Whence from the Academy?

For theatrical educators, especially in towns with a developing indigenous theatre community and numerous theatrical education programs, the question that often crops up from students, and which the educator might ask himself from time to time, is "where to from here?" Undergraduates who are not bound for a graduate program, and Graduates who are coming from anything other than a well-connected conservatory, is going to be faced with the difficult challenge of finding work. As Dr. John Hanners of Texas A&M University- Commerce once said, finding anything is a challenge, but it is worth it because one is "in theatre" no matter how poorly it pays.

While this is laudatory, and The Savannah Dramaturgy is inclined to agree, the necessities of modern life invariably assert themselves. Our actors (since the grand majority of them are actors) need to eat, and be shod, housed, and medically looked after. And, unfortunately, they wind up waiting tables, stocking shelves, or doing less savory things for the requisite cash. And, mores the pity, should they get theatrical work, then they often must abandon their "day" job in the name of their career... and as such the cycle perpetuates. Keep in mind that Actor's Equity, a trade union, boasts an 80% unemployment rate as an accomplishment.

So, my eager students, I fear I cannot answer that question well. The obvious suspects (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) are all possibilities. But The Savannah Dramaturgy joins with Theatre Ideas in recommending an idea a little closer to home. Many cities have the sufficient size and infrastructure to support a theatre! Thespians need to spread out! Sure, Sioux City and Kalamazoo aren't the most glamourous of places... but they still have audiences that need contacting! They still seek truth and art (all except perhaps Lubbock, TX... which I am convinced is primarily populated by refugee Visigoths).

Such an action might not lead to immediate stardom. Indeed, it most likely will not. Yet, many of the regional theatres in smaller and more marginal population centres have produced major work. How I Learned To Drive (Pulitzer Winner) was developed at the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau. Anna in the Tropics (also a Pulitzer Winner) originally came from Coral Gables! There is, at the very least, a better chance at recognition in a smaller town. You might not break into stardom in Juneau, but you definitely will not waiting tables at Yazoos in the Village.

Which brings us, dear reader, back to education. Most of modern theatrical education, unfortunately, is training our students for an industry that does not really desire their presence. Competition is too high, investment is too important. We must begin to teach our aspiring thespians not only skills for survival (something which this writer is still deeply indebted to Marcus Olson and Jeff DeVincent for) but also for artistic leadership. Lessing sought a theatre where even the "candle snuffer" was a Garrick. And educators must take those steps to prepare them. Not only must they know what to do, but why and how it is to be done.

While The Savannah Dramaturgy differs with Theatre Ideas on the desirability of the tribal structure, we are in agreement that we must spread out. As we all, intellectually, sprang generations ago from Yale and George Pierce Baker, we must push for a further expansion. Which leads me to once again lay a challenge at the feet of the city of Savannah. A sustainable, professional, indigenous theatre community is needed, and needed sorely. Reach.