Institutions, ugh.

This article was reposted by a professor friend of mine. I did not notice at first that it was a few years old and so wrote a short response. Instead of posting it back to the author's blog I am throwing it all up here.

Article


Response:

While I sympathize with your complaints regarding the shape of regional theaters and their oversized staffing I cannot but ascribe it to the fate of all institutions man made. Just like our corporeal bodies, organizations bloat in the middle. Between the prime mover and necessary production labor lies middle management, always ready to swell its ranks, featherbed its position and inflate its necessity. I would welcome some of your reforms but they will be hard won, requiring a reduction of the middle--some sort of systemic weight loss program--in order to redirect resources to the actual producers of (fill in the blank). This phenomena happens across the board. Education, Government, Corporate, for profit, not-for-profit, you name it. Perhaps the real take away is to not institutionalize the art and artist. Fund the creator. Bring the necessary production machinery to bear only when needed. The lions share of the most vibrant theatrical art comes not from these large institutions but from individual writers and actors creating on their own. At least that is the case in America where the largess of the Government is non-existant. I see in your bio that you have been in positions related to granting monies. I guess that would be my suggestion. Ignore the institutions, feed the artists.