http://divergencevocaltheater.org/Blog/ Blog! at Divergence Vocal Theater | DVT http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/misha-news-transformation http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/misha-news-transformation#When:23:26:28Z Exciting developments on the Everything Misha front!
 This month, I’m embarking on a major recording project a KUFH: Elliot Cole’s setting of my libretto, Selkie, a sea tale. The work is scored for voice, piano and cello, and pianist Kyle Evans and cellist Patrick Moore are joining me on the recording; expect a release party in the fall of 2012! I’m also spearheading the direction and production of a music video to accompany one of the songs from Selkie, with the first filming sessions in Houston and Portland, Oregon this month. In February, I’m singing with The Foundation for Modern Music at the Rothko Chapel, and I’m joining Lone Star College Montgomery’s choral department for an artist residency. In June, Klytemnestra (composer Dominick DiOrio’s setting of my libretto) remounts at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and I have exciting collaborations with composers Thomas Helton and George Heathco on the horizon. More transformation is afoot!: most of you know that a over a year ago, I set out on an experimental journey to create a new arts space for my collaborative music performance work and for multi-artists in the Houston area. Divergence Music & Arts at Spring St Studios was born. The space embodied my vision for a non-traditional, site-specific performance environment, and it embraced the funky, industrial architecture of Spring St Studios. I produced two major chamber opera-theater works in the space: Klytemnestra, my collaboration with composer Dominick DiOrio; and Autumn Soiree, an evening of art song, opera, new music, puppetry, poetry and dance. The space served as a facility for several film projects; for events by the Feldenkrais Center of Houston and AIDS Foundation Houston; for performances by composers Chris Becker and Thomas Helton; for the premiere performance of the Houston Heights Orchestra; and for the world premier performances of theater artist Brandy Holmes’ devised theater work. Drum roll!: I’m thrilled to announce Starke Naked Theatre Company, Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company, and The Classical Theatre Company’s transition into the roles of directors and proprietors of the space. I’m grateful to have been a part of launching a new performance space in Houston, and I believe these three outstanding companies will infuse the space with their own vision, and bring continued artistic vitality to the venue under its new name, Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios. These are exciting times for me and for Houston arts. I’m a transformational artist at heart, and I embrace the journey of my creative process, wherever that may lead. In the coming year you’ll hear about the launch of Misha Penton Performance as well as the continued growth of Divergence Vocal Theater. I’m always developing new pieces, and I continue to work project to project, so I’ll keep you posted!  M 2012-01-06T23:26:28+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/buh-bye-2011-thanks-for-the-ride http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/buh-bye-2011-thanks-for-the-ride#When:18:29:30Z Thank you, Universe, for all the support and love of family, friends, and co-conspirators! The year squeals by fastfastfast; as gratefulness abounds, here’s my 2011 in review: A performance piece I conceived based on French art songs, poetry and dance with Joanna Whitsett, Meg Brooker and Miranda Herbert: Voix et Harpe, premieres at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Sang a few notes and danced a Scottish jig with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus in Donizetti’s Lucia Lammermoor, directed by the inimitable and soft spoken John Doyle. Almost catastrophically missed a scene entrance that might have been an historic Chorister Ruins Big Production. Check. Art directed way cool promo photoshoot with photographer Kerry Beyer and stylist Serret Jensen for my collaborative opera work Klytemnestra, a setting of my libretto by composer, Dominick DiOrio. Designed the build out for the beautiful and funky livingroom-esque performance space, Divergence Music & Arts at Spring St Studios, built by Dave Nickerson and Devon Nickerson. The space opens with a monster soiree blessed by singers, dancers, musicians, actors, etc!: Meg Brooker, Amy Guerin, Alison Greene, Hsin-Jung Tsai, Chris Becker, Dennis Arrowsmith, Shelley Auer, Lainie Diamond, Michael Walsh, Natasha Manley and Kyle Evans. Klytemnestra enjoys its standing room only world premiere at Divergence Music & Arts with Kyle Evans, Meredith Harris, Meg Brooker, Miranda Herbert and John Harvey. I sang and played with pals Kyle Evans, Alison Greene, Michael Walsh, Natasha Manley and Valerie Hartzell at Rothko Chapel Houston. We recorded Klytemnestra with Chris Bourque at Lone