TETA Board of Directors
Vice President College / University
vp.cu@tetatx.com
Greetings all! First, let me say that I am excited to be a part of the leadership team for TETA. As you all know, good theatre is a result of the collaboration of many, many people. As someone who has participated in hundreds of productions in my career, the ones that stand out as the most successful are the ones where the collaborating team really understood how to work together for a common goal. I know there was a call for transparency and open communication in the weeks leading up to Theatrefest, and as a Board of Directors we have heard that call and are working towards providing it to you, the members. Even though the Board is called upon to lead, it is the members of TETA that are the most important part of the team.
In my Theatre Management class, we often talk about how important planning is to the success of any team. If you look at World Series champions (readers you will come to find that I love baseball!!), they plan and plan and plan. We've heard the old adage "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Let me introduce you to another saying that is favorite of mine...the 6 P's. "Proper Pre-Planning Prevents Poor Performance!" Anything can be accomplished with enough proper pre-planning. And after the planning, there has to be clear communication to the team members about the plan. Theatre, at its core, is about the communication of the playwright's ideas, through the actors and designers, to the audience. Think about it...if we can plan, and communicate that plan, then great things are in store for TETA. Yeah, it might be rough in this transitionary period, but ultimately there are some great things on the horizon (and let me tell you, we've had some great talks about what we can do in CU, K12, and across the spectrum of theatre in Texas)!!!! It's exciting and I'm glad I'm here for the ride.
So, with that...I'll leave you with my favorite saying, given to me by an artistic director I worked with 20 years ago. I hope it encourages you to do the hard planning and communicating and thinking..."Think thought...feels Good!!"