-on conflict and imbalance S.T. A problem would originate because·a person was not being responsible to what the rest of us thought he should be responsible to ... not that he had lost sight ·of the common goal, but that he was losing sight of his own particular tree in the forest ... that was dealt with at those general meetings, and sometimes it would go for four or five hours and it would get very painful and other times' it would go for weeks ... we used to do group therapy. We don't tend to be the most tactful . . . the group comes into it at the very end, the whole thing kicks and screams before it gets to ~he group, if the group has to deal with it that meahs it's very serious. You haven't dealt with it first. - . •. Stor~front doesn't get any gold stars yet for developed group dynamics, but it sure gets an E for effort. / ·· .. A.C. We have lost a lot of the spirit of the philosophy of the collective that we very much wanted to see happen at the outset-living in community, lots of support and feedback-I'm not sure whf that is. I think the people who were focused on the collective in single-minded ways, way back when, are now not so focused on the collective in their lives. They maybe are involved in the music or photography, or maybe they are having a love affair that is taking up a lot of their time. They are getting strokes there that they were getting in the collective. How many primary relafionships can you have? • May 1980 RAIN Page 7 There really is not a mechanism or way within the animation collective foi; people to really talk freely-about their feelings. There are some collectives where that's done. It does take a lot of energy and continuity to build that kind of trust. B.G. We're, continually facing new issues. At these meetings ther(s always something new coming up and we're strugglihg to find out what we think and to work out a solution: We're all very aware of the nature of the enterprise being difficult, and we ha.veto get along to a certain extent. We have to be able to reach decisions and not get absorbed in our own egos for too long if we want the enterprise to survive, and we're pretty clear about that objective. We really try to reach decisions based on what's feasible and what we can do at the time. M.S. There has been conflict in the past in terms of people's needs. When we were having performance periods we were dominating the space for rehearsal and that was a conflict, but generally we work it out. -on the synergy of the group S.T. We're somewhat incestuous. We hang out with each other an awful lot. It's true we live in each other's pocket. We support the broadest range of individual differences, and .even if yoq don't agree with somebody's individual difference there is a group support. So that the ~hole group is not feminist, but we will support that kind of production happening at St_orefront because we believe that they have that right .. . otherwise it would be boring. There're too many things to explore. That exploring is very •important ... it's our process-... the culmination of it ... that's the intangible magic, yes, of the theater. • A.C. Now the Animation Collective is truly trying to find its own level. It's got a nice feeling about it-it's sorta back to zero. It's very relaxed, it's very unstructured and it's sort of like a little party. That's where it is now and it's a very healthy place for'it to be. There is no structure to speak_of. We've tried structure and it• doesn't work-there's a lot of resistance. People come when they feel like it. There isn't a real sense of community-it's something that's still held in people's minds but it's not a working premise for the group at large. What's the hurry? .My naturopa.th says to me, "the best things in life happen slowly." You lo·ok around and it's three years later, the same people are there, and you realize that you really do know these people. You have some feeling" some caring. There are the grounds for doing things, for trusting, so that things can happen. B.G. I don't know 1f it's political, but one thing that it does illustrate is that artists can organize very effectively and very seriously. Artists aren't inarticulate flakes. It is a profession, and given the right combination of necessity and people and .desire you can do a lot of things. You can even start a business. We felt so together, i~ was like going to church on Sunday, because we talked for about a year before we even got the space. M.S. ,We come together for meetings, we don't always get together to share. It's gone through so many evolutions. Each year has its own quality. Through the years it's honed.it down to a small group. It's taken a long_time. • -on being poor S.T. There's that unifying bond. B.G. When no one is making money, you can all be friends. ·•
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