology and the Arts was in New York for the Web 2.0 Convention. His blog from that experience can be found at the Center’s website. Also check out the Technology in the Arts website. This is an excellent resource for those seeking further information on the latest trends in technology and the arts.

Until next month, all the best,

Teresa Eyring
Executive Director

P.S.: TCG is working hard on Free Night of Theater which launches on October 16, in over 100 communities with over 600 theatres and 1,000 plus performances. Thank you to everyone who is participating this year; it is going to be a great event! For those of you based in the New York metropolitan area, join us in Union Square on October 16 at 11:00 a.m. for a Free Night of Theater kickoff rally.

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