The location’s the thing: Amherst County, VA (pop. 33,000)

I have been thinking a lot about what the opening blog should cover on my new endeavor, Small Town/Big Arts.

Where I want to start is with the story of a theatre company I founded in 2006, the Endstation Theatre Company. The company was incorporated and initially based in Amherst County, VA (pop 32,000). This decision was done out of convenience rather than out of a deep desire to serve the residents of Amherst County. At the time, the company made up of recent and eager Florida State University graduates, needed a home base with a scene shop and rehearsal space. Amherst was my childhood home and my father was on the theatre faculty at Sweet Briar College which happened to be in the county. Because we had free access to the campus amenities, our initial thought was that we would rehearse and build our work in and on the campus but tour our theatrical work beyond the county’s borders. At the time, I had little to no intention of specifically serving the community where we were incorporated. Our location was merely a means to an end.

After the first year of touring a production (which was exhausting and logistically difficult) the notion of having a permanent home became more attractive. Knowing that our rehearsal and production resources were at Sweet Briar College, we started to think of how we might produce theatre on the campus and end our touring approach. From here we launched an annual summer theatre festival on the college grounds.

Serving as the Artistic Director, I started to ask myself the question of how we would attract audiences to this new venture. Because I grew up in Amherst County, I was aware of community’s culture and history but was also aware that a professional theatre festival had never existed in the county and we were going to need to build an audience that did not exist yet. With our first season we launched two shows. The first was an original play about Hurricane Camille that tragically impacted neighboring Nelson County in 1969 and a site specific Romeo and Juliet staged outside and on the front of a historic building on the Sweet Briar College campus. With this first season, we found enough success to continue on because audiences were engaged in something that felt relevant to them. The festival grew each year, built a loyal fan base, and remained on the campus for 8 years. Endstation Theatre Company (which I am no longer associated with, but remain personally close to some of the artists) continued to grow and is still producing a summer festival but now on the Randolph College Campus in neighboring Lynchburg, VA (pop. 90,000).

That first summer season became the model for the company during my entire tenure. The formula was basic and was based on a simple question; What value could we provide the community that would also feel true to our artistic mission and aims? We didn’t simply think about what we wanted to do as artists but thought about what we could do to provide real value to Amherst County and its surrounding region (with specificity). I know if we had simply produced my favorite playwrights and created theatre with subject matters that modeled my previous life as an artist in Philadelphia, we would have failed. We knew we loved original work and we knew we loved site specific theatre. We could remain true to this and harness these loves to put a spotlight on Central Virginia, exciting the residents of our community. With this approach in mind, we started a playwriting laboratory that produced original plays about and for Central Virginia and also staged imaginative outdoor site specific work with recognizable titles that highlighted and embraced the beauty of the Sweet Briar College campus and later the region itself.

With this localized approach, the community connected to our work and in turn they felt it was about and for them. Our board had great pride in representing us, supporting us, and engaging with our work. Our revenue (earned and charitable) grew each year and in 2012 we were honored by Virginians for the Arts with the “Rising Star” award. Not only were we recognized locally but those in Richmond and throughout the larger state recognized what we were doing was special.

Producing the arts for smaller communities can be tough. Often the resources are scarce (human and financial) and the supply and demand side of the work can feel upside down. Our slogan for Endstation in those early days of serving Amherst was drawn from a Washington Post article about the company in 2011. The reporter stated, “at Endstation, the location’s the thing.” I loved this. Even a journalist from outside saw that we took pride in where we were and who we were serving. I also knew that our long term viability was built on the value the community saw in our mission and presence and for our future success we had to reinforce, replenish, and build upon this value.

So, what real value can you provide your community that is true to your mission and goals?