In the fall of 2020, SDC + SDCF published On the Edge: The Lives and Livelihoods of Stage Directors and Choreographers, A Next Stage Report.
Next Stage set out to investigate the lives of directors and choreographers and to articulate the findings of that investigation so that we might find ways to enrich your lives as you play a central role in the American theatre. Over a two-year period, 2019–20, through three phases, this data-driven study looked at the artistic aspirations and financial insecurities of professional directors and choreographers across the country, both pre-pandemic and during the industry shutdown. Throughout the process and publication of the study, we sought to demonstrate why an investigation and articulation of the lives of directors and choreographers has meaning—not simply for the world of these artists individually and collectively, but for our theatres and our communities across the country. Yes, fall 2020—that fall.
Later this spring, we will roll out On the Edge 2.0, A Next Stage Report. The study will continue to focus on hiring practices and employment trends, as well as the network of support available (or not available) to directors and choreographers at all stages of their careers. The goal of the current project is to deepen our understanding of the state of the industry for directors and choreographers across different demographics—and to produce a data set useful for comparison with the 2019–20 findings. We have partnered with the Network for Culture & Arts Policy (NCAP) once again to conduct and oversee the necessary research.
As I write this, we are deep into the analysis of the data we have received from more than 600 Members, who took on average 45 minutes to complete the anonymous survey. The survey data in isolation has limited meaning. Our work in the months ahead will include the compilation of hiring stats from SDC sources that will serve as an overlay, as well as a hard look at recommendations we made to the field in 2020 and the commitments we made to you.
I read the final proof of this issue of SDC Journal in tandem with charts and graphs and dense footnotes. As much as we need research and studies and strategy and infrastructure, the conversations contained within these pages of the Journal are the truest testament to the lives of directors and choreographers and the mission of SDC.
In this issue, I see what happens when inspiration meets collaboration. Your visions, aspirations, ambitions are the inspiration; at times you are collaborators with one another, at times with other humans, and at times your collaborator is an object, or technology, or an idea, or a need.
You are the provocateurs; you are the nurturers of something bigger. There is joy in these pages. Lots of laughter—even as you carefully, thoughtfully work to create something new by pulling threads of past practice into new ways of working. How astounding it is that the stories contained within this issue are even possible, given how under-resourced the field is at this time, how unsure many of you are of what tomorrow will bring. Still, this confusing time has brought clarity, a sense of renewed purpose. You continue to lead rooms in the field, and this issue is an example of that. The breadth and depth and vibrancy and love of the form shines through.
This issue inspires me to be your collaborator, in the service of this form, theatre—live and otherwise. In the spring, the new Next Stage report will be shared with the Membership. I look forward to discovering together how SDC, SDCF, and the field can better support your careers—and all those moments where inspiration meets collaboration.
In Solidarity,
Laura Penn
Executive Director