The Double Edge Theatre farm in Ashfield seems like a rural kingdom. Its main buildings cluster together near the road, and its 105 acres stretch away into the hills. Bringing the troupe to Ashfield from its original Allston home (a move the group made in 1995) was an intriguing thing to do—the more experimental an artistic endeavor, the more likely it takes place in a big city, or at least so it seems. But Artistic Director Stacy Klein and co-creators Matthew Glassman and Carlos Uriona harvest their brand of spectacle-based drama from rural splendor. Though they have positioned their group as a long-term experiment in creating theater (and are in that sense a clear asset to the region), the end result for Ashfield, and for the Valley in general, extends beyond cultural cachet.
Thanks to a project of the New England Foundation for the Arts called Culture Count, it's possible to estimate what Double Edge and other arts organizations do for the Valley's economy. In a time when the word "recession" keeps cropping up, it's certainly a good thing for a Valley graced with so many artists and arts organizations to be able to point to the numbers. It turns out having neighbors who heed the exhortations of the muse rather than more standard occupations is good for the soul and the pocketbook. Surely a comforting thought for those of us who never got excited about a future in plastics.
Culture Count is a fascinating endeavor, an online database you can explore and configure to yield all sorts of interesting results. It's a bit limited by its necessary reliance on tax data—though you'll find individuals and bands in the database, calculating how much the musician next door enhances or hurts your property values isn't possible (a good thing, no doubt, for, say, tubists and bagpipers). But broader strokes are there for discovery with the impact calculator tool, currently limited to Massachusetts, and currently limited to organizations which have filed certain types of IRS forms. Modeling, for instance, the impact of arts organizations in the Northampton area yields results based on perhaps a fourth of the organizations in town. That said, those numbers are intriguing: just over 12 million dollars in spending impact, 383.53 jobs (clearly, the .53 job is probably a tough one to get), and an average of $19,754 enhancement of property values. That's based on merely a portion of the arts sector of the economy. And all, of course, useful measure for those "real world" proponents for whom traditional businesses are the standard.
The Culture Count site includes a great deal of information as well about the elements that figure in calculating what might at first glance appear nebulous figures. That, too, is an absorbing study if the convergence of hard data and artistic exploration interests you. Culture Count brings together everything from IRS and census data to real estate and income figures across Massachusetts. It's a huge undertaking, and exploring the many facets of the project and the many ways of approaching the data could take a very long time indeed. (If you'd like to learn more, you can visit the site at www.culturecount.org.)
Double Edge Theatre, with its more isolated digs, is a bit easier to study in terms of economic impact on Ashfield. They kindly opened their books for perusal, and answered lots of questions about the nuts and bolts of the business of cutting edge art, a business they've run well enough to make their theater viable since its beginnings in 1982. That happens mostly through a combination of gifts from benefactors, grants, ticket sales and tuition for training sessions. It's a challenging balancing act that no doubt requires skills rivalling the group's highwire theatrics.
On the purely artistic side, it's certainly worth noting that Double Edge is in the middle of its "summer spectacle." The spectacle is a yearly production that comes together quickly, but inevitably yields a feast for the eyes and ears as the troupe employs circus-like physical skills, dreamlike sets and surreal interpretations of narrative. This year's play is a continuation of Double Edge's past work with Don Quixote in their much-praised the UnPOSESSED, and is called The Illustrious Return of Don Quixote. Shortly after the spectacle concludes, Double Edge will continue with the Disappearance, a collaboration with local writer and Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans.
Artistic Director Klein and Lead Actor/ Director and Associate Producing Artistic Director Glassman fielded questions about Double Edge's economics and theatrics.
Valley Advocate: How do you "make a living" this way? How do you fund expenses like trips abroad?
Stacy Klein: The core group gets paid a barely living wage. The other ensemble members get paid a part-time wage. Everyone, ensemble and not ensemble, has health insurance coverage, housing—in the case of the ensemble members an apartment at the Center, and in the case of apprentices and resident artists, a room at our in-town house—and food for the summer. The ensemble members are owners of the theater, and are partners in determining, with the core group, how the theater will function and create a budget.
