Re: RAT We're looking for some expertise in how to start a new theater

[Catherine Porter <cporter@peculiarworks.org>]

Catherine of Peculiar Works in NYC here. I agree with Cat that a lot of
your questions are really big ones.
My first response is that there is no one way to start a theater -
figure out who you are or want to be,
and that should lead you in the right direction.

Another thing I might suggest, in addition to looking around at the Rat
website for the many ideas Erik and
other Rats have written, is to check out a small publication, a handbook
really, called "Defining A New
Arts Era," put out by a consulting team called Arts Action Research. It
was written in 1997, primarily
about NYC theatres, but I think a lot of the ideas in it remain
relevant, and appropriate to theaters
everywhere. It's not a how-to, but, in addition to offering some
practical philosophies, there are examples
of ways that certain theaters operate. I don't have an URL for Arts
Action Research, but their phone number
is 718-797-3661, and the snail mail address is PO Box 401082, Brooklyn,
NY 11240.

They probably also have more recent publications around similar topics
available; I happen to know this
book well because PWP is in it...

Cath

BruPach@aol.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> This is a note for those people who have created a theater from scratch or
> just know a lot about the process or just wants to jump in on this
> discussion. Anyone really.
>
> I'm in serious talks with a number of theater artists in the San Francisco
> Bay Area about beginning a new theater and finding a space for us to create.
> We're looking for some direction and know that you (the people on the RAT
> list) have loads of expertise in this area. Below, I've included some
> rudimentary -- and I'm sure pretty naive -- questions that I've been trying
> to get some help with. I'd appreciate any assistance you can offer.
>
> 1. Do you know of any publications (websites) that details the process of
> beginning a new theater?
>
> 2. Do you know of any organizations that offer assistance with this type of
> endeavor?
>
> 3. If you were leading a seminar called, "Creating a Theater from Scratch,"
> what areas would your syllabus include?
>
> 4. What would you strongly encourage people to consider when beginning a
> theater?
>
> 5. What would you do differently if you could begin your organization again?
>
> 6. What's important to bear in mind when beginning this whole process?
>
> Sincerely,
> BP
>
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