Re: RAT Marx in Soho (in LA)

[Pwpny@aol.com]

In a message dated 05/13/2001 11:05:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
namewon@whro.net writes:


> But in my experience, no matter what the publicity machines want
> me to believe, institutionalization compromises art.




Catherine of Peculiar Works here.

To paraphrase a wise, wonderful, political and spiritual man (who it is my 
honor and privilege to know) - the Rev. Howard Moody, Pastor Emeritus of 
Judson Memorial Church in NYC: "The person who does not know compromise is 
the person who has not lived in the real world."

Also, to paraphrase my grandfather, the Episcopal priest Robert G. 
Purrington, who spent many years heading up tiny mission churches in West 
Texas and was as poor as the proverbial church mouse: "There will always be 
Episcopalians who will send their wallet to church, and it is your job to get 
every cent you can from them."

To me,.these pragmatic statements fit in with my Rat-ty approach to the 
world, including all things art. As an artist and arts administrator, I work 
with 3 non-profit performance companies - Peculiar Works Project, my baby, 
with a budget of $25-30K; Dixon Place, with a budget of $300,000; and HERE 
Arts Center, with a budget of over a million. I only mention these figures 
because of this point: none of these groups are making profits or getting 
rich. We do it for love, for passion, for a life - as opposed to a career - 
in art. There are compromises, there is scrambling for money, there is 
marketing and p.r., but there is also a commitment to supporting developing 
artists and their work. That means providing (admittedly small) financial 
stipends, rehearsal space, technical assistance, advice, or any other kind of 
resource. When there is money left over, it goes right back into supporting 
artists and, frankly, making some money helps to support them better. It's 
never very much money, to be sure, but all 3 companies charge just enough in 
ticket prices to keep serving artists as much as we're able, and then some.

And yes, at times there is frustration and burnout and huge personal credit 
card debt, but there are also those moments of grace when you know you've 
helped create something worthwhile or beautiful or challenging or funny or 
whatever. That is when I am artistically fulfilled as a producer/artistic 
director. Sure, as a performer, I get one kind of artistic satisfaction from 
being on stage. But I also find a joy in facilitating the art of others - I 
just have to be sure to take care of myself and balance the two things.

What Cat said about Theatre as Party for Friends vs. Theatre as Small 
Business, and HOW MANY CUPS OF EACH (my emphasis) you use also rings true for 
me, particularly for Peculiar Works. We operate project-by-project, and each 
time the measuring is different. For us, it's just a matter of being aware of 
the issues and making conscious choices, not blindly following our same old 
pattern or someone else's plan for how to do art. We aren't afraid to 
question paradigms, and we're also not afraid to learn from and use the ways 
of others. And as for institutionalization, as long as it's happening 
organically (and again, not along some predetermined model), growth seems 
okay, even good for my company, as long as we keep our options open and can 
take a step "back" when we need or want to.

I love being a producer (not every single moment, but still...), and I get 
satisfaction from doing it well. I love being an artist (not every single 
moment, but still...), and I get satisfaction from doing IT well. It's the 
integration of left and right brain, the coming together of the emotional and 
the intellectual. It's all good...

Catherine Porter
PWP, NYC