| APN's Program Review
Why We Need Change
When APN celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2005, we realized that we could improve upon the services we offer. We felt it was important to reassess our programming to ensure we were fulfilling the mandate of the organization and meeting the needs of the province’s playwrights. Frankly, we realized our programs weren’t acting as a coherent whole.
It’s understandable. Nine years ago, Sharon Pollock became APN’s President (and later our Executive Director) undertaking a reassessment and complete overhaul of the organization’s programs. When I took over the reins from Sharon in 2001 I did the same thing; I added a few programs, deleted a few others, developed PlayWorks Ink. Now, five years further on, we realize that because our programs don’t act as a coherent whole because they weren’t developed as a coherent whole.
How We Went About It
The Canada Council for the Arts provided funds through its Flying Squad Program which allowed us to hire a professional advisor. We felt it was important to have someone who is involved with a play development organization in Canada and has intimate knowledge of the other play development organizations in the country, including APN. We turned to Ben Henderson, a professional facilitator who also happens to be a freelance director based out of Edmonton and dramaturge of the Saskatchewan Playwrights’ Centre.
Ben came down to Calgary for a three-day “get-to-know-us” session and met with met with APN’s staff and dramaturges over three days in early March. With the generous support of the Banff Centre for the Arts and Citadel Theatre our board engaged in a three-day retreat in Banff (in February 2006) and another in Edmonton (in April 2006) during which Ben facilitated an ongoing discussion amongst our board and dramaturges.
Ben suggested that before we began to review the programs it was important to begin with a discussion about the bigger picture; why we exist and who we are here to serve. The first order of business was to review our Mandate/Mission Statement.
Mission statement:
The Alberta Playwrights’ Network exists to nurture Alberta playwrights and provide support for the development of their plays. APN seeks to increase awareness of Alberta playwrights and plays in the community at large; to help Alberta plays reach their full potential; to promote Alberta playwrights and plays to the theatre community locally, nationally and internationally; to build and foster a community of playwrights; to support and encourage an infinite range of playwrights’ voices.
We then decided to examine what that Mission Statement might mean on a more practical level. What goals do we set in order to put our Mission Statement into action? (For instance, if your mission is “to make the world a better place”, how do you go about doing that? By teaching young people to swim? Or by building schools in Bangladesh?)
GOALS
• To help Alberta playwrights develop their plays
• To help Alberta playwrights refine their craft
• To develop playwrights’ inherent talents and unique visions
• To establish and maintain communication between playwrights in Alberta
• To bring playwrights in Alberta together
• To introduce playwrights and their plays to the theatre community and to the community at large
• To facilitate and encourage the production of plays by Alberta playwrights locally, nationally and internationally
• To make it possible for playwrights to write the plays they want to write
• To help playwrights stimulate and enhance the arts community
• To encourage diversity of new voices
• To speak on behalf of playwrights in Alberta
Defining these goals so carefully was a really helpful step, because they now told us what we want to do … and (just as importantly) what we don’t want to do. We were now able to measure each of our programs against our mandate and our goals, measure its effectiveness and decide what we wanted to do.
One of the first things we discovered was that our programs existed in isolation. Our programs did not lead from one to another, but rather playwrights bounced around from a one-on-one dramaturgical discussion to a workshop to a Playwrights Circle and back to a workshop then over to an Auburn Reading or Littlefest. It is hard for someone to get a sense that they are making progress or even where they stand in relation to their work or where to go next. One thing we did do well, however, was put the playwright and their play first; we always made sure to tailor our programs to meet the needs of the playwrights and we tried never to force the playwright to fit the parameters of the program.
To find out more about our Revised Development Process click here
Have Any Programs Been Eliminated?
Yes, its true that we only have limited resources and so it is true that some programs have to go. For instance, the board has determined to cancel the Write To Win Contest and roll the resources previously allocated to Write to Win into the continuum of play development process.
You can see that we have also reformatted Dialogue so that it is easier to read. This will, unfortunately, cost us more in mailing costs, and so we are offering to send Dialogue in electronic form to anyone who prefers to receive it that way.
Alberta Playwriting Competition
And you should be aware that our board is continuing to debate the Alberta Playwriting Competition and the role that it plays within our organization. We are the only non-producing Playwright Development Centre in Canada that runs a contest. The APC takes up considerable resources, costing us $22,000 in prize money and workshops at PlayWorks Ink. It is extremely difficult to justify the contest as the main determination for inclusion into PlayWorks Ink.
