Re: RAT v TCG: Anarchy v. Organization

[TimNGail@aol.com]

<<This whole thing raised a question for me--- is  the RAT conference becoming a sort of farm system for TCG?   Will participant theatres "graduate" from
RAT up to TCG as they get more "successful" money and fame-wise?>>

I would assert that, IMHO, your first thoughts about RAT and TCG are good ones.  They are different entities.  I believe that people do indeed attend and participate within these organizations for different reasons.  

I don't, then, see them as melding into a "farm-system" hierarchy.  They are completely different in so many respects, and yet I don't see them as being mutually exclusive, either.  There's no dividing line (that I'm aware of) between choosing sides - RAT or TCG.

In fact, I would go so far as to turn the premise around a bit - TCG is perhaps a farm system for RAT.  Ben comes to RAT to pick up new ways of process, organization, collaboration, etc. and then takes it back to a more "traditional" organization.  RAT theatres and artists become TCG members (RAT-filtration), forcing TCG to slowly morph itself and evolve, as well.  That may or may not be their reason for joining TCG (being a service organization, there are definite advantages for a group to become affiliated with TCG), but their general sensibilities and their very presence create a different environment within that organization.

I think people attend either conference for different reasons.  Or both.  Or neither.  Generally, however, I would suggest that there is an emphasis on participation, or simply "getting your hands dirty" that happens at RAT that doesn't exist at TCG - both on a theoretical level, as well as on an organizational level - RAT has no staff, no salaries, no true organization other than people coming together to make something happen.


<<If you are at the confernce, you are a RAT.  Presumably this means that if you are not there, you are not a RAT?>>

I was at RAT in NYC and LA... I hope I don't have to turn in my card just because I wasn't able to attend Philly.  RAT (and presumably TCG) is more than a conference.  It is an ideal.  It is an energy.  It is a confrontation.  It is a communion.  In my mind, it is so many things that TCG can never be.  Not that TCG is an evil empire, either (at least not as much now).  They are simply an organization established on different principles, with different goals.  RAT's lifeblood comes from whatever is being spoken between it's participants at any given moment.

Here's my idea for the next RAT gathering: find a large camp-able area somewhere away from a major metropolitan area.  Away from TCG, if only for a year, God forbid - by both date and location.  Don't place it immediately accessible to a major airport - there should be some sort of pilgrimage that should be made to the site.  Everyone convenes, shares, performs, creates, barters, exchanges, and carries away.

Any takers?

being a RAT, I'm always willing to take the bait...
tim
funkopolis   







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