Star College Montgomery’s crazy-amazing new concert hall. I art directed another way cool promo photoshoot for Divergence’s Autumn Soiree with photographer Kerry Beyer and stylist Serret Jensen, and costumes by Goth Goddess, Kambriel. Alison Green and moi model spooktacularly. Our haunting Autumn Soiree premieres at Divergence Music & Arts with dance and puppetry; with moi and Alison Greene; composer, George Hearthco; actor, Jon Harvey; dancer, Meg Brooker; puppetry of Kelly Switzer; pianist, Jeremy Wood; and Mini Timmaraju, tabla. I skied Colorado for 3 weeks, praying for snow. None fell. Planning January 2012 recording at KUHF of Elliot Cole’s setting of my libretto, Selkie, a sea tale. Buh-bye, 2011 & thanks for the ride! M 2011-12-31T18:29:30+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/dancing-with-dionysus http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/dancing-with-dionysus#When:13:50:00Z “...every scene from real life and from the world...individual pictures of human life, set to the universal language of music, are never bound to it, never correspond to it with absolute necessity, but relate to it only as an example relates to a universal concept” (Nietzsche). A finger pointing to the moon, then, oui?:   a song’s poem wraps itself round a singer’s voice timbre pitch shape of phrase dynamic rush and hush spill and pull to the next measure to the next measure to the next measure to the next shadows stretch from honey wood floor to ceiling translucent black on brick a deluge of bodyform span space and the gentle gentle pull pull push of bow strings across reds shimmershimmershimmer texture crinklecrinkle smoothsmooth swoosh branching patterns of light and dark on old pine grain beneath feet with the crash and shudder thunder of hands on keys hammers thrash strings golden light outlines a tableau trinity of female figures and the sharp rasp influx of gasp each sound not an illustration of phenomenon not an accompaniment to phenomenon: “music differs from all the other arts in that it is not a copy of the phenomenon ...but...the true nature of all things... the thing-in-itself to every phenomenon” (Nietzsche)   ~ Misha   ------------------------------------- Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music. Trans. Shawn Whiteside. Ed. Michael Tanner. London: Penguin, 1993. Kindle Edition. 2011-05-05T13:50:00+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/dealing-with-the-dark-goddess http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/dealing-with-the-dark-goddess#When:16:16:27Z (from March 2011) She is Wild. She is cunning, her name: “Klytemestra (‘famous cunning’)” (Komar 28). She is volatile. She is fierce. She takes a toll on my body and my voice. I am unaccustomed to using my speaking voice in performance and the stamina required of a non-singing actor is challenging. Every bit of my vocal technique is put to test to embody her. I’m used to extensive periods of singing but not of speaking. I speak for about fifteen minutes, total, in the play, and I’m onstage for an hour and a half: pacing, focused, pensive, waiting, lurking, baiting, praying, pleading, ravenous, daring, possessing, vengeful, joyous, healing, cathartic. I open deeply into the earth and my breath connects me to every moment, to every step, to every movement. Under each word my breath rises, swells, releases and reconnects to the ritual of focus, of theater. Klytemnestra the Woman is desperate, plotting, steeped in pain. She is fodder for the peoples’ gossip and as disbelieved as the seeress, Kassandra. She also knows she must preserve her position of power, but power hungry is a simplistic and disparaging brand upon Klytemnestra. Her choices are few. Abducted by Agamemnon from her former husband and her homeland, she is used by him to secure a larger geographic region of power for the family of Atreus. If a man no longer controls the house, what will become of her? Her position of power is her self-preservation. Klytemnestra the Dark Goddess is Gaia, Chaos, Supreme Female Justice. I refuse Klytemnestra the victim. I refuse Klytemnestra the whore. I refuse Klytemnestra the weak, grieved mother. I refuse any dualistic treatment of her. I embrace and aspire to embody her as Mother Right, Klytemnestra Supreme Justice. She stands against the polis, against the emerging male ordered, linear, dualistic state, against the forming patriarchy that will define our culture (for women and men) for thousands of years after her time. “Klytemnestra represents the feminist cause par excellence. Her story is really the story of the struggle of the female, blood right against the founding of male, rational law and the establishment of patriarchy” (Komar 26). If Klytemnestra refuses roles thrust upon her, then she (Everywoman) emerges whole, “spacious, singing flesh, on which is grafted no one knows which I, more or less human, but alive because of transformation” (Cixous 18). There is enormous freedom in metamorphosis so complete that a return to the previous form is