Transcendence and the tempest

I’m a big fan of Transcendence Theatre Company, for both their stellar Broadway revues and their community engagement. A recent statement issued by Nikko Kimzin on his resignation from the company and the ensuing statements from other former company members Leah Sprecher, Brooke Tansley, and Robert Petrarca make various charges regarding leadership and management of the company, alleging Executive Director Brad Surosky and Artistic Director Amy Miller have failed to follow their own goals, especially concerning diversity and inclusion. Several also demand Surosky and Miller resign from TTC’s board of directors, citing conflict of interest.

Here’s what I know. Every nonprofit theatre I’ve worked with has included the Artistic Director and/or Executive Director on their board in some capacity. They might hold a position, or be called a Liaison, or Advisor, or Consultant— but they help the board understand how theatre operates, how royalties work, what a lighting designer does, when press releases need to go out; in other words, all the details that go into the running of a theatre. Most board members brought in from the community don’t have more than a rudimentary knowledge of all that has to happen behind the scenes to make theatre happen, and depend on the A.D. for information. It’s common practice, it’s not illegal, and it’s necessary.

This commonality also reflects that the A.D. is often the founder of the company, whose vision for starting a theatre in the first place needs to be the guidance, the context for all decisions. The A.D. helms the artistic side of the theatre, and should be present anywhere decisions are being made regarding governance of the company. It is, after all, their company.

There are at least two sides to every story, and I was missing TTC’s side. Other than a brief statement of apology (see image) issued shortly after Kimzin’s statement, I hadn’t seen any comments from Surosky or Miller. Contacting Surosky, I learned of the extensive statement to be published, now posted on their website (also in the Gazette). It spells out changes already made or in the works, including Diversity-Equity-Inclusion workshops, creating a Diversity advisory committee, hiring of an H.R. firm, and amending board membership.

Surosky added, “We see this as an opportunity to be leaders. We can champion this and be real leaders for the company and the community.” They’ve been working on implementing deep change for over a year, and are eager to continue moving forward. It’s easy to see how a company that grew so quickly from startup to hugely successful now needs to revisit structure, policy and practice. TTC’s actions and plans for movement reflect their usual passion and desire to improve.

The pandemic has meant major loss of earned revenues. A return to live performance can’t come soon enough for TTC, and indeed for all our struggling local theatres.

Transcendence Theatre Company has been in existence a short decade, but in that time has entertained thousands with superbly produced musical revues while literally saving Jack London Park. The company has employed over 3500 people in that time, run an internship program for budding theatre artists, developed a popular youth program, raised funds for fire victims, performed at community events, donated show tickets for local fundraising efforts, supported local businesses and shown in countless other ways their commitment to the region they call home. The company’s big heart and determination to do even better deserve our respect and appreciation.