This detail caught my eye from Brendan Kiley's piece in The Stranger about the recent Intiman debacle in Seattle. This quote makes reference to Kate Whoriskey, the newly appointed (anointed?) Artistic Director replacing the beloved Bart Sher.
Then the rumors started... that Whoriskey was incapable of leading the organization, that she was imperious, impolitic, aloof. "Sure, she can direct plays," one former Intiman staffer on the artistic side said, "but she is childish and demanding, and couldn't put together a season." (Whoriskey did not reply to requests for comment by phone or e-mail.)
Whether you're running a theatre company or a bakery, leading a company is as much about warmth as it is about vision. Sadly, as I make a mental inventory of some of the notable Artistic Directors I've had dealings with in recent years, I can count on one hand the number who are actually warm and open. Why is that?
While living in Boston and running my own small theatre company, I was often amazed at the difference between the feeling one got walking into one theatre vs. another. In some, the moment one crossed the threshold one felt immediately welcomed by staff who were A) Happy to see you and B) Curious how they could help. In other theatres, you could enter, wander around for hours without a soul even meeting your eye.
The truth is, these differences come from the top down. When I think about those theatres that feel welcoming and inviting, inevitably their leadership are warm and open. And those that are aloof have leaders who are, well... cold fish.
I'll never forget when I first started working at the Guild, I led one of the first Director/Dramatist Exchanges within a week of being there. And as folks entered the room, I simply greeted them, thanked them for coming and introduced myself. Not rocket science. But you'd be amazed how surprised some of them were to have had anyone do that. And one man even said as much. He said, "I've never felt so welcomed before at one of these." The interesting thing is, I had hardly even begun the event. All I had done by that point is extend my hand to shake his and introduce myself.
It's not that difficult, really.
