Organizational Models

As a part of their permanent closure, San Francisco-based theatre company foolsFURY embarked upon an ambitious oral history project. Emily Weak, the archivist employed for that project, shares the process and insights of an initiative that worked to collect dozens of individual experiences of the company and provide a sense of closure.

Glenn Davis, co-artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, sits down with Ken-Matt Martin, artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater, to talk about shifting relationships with donors, the concept of term limits for leadership, the joys of returning to rehearsal rooms, and their shared experiences as Black men at the helm of Chicago theatres.

Regina Victor, artistic director of Slideshow Theatre Company, and Kaiser Ahmed, artistic director of Jackalope Theatre Company, discuss the joys and challenges of stepping into their Chicago-based positions as theatres across the United States recalibrate their programming.

Miranda Wright discusses the vitality of supporting new work development in the field and shares learnings from her experiences doing so as the founder of Los Angeles Performance Practice (LAPP) and the Live Arts Exchange (LAX) Festival.

Carlos Diaz Stoop shares the impact of mentorship on his career as an arts administrator, educator, and independent producer and explains how the Creative Independent Producer’s Alliance (CIPA) and the International Creative Producers (ICP) are creating organizational environments that encourage co-learning and collective decision-making.

Ashley Malafronte and Michael DeWhatley ask: How can future-minded theatres revolutionize their internship programs to create a more diverse, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial set of initiatives?

Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza sit down to discuss how COVID has forced a breakup between artists and theatres and what it will take to get back together again.

Zenkő Bogdán believes public cultural institutions should be redefined from the perspective of the people around it: it’s artists, employees, and audiences. As an exercise, she has begun to reimagine a future public theatre’s rules of organizing and functioning—and wants each and every reader of the document to participate.

Andrea Kovich argues that inclusive design can be used to change organizations and the work being produced, leading to a more inclusive and equitable theatre field.

Marta Keil and Grzegorz Reske share letters from the past and the future, from June 2020 to June 2029, detailing the changes to the theatrical landscape in their hometown of Warsaw, Poland.