impossible, nothing is left of the former incarnation: She is. Cixcousian Being who stands not in reaction to--- not as a secondary part of--- not as the Other Half of--- She is Non-Dualistic --- herself alone, essence of wholeness: She possesses the inherent potential of subversive expressivity in body, voice and word, and thus the power to entirely restructure the male paradigm of society. “To life she refuses nothing. Her language does not contain, it carries; it does not hold back, it makes possible” (Cixous 18). Komar asserts that Klytemnestra’s use of words is a subversive act. Her labyrinthine speech and insistence on the use of her language in her own way are “dangerous to a society that must depend on successful exchanges of women and words” (34). In my libretto for Klytemnestra, I highlight the “Tapestry Scene”, a central moment in the play, when upon Agamemnon’s return from war, Klytemnestra brings out the sacred tapestries of the house. Through her influence and a shaming of Agamemnon’s own weaknesses, she goads him into walking into the house on the laid tapestries, a sacrilege that entraps her “little silver fish” (Harvey 59). I imagine Klytemnestra as a master weaver herself (Arachne comes to mind, of course), and she and her women are the artisans of the prized tapestries. In the warp and weft of the cloths is buried an incantation of what she must do, and with his steps onto the fabric, Agamemnon knows the tapestries ensnare him: I weave into the sting and pulse of Night At my loom Strand to strand, ties and knots, lash and strap, warp and weft, dyes and breaths Patterns, figures revealed Open! My oracle: the distaff yielding to its sister axis spinning What once was perfect, still, placid, pure I make balanced complete essential primitive whole: Mine Myself the design: in each thread, twist and braid Every fiber river soaked, blood inspired: washed in the surge the waning moon draws from me, a supplication collected in tender swells along my thighs How flawless and bare I am, wrapped in my creation And my love? He will softly step upon these: my finest silks, a flood over our threshold. He returns I await (from my libretto for Klytemnestra) Weaving Aria Rehearsal Video. Rehearsal. April 3, 2011. (if the video plays upside-down, please try a different internet browser!) Divergence Vocal Theater. Misha Penton, artistic director, soprano, writer of sung words. John Harvey, writer of spoken words. Dominick DiOrio, composer. Meg Brooker, dancer. Miranda Herbert, actor. Kyle Evans, piano. Meredith Harris, viola. In an early theatrical decision, I decided Klytemnestra’s acts did not grant her catharsis, that she remained trapped in a loop of grief, in the weave of her tapestry pattern. Now, however, through the rehearsal process, I do see catharsis. As an actor, I experience it. Through avenging the murder of her daughter, Iphigenia, symbol of innocence and intuition, Klytemnestra avenges the betrayal and destruction of her own innocence at the hands of the patriarchy. The murder of Agamemnon then becomes a rejection of Order and an embrace of Chaos. She is released from the limitation of societal acceptance of power-over. Have I accomplished a rewriting of the myth? Is that even possible? In my companion opera project, in the long tradition of re-imagining this character, I take a hideous, bloody tale, and give the woman, Klytemnestra, a soaring authentic voice. A voice released, irrepressible, whole. I return to Kristin Linklater and “Vox Eroticus” and the embodied voice liberated, “...the instrument that guides us to the larger Self that lurks inside us, yearning to break free from the shackles of conformity...”. After several rehearsals for the opera, spending hours in the studio with collaborators, I feel we have created a deeply psychological world in stylized movement, dance, and sound. It is a multifaceted non-linear narrative, and the work reveals a depth of character, emotion and complexity - a glimpse of Klytemnestra as woman and archetype. None of these insights have alleviated the feeling that Klytemnestra and “classic” characters like her may forever be haunted by the male construct from whence they came. Can these women be reinvented? Is a reclamation possible? I don’t know. Is abandonment of these stories created by, and so enmeshed in an oppressive patriarchy, perhaps the better artistic statement? Misha Penton, March 2011 Aeschylus. Agamemnon. Trans. John Harvey. 2010. Excerpt. PDF.  Cixous, Hélène. “The Laugh of Medusa”. Trans. Keith and Paula Cohen. Pétroleuse Press, 1975. PDF. Komar, Kathleen L.. Reclaiming Klytemnestra: revenge or reconciliation. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003. Excerpt. PDF. Linklater, Kristin. "Vox Eroticus". Kristin Linklater. Freeing Voice. Originally published in American Theatre Magazine. Apr. 2003. