Re: Ben Cameron on RAT

[ActorsGng1@aol.com]

Just thought I'd pass along what Ben Cameron wrote about the RAT Conference 
in L.A.  FYI


Written by Ben Cameron, Executive Director of TCG, Inc. in his monthly 
letter, dated August 16, 1999
(This is a small excerpt of the letter dealing specifically with his 
experience at the RAT conference.)

This sense of division was particularly on my mind as I headed to my first 
RAT Conference in L.A. at the end of July.  For those of you who don't know 
about RAT, let me briefly say that RAT is a loose confederation of theatres 
who communicate regularly online and annually through a conference structure 
(and what a fabulous conference it was, marked by intensive discussion, 
showcasing of a broad range of work, and even the creation by participants of 
some exciting site-specific work utilizing various areas of the Los Angeles 
Theatre Center).  The name comes from playwright Erik Ehn, a RAT founder, and 
is descriptive of an underground energy, a scurrying alternative dangerous 
sort of activity (although others have subsequently tried to make it an 
acronym, e.g. Resident Alternative Theatre or Radical Alternative Theatre, 
etc.)  My original intention had been to merely attend and learn, but I was 
equally happy to accept an invitation to appear on a panel exploring the 
dynamic between TCG and RAT.  On arrival, I found that this panel had been 
billed in terms that emphasized potential conflict and controversy, and more 
than one attendee approached me in advance, offering descriptions of the 
panel ranging from "the TCG barbecue" to "the celebrity death match."  What 
transpired, however, was actually far different.  After each of the 
participants gave opening statements, we were all struck by our commonalties, 
by our points of intersection and mutual interest, and the subsequent 
dialogue, while energetic and animated, was respectful and generous, marked 
by deep listening and engagement.

Much of the discussion did reflect dissatisfaction with the larger field and 
the frustrations many of these smaller theatres face.  It made me think back 
to one of the first editorials I wrote during my time here - the one dealing 
with the Manhattan Theatre Club/Corpus Christi aftermath, where I called for 
us to stop eating our young in public.  My thoughts had been largely 
dominated by our field's habit of publicly criticizing and dissecting one 
another at moments of stress and controversy.  But what I realized during my 
time at RAT was that we often "eat our young" in more subtle, ongoing ways.  
Our failures to experience one another's work on an ongoing basis, for 
example, feeds a mutual ignorance, an antagonism that is not only destructive 
in the current sense but that, long-term, prevents greater career and 
organizational development and drives people from the field.  (Believe me, 
the RAT folk know, for example, which Artistic Directors from our larger 
organizations attend their work.)  Our failure to share resources similarly 
defeats larger mutual field respect and understanding; how many of us offer 
empty rehearsal spaces to those smaller groups who are pressed to find 
affordable real estate or invite them to strike to carry away potential 
materials that we simply trash?  And even at the conference, how many of us 
seized the opportunity to interact across lines of organizational size and 
longevity?  Respectful discussion, it seems, is the product of, not the 
prelude to, respectful and ongoing interaction.  In this light, our final 
session at TCG may have been at least a reminder of our shortcomings to be 
more inclusive within our field; at its best, perhaps it will turn into a 
larger call to action for us all.

And how much we have to learn from the RAT group!  While many of us are 
mystified by more meaningful interaction with younger audiences, these groups 
are (in many cases) led by young people.  They are redefining marketing 
techniques, relying more heavily on email than on newspaper advertisements, 
performing "outreach" at coffee houses and rock clubs, focusing more heavily 
on personal interaction than on organizational growth.  It was all in all a 
fascinating time, and clearly many of these are the important theatres of 
tomorrow - and in many cases and in many communities, of today.  Our failure 
to engage with them is our own loss.