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Organizational Models

There are many different kinds of theatre organizations, and content in this section explores the diversity of models. Dive in with essays on shared leadership and restructuring a company as a worker’s cooperative.

The Latest

Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model
Essay
Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model
by Scott Walters, Munroe Shearer
27 February 2024
That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
Essay
That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
by Chris Myers
5 February 2024
How Pay As You Are Changed Theater Mu
Essay
How Pay As You Are Changed Theater Mu
by Lianna Matt McLernon, Wesley Mouri, Anh Thu Pham
27 November 2023
This is About Us, Not About You
Essay

This is About Us, Not About You

A Call for Action

19 September 2015

Seth Lepore challenges the field to think radically differently about our current paradigm.

The Orchestrated Collisions of Jim Houghton
Essay

The Orchestrated Collisions of Jim Houghton

19 September 2015

Fran Kumin in conversation with Signature Theatre’s outgoing artistic director, Jim Houghton.

The Sustainable Temporary
Essay

The Sustainable Temporary

An Interview with Andy Field of Forest Fringe

10 September 2015

Patrick Gaughan interviews Andy Field, co-director of Forest Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Wolves at Your Door
Essay

Wolves at Your Door

Producing Intimate Theatre in Intimate Spaces

6 September 2015

Playwright Paul Heller describes his process for self-producing his current work in living rooms and nursing homes.

Promise Me You Won’t Start an Arts Nonprofit
Essay

Promise Me You Won’t Start an Arts Nonprofit

28 August 2015

Seth Lepore lays out the pros and cons of fiscal sponsorship versus becoming a non-profit for small arts groups or individuals.

Confessions of a Convert
Essay

Confessions of a Convert

22 August 2015

Lisa Portes on the power of shared leadership and collective action as embodied by the Latinx Theatre Commons.

The Full Service Theatre—What We’ve Learned at Civic Ensemble
Essay

The Full Service Theatre—What We’ve Learned at Civic Ensemble

20 August 2015

Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. writes about the discoveries made by Civic Ensemble in Ithaca, NY.

Facing Facts
Essay

Facing Facts

Artists Need an Entrepreneurial Mindset Part 2

2 August 2015

Seth Lepore continues the conversation on entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial mindset for artists.

How To Start Your Own Experimental Theatre Company
Essay

How To Start Your Own Experimental Theatre Company

30 July 2015

The Lamplighter Productions collective describes their process for founding their company, and shares the lessons they’ve learned.

New Plays and the Destructive Cult of Virginity
Essay

New Plays and the Destructive Cult of Virginity

15 July 2015

Playwright Carolyn Gage questions the accepted definition of a “new play” as one that is unpublished and unproduced, arguing that these standards punish entrepreneurial playwrights who choose to self-publish or self-produce.

Building Your Identity and Fan Base Like a Metal Band
Essay

Building Your Identity and Fan Base Like a Metal Band

13 July 2015

In this installation, Seth Lepore compares theatre artists to metal bands, and realizes theatre artists have a lot they can learn.

Radical Hospitality in Conversation
Essay

Radical Hospitality in Conversation

Mixed Blood Theatre and Pillsbury House Theatre

17 June 2015

Mixed Blood Artistic Director Jack Reuler talks to Pillsbury House Theatre Co-Artistic Directors Faye Price and Noël Raymond about the successes and challenges of removing cost as a barrier to theatre attendance. 

Independent Theatre in Hungary
Essay

Independent Theatre in Hungary

dunaPart Budapest

30 May 2015

Iulia Popovici examines the state of independent work in Hungary during dunaPart, an organized showcase of mostly theatre and dance.

Self-Production
Essay

Self-Production

The Viable Route For Playwrights

23 May 2015

Playwright and co-founder of Boston Public Works Theater Company John Greiner-Ferris discusses the rewards and challenges that have come with self-producing.

From Crisis to Creation in New York City
Essay

From Crisis to Creation in New York City

Time to Buy In

28 April 2015

Brad Burgess reflects on artists working with service organizations, and how important it is for artists to come together to face economic challenges.

Playwrights in LA and the Whole 99-Seat Thing
Essay

Playwrights in LA and the Whole 99-Seat Thing

12 April 2015

LA playwright Jon Caren discusses the theatrical Renaissance that’s currently happening in LA regardless of the 99-seat theater debate.

Facing Facts
Essay

Facing Facts

Artists Have to be Entrepreneurs

12 April 2015

Seth Lepore talks about gaining the skills to self-produce and theatre artists as entrepreneurs.

Panel Gentrification & Business at The N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art
Video

Panel Gentrification & Business at The N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art

Thursday 19 March 2015
Detroit, MI, United States

The N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art in Detroit presented the panel discussion Gentrification & Business livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 19 March at 3 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York). In Twitter, follow @NNamdiCenter, and use #howlround.

The Crowdfunding Conundrum
Essay

The Crowdfunding Conundrum

Using a Co-opted Model That Has Already Reached the Tipping Point

6 March 2015

In the first post of his series, Seth Lepore looks at crowdfunding, how to keep it relevant, who is actually donating, and the kind of immediacy it provides.

Great Art is Local
Essay

Great Art is Local

Playwright Deborah Salem Smith Interviews Curt Columbus, Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory Company

4 March 2015

Deborah Salem Smith, playwright-in-residence at Trinity Repertory Company interviews Curt Columbus, Artistic Director of Trinity Rep.

An Excerpt from All the Lights On
Essay

An Excerpt from All the Lights On

Reimagining Theater with Ten Thousand Things

2 March 2015

All the Lights On is a history of the Twin Cities’ theatre company Ten Thousand Things. Published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in association with HowlRound.

A Conversation Between Two Ensembles: SITI Company and Double Edge Theatre
Video

A Conversation Between Two Ensembles: SITI Company and Double Edge Theatre

Thursday 5 February 2015
Ashfield, MA, United States

Double Edge Theatre in rural Ashfield, Massachusetts presented A Conversation Between Two Ensembles: SITI Company and Double Edge Theatre  livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 5 February at 6 p.m. EST (Montreal) / 5 p.m. CST (Austin) / 3 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 23:00 GMT (London). 

The Privilege of Privilege
Essay

The Privilege of Privilege

1 February 2015

David Copelin, self-identified member of the “cottontop demographic,” considers how his privilege might affect his artistic choices and his responsibility to that privilege.

Does Size Matter?
Essay

Does Size Matter?

25 January 2015

Seth Rozin says let large theatres do what they do best—be large—and encourage playwrights to cultivate relationships with mid-size and small theatres.

The Case for Long-Term Playwright Residencies
Essay

The Case for Long-Term Playwright Residencies

21 January 2015

Playwright Deborah Salem Smith discusses the benefits of being a long-term playwright in residence at Trinity Repertory Company.