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. PDF. 2011-04-21T16:16:27+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/program-notes-for-klytemnestra http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/program-notes-for-klytemnestra#When:15:42:54Z A note from Misha... I’d like to tell you a little about the strange and serendipitous circumstances whose conspiracy led to the creation of this opera. About a year ago, John Harvey, poet and playwright, asked me to portray Klytemnestra in his new translation of Aeschylus' Agamemnon - and I thought, "Oh, God - I have to memorize lines" - it's funny, but in response to that, my second thought was, "Well, if I have to deal with memorizing lines, then I want to create an opera companion piece" (somehow this seemed easier than slaving over spoken text - which is some ways, for me, it is). And so, John asked me to write from Klytemnestra's point of view... and my writing became the sung words for this opera. Actress Miranda Herbert, joins me in portraying another facet of Klytemnestra in the opera - her spoken lines are John's words - so tonight, I sing the words I wrote, and all the spoken words belong to John. Meg Brooker, a brilliant dancer, is the third aspect of the character. The work is set for viola, piano, soprano, actress, and dancer. I think of the piece as an original work in its totality: the way a choreographer might think of their work. My theatrical vision for the piece is not separate nor superimposed over the music - it's part of it. I've worked with Meg and Miranda several times before, and that's another key to my aspiration of making work with a strong theatrical identity - Meg and Miranda very much understand my aesthetic - it's like having two more versions of me with different skill sets, but each feeds a common vision - and that's a very, very big deal to me, artistically. I asked Dominick DiOrio to set my words to music - and with Mozartian brilliance my words wriggled from inky scribbles on a page into the soaring vocal embodiment of, arguably, the most influential and subversive Greek Heroine in all of the plays: Klytemnestra. She stands against the polis, against the emerging male-ordered, linear, dualistic state; against the forming patriarchy that will define our culture (for women and men) for thousands of years after her time. She possesses the inherent potential of subversive expressivity in body, voice and word, and thus the power to entirely restructure the male paradigm of society. Her murder of Agamemnon is a symbolic rejection of Order and an embrace of Chaos - it is Joy Unleashed, Metamorphosis Complete - a release from the confining limitation of societal acquiescence to power-over. And now, the Tapestries are laid: follow their never-ending purple into The House of the Family of Atreus: Klytemnestra, daughter of Leda and Zeus Fabled Swan Mother to Iphegenia, the sun walking in a yellow dress Sister to Helen of Troy Wife of Agamemnon Who sacrificed their daughter to war My sweet, young girl My only flower Her throat a smile Lips silent and set open Where were you when he dropped her on stone like an animal and slit her open? Where were you when time fell to banish him to dark roadways? Walls bulge here and there Gaps smile up at you from the floor The house shudders, drops to its knees, breaks apart Its an old house Your daughter's not coming back Blood in The House of Atreus Again, tell it again (deconstructed from John Harvey’s beautiful translation of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon)   2011-04-15T15:42:54+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/meg-brookers-spring-isadora-duncan-dance-workshop http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/meg-brookers-spring-isadora-duncan-dance-workshop#When:16:06:21Z Meg Brooker will be joining us in performances of Klytemnestra on April 15 & 16. She's also presenting a dance workshop, for all levels of movers, while she's in town. Meg is an Isadora Duncan specialist. Who? Isadora is considered the Mother of modern dance, and she was an early 20th century icon and wild child. She met her demise on the French Riviera, quite famously, when she was strangled by one of her flowing scarves in a freak roaster accident. Now, that is legend material folks. Isadora Duncan Dance Spring Workshop with Meg Brooker Sunday April 17, 2011 2-5pm Divergence Music & Arts at Spring Street Studios 1824 Spring St Houston, TX 77009 MAP (ample parking in front and side of building. Divergence Music & Arts has two sets of red double doors on the loading dock of Spring Street Studios) $35 early bird (payable online via Paypal here) $40 at the door (cash or check only) All registration sales are final. No refunds. Thank you for your understanding. Isadora Duncan, "Mother of Modern Dance," created a natural dance technique intuitively built on developmental movement patterns and an organic relationship between breath and gesture. Join 4th generation Isadora Duncan dancer, Meg Brooker, as we explore the the joy of rebirth and renewal through Isadora Duncan's technique and choreography. During the first half of this 3 hour workshop, we will dance traditional classwork exercises, as passed down