In each period of the past 26 years, members have sometimes had outside jobs, and sometimes not. Right now, because of the huge amount of work we have, the core group cannot work outside, and the other ensemble members can only minimally work outside. But we are also moving toward self-sufficiency, increasing our budget and therefore our ability to pay. Our goal is that, in the next five years, we reach a living wage for all ensemble members and a compensation for resident artists as well.
Our tours are all paid for by the producing theater, and our work in Central Europe is paid with a combination of grant money and the producing theater.
What are your primary sources of funding?
SK: We have 50 to 60 percent contributed income, and the rest earned. We are trying to get more earned income, which comes from our training programs, tours and box office for the summer and other farm productions. Contributions come from a combination of individual donors, which we just started really working on this year, and grants. Grants include, on a consistent level, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. This year we received a $67,000 grant—from the Massachusetts Cultural Council/Mass Development Cultural Facilities Fund, which recognizes bringing tourism to an area—to fix our septic. This, we hope, begins a new chapter with state funding for Double Edge, because prior to this, we have received a very minimal amount from the MCC, not even enough to pay half a month of Double Edge operations.
Is it more difficult than in the past to fund an independent theater?
SK: It is very difficult to fund independent theater, and any theater these days. Several very prominent theaters in this country have folded recently. The problem, besides the current administration that does not even recognize the existence of culture, much less art, is that grants are fewer between and more focused on particular agendas, so that everyone is competing for the same small amounts of money, and every theater needs a certain amount of grant funding. Independent is almost a dirty word in this country, whereas in other countries this type of work is recognized as essential for the flow and development of a living culture.
Even so, I believe that Double Edge is in a good position, because when we moved to the farm, we moved so that we could be self-sufficient. We have been able to develop our student programs, because of all the space we have, to the extent we needed to purchase another Ashfield property. We are also getting our farm together to be a working farm and we have a volunteer, storyteller Davis Bates, helping us organize this. We also are touring much more then ever at venues that are well known, and we can afford higher pay. We are trying to get funding to go green, and this would be an incredible savings and step toward self-sufficiency.
The downside is that grant funding is not increasing. But of course Double Edge, in its 26 years, has weathered several economic downslides, and we are hoping this election will help turn the tide.
How has Double Edge affected the economy in its vicinity? Do you think Double Edge would fare better in a different kind of setting?
Matthew Glassman: Stacy mentioned the tourism component. We have happily found ourselves as a conduit to sectors of the economy such as hospitality, goods and services and building/construction. This is true for the performances, but also, we have a year-round school here, and various training programs. Students come locally and from across the U.S. and overseas. They live here for three months to a year, sometimes as apprentices. Upwards of 150 students come to the farm annually for one training program or another. Many of them put their roots in the area, which is also good.
But deeper than this, I personally feel the Hill Towns have a very distinct culture and sense of place relating to the long history of farming, its geography and the makeup of the land. I feel Double Edge is connected to the values, philosophies and the work ethic of the region, that there is a kinship which makes for an integration and a cohesion that resonates in the economy and the life. We work with the farmers. We work in the schools. We work with the churches, synagogues, and so on. We get a lot of support from our home town. This creates a vibrant exchange whose outgrowth manifests in the economy.
What picture emerged for you from the Culture Count study?
SK: The NEFA is doing that as a major effort to demonstrate that culture is part of the economy, or what's called "creative economy." Although it's tricky (and depressing) to negotiate always having to prove the arts are important because of other things, like bringing money into an area, rather than because of art alone, those other things are also true. We create jobs. We create a tourist income—we have people from all over the world come and stay in the area. We create business for restaurants. Did you know that for each dollar of each ticket purchased, an average of $2.63 is spent in the area? So that means the summer performance, which brings in let's say $15,000 dollars of tickets plus about $5,000 worth of complimentary tickets, is bringing around $50-60,000 dollars into the community. This includes gas, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, produce stores, and so on.
