A Message from Heather Helinsky, VP of Membership

In this season of my life as a mid-career dramaturg, I travel a lot for work. While travel can be exhausting, what re-energizes me is that wherever I go, I can find an LMDA member. With each and every conversation with a member, I am reminded of the ideals of this organization. The solitary-seeming work of dramaturgy is not so lonely. Our membership demonstrates constantly that the work of dramaturgy is visible and it can be identified, quantified, and valued. We are all colleagues mentoring, educating, and inspiring each other by sharing our individual practice. Through LMDA events and programs, I’ve had the honor of encountering members across the LMDA regions (U.S., Mexico, and Canada) who are doing outstanding artistic work, and LMDA is a space where we can celebrate that work communally.

During my recent travels, a long-time LMDA member saw me in a theater lobby and (jokingly or not), immediately felt guilty for not renewing their yearly membership yet. I hope, if I do see you virtually or in person, you do not feel that guilt from me. That’s not why I volunteered to do this role for LMDA; I’m not a guilt monster. For me, the reasons why I raised my hand to do this position for the community are as follows:

• The times we are working in are difficult, challenging, and not equitable.
• The dramaturgy jobs are scarce and or under-resourced.
• The ongoing dramaturgy job search for many is disheartening.

Yet, whenever I encounter a member in a theater lobby or some other liminal, transitory space, my heart soars with possibilities of how to tackle the challenges of this moment. My mind’s ignited with new ideas of how to solve problems. Whether this sounds too optimistic or not, I truly believe that this community’s very existence pushes the field forward towards a more accessible, more equitable industry.

The LMDA leadership team over the course of the pandemic also had to grapple with the balance of the economic realities of the organization, while considering the realities of job loss and economic hardship members face.

In 2023, we surveyed members and approximately 10% of our 500+ members responded. 50% of the survey respondents have been members for three or more years. Two clear recurring themes in these responses were indicative of economic hardship: that they highly valued LMDA’s job board and other employment resources, and that what keeps them engaged in spite of lack of jobs are the people within LMDA.

Some reflections that were shared last year were:

• “Flexible membership rates made things more accessible. I’m still not quite sure how to best utilize LMDA’s resources with what’s going on in my career and interests but having it available to me at a low cost has already introduced and reintroduced me to several local people.”
• “I currently derive no income from dramaturgy, so would probably drop out if there wasn’t a sliding scale.”
• “I am currently an early career professional trying to navigate the post-pandemic world and am finding it incredibly hard to make a living financially, even with seeking jobs outside of a dramaturgical niche. The accessible rate helps people like me stay part of things.”

A working group was formed last year to listen to members’ concerns. As one of the participants in this working group, I took notes on the subtext and spirit about shifting the language of how we frame LMDA Membership Tiers.

Here’s my more informal dramaturg’s notebook reflections of the new Membership Tiers:

Investment Membership: $200 ($16.66/mo.)

Naming and making visible what some LMDA members are already doing: members who can afford it can cover other members. Many of us here began our LMDA membership journey because another member paid their membership fees. This level is for you if you are doing okay financially and then see someone you know with the talent and interest in dramaturgy and have thought, “You belong here in LMDA, come play with us.”

True Cost Membership: $150 ($12.50/mo.)

This tier speaks to the value of accountability. LMDA has continued to evolve to meet the needs of members, which in recent years, has been increasing the number of programs year-round to support members through difficult times, as well as grants and financial resources members can access. If you’re excited about our abundance of year-round programs and grant opportunities, select this tier!

Reduced Membership: $100 ($8.33/mo.)

LMDA leadership deeply listened to the LMDA surveys and collective knowledge we have about the employment challenges the wider field is still facing. This tier is within reach for members who paid at the Individual level in recent years and can steadily support the structure of LMDA’s many programs.

Accessible Membership: $15-$95 ($2.08 - $7.92/mo.)

No one interested in being a part of this community will be denied a membership, and this level begins at $15 with a flexible sliding scale in increments of $10. Members are empowered with the choice to enter the community at whatever rate works best for them. It doesn’t matter where your dramaturgy career and interests are, you can still receive all the resources LMDA has to offer!

Institutional Membership: $300 ($25/mo.)

LMDA also continues our practices of asking Institutions to cover multiple dramaturgs at a discounted rate. New for this year, we are offering a package of advertising opportunities in LMDA’s newsletter and social media.

LMDA will always offer ways of making the barrier of cost accessible — and I know I needed it as a freelancer for many years. If you want to join at a specific membership level and installment payments are helpful, contact Lindsey Barr at admin@lmda.org.

I hope these reflections can be helpful for determining your own choice to renew your membership. Always feel free to email me at membership@lmda.org if you have questions about the new Membership Tiers. The most powerful resource of LMDA is the web of relationships within LMDA. May 2024 be a year where we can build new pathways forward together.

Finally, here’s a few anonymized reflections from members who shared in this year’s membership survey:

• “I appreciate the work done to create more access to this community.”
• “I think it’s vital that LMDA continues to offer low pay access points for membership. I live in a college town and am surrounded by early-career folx. In order to continue to stay relevant and non-exclusive we need multiple, free and low-cost access points.”
• “I think these membership levels make sense to me. I just wish there was more we could do about compensation for dramaturgs on the whole!”
• “I like the ongoing attempt to find a way to make this work.”
• “I respect LMDA for attending to accessibility in a transparent way and thoughtfully putting together these tiers.”

Heather Helinsky (she/her) is a literary manager and freelance dramaturg based in Philadelphia. Past chapters of her regional theatre dramaturgical life were spent in Pittsburgh, Tucson, Boston, NYC, Washington, D.C., Omaha, and Denver, and travels regularly. Since 2019, has been the Literary Manager for Playwrights Foundation (Bay Area Playwrights Festival and PF’s Resident Playwrights Program) and the Jewish Plays Project’s National Jewish Playwriting Contest, concurrently. Eighteen years of experience as a professional dramaturg, specifically in the area of new play dramaturgy for development centers like O’Neill, GPTC, Seven Devils, NNPN, PlayPenn, the Lark and Sundance Theatre Lab. She also enjoys mentoring KCACTF dramaturgs and reading new plays for the Kennedy Center’s many programs and awards. Currently VP of Membership for LMDA and past LMDA work as VP of Freelance on the Dramaturging the Phoenix team planning team. MFA in Dramaturgy and Theatre Studies from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard in 2007, and participated in the O’Neill’s National Critics Institute in 2016.