The Power of Regional Events
by Sara Freeman, LMDA President
In February, I got to travel to both the Bay Area and New York City to attend events organized by LMDA’s regional VPs in those two locations. Plus, there were also regional events in Philadelphia (hello, a new conversation series about the realities of dramaturgy in the 2020s!) and Chicago (dramaturgy powerhouse city!) and the Vice Presidents of University Relations, KJ Martinson and Dan Smith, hosted a symposium during February too, where people who teach and practice dramaturgy in higher education discussed a survey the VPs had conducted on state of the field and practical actions questions. I didn’t get to go in person to the Philly and Chicago events, but the momentum of these five gatherings has me thinking about how powerful it is when dramaturgs come together, affirm their community, and think about how to address issues that matter to them and their organizations directly.
Part of what excited me about the regional events was the way that the simple act of gathering leads to identifying and starting to address needs in a particular city or region. Jayne Wenger’s tea party in Tiburon allowed dramaturgs from across Northern California to build new connections and reaffirm old friendships but also discuss what they and the theatres in the region really need. Among the things we talked about in Jayne’s effervescent and eclectically decorated (with an impeccable dramaturgical throughline related to Jayne’s flair!) home was the state of published criticism given the reduction of newspaper reviews and changes even in online forums for publicity and discourse, and how that relates to erosion of audience bases for theatres. The group started to explore ideas about going to see shows together, providing LMDA recommendations about which shows to “run, don’t walk” to see, and other ways of broadening and deepening criticism for everyone’s benefit. That was only one of the topics discussed too! Action items were abounding. As a member service organization, LMDA ultimately hopes to also serve the whole field of theatre, and we can have measurable impact in our home geographies when we take action together.
Likewise, Katy Walker’s Second Annual Love, NYC Dramaturgs event (like Galentines Day, but for dramaturgs, I like to say) was a symposium and reception celebrating artistic collaboration. This year, the event was in Signature Theatre’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, which felt like the perfect gathering space for understanding the deep dramaturgical grounding need for the work of producing, arts advocacy, new works creation, classical revival that drives NYC theatre. The symposium had a session honoring the dramaturgical and producing career of Ira Weitzman, a specialized practices panel with Rhiannon Ling of Expand the Canon and Rewrite the BiLine and Yoni Oppenheim of 24/6: A Jewish Theatre Company, and a current collaborations panel featuring Jonathan Kalb talking about his work with Theatre for a New Audience and Cooper Howell talking about the transposition of Cats into queer ballroom culture for Cats: The Jellicle Ball as the show is poised to open on Broadway. Love, NYC Dramaturgs was live streamed on Howl Round as it was happening, and the video is archived so you can go watch the conversation on your own timeline. We always need affirmation that dramaturgy is in everything that makes theatre successful, timeless, and timely— these conversations remind us that we can and should uplift that power, especially in one of the biggest theatre cities in the world.
I know the energy was rocking in Philadelphia and Chicago too! Thank you to Liana Irvine, Heather Helinsky, Maren Robinson, and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel for that! And I know things are brewing in Mexico and Canada for local events, and more. When dramaturgs gather…… a lot of power is unleashed!
On that note, I want to say that our in-person international convening this year is specifically designed to have some the best features of a regional gathering. We’re having a retreat—an intimate, process-focused gathering — exactly so we can hold some space to just be together and see what emerges. Having just marked our 40th anniversary of founding, I am thinking of the retreat as a launching pad for the next forty years.
This year’s retreat is, for me, an especially important gathering to be at to create community and support how next generation waves of people are and are becoming the leaders in our field. I hope that wherever are reading this, you renew your membership if you haven’t yet (😀), you join us in New Haven (fill out the call for participation to show what conversations you are interested in, safe in knowing you aren’t committing to leading a group by filling out the form!), and you join in (or plan!) regional events where you are sited.
LMDA works at metropolitan, regional, national, and international levels, and we address different communities of interest and affiliation. But it all comes down to how much impact we have together, advocating for dramaturgy and dramaturgical work, and supporting each other.
