by NEXT Lead Editors Stephanie Lash Kilpatrick and Kassie Misiewicz

Stephanie writes:

We confess it: original drafts of these opening letters were, well, negative. As we TYA groupies are prone to, there were overtones of perfectionism and self-criticism when we thought about innovation in the field. Self-flagellation reigned: We’re not being innovative enough. We’re succumbing to financial pressures. We’ve lost our creative way. Bad, bad theatre practitioners.

We can be as hard on ourselves as we want, but the truth is that we’re forced to be innovative – we just can’t help it. We may not realize those creative breakthroughs, but in reality, nobody can work in this business and adhere to a formula. It doesn’t work like that. We’re innovative all the time – because we have to be.

Like many of you, I wake up every morning overjoyed that I’m not chained behind a desk, formulaically copying the same actions as the day before. The downside of that, of course, is that there’s so much more room for curveballs. And when they’re thrown, we adapt to the situation. Aha! Innovation!

Before we criticize ourselves for not being quite as innovative as we could possibly be, we must take a step back and look at the work that’s being done. You think it’s not innovative to figure out a way to sell an original piece of theatre without a known title to a school district? You think it’s not innovative to mount a full-scale production with no budget to speak of? You think it’s not innovative to find a way to feed your family on what you make in TYA?

So reach around and give yourself a pat on your back first, and then sit back and read this issue. And if it inspires you, there’s always tomorrow for a bit more innovation.

-SLK

Kassie writes:

In a field that thrives on new methods to theatrically engage young people, I suppose innovation is a key ingredient…but what is innovation? How do you recognize it when you see it?

I often think about our international ASSITEJ friends who can spend an entire year developing one play due to financial support from their governments. While much of their work is inspiring, is it innovative? Do time and funding breed innovation?

What about those small theatre companies that squeak through each year? Those companies barely keep the debtors at bay, but they still create wonderful moments on stage. Does adversity breed innovation?

With a 10-month old daughter, a new theatre company and freelance teaching, it might seem that I hardly have time for my creative self. Finding the space to be a mom, managing artistic director and teacher has forced me to be what I believe is innovative.  Playing with my daughter allows me to explore new ways to engage a child’s imagination. I am discovering that infusing entrepreneurial ideas into our company’s budget allows us to stretch our creative selves on stage. Challenging myself to reinvent my classroom curricula, I am creating even more teachable moments - those pearls of opportunity that directors strive to uncover during the rehearsal process.

In the newest edition of NEXT, several of our colleagues explore this notion of innovation – what it looks like, feels like and tastes like.  David Kilpatrick goes in search for inspiration at the ASSITEJ-International Congress in Montreal and asks 10 ten Congress participants from all over the world about their biggest creative challenges. New and emerging playwrights talk about what factors play a role in their process to develop relevant and engaging work. And NEXT folk from all over the US share their most memorable innovative performance experiences.

NEXT is all about exploration and discovery. After all, we theatre folk are process-oriented people.  I think that it is in the process to understand our relationship with innovation that our craft is revealed. Innovation is always there, we just have to find the time to see it – and believe.

-Kassie

Stephanie Lash Kilpatrick is a freelance drama teaching artist, dramaturg and writer in Philadelphia, PA  slkilpatrick@gmail.com

Kassie Misiewicz is Managing Artistic Director of TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, AR kassie@theatresquared.org