This is not just about Double Edge, but all performing arts groups. The effects are phenomenal. Of course my view is that our growth of "living culture," which is how we have developed our work and our audience over the years, and the performances and training itself, is of equal, if not more enormous value. Imagine a world in which everyone had enough to eat, enough to clothe themselves, and even educate the children, but that was all. No art, no music, no creative endeavors. I believe that is conceivable, however terrifying. The past eight years have seen a fear encouraged that freezes people to the extent that only practical matters seem relevant. But when you sit and think, "Oh, this is where we could go, to a place that is perfectly comfortable but devoid of meaning," you see that it could happen to us.
So yes, I am proud of the economics of culture, but I take that as a sign that these people who are buying tickets and making this happen have a hunger for something more than their pocketbooks!
What actions have you decided to take in the wake of this study?
MG: This has furthered my thinking that there is a fascinating analogy between local agriculture and local culture, that has inspired in me a more holistic thinking about the role of art, the community, it economy and its culture.
SK: We are trying to publicize these figures and also help people understand that non-profits as a whole actually help our society. It is part of civilization. It is part of learning and growth. If we, as artists, do not take our survival and our audience into our own hands, we will only have ourselves to blame for our extinction. On the other hand, I think that this fight for awareness and life is part of the fundamental brilliance and contribution of art.
What do you think these economic issues portend for arts in the Valley as a whole?
MG: I think it is a call to work creatively and collaboratively, to galvanize around the important notion that culture is an essential nutrient to the life of the community. I see theaters, universities, businesses, thinkers, museums, artists and organizers working together to support this vision. I also think it's time to craft a new vocabulary and language about the function and role of art and debate this in the community at large.
On the non-economic side, how does this current Quixote production relate to the previous one? What should theatergoers expect in this year's summer spectacle?
SK: This current production is almost a sequel to the previous one. In terms of focus, it is drawn from Book Two of Cervante's 900-plus page novel. Part Two deals with more mystical fare. It's about enchantment, magic and charm, and begins to deal with the nature of love in a different way than part one. Is love just a dream, ephemeral, or is it possible that it is concrete? Certainly the relation between Quixote and Sancho is more developed, as is the relationship between Carlos [Uriona] and Matthew [Glassman]. They are much more mature as actors, and it was irresistible to return to this material. I think the whole group is more mature, and therefore capable of much more exciting and daring work.
You mentioned that there is more dialogue in the Disappearance than in some past Double Edge productions. Does this portend a new emphasis in your productions/processes?
SK: The Disappearance is an experiment, like all of our work, only this experiment is somehow about the nature of the word, and how it is relevant to theater. More importantly then the words though, we were trying to work with stillness and silence, and that is very different and challenging for us. When you work so much in the physical/spiritual realm, it is important at some point to research how you can be physical in stillness, without objects. We also tried this a bit with our Schulz piece, and so wanted to go farther.
What is the provenance of your style of theater? How does it relate to the more traditional ways of presenting narrative?
MG: Versus traditional performance narratives, our outdoor spectacle is taking more from street theater and carnival, and even visual art. We are working more with image and play… and experience of traveling physically through a children's illustrated book and imagining along as it happens. The text and the narrative are second to the idea of "play" and imagination.
SK: I do not really understand what the big hubbub is about linear narrative. Life is not linear unless you decide that the point between being born and dying is a straight line. Our shows all have a story, not often linear, but narrative on one level or another. To me, dreams are much more important then daily stories, and I believe we have enough news around us, and way too little dream."
The Illustrious Return of Don Quixote: now through Aug. 17, Aug. 20-23, $12-20, 8 p.m., Double Edge Theatre, The Farm, 948 Conway Rd., Ashfield. For tickets: (800) 811-4111, for more info: (413) 628-0277 or doubleedgetheatre.org.
