A Publication of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe

[ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

LAB The Making Of An Experimental Performing Arts Residency Program

LAB [ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

[ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

The Making Of An Experimental Performing Arts Residency Program

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe

Philadelphia, PA livearts-fringe.org 1

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe is an

organization built around presenting the latest in cutting-

edge performance. With more than 16 years of presenting

international, national, and Philadelphia-based work, it is

clear that an investment in experimentation is necessary if

contemporary performance is to thrive in our region and

our nation. Without the resources to develop new directions

in art-making, how will artists take radical steps forward in

their work? Artists need support to explore the experimental

process and develop new ways of making work.

The Live Arts Brewery (LAB) is our investment. The LAB is

a creative incubator for the creation of new works and new

practices in contemporary performing arts. Our outlook

is not short-term. We want to facilitate artistic growth

over a substantial period of time by helping artists develop

experimental practices that they continue to incorporate into

their art-making long after they have left the LAB.

As we complete our third year of LAB artist residencies, we

take stock of our accomplishments, what we have learned so

far, and what the future could be. While our experience has

already made us wiser, we still return to these basic questions:

How can artists grow? How do we build an environment

where artists intersect, engage, and exchange ideas that may

get put into practice? How can artists experiment with how

they make work, and the work they make, while also coping

with the day-to-day realities of life?

Our job is to continually ask such questions, and to

continually refine our responses to the unpredictable nature

of the creative process.

Supporting us on our mission are The Kresge Foundation,

the National Endowment for the Arts, the John S. and James

L. Knight Foundation, the Independence Foundation, and

the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

Craig Peterson, Director of LAB

From the LAB Director

2“ It is so necessary for artists to have a contemplative place in which to push their ideas forward and make the best work they can.” Tere O’Connor, Artistic Director, Tere O’Connor Dance

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The Live Arts Brewery is a laboratory for research and development. We support artistic research, experimentation, and

exploration of contemporary theater, dance, and cross-genre live performance work. Our hope is that the LAB can be a place

where the line between process and product is effectively blurred and the work of artists deepens, expands, and thrives.

LAB FELLOWSHIPOur signature program is dedicated to research, process,

and the development of artistic ideas and practices. There

is no expectation of a final performance or production

outside of informal showings. Up to five artists are selected

for ten-month residency fellowships. Each fellow is given

generous use of the LAB studio and a stipend. In addition,

the artists follow a curriculum designed to further the

active exploration of creative processes.

SCRATCH NIGHTThis monthly series showcases the in-progress work of

our fellows and other invited artists as they create live

art from scratch. Post-showing discussions encourage

audiences to be a part of the artistic process; audiences

provide feedback to artists and learn how and why creative

decisions are made. With the addition of free beer, Scratch

Night turns the artistic process into an event and creates

a social environment for informal discussions between

audiences and artists.

LAB PRODUCTION RESIDENCYProduction residencies are awarded to selected artists

who are moving their work from the studio to full-scale

production. Here the artists have a technical playground

and continue the trajectory of showing work as part of the

creative process.

LAB TESTOur production residents formally present their new work

with lights, sound, video, projection, and other critical

technical elements. Are audiences reacting as anticipated?

Do the show’s technical and presentational elements

further the artistic vision? Audiences are invited to these

final stages of a show’s development and asked to respond

in real time to the creative process.

LAB Programs

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“ When we began the LAB program in 2009, we had no idea how many lessons were in store for us. In general, artists have guided how the building blocks of our programming were constructed.” Craig Peterson, Director of LAB

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe

moved its office to 919 Fifth Street in the spring of 2009,

and for the first time we had our own performance and

rehearsal space. Finally, we had a space to help develop

new shows and give artists the opportunity to experiment.

We knew Philadelphia had a robust community of serious

artists and audiences who wanted to be deeply engaged

with the performing arts. What we found lacking was a

creative incubator, one that could help artists grow in their

individual explorations and encourage the exchange of

ideas and creative know-how between artists. Surveying

the national creative landscape, we also knew that

such an incubator would make us one of the country’s

few organizations that invested in the development of

contemporary performance.

As our building was once a brewery, we decided to name

our new program Live Arts Brewery (LAB). The core of

the LAB would be artist residencies. Every artist needs a

place and time to investigate ideas, develop new methods

of art-making, or to work towards a production with the

resources to explore many paths. We envisioned creative

work in constant ferment; within our walls artists would

be pushing boundaries, experimenting, researching,

discovering, and engaging in an artistic dialogue with

each other and with audiences.

