Network of Ensemble Theaters
Mark Valdez, (323) 255-2124
6/27/08

With the announcement this week that Theatre de la Jeune Lune will cease operations and sell its home in Minneapolis, the theater community and especially the ensemble sector must stop and take stock of what this loss means to the field.

Artistically, we are losing the generative company of such works as the outlandish and joyous "Yang Zen Froggs," the elegiac "Figaro" and the wickedly funny and verbally biting production of "The Miser." This alone is reason to mourn. Work created by ensembles is personal, cannot be easily recreated and is therefore even more ephemeral than "traditional theater." Yet as a field, we are even more saddened by the loss of one of our own: an ensemble. At their peak, Jeune Lune"s five Co-Artistic Directors comprised an ensemble driven to explore new artistic techniques and art forms. They trained together, created together and shared a joint vision that was Theatre de la Jeune Lune.

Although ensembles are beginning to experience a renaissance, the closing of Jeune Lune reminds us that we are still operating in a precarious time. No one can say for certain if we have hit the bottom of the economic downturn and one can"t help but ask, "If a renowned, respected and established company like Jeune Lune who has been operating for 30 years can go under, what does this mean for the small ensemble that�s just starting out?' Yes, we must be concerned.

The ensemble sector is a vital component of the theater ecosystem. This is where artistic risk-taking and experimentation happens (see The Wooster Group, Mabou Mines, SITI Company, Lookingglass, UNIVERSES, The Rude Mechanicals...it's a long list). This is where communities are invited by the very form of the theater presented to participate and to dialogue with one another (see Cornerstone Theater Company, Carpetbag Theater, Sojourn Theater, Irondale Ensemble, Roadside Theater...another long list). This is where artists are nurtured and developed. This is where new work is being cultivated (see August: Osage County, a Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play created by Steppenwolf Theater Company: an ensemble).

Jeune Lune paved the way for their own successes through their commitment and integrity as an ensemble. They deserve all our congratulations on a prolific life and career that at each step put the values of ensemble at the forefront: They committed to pay, nurture and support a full-time, professional ensemble. They created new, adventurous work as a company through own, collaborative processes. They honored the importance of skill building, training rigorously to perfect an aesthetic and style that was uniquely their own. They made rehearsals and performances joyful experiences. We anxiously await their next iteration and during this hiatus, their absence will certainly leave a void in the field.

For our part, the Network of Ensemble Theaters (the only organization singularly supporting, advocating and promoting the ensemble field) will honor Jeune Lune's legacy by tirelessly communicating to the world the breadth, and scope of ensemble work by building a knowledge base that investigates and documents our artistic experiments and by encouraging and supporting the exchange of resources and methodologies between ensembles so that we can strengthen our work. Like the new moon for which the company was named, they may not be seen but their presence will certainly be felt.

This is indeed a sad occasion but it is also an opportunity to ask hard questions of ourselves and each other and to recommit ourselves to our work. It's a call to action, to meet our responsibilities as artist-citizens: to create.

Good night moon.

Mark Valdez
National Coordinator
Network of Ensemble Theaters
Los Angeles, CA