Monday, February 18, 2008

Brainstorming about the kind of theatre we want to create...

A full force production company of creative artists. Part think tank, artistic home, lair for any and all types of performers/artmakers from DJs to poets.

Theatre that is undeniable.

Theatre that is - at once - Event, Spectacle, and Storytelling.

What is undeniably resonant about this play now?

Immediate. Visceral. Varied, in text; inclusive of divergent artists, cultures and styles.

Theatre that involves: 1) Adaptation 2) the methodology of guerrilla theatre 3) Challenging the artists and the audience 4) that is reflective of the multi-cultural community 5) that is dance and movement based 6) that contains and breaks bounderies of operas/musicals 7) that is politically/culturally relevant 8) has the quality of VISCERAL IMMEDIACY.

Brutally Truthful.

Theatre that attacks from all sides - design, performer, marketing. No, something beyond theatre. Theatre is smelly. It smells like dead bodies.

Crazy, physical, using everyday materials to make extraordinary work. Messy materials are more fun - paint, mud, water, paper, bubble wrap.

BOLD theatre - do more than you think you can; push the limits of what you think is possible.

Theatre that doesn't feel like theatre. Theatre that feels mysterious and dangerously fun.

MISSION - A very, very rough mission statement -- or place to start:
N,

This is VERY rough and I haven’t added it to the blog yet, but it makes me feel good about what’s been percolating over the last few weeks. We’re taking action…and things are starting to happen. (This is open, of course, for myriad changes, edits, etc. We’ll probably want to add something about the kind of work (cultural, political, etc.) that we produce, but this is a start.)

I couldn’t love you any more if I tried,
K

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We rebel against the idea of mission statements, at heart. But here are a few things we believe in and aspire to do:

* To stage the impossible. (Or what feels like the impossible.)
* To inspire mutli-disciplinary artistic collaboration. Playwrights working with MCs. Musicians with fashion designers. Teiko drummers with Sculptors. Fight choreographers with novelists.
* To challenge ourselves and our audiences. By asking the big questions. As storytellers, designers, entertainers, and artists. (Because if you already have all the answers, what fun is making the art?)
* To have fun. (It’s infectious.)
* To work with a generosity of spirit.
* To support artists and the people who help make it happen.
* To have fun. (It bears repeating. Isn’t that why you fell in love with art in the first place?)

We work on a variety of projects – from new plays and classical adaptations to poetry slams and musical events. Wanna collaborate with us? Drop us a line and let us know what you do.
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THOUGHTS ON A MISSION - from Nelson, via IM - 4.15.08:
Nelson: I mean, you and I have a tremendously ambitious vision for this company: multiple artists all working together to create a new world, growing stuff in the pipeline through development of new plays, placing rockers and writers together, workshopping shows till they really are ready to go, a reading/hearing series, political kinds of discussion
creating communities that emphasize youth and diversity through our work
and that's just the American part
I want our shows to tour, to be on two different sides of the country, then the world
bringing in international artists to collaborate with American ones

Nelson: I think that we just need to be clear about our interests and how this company is going to best serve them
b/c development of new plays is a program and a methodology

doing production is a different methodology
a more immediate one
and the same thing with the fundraising/capitalization part of it

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