through the Duncan school. Building on Divergence Vocal Theater's Klytemnestra premiere, the second part of the workshop will feature movement phrases culled from original Duncan choreographies, including phrases from Duncan's Iphigenia, as well as improvisational dance structures. This workshop is open to movers of all levels of experience. Meg Brooker, author of the popular new blog "Tunics in Texas," is a 4th generation Isadora Duncan dancer, dedicated to preserving and passing on Duncan's historic dance repertoire and to creating new work in Duncan technique. Meg danced as a member of Lori Belilove & Company, served on the faculty of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, and is an IDDF certified teacher. Currently located in Austin, TX, Meg is a frequent guest artist with an international performance resume and actively collaborates on new work with visual artists and musicians, including Houston's Divergence Vocal Theater. Meg holds an MFA in Performance as Public Practice from UT Austin and a BA in theatre from Yale. More about Meg here & here.  2011-04-02T16:06:21+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/isadora-duncan http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/isadora-duncan#When:18:34:33Z Welcome to the new Divergence blog! Squee!  You'll find here lots of really cool insights into the work I do with my fellow conspirators. Additionally, you'll find some groovy odds and ends goings-on, like guest artist workshops and the like... speaking of which: Meg Brooker will be joining us in performance on January 15th for our program of sultry Frenchiness at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. She's also presenting a dance workshop, for all levels of movers, while she's in town. Meg is an Isadora Duncan specialist. Who? Isadora is considered the Mother of modern dance, and she was an early 20th century icon and wild child. She met her demise on the French Riviera, quite famously, when she was strangled by one of her flowing scarves in a freak roaster accident. Now, that is legend material folks. Join us for our Saturday, January 15th performance at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and then join Meg for an Isadora Duncan technique workshop on Sunday January 16th: Isadora Duncan Dance Winter Workshop with Meg Brooker January 16, 2010 2-5pm Nia Moves 508 Pecore Houston, Texas 77009. Map. $35 early bird (payable online via Paypal here) $40 at the door (cash or check only) No refunds the day of, or after the workshop. Thank you for your understanding. Isadora Duncan, "Mother of Modern Dance," created a natural dance technique intuitively built on developmental movement patterns and an organic relationship between breath and gesture. Join 4th generation Isadora Duncan dancer, Meg Brooker, as we explore the earth element in Isadora Duncan's technique and choreography. During the first half of this 3 hour workshop, we will dance traditional classwork exercises, as passed down through the Duncan school. The second part of the workshop will feature movement phrases culled from original Duncan choreographies as well as improvisational dance structures, focusing on how Duncan relates to the force of gravity in her movement technique. This workshop is open to movers of all levels of experience. Meg Brooker, author of the popular new blog "Tunics in Texas," is a 4th generation Isadora Duncan dancer, dedicated to preserving and passing on Duncan's historic dance repertoire and to creating new work in Duncan technique. Meg danced as a member of Lori Belilove & Company, served on the faculty of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, and is an IDDF certified teacher. Currently located in Austin, TX, Meg is a frequent guest artist with an international performance resume and actively collaborates on new work with visual artists and musicians, including Houston's Divergence Vocal Theater. Meg holds an MFA in Performance as Public Practice from UT Austin and a BA in theatre from Yale. More about Meg: here & here.  2010-12-14T18:34:33+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/unplug-dare-to-live-life-live http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/unplug-dare-to-live-life-live#When:00:30:00Z   I’m the first one to want to tweet and text from the opera. I want to take pics of the impressive velvet curtained proscenium and tweet them. I want to record the orchestra tuning and tweet that too. Maybe I’ll make a little video of the Crazy-Cool Old Lady in the Silver Lamé Pantsuit, or snap one of those two guys who show up in matching black leather get-ups and I’ll upload those to Facebook before the curtain rises. I’ll take an artsy micro-environment pic of my über-fabulous silver tasseled scarf resting against the red velvet of the seats. That’s a good tweet. Then I’ll check and see how many hits my pics got on Twitpic or if anyone retweeted my tweet. Oh, yeah, I am good at this.   