Meet and Greet
Posted by Edward Sobel on 6/01/2006We had our first day of rehearsal on Tuesday for Bruce Norris‘ new play The Unmentionables. One of the first day rituals at Steppenwolf is something called the “meet and greet”. The entire staff of the theater descends upon the rehearsal room, and after some words of welcome from Martha Lavey, they introduce themselves one by one to the artists involved in the production. Usually standing in a large circle around the rehearsal table, each staff member announces their name and job position. Listening to this litany on Tuesday, I was struck by the sheer number of people it takes to actually present a play and maintain Steppenwolf as a healthy and vibrant organization. Many of these people get virtually no public recognition, except for their names in small print at the back of the program. In addition, as I’m sure most of you know, the financial rewards for working in not-for-profit arts are significantly lower than what one might expect in the commercial or private sector. I was struck by the thought that each person in this circle, from the Marketing Coordinator to the Costume Shop Manager to the Donor Records Assistant was here at least in large part, because of his or her faith in what we do, and a mutual embrace of the challenges we face. It was a remarkably affirmative way to start.