The Civilians"

San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2012 A Versatile Group of Investigative Theater Practitioners: An Examination and Analysis of "The Civilians" Kimberly Suzanne Peterson San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Peterson, Kimberly Suzanne, "A Versatile Group of Investigative Theater Practitioners: An Examination and Analysis of "The Civilians"" (2012). Master's Theses. 4158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.n3bg-cmnv https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4158 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A VERSATILE GROUP OF INVESTIGATIVE THEATER PRACTITIONERS: AN EXAMINATION AND ANALYSIS OF “THE CIVILIANS” A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Theater Arts San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Kimberly Peterson May 2012 © 2012 Kimberly Peterson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled A VERSATILE GROUP OF INVESTIGATIVE THEATER PRACTITIONERS: AN EXAMINATION AND ANALYSIS OF “THE CIVILIANS” by Kimberly Peterson APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE, RADIO-TELEVISION-FILM, ANIMATION & ILLUSTRATION SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 Dr. David Kahn Department of Theatre, Radio-TV-Film, Animation & Illustration Dr. Alison McKee Department of Theatre, Radio-TV-Film, Animation & Illustration Dr. Kathie Kratochvil Department of Theatre, Radio-TV-Film, Animation & Illustration iii ABSTRACT A VERSATILE GROUP OF INVESTIGATIVE THEATER PRACTITIONERS: AN EXAMINATION AND ANALYSIS OF “THE CIVILIANS” by Kimberly Peterson This thesis analyzes The Civilians, a New York-based theater company that creates interview-based cabaret/theater works, specifically examining the group’s organizational structure and creative and administrative processes. The goal of this thesis is to provide insight into how this organization functions, and the lens of organizational structure and processes is used because, as business scholars have noted, structure and process are fundamental elements of any organization. Additionally, this study is framed using Gaétan Morency and Jane Needles’s analysis of Cirque du Soleil, François Colbert’s analysis of the Piccolo Teatro of Milan, and Celia Wren’s article, “Dissolving the Barriers,” which investigates eliminating the barricades between administrative and creative realms of theater companies. Through interviews with associates of The Civilians and research of the group’s online presence (e.g., blogs and websites), this study finds two main themes within The Civilians’ organization: a strong and diverse network of collaborators, and flexibility that infuses all aspects of the organization. Individual artists and theater companies alike could use this study of The Civilians as a model for how alternative documentary theater/cabaret is produced, and artists could also use the methods described herein to create accessible, educational, and thought-provoking new works. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help of many people. First, I want to thank my thesis reading committee: My thesis chair, Dr. David Kahn, who encouraged and helped with this thesis idea from the start, Dr. Alison McKee, who has been an excellent advocate, mentor, and guide in the world of scholarly writing and academia, and Dr. Kathie Kratochvil, who provided feedback during the final stages of this writing process. I also must thank all of my San José State University professors and colleagues; you made this experience rich, inspirational, and humor-filled. Thank you to The Civilians, who generously shared both information and time. Special thanks to Rosalind Grush, who helped coordinate interviews, answered dozens of emails, and talked with me for hours on a cold Brooklyn morning. Thank you to all of the wonderful interviewees who volunteered for this project. Your perspectives made this thesis come alive. I would also like to thank my family – my mother Suzanne Peterson, my father Donald Peterson, and my brother Kent Peterson, for supporting all of my performance and academic goals from infancy, for always making me laugh, and for offering much needed advice at all times of day and night. And finally, I must thank my love, Brandon Braun. You painstakingly witnessed every ounce of this process, and you grounded me every time I got near a ledge. Thank you for all that you do. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 I. An Overview of The Civilians ..................................................................................... 1 II. Terminology and Theoretical Perspectives ................................................................ 3 III. Methods ..................................................................................................................... 6 IV. Literature Review ................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ................................................ 28 I. Full-Time Staff Members .......................................................................................... 30 II. Part-Time Staff Members ......................................................................................... 35 III. Interns ..................................................................................................................... 40 IV. Associate Artists ..................................................................................................... 43 V. Contractors and Consultants .................................................................................... 45 VI. Board of Directors .................................................................................................. 46 VII. “Arms” of the Organization .................................................................................. 49 VIII. Organizational Culture ......................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER THREE: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES ............................................... 54 I. Development and Fundraising ................................................................................... 54 II. Marketing ................................................................................................................. 62 III. Productions ............................................................................................................. 69 CHAPTER FOUR: CREATIVE PROCESSES ................................................................ 77 I. Ideas for Civilians Shows .......................................................................................... 78 II. Interviews ................................................................................................................. 83 III. Writing, Readings and Workshops ......................................................................... 89 IV. Fully-Fledged Productions ...................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ................................................................................. 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX: CIVILIANS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................ 128 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Organizational Structure of The Civilians…………………………….…29 vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION I. An Overview of The Civilians The Civilians, an investigative theater group, has created eleven original shows since its founding in 2001. The Civilians’ work, which can be described as “documentary cabaret” (Estvanik 24), has been produced at well-known theaters in New York (such as The Public Theater), in California (such as The Center Theatre Group and La Jolla Playhouse), and on tour to over forty national and international cities (thecivilians.org). The group uses interview-based techniques to gather material and often uses music and original songs in its shows. Additionally, the group’s work ranges from comedic (such as Canard, Canard Goose? about a Hollywood film and a lost flock of geese) to more serious issues of social change (such as the recent work, The Great Immensity, about climate change). This project details how The Civilians operates, first by investigating The Civilians’ organizational structure and then by discussing the group’s administrative and creative processes. This research was conducted with the goals of providing a model for how alternative interview-based theater can be produced and of documenting methods that others could use to create accessible, educational, and thought-provoking new works. This research is particularly useful given the rising trend of documentary theater as a vehicle for social change and awareness (Stoller, Forsyth and Megson). Research on The Civilians is significant in the context of successful nonprofit theater

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