Welcome Back to the Stage - An Open Letter
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” - Oscar Wilde
While theater stages are closed, we’ve had time to reflect on the role the space plays for communities and individuals. At Coimatan, our platform is one used to showcase the diverse efforts in our neighborhoods that share compelling local stories. This is why we worked with Nathan Keepers from The Moving Company and Robin Gillette from The Jungle Theater to create the following open letter to celebrate our stages.
To continue the conversation, we invite you to tune in to the Lunch & Learn event we hosted on April 28th at 12 PM in which Nathan and Robin as well as Meena Natarajan of Pangea World Theater and Ansa Akyea of Park Square Theatre shared more about their work and what’s next. In the meantime, enjoy the two reflections below that welcome us back to the stage when the time is right.
Part 1: Open Letter from Nathan Keepers
The one-year mark since I last performed on a stage recently passed. As it did for many many many many others. Not just in the performing arts, and not on that day, but in all walks of life, all marked one year.
An anniversary will cause you to reflect. I’ve thought a lot about the thing that I do over the past year. I’m an actor. Or, more specifically, I’m an actor along with being a creator. The Moving Company is the theatre company I co-create in with colleagues Dominique Serrand and Steven Epp. Our company creates all of our work from scratch, or an idea sprung from a book, story or what have you. I won’t use this space to explain anymore than that. If you’d like to learn more, give us a google. (I recommend adding ‘theatre’ after the company’s name, so you don’t find yourself accidentally ordering a moving van to your house.) I make the distinction between actor and artistic director, because it’s important to understand what each role has ruminated on over the year.
As an actor you’re confronted with this idea of creativity, or “lack thereof” in this case. I’ve heard this concern quite a bit, that I must be struggling because it’s like bottling something up that just has to be released. So, I thought about that a lot. Which is good to do, it makes you question why you do this. Is it just for me? Do I only do this, because if I don’t, I’ll explode? Or is it larger than me? In going through that exercise, I realized something important; It’s a bit of all that. I don’t have to act. I choose to because I love the craft. And in devoting myself to the craft it has become bigger than me. I have a responsibility outside of myself.
In my role at The Moving Company, it’s inherently bigger than me, because I’m negotiating a mission and how it’s being fulfilled for artists, donors and audience. So, in thinking on this and the role of an organization, to my surprise, the same questions came up. Why do you do this? Is it only for your mission? Is it actually bigger than you? And, again, a similar conclusion. The company chose this art form - the theatre - to express ourselves through. The stage is the medium and that is where we find our imaginations flourish. In the pursuit of the art form, we have a bigger responsibility to follow its evolution.
So, in separating the two sides, I got to one idea. And I think that lands on values, as in principles, ethos, spirit, etc. What are your values as an artist, as a company? If I can keep my values in mind (and intact) as I move forward, then all will be well, I believe. Which then got me thinking about the audience. What are your values around the arts? We’ve gone quite some time without them. Do you miss them because they were a part of your life? Were they not so much a part of your life, and you feel like you missed out on something? When they come back will you re-discover, or discover, their place in your life?
This idea of values is where it becomes bigger than all of us. We all have a responsibility to ask and confront these questions, artist and audience alike. My hope, when we come back to all of it, is that we can do this together.
Peace,
Nathan Keepers
Actor and Producing Artistic Director of The Moving Company
Part 2: Open Letter from Robin Gillette
The Jungle Theater, located at the intersection of Lake and Lyndale in Minneapolis since 1991, strives to be a neighborhood theater with national impact, indispensable to our community and aspirational to the field. 2020 was a rough year that challenged us in many ways; at the same time, it inspired us to do better, to BE better.
We’ve used the intermission that COVID-19 has forced to re-evaluate what’s important to us, and two things have risen to the top:
People. Caring for our people has always been a Jungle value, and in this moment when our extended network of artists, technicians and craftspeople saw their world collapse, we’ve worked hard to support them. The Twin Cities has an amazing arts ecosystem, and if those people leave the industry, we’ve lost what makes us great. We’ve found creative ways to keep them working, honing their skills for their eventual full return.
Stories. While we’re not sitting in our 150-seat theater nowadays, we’ve found new ways to tell stories, whether that’s with virtual theater productions, audio plays, or street window displays of theatrical design. And we’re expanding the range of stories we tell – everyone deserves to see themselves represented, and hearing stories from other perspectives is the best way to break down the walls that divide us.
We will come back better, with a renewed sense of how much we love what we do. These months of isolation have emphasized how much we value coming together in community – to share space, to laugh together, to cry together. We can’t wait to welcome artists and audience back to our theater.
Robin Gillette
Managing Director at Jungle Theater
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