Stock Donation from LiveWire Chicago Theatre

LiveWire Chicago is looking to donate some of the stock from our set of A Permanent Image closing May 5. Stock includes: 2 flats that are 4x8, 2 flats that are 2x8, 4 jacks at 10ft, 1 jack at 12ft, 3 platforms at smaller than stock sizes - create a entryway platform, 20 flats in non-stock sizes. Additional information available if you are interested. Pick would need to be this Sunday, May 5, after 5pm at Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph. Contact us at livewirechicago@gmail.com.

Resource Sharing – Hot Topic

On Monday the League will be hosting a discussion on resource sharing. There will be a panel discussion followed by a community brainstorming session. I think this is a starting point for discussions about new models of operating, and new ways of cooperating and sharing. There are a lot of interesting things already beginning to happen. I think that now is the time for us to examine our operating models and look for what could best serve us now and in the future. I know many of you have interesting ideas. Please join us.

The panel will consist of: Lane Alexander, co-founder and director of Chicago Human Rhythm Project was a member of Arts Bridge and is currently working on new resource sharing projects. Suellen Burns, former executive director of Arts Bridge from 1996 to 2000. Arts Bridge was the nation’s first incubator for the arts. Housed at the Atheneum, Arts Bridge served a large number of performing arts organizations. Ivan Sygoda, director of Pentacle in New York. Pentacle provides a wide variety of services to artists and arts organization including grant writing, fiscal administration, and a help desk. Pentacle largely serves the dance community.

The event will take place on Monday, March 23 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the DCA's Storefront Theater, 66 E Randolph. RSVP to ben@chicagoplays.com to attend.

Deb

Two To A Sleeping Bag

Ben Cameron spoke at the Illinois Arts Alliance Annual Meeting this past Tuesday. I can’t do justice to the metaphor he used that brings me to the title, but suffice to say that the jist of it was this – if we don’t start making changes in the way we operate, we are not all going to survive. Most of us in the room heard that message loud and clear. We need to change. It’s already hard and its going to get harder. As long as its going to get harder anyway, let’s put some of our creativity and our passion and our smarts to work and challenge ourselves to find new models for the way we create and present our art. How many of us are truly ready to let go of our old models and build anew? If we don’t, it will be done for us.

How can we change, what can we do? Well, I don’t know, nobody has the answers but we’ll never get them if we don’t start working on them. One way to think about it is to think again about sharing resources. Join us on March 23 as we tackle this difficult issue. We will have a panel discussion of some things that have worked and some things that haven’t and a brainstorming session – bring your needs, your ideas, your open minds. And, if you know someone from outside the theatre community who is open to these kinds of ideas, bring him or her as well. No limits.

Deb

Resource Sharing

I’ve been hearing a lot and thinking a lot about sharing resources during this terrible time. I love the idea. I can’t say that I know of a lot of instances in which sharing resources was tried or worked. People refer a lot to Arts Bridge, a program that had shared office space and other resources available to a number of arts organizations. I’d like to hear from anyone who participated in Arts Bridge. My understanding is that for want of a grant, the project went under. I have heard it referred to as a “flawed business model,” but it was around for 15 years. I guess any business model dependent on one grant is flawed, but how many of us are one grant away from insolvency? My guess would be more than a couple. So how can we share resources and come up with a model for sharing resources that is not dependent on funding? What kinds of resources would we share? Staff? Storage Space? Office Space? In theory we could share everything. But, I keep coming back to the same question, if it truly would increase the resources available to us, why haven’t we already done it? I don’t know the answer, but perhaps it has to do with the fact that no one has had the time to organize it. Maybe people are sharing resources and I just don’t know. Maybe it really does need funding to work, at least in the short term. Can it work? Do we want to share? What would need to happen?

Try to stay warm.

Deb