{"id":12442,"date":"2021-08-04T21:08:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T19:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=12442"},"modified":"2021-08-04T21:08:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T19:08:40","slug":"sundance-institute-releases-independent-theatre-study-conducted-by-jesse-cameron-alick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2021\/08\/04\/sundance-institute-releases-independent-theatre-study-conducted-by-jesse-cameron-alick\/","title":{"rendered":"Sundance Institute Releases Independent Theatre Study Conducted By Jesse Cameron Alick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Study provides insights about the future of the industry and the enormous challenges theater faces moving forward from over 70 theater professionals and live performance professionals
Complete study available now at emergingfromthecave.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In early 2021, nearly a year into a global pandemic, Sundance Institute commissioned Jesse Cameron Alick, the newly-appointed Associate Artistic Director for the Vineyard Theater in New York and past creator advisor to the Institute\u2019s Theater Program, to launch an in-depth field study to hear directly from theater makers about the most urgent needs of artists and the field. The commission began as part of the Institute\u2019s effort to re-imagine its own work in the field of theater and live performance. The report that resulted yielded the work published today: Emerging from the Cave: Reimagining Our Future in Theater and Live Performance<\/em>, available at emergingfromthecave.com. \u00a0

The Institute has supported theater and live performance artists through lab and residency programs since 1984, and since the 2019 departure of longtime program director Philip Himberg, has been in a transition, assessing and tailoring programs to best meet the field\u2019s needs. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a contraction of the Institute\u2019s programs, including the theater program, with support of these artists continuing on in different forms through a new Interdisciplinary Program.

Between January and April 2021, Alick interviewed over 70 artists, administrators, donors and leaders from around the world about their experiences during the pandemic with the Black Lives Matter uprising and the summer\u2019s racial equity reckoning; what they learned, what they lost, the state of the industry now and their thoughts on how to bring the field back in a stronger, more equitable and more vibrant way. With people starting to emerge from their caves, this study is a snapshot of where theater and live performance stand more than a year after current constrictions began, and a road map from some of the most creative and visionary\u00a0 minds in the field: a possible compass for the future.

\u201cWe are beginning a conversation that we hope artists, funders, and organizations will continue in order to provoke new modes of support. We understand that some of these issues are not solvable by arts organizations alone. In fact, we feel strongly that a lot of the solutions need to originate from places outside the institutions,\u201d said Keri Putnam<\/strong>, CEO, Sundance Institute. \u201cWe are inspired by the common themes, the provocations, the power of collective action that is embedded in these calls to action from across the field. We hope people will read, discuss, and engage with the conversation started in this study, presented and collected by Jesse Alick.\u201d

\u201cWhen the pandemic hit, I truly didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d said Jesse Cameron Alick<\/strong>. \u201cI saw my industry fall apart overnight and the art I love rendered impotent as all my friends immediately went on unemployment. A way out felt impossible. But when summer hit and we poured into the streets in the Black Lives Matter protests, a conversation about the future of the field started which I found comfort and hope in. I started to listen to people much smarter than myself. With the help and support of Sundance Institute, this study is the result of that journey. It belongs to the great arts workers that I interviewed but in a very real way it also charts the way I found my way out of darkness and into possibility.\u201d\u00a0

The independent study conducted with industry professionals from around the globe features 40 women; 34 men; and 2 gender-nonconforming individuals, with a total of 5 trans participants. And 72% BIPOC artists are represented with 22 identifying as Black; 21 White; 13 Latinx; 9 AAPI; 5 MENA; 3 South Asian; and 3 Native\/Indigenous.

The list of artists, leaders, donors and administrators interviewed include Abdullah AlKafri, Oscar Cabrera, Mark-Wing Davey, Eisa Davis, Ty Defoe, Dr. Carl, Nataki Garret, Osh Ghanimah, Ricardo Perez Gonzalez, Maria Goyanes, Mara Isaacs, Michael R. Jackson, Mike Lew, Daniel Alexander Jones, Raja Feather Kelly, Jenny Koons, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Jim Nicola, Lynn Nottage, Robert O\u2019Hara, Martha Redbone, Diana Son, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ralph Pena, Indhu Rubasingham, Shaina Taub, Liesl Tommy, Jose Luis Valenzuela, Hana Sharif, Whitney White, Chay Yew and many more.

\u201cThis study is an invaluable resource,\u201d said Tony Award Winner and Sundance Institute Board of Trustees Member<\/strong> Lisa Kron<\/strong>. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking for clues to the road forward for our unsettled field, I highly recommend a deep dive into the lucidly rendered interviews here, which contain a wealth of observation, insight, and analysis from practitioners from across the forefront of contemporary theater.\u201d

The interviews, recorded via one-hour Zoom sessions, helped Sundance Institute and Alick identify four key themes from the participants:
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1. Collective Leadership<\/strong>
2. Holistic Artist Support<\/strong>
3. Digital Theater and Hybrid Futures<\/strong>
4. Field Ideation<\/strong>

HIGHLIGHTS:<\/u><\/strong>
Alick found in these interviews that there were many things people agreed on \u2014 especially the notion that during this time period, artists have been innovating like never before. The interviewees also expressed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n