Saturday, August 27, 2011
What I Mean When I Talk About Collaboration
HowlRound: What do I mean by this, by “true collaborative creation”? I mean the model—going back to the days of Molière and Shakespeare, and embodied today by Pig Iron, the Rude Mechs, the Civilians, and so many others—where a number of artists gather in a room to make something all together. A model where directors, dramaturges, designers, and actors are valued as co-creators, as part of a collective hive-brain of authors of a singular experience.
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When working on a truly collaborative process one truth must be carried throughout; trust. When working in a truly collaborative process like Stein describes each person must trust those that they are working so closely with. Nothing about this process may be self centered. Each artist must make each discussion about the work not about themselves. If the work is the only concern then the environment can be truly collaborative. The downfall of most of these utopian ideas about the collaborative process is the personal egos of the people within the room. Taking the personal ego out of the room while leaving the personal experience to guide decisions is a hard disassociation to make happen. We are all products of our pasts but for true collaboration to happen we each must open up our minds to the experiences of others. Many technicians myself included have a tendency to dismiss an idea from an actor or a director within our perceived domain, this instance of ego can severally limit our ability to work within a collective. Another major source of problems can be the perceived lack of experience and knowledge of those younger than us. Sometimes the best collaborations come when the imagination of the young is tempered by the experience that comes with age. Another problem that can arise in the room is the overwhelming of less forceful personalities. There is a consensus based process that can help to bring out those more timid voices and enrich the art that is being created. The author does point out that the biggest problem with true collaboration is the amount of time and resources that are required to explore all the possible paths a show can take.
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