If you received your invitation to the launch party for Winding Road Ensemble, you might have noticed, if you are like me, that thirteen(!) people are inviting you. Why do I think this is so great? Because most theatre organizations are started by one, two, three or maybe four people. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that - but if you long to witness a real theatre, an ensemble of like minded folk who continuously train and prepare themselves individually and collectively to present works that bespeak their experiences, well, you need some bodies! And Winding Road apparently has them. And, if memory serves, they will be presenting a play by one of their very own. More wonderful news there. I cannot and would not pretend to speak for Winding Road of course, but right off the bat they seem to have all the inherent traits that set a real theatre apart from a mere producing organization. When I say producing organization, think Arizona Theatre Company. They have a permanent group of administrators who oversee individual productions consisting of various unrelated artists and works. Each show is a piecemeal endeavor with actors jobbed in to fill roles solely for a particular show. The administrators view their organization as having the same function and responsibility as a museum, e.g., presenting classic or "professional" work to a wide audience. Actors, whose very home should be in the theatre, are just temporary and usually one-time visitors there. In contrast, a real theatre company grows and nurtures its own artists over time, actors, writers and directors, with a conscious and deliberate effort, working in specific relationship with one another.
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