So let me say, when it comes to live performance, I am all for classical musicians and performing arts peeps experimenting with non-traditional, unconventional audience practices: twitting, texting, social media connectivity, all before, during and after performances. There are some cats out there working through all of that. The Houston Symphony recently had a “tweetcert”, where the company tweeted program notes during a live performance; the Royal Opera House created an opera from tweets. That’s cool. Go for it, guys.   Wanna know what I think?   The constant, unrelenting, electronic social “connectivity” is gimmicky (certainly when it comes to what arts groups can do with it in a live performance situation) and ultimately only serves to disconnect us from each other and from what’s going on around us in Real Life. And well, it appears that it’s really screwing with our cognitive abilities. Forget The Arts, I’m talking about our brains, people.   The NYTimes recently ran several articles on brain chemistry and the constant tech barrage, and lo and behold! - it seems it might be bad for the ol’ noggin. Are we going to become so ADD from all the tech input and multi-tasking, that we can’t even hold a conversation, much less sit quietly for an hour at a performance?   If we lose the ability pay attention, we lose the ability to experience life.   So, here’s what I’m gonna do:   When you come to a Divergence Vocal Theater performance & social event:   For little you, m’dears, My artsy conspirators and I create: a space to unplug from Digital Life and connect with in-the-flesh human life-forms, tête-à-tête. a beep!-bleep!-zing!-ting!-brrrrinnnng!-free environment. an update-free, cellphone-free, iPad-free, iPhone-free, Droid-free environment. a place where you can relax and escape from the onslaught of emails, texts, tweets, pics of your third cousin’s neighbor’s newborn, and links to hilarious Youtube kitty videos. Maybe we’ll even make little sockie sleeping bag cozies for your iPhone so it can get some shut-eye. What then?   We feed your soul with music.   And, yes, you’re very, very welcome. It is, quite seriously, my pleasure.   -Misha   PS - Oh, yeah, of course don’t forget to tweet this and post it to Facebook! :) 2010-07-27T00:30:00+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/the-arts-biz http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/the-arts-biz#When:15:06:33Z The Rise of the Classical Indie Artist Actually, I might just say, The Rise of the Indie Performing Artist. More than ever, performing artists - particularly classical musicians - are getting out there and doin’ their thing: new music ensembles, opera and dance companies, and new theater companies are popping up everywhere. But we’re in a bit of a pickle when it comes to arts business models. A performing artist’s standard biz route has been to incorporate as a non-profit organization. This is, initially, relatively simple, and in a nutshell consists of a performing artist, or small cohort, creating a mission, enlisting a board of directors, a volunteer squad, and seeking tax-deductible donations and grants - and of course filing the necessary legal documents to incorporate, as well as adhering to annual reporting guidelines. Unfortunately, the creation and maintenance of an organization is very time consuming, and often the performing artists who start the company have little time to devote to the art form because the maintenance of the organization becomes a full-time job. The creation of an arts organization is not the creation of art, and somehow we’ve gotten that all mixed up and turned around. When a performing artist strikes out on their own, there is an unspoken expectation that (of course!) they’ll create an organization because that’s the “only way to do it” and that’s “how it’s always been done”. Phooey. As a performing artist, my job is to create work and to find the simplest and most economical way to put that work into the world. James Undercofler, Professor of Arts Administration in Drexel University's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design questions the arts organization model, “So, is the NFP [Not For Profit] too cumbersome in its structure to impede the flow of artistry it is created to facilitate? As a one-size-fits-all model, the answer is absolutely ‘YES’. For small start-ups, and for perpetual start-ups, the requirements to achieve NFP status, as well as the ongoing requirements, from financial reporting to maintenance of a fiduciary board, often overshadow the creation and presentation of artwork.” Must performing artists be beholden to the non-profit model, one that typically does not serve the art form, particularly in an organization’s early stages of development? And even larger, older, established non-profit organizations suffer from ill management, in-fighting and fiscal irresponsibility. Might there be another way? If not, can we create one? We’re creative-types, us artsy-folk, so let’s use some of that creativity on the business side of the arts. Forming a non-profit is not the only option for performing artists. Creating