The LAB does not model itself after a retreat. Most of our

resident artists live nearby. For us, artistic growth needs

to be developed alongside the artists’ daily lives—and the

very real obligations and pressures that exist outside of

the studio. Once we figured this out, we were compelled

to create a more structured, hands-on program. We

have found that this approach has helped artistic

experimentation flourish over the course of our program.

A PLACE FOR ART-MAKING

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“ We wanted our homegrown talent to get access to proper resources and development.” Nick Stuccio, Producing Director, Live Arts Festival

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With our first group of resident fellows, we wanted to grow

the program in response to the artists’ needs. We decided

to provide artists with space, time, and a stipend and see

what happened. What would they do with total freedom?

Despite making essential resources available, total freedom

did not lead to great productivity. We learned that some

planning and programming helped produce the most

work and the most exploration.

We had also assumed that given the resources, the aesthetic

of our curated festival, and that the LAB is a laboratory,

that our artists would naturally practice the kind of

research we expected them too. What we didn’t take into

account was that the artists, as talented as they are, might

not truly understand how to enjoin research practices

into their art and that they needed to be introduced to

more rigorous methods of experimentation. Now, by

applying our curatorial knowledge and perspective more

directly to the program, we can help the artists place their

experimentation into a larger performing arts framework.

LAB fellows now need to map out their year in advance by

creating a research plan with guidance from the program

director. The fellows use these plans to track their

progress, measure success, and overcome challenges. At

monthly meetings we examine the challenges that come

with creative opportunities. Experienced visiting artists

are invited to share techniques for overcoming issues

that accompany artistic processes. We address creative

issues as real-world problems that artists must learn to

manage. This more structured environment has spurred

the artists’ productivity.

On the administrative side, the program director works

closely with artists so that the program can respond to

their evolving requirements—as individuals and as a

group. To manage the dynamic nature of a group of artists,

clear and direct communication about the program’s

expectations must be made at the outset: in our case,

creating a framework for activity that sets expectations for

creation without emphasizing product over process.

PROGRAMMING CREATIVITY

“ Overall the LAB was a legitimating structure for me to let things run their course.” Gregory Holt, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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“ We recognize that total freedom can be overwhelmed by practical limitations. So the LAB requires more structure from artists rather than less: more thought, planning, research, and reflection.” Craig Peterson, Director of LAB

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“ The selection of LAB artists has been very diverse and has put different artists in different disciplines at different stages in their work at the same level to create and share together.” Thaddeus Phillips, 2010–11 Production Resident

“ As I am beginning to explore my work as an individual, away from company and producer, the LAB has served as a home base, a place and a community on which I could rely, and a space for true experimentation and research.” Alex Torra, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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Five artists are selected annually to engage in a ten-month

residency fellowship. The artists research and develop

new ideas, interact and collaborate with fellow artists,

and engage in critical dialogue about contemporary live

performance. The group is purposely a mix of dance,

theater, and cross-genre artists. Each LAB fellow has use

of the studio space for a minimum of six weeks. The LAB

creates the platforms for discussion, work-in-progress

showings, experimentation, and practical advice sessions.

We also help connect our resident artists to outside artists

and critical thinkers.

The selection of artists is made more by the questions

the artists ask than the productions they plan to make.

The fellowship program does not mandate the direction

of an individual artist but rather creates conditions

that spur each artist further down the road of his or her

“peculiar curiosities,” as one fellow put it. We emphasize

the exploration of multiple perspectives and creative

processes so that artists may discover new ways of

expressing themselves. It is challenging for an artist to step

into unfamiliar terrain: by having ten months in residency,

artists develop a facility for experimentation that can last

long after the residency is finished.

The LAB production residencies are for artists working on

the later stages of a production. We created this program

after our first LAB year when we realized the need for some

artists to more fully develop their ideas. These residencies

allow for continued experimentation, audience and peer

feedback, and the ability to work extensively with the

technical aspects of a show for an extended period of time.

While these fully realized presentations are opportunities

for artists to refine shows for the Philadelphia Live Arts

Festival, they also represent a continuation of the LAB’s

experimentation process into the final phase of production.

THE LAB ARTISTS

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For the performing arts to be innovative, fresh, and

culturally relevant, we must endow artists with resources

so that they can practice creative exploration. Research and

development have driven the innovations that have made

America the world’s largest economy. Yet few resources are

allocated to experimental research and development in the

performing arts. Why do we lack resources in the very field

for which innovation is synonymous with the lifeblood of

the form?

