NET Summit: Friday, June 19th

Friday, June 19, 2009

Matt and I had a miscommunication for the morning session so I missed the talk back for Beyond the Mirror. Apparently it made him respect their process. Sorry I missed it.


Catalyst Conversations: Arlene Goldbard
Arlene has to be one of the best speakers about the arts that I have ever encountered. Her intelligence and enthusiasm for and about the arts is truly inspiring. She talked a lot about a term she coined called “imaginative empathy” which really got me thinking about this amazing art form. After listening her speak I’m sure I’m going into the right field. She also talked about how as artists we are the ones who cultivate creativity and imagination. It’s important to try to do something not yet imagined! She also mention how a sustainable National recovery is inextricably linked to a cultural recovery. Meaning if we focus on cultivating culture and the arts (rather than economics) than the economy will recover. For more go to her website. http://arlenegoldbard.com/


Morning Session: Creating in a Challenging Economic Climate.
Moderated by Lisa Mount.
I found this session really interesting. First we mapped out our companies in the space to see where the companies are in relation to the nation. It was mainly coastal – not much representation in the middle – hmmm. Then we did a diagonal across the room by budget – lowest to highest. Question: Who owns their own space? Most at the highest range did, few other had their own space. SOSE was one of the few in the lower end who had their own space. Then we lined up according to economic distress (as in who is stressed out and who is feeling ok). Those with higher budgets seemed to be the most stressed than those with lower budgets. Again, SOSE was feeling pretty good. Many questions were posed. Who has Staff? Pays fees? most of the higher budget peeps had this. Who has healthcare? Most did but not from their companies. Who has other jobs? Pretty much everyone in the room raised their hands. This just goes to show how dedicated ensemble artists are. We have multiple jobs just so we can do what we love.

Then we went around giving ideas about small changes within companies that made a big difference. There were some great ideas – like creating a wiki office. Selling DVD’s, nickel and diming kids, partnering with community colleges, etc.


Early Afternoon Session:
I went to the Community Responsiveness session. This addressed how companies respond to the needs of their communities. I’m a big supporter of getting involved with the community and using art to help those in need. My concern for SOSE is that we are not affecting those in our community. We bring basically outsiders from the area to our theatre – what can we do to engage the locals? One company said that they did a lot of workshops and invited the community to them and had talk backs afterwards. That way the community had a part in the process. Another idea was interaction. One company had a western musical so they had props and costumes that the audience could participate in which they really enjoyed. One person brought up the dichotomy of the artist as being outside other vs. in the community.


ArtBreak!
Conrad and Elizabeth performed their puppet piece Freeway. It’s about this couple who get married and are in the car on the freeway of life. It was a great performance, very smart, entertaining and poignant.


Late Afternoon Session: Collisions
We started a little late because it took us forever to get to the dance studio – but it was worth it to have the space (Thursday we were outside). We played around with some more gestures and ended up doing like a 20-30 minute improv. Throughout the process we created a physical language that was used during out exercises.


Shows:

Theatre of Yugen: Pretty
This ensemble is founded in Japanese Noh and Kyogen. The play is based on the abduction and murder of a girl several years ago in the Bay area. I thought the music (drums, guitar, and electronics) was really interesting in underscoring the drama on stage. Overall I liked the performance but there were some parts that were weak and could have been sharper and clearer. This is what I call a “one time” show for me. As in seeing it once is all I can appreciate. I do, however, respect and admire the amount of focus required and given by the actors. I’ve never experienced anything that required that much intensity.

After:

PARTY BUS. This has to have been one of the funnest experiences ever! Before we even go on the bus we went to a bar where I had to Jack (and barley any) Cokes. So I was already feeling pretty good. And Derek and I beat Matt and Erica by default at pool.
Then came the party bus. Before I continue our busses for the weekend were two of the coolest buses ever. One was the love bus which had the tops of VW vans on top which were the sleeping areas. The other bus was the Mexican bus which was dect out in Mexicano icons. So the Mexican bus was the party bus. We stopped to get some booze – I got a bottle of Cooks Champagne (classy, I know). Then back onto the bus for some dancing and drinking. It was good times all around. Seriously, one of the best party times ever! I had finished my bottle of Cooks by the time we got to the salsa club so I was – let’s say – feeling pretty good. Did some dancing and then back onto the bus. I guess I passed out on the bus because people were really concerned about me (trust me, they ain’t seen super drunk Ashley. I've been worse) but I was just tired and well, drunk. So I had some lovely people walk me back to the dorms. Ahh good times. I think I went to bed around 2:30/3 o’clock in the morn.