work project-to-project as an independent performing artist is an excellent, sustainable model, and keeps an artist focused on making and funding the creative work, and concentrated on tangible, Now Goals: Put on a show. Rinse. Repeat. All revenue goes into the project not the company. There is a lot that goes into producing a performing arts project, but it is do-able for an individual artist or a small arts cohort, without the need for much back office support. It’s all DIY, baby. Creative people are coming up with hybrid business models, taking the best from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. The emerging Fourth Sector, consisting of social entrepreneurs, is literally changing the world. Generating Cash - Fiscal Sponsorship & What it Can Do for an Artist Pros? The big deal to forming a non-profit is that the organization can accept tax-deductible funds and apply for grants. Well, fiscal sponsorship is an awesome little hybrid: a performing artist (or artist in any discipline) can accept tax-deductible donations (just like a non-profit) from individuals and companies/corporations via an agreement with an incorporated arts organization, and that arts organization cuts the artist a check for those donations. Additionally, being fiscally sponsored allows individual artists to apply for some grants that are normally only open to incorporated organizations. There are a couple of national-level arts service organizations that provide fiscal sponsorship: The Field and Fractured Atlas (here in Bayou City, Dance Source Houston provides the same service to Houston dance artists). Fiscal sponsorship is not a miracle solution to arts funding, but we are in desperate need of hybrid arts business models and fiscal sponsorship is a powerful tool. If an indie performing artist couples the benefits of fiscal sponsorship with ingenious ideas on generating a commercial revenue stream, then the indie artist becomes as viable as any incorporated arts organization. No need to incorporate as a non-profit. Period. The artist maintains artistic and production independence allowing for nimble creative and business practices, and quick response to changing cultural dynamics and fluctuating market conditions. Keep. It. Small. Fiscal Sponsorship is a viable, long-term business tool; it is not an Arts Purgatory that precedes the Non-Profit Status Panacea. Major non-profit service orgs, Third Sector and BTW, both support fiscal sponsorship as an arts biz model and not as an interim step to incorporation nor as an incubator. BTW published a particularly thorough look at fiscal sponsorship: More Than the Money: Fiscal Sponsorship’s Unrealized Potential. Cons? Arts orgs that offer fiscal sponsorship usually charge a membership fee, and a small percentage to process donor payments. Some granting institutions will not fund fiscally sponsored artists --- many enormous ones, like the Rockefeller Multi-Arts Project Fund, absolutely will. Granting bodies’ policies on fiscal sponsorship seem arbitrary and nonsensical, and are very specific to each granting institution. In part, reticence from a granting institution to fund fiscally sponsored artists emerges from a fear that independent artists are irresponsible with the granted funds, that fiscal sponsors lack speedy reporting of distributed monies, and lack organizational stability themselves. But there are plenty of uninvolved and untrustworthy Boards of “Trustees” roaming around out there in Non-Profit Organization Land. A recent NYTimes article reports on a state-level investigation of fraud against The New York State Theater Institute. Granting institutions can no longer hide behind the indefensible excuse that funding sponsored individual artists is fiscally irresponsible. No business model is immune to fraud, but simply wearing the non-profit organization mantle does not guarantee fiscal responsibility, longevity/sustainability, nor artistic excellence. With the establishment of organizations like The Field (with over 25 years as an arts service org) and Fractured Atlas (founded in 1998), both specializing in fiscal sponsorship, granting institutions’ need no longer be reticent to support sponsored artists. Ole Prof. Undercofler adds (ok, maybe he's not old, he could be a hottie for all I know) "…in order for this option [fiscal sponsorship] to even be considered seriously, foundations and government funders must rewrite their guidelines for this alternative to be considered." HALLELUJAH! Houston Arts Alliance does not accept proposals from fiscally sponsored artists for organizational grants and they will not fund interpretive artists in their individual artist grant category; Texas Commission on the Arts does not accept proposals from fiscally sponsored artists either; on the other hand, the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division does accept proposals from fiscally sponsored artists. Why are many individual artist grants only open to artists who create new work (choreographers, composers, playwrights)?, but