The LAB is dedicated to providing these vital resources. We

found that research and development for a performing artist

takes many forms: movement and vocal experimentation,

technical experimentation, development of technique, learning

new crafts, working with other artists, opening up one’s process,

and researching other art forms, artists, and styles.

No single approach works with all artists, and so our program

must be flexible to address the needs of individual perspectives

and processes. At the same time, we provide benchmarks to

ensure that the research takes place and is productive.

It is from our history as a presenting organization that

we believe research and development aids in all phases

of a work from inception to the complex details of its

refinement. Research and development allows artists to find

new ways to work, new artistic vocabularies to play with,

and new ideas to explore for years on end. LAB artists gain

knowledge from putting experimentation into practice. As

one fellow put it, “I’m in a totally different space in relation

to my art-making than I was at the beginning of the year.”

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

“ Essentially, I wanted to have time and space to explore ideas to their illogical ends, far beyond the performance they would finally be part of.” Adrienne Mackey, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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“ The fellowship experience opened up creative possibilities and gave legitimacy to ideas that I may otherwise never have explored. It has enabled a renaissance in my life as an artist.” Mary McCool, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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“ The monthly discussions are mandatory for the LAB fellows and have become a vital mechanism to nurture a community of inquiry as well as foster peer-to-peer support.” Simon Dove, Director, ASU School of Dance, Herberger Institute

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It is important to choose our artists with an eye to group

dynamics—an artist whose curiosity does not extend past

his or her own work might have little to contribute to the

rest of the group. The artists need to be resources to one

another. Having peers at-hand to lend insight to each

other’s processes, and to exchange ideas and methods,

creates a community of artists participating in the

evolution of each other’s work. While discussions range

from informal to structured, serendipitous to scheduled,

they become essential to the program’s efforts to further

creative exploration and the evolution of ideas.

Artists visit each other’s rehearsals, gaining insight into their

fellow artists’ processes and discovering new techniques to

apply to their own work. In a performance world growing

with hybridization, the intermingling of dance and theater

artists has helped open up lines of creativity for both. As

one dance artist pointed out, “the LAB unites the dance and

theater communities. I now have friends to turn to if I need

help with theatrical collaborations and explorations.”

The interaction between LAB artists has been one of

the most successful components of our program. “The

monthly meetings became a real opportunity for artistic

conversation, with artists at different moments in their

artistic journeys and with varying perspectives and points

of view,” one fellow noted, “it is a kind of gathering that

doesn’t happen as often as it should.”

Over the course of a residency, LAB artists cultivate a

dialogue around how they work. The conversations

between artists enhance their ability to speak to their art

and their creative methods and to communicate complex

ideas. The more discussion, the better these ideas are

elucidated, and the more dynamic this conversation

becomes. Ultimately this conversation can emerge into a

greater context, the public context, and by extension, the

cultural context.

ARTIST TO ARTIST: PEER INTERACTION

“ I really appreciated all of the times that the fellows got together. It was like artist church.” Jumatatu Poe, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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We want to help artists view their art-making from new

perspectives. Inside the studio, artists build ideas upon

ideas, but until the work is seen by an audience, an artist

cannot know how the ideas manifest themselves. By getting

live performance in front of an audience at an early stage,

artists gain the opportunity to see what’s working and

what’s not—but not necessarily as it relates to a production.

We are more interested in finding out whether the basic

experimentation that has been going on in the studio

translates to an audience.

For the artists, showings are a time to put experimentation

into practice. As former LAB fellow Adrienne Mackey

recalled, “The most successful part of the work came right

before showings because this caused us to take the work

we’d ruminated on over many months and find a way to

articulate it to an outsider…to make sure what we’d done in

rehearsals also resonated with outsiders who hadn’t spent

the same time with the material.”

In a room full of other observers (the audience), artists can

witness how the work changes, how performers respond

differently, and how ideas resonate under the audience’s

watchful eyes. The purpose of the public showings is not

for artists to prepare a product; the showings themselves

are a form of research, another opportunity to open up the

creative process. By inviting the audience into the process,

the conversation extends to the possibilities inherent in the

experimental methods on display.

INTERSECTIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD

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“ The urge for product in this business is undeniable, even in this experiment-oriented process. I found a good middle ground in trying out ideas that I would never otherwise get to explore publicly.” Mary McCool, 2010–11 LAB Fellow

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“ You could call the work at Scratch Night a high-level risk—yes, the ideas in play are not fully realized, but they often involve established artists whose track records give them credibility; people want in on their experiments.” Howie Shapiro, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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Audience participation during the art-making process is

essential. As John Cage was known to say, “The audience

completes the work.”

If experimental dance, theater, and cross-disciplinary

performance are to have audiences, we must break down

the mysteries that often shroud our work. If audiences can’t

follow the work and artists won’t create entry points to it,

audiences won’t show up. Showing work as it is being made,

inviting audiences in on the ground floor of the artist’s

process, creates fertile ground for audience education and

art-making to align.

At Scratch Night we ask audiences to engage with work

that is unfinished and potentially challenging, and

we make this clear from the start. In this context, by

vocalizing their responses to an in-progress showing,

audiences make an emotional investment in the

artistic process. Even if an audience member expresses

frustration, it is given with the desire to understand how

a work is being made and why—a conversation is begun.

We also provide free beer to turn this process into an

event, and after the feedback session we leave time for

informal conversations between audiences and artists.

Opening a window onto the process is not just about

building audiences, however. When audiences gain

insight into how a work is created, they begin to notice the

evolution of themes within the work and learn to interpret

the work from new perspectives. In turn, artists can develop

ideas more deeply with an audience who understands the

language of the piece. By putting the creative process front

and center, ideas around experimental art-making become

part of a broader cultural dialogue. The process itself—the

complexity behind creating new work, the concern for what

should be investigated artistically—takes on a life of its own.

THE AUDIENCE PLAYS A PART

“ It’s the artist’s job to allow all perspectives. It is the audience member’s responsibility to open him or herself to a potential experience.” Craig Peterson, LAB Director

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In 2013, the Live Arts organization will move into a new,

permanent home, a stunning 15,000-square-foot historic

building that will include a state-of-the-art theater and

studio, offices, an outdoor plaza, and a gastropub. Our

new home will allow us to become a national incubator

to support world-renowned artists from Philadelphia

and beyond.

We expect experimental artists based near and far to view

our building and our city as a creative haven to work on

productions—and to consider Philadelphia audiences as

a resource for their creative development. Additionally, we

hope to partner with like-minded organizations throughout

the country so that artists may utilize a network of research-

and-development programs over a longer period of time.

Our new home will serve as a place to see the best art and for

audiences to interact with art as it is being developed. With

in-progress showings, access to rehearsals, and other events

that explore the practice of artistic experimentation, we will

expand the give-and-take between audiences and artists—

and the exchange of ideas and knowledge between artists.

The U.S. has a long history of performance innovation,

but for many years that innovation has been vastly under-

resourced. The LAB and similar programs are vital to our

profession. Presenters, artists, arts administrators, arts

patrons, and audiences belong to the same community

and inform and support each other. It is our collective

necessity to invest in the creative growth of contemporary

performing arts.

Experimental art is by definition on the frontline of

creativity, opening doors to what is possible in performance.

Without the resources for exploration, creative expression

narrows. A serious investment in creative exploration brings

benefits beyond individual artistic expression—it advances

the very nature of conceptual thought and the ability to ask

big questions.

FUTURE LAB

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“ We consider ourselves part of the national artistic community, so we plan to play into the greater landscape. Making our new home into a national center where artists can develop amazing, innovative work is vital to our success.” Nick Stuccio, Producing Director, Live Arts Festival

LAB [ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

[ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

Words by Josh McIlvain and Craig Peterson.

Design by Masters Group Design.

All photos by Kevin Monko except: page 10 photo by Robin Barnes, page 12 photo by Josh McIlvain, back inside cover photo by Bill Hebert.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe919 North 5th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19123livearts-fringe.org

LAB: The Making Of An Experimental Performing Arts Residency ProgramCopyright © 2012 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.All Rights Reserved.

In 2009 the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and

Philly Fringe began the Live Arts Brewery (LAB) to

provide artists with resources and time to research

and develop new forms of contemporary performing

arts. The LAB is a creative incubator where artists-

in-residence can explore artistic practice in ways that

will have a lasting influence on their careers.

While we began our program with an earnest desire to

invest more deeply in the creative processes of artists,

many questions remained about how this could best

be achieved. This publication shares the findings from

our journey thus far and illustrates our approaches

to facilitating artistic exploration and growth.

[ L I V E A R T S B R E W E R Y ]

LAB

dolfinger-mcmahon foundation