Episode XXIX: A New Hope

At the risk of sounding repetitive, these are tough times. If the news of New Jersey in my last entry didn't thoroughly illustrate that, try this one: The proposed New York State budget for 2010-11 calls for a $9.6 million cut in arts funding . Remember that job list for the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey? Check out this one. That's for the Egg Theater in Albany, NY. No, it's not as big of a list of employees as the NJ theater, but under the new budget, The Egg would have any and all state funding eliminated. Last year, it got $540,000. You do the math.

Yes, it's a little morbid. But, facts are facts.

But, here's another fact (or maybe it's just a poignant cliche): Necessity is the mother of invention. Here's a passage from Howard Kissel's unauthorized biography of Producer David Merrick about the Theater Development Fund, a non-profit organization that aids the commercial theater here in New York, and across the country:

• "TDF was born out of a sense of despair about the commercial theater, a despair more profound than the one that had inspired the issue of Theater Arts that outlined the Broadway theater's woes in 1940."*

This organization has been a staple in the New York scene since 1968 and it is the nation's largest performing arts non-profit. And it was formed to create a new model for theater operations in a dire time.

Well, I guess you could say that times are pretty dire. But, a light is peering through the darkness. There is a group of artists that are actively pursuing a new model of how we approach, perform, and manage theater and art. If you've been a long-time follower of the blog, I mentioned them in my second post ever. They are the Transcendence Theater Company and they are about to embark on yet another incredible journey. I could not possibly attempt to describe this as vividly as Artistic Director Amy Miller. So, please click on this link in order to go to their website and see the video describing the "Unstoppable Future Campaign." It'll take less than five minutes of your time to see what could very well be one of the greatest steps forward in the long, complex journey of theater. They are about to tour the country, conducting a series of interviews over the course of a couple of months, in an attempt to see what's working, and more importantly, what isn't, in order to create a solid future for artists and arts professionals . They are truly committing themselves to finding a solution, or more than one. And maybe sometime in the not-so-distant future, arts organizations won't have the rug pulled out from under them at the first sign of economic trouble. So, if you enjoy the video, and believe in their mission, you have the opportunity to donate and become part of the future. Just click on the "Donate" section of the website. Or just click here.

*Howard Kissel. David Merrick: The Abominable Showman, p. 273. Copyright 1993.