ABOUT OUR COMPANY, ABOUT YOUR COMPANY (REALLY ABOUT THE MABOU MINES COMPANY)

I was reading the new American Theatre Magazine (and I know I know, it's a bit of a theatrical cheerleader- but aren't we also? all of us spending time writing about this form?) and I couldn't help but get struck over and over again by Lee Breuer of Mabou Mines' comment about his company being a working class comapny in an avant garde that seems teaming with the wealthy (he makes specific mention to Richard Foreman in the article to base his point).

I love Mabou Mines. Love. I loved DollHouse so much- I mean I hated DollHouse for the first half hour but by the end I was in awe. That's theater- makes me want to walk out one second and then I want to hug the cast and throw them in the air the next... So, I take Mr. Breuer's words seriously. Is it more difficult for an avant garde company to come from humble beginnings? Well, obviously start up money and possible friends of influence is surely a bonus for those in cash. But I, personally, can't shake my love for theater that makes something out of nothing- that knows it's poor. That celebrates it.

I mean having a company at all is almost impossible. People want to do their own thing- they want freedom and security, roles and power but no responsibility, they want assurance and yet know that they can't have it all at the same time. We've been going through this for awhile, as I mentioned before, and the four of us fight and cry and hustle and dream (and we're just beginning our descent!). But we want to work- with one another- and we want to share what we can do, our unique perspectives- in the same way our favorite artists shared their unique perspectives. And it's that heart and dedication to the form that I like to believe brought Mabou Mines this far (though I'm sure patrons, grants, residencies and the rest helped as well).

But, in truth there seems to have been a great generosity from the "wealthy class" (what would you call them) of the avant garde in NY. Foreman's ONTOLOGICAL has supported many of my colleagues through it's Incubator and Blueprint Series' and I still have really found memories of working at Chashama and having Anita Durst let us use her living room to do fight scenes and rehearse. I loved what that woman was willing to do with a stretch of property at Times Square- inviting people in to present themselves. It shows... well it shows a wonderful belief in the human spirit. In the fact that someone could do something because they believed they could.

After all. isn't that how we (artists and the like) ended up on stage as writers, designers, directors and the like? Because we believed we could.

I guess, what I say is that the Working Class Avant Garde exists in union with the Higher Class at its best. And that this spirirt of belief and support continues in our institutions and spaces and hopefully, grows.

Idealistic and Naive, maybe. But worth achieving. I mean we're in the theater and we believe in and love it- I'd say that isn't that idealistic and naive itself?