The Discovery Category of the APC and Student Playwriting Contest are very valuable outreach tools, but we note that only an average of 50% of the plays we are working with over the course of the year are entered in the Grand Prize. Few of our senior playwrights enter the Grand Prize; sometimes their plays are ineligible because they are scheduled for production. So we wonder if the Contest is useful as an outreach tool, and if we ought to focus our resources only on the Discovery Category.
Sometimes the play that wins the prizes is not ready for a workshop and showcase; or is even past the point of needing it. Sometimes the playwright is disinterested in the workshop and showcase, and wishes only the prize money; sometimes the reverse. It is hard for us to determine which of these competing needs the Competition meets.
Presently we are very concerned about the contest and the role it plays in your playwriting life. We wish to hear your input on its importance (or lack thereof) to you, our members.
The board has made one big decision regarding the Alberta Playwriting Competition: beginning in 2007 we will divorce PlayWorks Ink from the Alberta Playwriting Competition. Henceforth, the plays that appear at PlayWorks Ink will not necessarily be the prize-winning plays, but rather will be plays that we have been working with which have arrived at Phase Five in our development process. By the way; a play that we have been working with is more than eligible for the Alberta Playwriting Competition. So a play might very well arrive at Phase Five and win the APC simultaneously, and we may very well see that play showcased at PlayWorks Ink. The point is that it is no longer a guarantee. This allows us the greatest flexibility and allows us to meet the needs of the play.
What About Collaborations With Producing Theatres
Collaborating with producing theatres has always been difficult for APN. It always comes back to the same issue: many theatres in the province receive provincial and federal funding to develop plays, so why are they turning to APN to supplement that work? Does The Citadel or Alberta Theatre Projects really need APN to develop its plays?
On the other hand, our members are constantly telling us that they would like to see APN more involved when theatres are developing or producing their plays. Certainly the granting agencies are making it clear that they would like to see further collaborations between APN and the theatres. Collaborations increase the resources that go to the playwright, help get the works produced, create an active relationship with the companies, help Artistic Directors become familiar, interested and invested in the play, give APN credibility with AD’s, give access to theatre’s resources, and give APN traction with funding agencies.
Less tangible benefits accrue to APN and the playwright as well: it raises the profile of the playwright; it gets APN’s name out into the community, encouraging more members to join us; it can plant an awareness of the play in the mind of future audiences if there is a showcase involved; it increases awareness of the value of play development for the general public; it helps producing companies (especially the small, young independent companies with small staff) become better at play development; it serves to develop the skills of young directors as dramaturges in our province; it can leverage sponsorships by collaborating with organizations that have more clout; and it provides a useful resource to our senior writers who might otherwise see no need to turn to APN.
Rather than focusing on ambiguous negative feelings, our board asked itself a cold hard question: “what is it that we are afraid of”? We decided that we are afraid that APN would be taken advantage of by large companies; that we might serve agenda of the theatre company rather than the agenda of playwrights; that it might allows companies to move money out of their development budgets leading to reduced overall resources; that it could lead to a greater emphasis on using resources to support only produceable plays (i.e. comedies or plays by well-known authors); that it might be detrimental to plays that address challenging material.
Most importantly, we were afraid that decisions on what plays get supported might move out of our hands and become a decision made by the producers. In short, we are afraid APN could become a puppet for producing companies
The board developed the following criteria for determining if APN should collaborate with a producing theatre:
• There is advantage to the playwright
• The agenda is set in collaboration with the playwright
• It maintains or increases resources for play development at the theatre in question
• The project will improve the play’s development experience
• The decision to support a given project should be based on APN’s and the playwright’s priorities
• The return to the playwright warrants our investment
Of course, some of these criteria are impossible to judge in advance, but it gives the dramaturgical staff a point of departure for discussion and a criteria upon which to base its decisions.
How Do I Participate In This Evolving Process?
The first thing you ought to know is that we have not completed the process. It is true that we have started to implement these new programs as of September 2006, but we are doing so on a trial basis with the full knowledge that our process will evolve and develop. Just as a play is not complete without “the missing character”, this program review will not be completed until we have heard from you.
If you are interested in participating in the discussions, if you want to find out more about APN’s new programs, or if you just want to see what we can do for your play under this new model, please attend one of these information sessions:
During PlayWorks Ink
Friday November 3 @ 11 am
Scalplock Room, Glenbow Museum
During PostScripts
Friday November 17 @4:30pm
@Catalyst Theatre
I pro mise to make the information sessions as engaging as possibleOr we would be happy to hear from you individually at the office. Our contact information is on the back of this newsletter.
It is an exciting time for the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. We hope it is just as exciting for you.
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