Today we had an incredible meeting with Curt Columbus the Artistic Director of Trinity Rep. After speaking with Trinity actors yesterday and seeing "Dead Man's Cell Phone" last night, we were really looking forward to talking with Curt about all that is so positively working for Trinity... namely the resident acting ensemble which is something quite rare for professional theatres in America.
Curt has been the Artisic Director of Trinity since 2006 and since his arrival has moved the theatre to a more artist centered and community engaged organization. If a team is only as strong as it's leader, Trinity Rep is one of the strongest organizations we've seen. Curt's passionate yet selfless vision resonated with us on many levels.
An integral component of what we spoke about came back to a common theme from our latest talks... the idea of redefining success. Is it the money and the success, or is it the community connection, the depth of the work, and the ways you've educated and enriched ? So often theatres are held to the standard of measuring up to the ideals of money and fame, yet if a theatre's success is only measured by money and fame... then the organization it isn't serving it's true purpose within society.
We had an engaging conversation about his vision and philosophy about the artists connection. What was perhaps most encouraging is his commitment to the health of the lives of the artists in the company. He is committed to creating a family of artists that have the opportunity for a continuum of artistic work. Such a continuum allows each artists to grow in new ways, but also has the power to create a deeper connection with the community both onstage and off. Curt is an awesome guy and a true inspiration to all of us!
We had our breakfast meeting at this really neat restaurant called Tazza... if you're ever in Providence, Rhode Island check it out!
After our morning meeting we got back into the RVs and got on the road to NYC. One of the challenges of traveling to big cities is that we're often trying to figure out where to park our RV! For NYC we'll have our big RV in an airport parking lot, our smaller RV in a Jersey City RV camp, and then we'll be taking our luggage with us on the PATH train into NYC to stay with friends.
It's amazing how many little details come into play when planning a trip like this, but fortunately after 26 days on the road, our spirits are high and we're handling them well!
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