Re: RAT One worm turning(1)

[nick <nick@nickspix.com>]

Nick, you need to bring me up to speed here.  There's a lot of history that
seems to be informing your email that frankly I don't know--- the reference
to past disagreements with Steve, for one.  It feels to me as if you're
implying that Steve's article was inaccurate, apart from the tone; again, I
don't know the situation enough to know whether it is or isn't true.  I'm
always happy to have a conversation about any topic, and indeed I know our
conference coordinator has been in touch with some of your folks about what
opportunities we might have to work together.  But it would help me to know
more in this light: have we been inaccurate?  Is there a different history
to the two festival issue than the one portrayed?  
Part of the belief I have had about TCG has been that, for historic
reasons, the organization has been largely about validation of a specific
kind of institutional achievement.  More and more, I find I at least am
interested in helping transform TCG into an organization that capture
theatrical energy rather than validates only a specific organizational
model.  To that end, we have reexamined our membership criteria and made
substantial revisions; we have contacted every state arts agency to ask for
their list of theaters within their states and plan to do a large mailing
this summer to those theaters we currently don't reach; and we have made
strong attempts to broaden the net of people who work and plan with us.
Every task force this year has included folks who are not current TCG
members, for example.  
All this said, there may be limits on how quickly we can turn this boat
around, and if there are ongoing issues that we can help address, I would
love to know more about what those might be.  There were some attempts to
link up earlier in the year between us but after several abortive phone
calls, I think things fell away.  My last recollection was that your call
seemed to suggest that I was being driven by a time deadline, which wasn't
the case; my last message had been that I wasn't time constrained, that
both our schedules seemed a bit intense, and that we should link up when
life settled a bit.  Have we both been waiting for the other to call?
Sorry to go on at such length, but I really hope we can have a conversation
that will help me understand what's really at stake here.  I frankly don['t
know a lot of the past history; I welcome anything you want to tell me
about ongoing concerns; and I hope we can both find where and how we can
work together--- my sense is that we can do a lot better than we have been
doing.  So how and when can we talk?

>>> nick <nick@nickspix.com> 05/04/99 12:49PM >>>
At 05:07 PM 5/3/99 +0000, J H wrote:
>In this month's American Theatre
>
>"The Battle of the Fringes -
>
> How many fringe festivals does New York City need? well, this year
>Gothamites can count on not one but two separate Fringe attacks.

<snip>

>  That's news to Clancy, who insists, 'I'm artistic director of the
>Fringe.' As an afterthought, he adds, 'I should definitely give Aaron a
>call.' " 
>	American Theatre
>	Stephen Nunns
>
>
>Donner...party of two...Donner....party of two.
>
>Self-righteously,
>Jonathan Harris
>National Fringe Productions
>LA
>

Methinks that may be a party of three, with fine young cannibal Steve Nunns
being the last to leave the table.

Besides being a petty gossipmonger*(Many of you know the axe I have to
grind here, so I won't say what a spineless coward I find Steve Nunns to
be, or comment on his politically expedient sense of morality and honor.)
Both Steve and Ben Cameron are CC'ed this email.  I am interested if either
will feel it necessary to answer the rat-list.

I have kept this private for quite awhile.  But this article, coupled with
the talk of doing guerilla action at the TCG thing in SF this June, I
thought now a good time for sharing a comment that I made to the director
of TCG last year. 

When Ben Cameron took over as Executive Director last June he said was
pushing for change in TCG.   In his second commentary in his American
Theatre publication he castigated the theater community for not sticking
together over the Manhattan Theatre Club wimp out over the Terrence McNally
affair.  Those on the rat-list then, will probably remember our own heated
discussion on it.  I don't remember anyone here really siding with MTC at
time.  Regardless, to me Ben seemed to be talking to a "theater community"
that did not include me or many of my peers.  I wrote the following letter
to him then, quoting from his article.

*********************
To:  
Ben Cameron
TCG Executive Director

Dear Ben,

"Most important, like a family, we need to find ways to disagree in private
but to speak together more effectively in public, even while disagreeing.
We cannot publicly eat our elders (or our young).  We must vow now to treat
one another better."

Are you unaware of the article Steve Nunns wrote last year at this time on
R.A.T.?

If so, please read it (http://rat.whirl-i-gig.com/nunns.htm).

You and your editors control a great deal of the "public dialogue" on
theater.  From that position it is easy to suggest we keep our
disagreements private.  I ask you privately for now: what is your position
on the public attack of a young theater confederacy by one of your editors? 

Sincerely,

Nick Fracaro
Artistic Director
Thieves Theatre

********************
Ben answered me saying that the attitude and article I cited may well have
been in keeping with the beliefs and convictions of his predecessor but not
his. At the time he sounded sincere.  

So what's up with this gossipmonging article on The Battle of the Fringes?
We know why this gives Jonathan joy, but how does it serve theater,
especially the NYC theater community, to publicly make Clancy and Beall
into two petty little back stabbers?  I'll quote Ben again.

"Most important, like a family, we need to find ways to disagree in private
but to speak together more effectively in public, even while disagreeing.
We cannot publicly eat our elders (or our young).  We must vow now to treat
one another better."

Physician, heal thyself.

--nick