Last night the b.f. and I hauled our frozen asses over to the Gershwin Hotel where the New York Coalition of Women in the Arts & Media was hosting an awards ceremony honoring and celebrating collaboration. Featured among the recipients were two of my favorite creative dames, Elyse Singer (of Hourglass Group) and Jennifer Gibbs (founder of First Fig). And of course, the event was co-hosted by our very own E.C. author Lisa Barnes, who is co-president of NYCWAM. Bravo, Lisa!
This night was really inspiring because we heard so many stories of creative types coming together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. For those of us who've been toiling away in this so-called biz for years, there's perhaps no greater antidote to the endless stream of rejection and ridicule than working with a team rather than alone.
Most memorable was the keynote address given by playwright and performer Leslie Ayvazian in which she reconstructed for us in painstaking detail the long and winding (and often disheartening) road from the idea for her latest play, Make Me, to its upcoming production, just announced at The Atlantic Theater.
Veteran musical collaborators Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer also shared some amusing tales from the trenches and announced—to thunderous applause—that a show of their they'd been trying to get up on its feet for 30 years was finally about to debut. Bravo!
The biggest take-away from the night's festivities was the simple truth: life is hard enough as it is, there's just no reason to go it alone. Good things come from collaboration. (I oughta know, as I'm currently in the midst of a very happy one with playwright Katherine Burger.)
I'm personally hoping these awards continue to grow. To my mind, we need more reminders of the transformative power of collaboration.
