It has been quite a season for me as I’ve stepped into my role as Artistic Director while also continuing my artistic relationships and commitments outside American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). One such commitment this past season was at Steppenwolf with one of my dearest friends, Bruce Norris, and that felt very homey. Even so, life in strange beige apartments, and with a couple of suitcases in tow, it’s hard. It feels like time traveling back a decade. I am also hopping from apartment to apartment in San Francisco, as we sort through where to live in this beautiful and mysterious city. I have a portable spice kit that I pull out to cook, as cooking lets me daydream about projects and next steps.
While in Chicago, I slipped into a couple of dress rehearsals of colleagues. Robert Falls’ work on David Cale’s chilling show, We’re Only Alive for a Short Time, was a wonder. It was fun to be in someone else’s rehearsal en route. I caught up with Lisa Portes, whom I’ve known for more than 25 years as a friend, an academic, a leader with Latinx Theatre Commons, and an advocate for women writers. I was also able to welcome Lisa to the SDC Executive Board as she was newly elected, along with Saheem Ali, last fall.
We held a Membership Meeting and SDC Member Night Out at Steppenwolf in September and it was exciting to see a critical mass of Members ready to engage with your Union. We have started to host Night Out events around the country and they are growing in popularity. SDC staff help us coordinate but these are really Member-driven gatherings, small and large, where directors and choreographers meet to see a colleague’s work, often with a social hour before or afterwards. Keep an eye out in the e-news and on social media for an event in your community. Or better yet—maybe you’d like to host a Member Night Out. Barbara Wolkoff, Director of Member Services would be happy to hear from you. Back to Chicago. In the past three years alone, we have seen significant growth. During 2015–2018, SDC Members in the greater Chicago area have filed contracts with over 50 employers (including large- and medium-sized institutional not-for-profits, storefront theatres, and commercial producers). Chicago area Membership has grown by 21 percent and Associate Membership by 81 percent during that same period. True to our word, SDC continues to increase Union strength and presence in Chicagoland.
I was back in New York City in time for our Annual Membership Meeting in November, where nearly 100 Members RSVP’d to stream-in with a standing room only crowd at IATSE Wardrobe Local 764 for a full agenda that included positive year-end financial projections and a hint at what lies ahead for SDC’s 60th anniversary. I was thrilled to announce election results: in addition to Saheem and Lisa joining the Executive Board as our newest at-large members, John Rando and Michael Wilson were re-elected as Executive Vice President and Treasurer, and Seret Scott and Leigh Silverman were elected as Second Vice President and Third Vice President, respectively. This illustrious group joins Officers Michael John Garcés, First Vice President, and Evan Yionoulis, Secretary, to round out the Union’s Executive Committee.
And now, I am back in San Francisco, happy to be in rehearsal at A.C.T., my new home—but still living out of two suitcases and a box, like a lot of our Members around the country.
In Solidarity,
Pam MacKinnon
Executive Board President