not open to interpretive artists (classical musicians, actors)? This “policy”, unreasonably, forces interpretive artists to form nonprofits. I don’t have the answers to the arts funding conundrum, but it's imperative that artists understand their options as entrepreneurs, and fiscal sponsorship is one option. It’s also important for my fellow artists and local arts service organizations to understand the power and legitimacy of fiscal sponsorship. The City of Houston and Texas state granting institutions need to re-visit their guidelines concerning the funding of fiscally sponsored artists. Even better, all granting institutions need to re-visit their guidelines and re-implement substantial grants to individual artists in all disciplines. Although being a fiscally sponsored artist allows for a lot of creative and organizational freedom, right now, and particularly in Texas, most grants open to organizations are not open to fiscally sponsored artists. So why bother? Why not just incorporate? Well: I'm convinced a “one-size-fits-all” non-profit model for the small arts does not work. I'm particularly interested in what artists might do with commercial/for-profit/hybrid business models. Granting institutions must change their policies and guidelines to include more grants for individual artists - particularly performing artists and interpretive artists - and open their organizational grants to fiscally sponsored artists. If more performing artists remain independent, granting institutions will likely alter their guidelines based on this trend. Investing in an individual performing artist’s career is as important as supporting the efforts of an arts organization. It is time to take a serious look at the merit of individual performing artists’ work, their relationship with and contribution to the community, and stop burdening performers with organizational red tape and administrative hoop-jumping. Performing artists are creators of original art, but we also interpret and re-imagine established music and theater repertoire. In part, the success of the arts depends on the encouragement of commercial arts ventures and on embracing the individual performing artist as a creator and interpreter of significant work. Here’s what a few fiscally sponsored artists and indie artists are doing: Divergence Vocal Theater - Opera & multi-arts performance company. New works & re-imagingings of old rep. Houston-based. I’d be terribly un-savvy in my marketing department (that’d be me) if I excluded myself from this list. Fiscally sponsored artist with The Field. Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA), The Field’s arts entrepreneurial lab, seeds and supports significant work by indie artists. A few Fractured Atlas fiscally sponsored artists: Rubber Repertory, theater artists in Austin, recipients of the monster-prestigious Rockefeller Multi-Arts Project Fund grant. PearldAmour, theater artists. Recipients of both the Multi-Arts Project Fund grant, Creative Capitol grant (national-level indie artist grant), and significant foundational and individual donor support. Pocket Opera of New York (founded by two alumni of the Juilliard School) New York Arabic Orchestra String Orchestra of Brooklyn -------------------------------------------- Interested in fiscal sponsorship and artist support services? Check these out: The Field - national Fractured Atlas - national Dance Source Houston - hometown Spacetaker - hometown (does not offer fiscal sponsorship, but offers a host of artist career development resources) ------- Serendipitously, I recently met with Audience Development Diva, Shoshana Fanizza, and she blogged about our conversation on arts business practices: here. 2010-04-23T15:06:33+00:00 http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/surfing-the-selkie-project http://divergencevocaltheater.org/blog/detail/surfing-the-selkie-project#When:19:15:59Z We had a blast with Selkie Project in Austin. The idea of integrating performance into an installation was a challenge, learning experience, and ultimately a success. The other 10 artists in the exhibit created some amazing work: from hanging, hollow, glass mini-humans, to an explosive paper display, to a tiny wooden multi-level world. The opening was ridiculously well attended and I’d like to thank Xochi Solis of Creative Research Laboratory for all her work making it happen. Photos: Dave Nickerson Our installation of fabric, painted wall wordscapes, sand, glass, bottles, lighting, and media was infused with voice, piano, actors, and the incomparable dance of butoh artist Caroline Sutton Clark - the missing link in our piece. Because the work is in progress, we rehearsed as performers in different groupings and at different times, adding Caroline in last - but: viola! What a treat and perfect match! In moving forward with the project, we learned a lot about the type of multimedia we’d like to use, and I’m considering other folkloric and mythological ideas…so stay tuned! --- Misha 2010-02-01T19:15:59+00:00