Almost a year ago to the day, I spent a month in Chicago courtesy of the hospitality of one Dan Granata. One of our recurring topics of conversation (as we ate, travelled the el-train or ran laps) was the short-term memory of theatre communities: not just in recalling our success stories, but in tracking the experiments, alternatives and productive failures.
We speculated that that short memory span (enhanced by a regular turn-over of fresh blood arriving in theatre cities) manifested in a reliance on what were perceived to be “tried and tested” models for making theatre. There was a collectively selective memory that returned to a certain kind of company model even if it burnt out more often than it achieved long-term success and stability.
To put it simply, we were missing out on the chance to learn from our own stories. We were maybe even missing out on a chance to cherish those stories, both pragmatically and as a culture of theatre makers.
I’ll admit that – with perfect irony – I began to let those conversations drift to the back of my mind: I went back to teaching at Glasgow, working a Fringe show and then moved to Wales to start a new academic post.
Dan didn’t forget, and spent the best part of the year moving towards Theatre That Works. From his introduction:
Welcome to Theatre That Works, a site about theatre in the City that Works.
Through interviews, essays and regular features, we aim to tell the story of the city’s stages through the eyes of the artists who work there.
It’s about getting up at 6 am, working all day, getting on the train, rehearsing all night, crashing into bed and getting up to do it again.
It’s about figuring out how to ask the question that cracks the whole thing open when you’re opening in three days, everybody’s tired and nobody’s getting paid enough.
It’s about figuring out who’s going to photocopy the programs and who’s going to clean the costumes.
It’s about that moment when you figure out how to turn a 30ft by 30ft disused storefront into a cherry orchard out of little more than the cash in your pocket and the lint that’s next to it. And it’s about making that cherry orchard again years later with a budget and a team of carpenters.
It’s about the talk at Simon’s and Konak and the Spot and Four Moon.
It’s about the stories, on stage and off. It’s about the audiences. It’s about the conversation that’s been going on long before we got here and will continue long after we leave.
In short, it’s the making of theatre in Chicago. And who makes it. And how. And why.
Go and take a look.
Update July 2010: Theatre That Works has been shuttered to make way for Dan’s other projects (including his role as Managing Director at The Side Project). The original domain now has a new owner.
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