PlayWrite Newsletter October 2024
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.—Winston Churchill
Falling Forward
It’s a busy and inspiring fall here at PlayWrite, Inc! We took a short time out from program tasks for a chat. . .
PlayWrite Executive Director, Aimee Farr
GET TO KNOW AIMEE FARR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Recently appointed PlayWrite, Inc. Executive Director Aimee Farr arrived in Portland from Boise, Idaho ten years ago with a BA in Theatre Performance Acting & Directing, an MBA, a passion for the arts, and a desire to work in the theatrical nonprofit realm.
Interviewer: How did you and PlayWrite find each other?
Aimee: I applied for a job. Bruce [Livingston, PlayWrite Founder] was looking for an assistant to do mostly business-related tasks. That was May of 2019.
Interviewer: So your role was Administrative Assistant. How did it evolve once you joined PlayWrite?
Aimee: I maintained that title for a while. Then Bruce cross-trained me to assist when we had workshops. Shortly after that, a senior coach who also supported Bruce on development was leaving to be Executive Director of Boom Arts. And Bruce asked, “Can you take on overseeing and tracking grants,” and I said sure. The next workshop, they were short a coach, and he was like, do you want to train to be a coach. And I was like, yeah, I do. (laughs)
My very first workshop was with Syrian refugee kids. It was a really rewarding experience. And that's when I really and truly understood the magic of PlayWrite and how it can transform somebody.
So, then, Bruce wanted to retire, and the board came up with the idea of a shared leadership model. They hired Katherine [Lefever] as Development Director in late April of 2020. With Victor [Mack] on the program side, the three of us governed PlayWrite as a collective and moved it forward. It’s been an interesting five years, so much of it swallowed up by the pandemic.
When I saw the opportunity, I put forward to the board that I would like to be Executive Director, and they made me an offer for the current position.
Aimee Farr, Katherine Lefever
Interviewer: Can you share any future PlayWrite plans or programs?
Aimee: Sure! Coming in as Executive Director, my plan, something I started as Interim actually, was working with the Program Committee.
We developed this Program Committee which has members from staff like myself, the board, and a lot of coach involvement, making sure that we are listening to our coaches.
I had a three-pronged approach. I wanted to first look at where we need to update our current program. For instance, we use the Hamlet soliloquy, “to be or not to be,” as a demonstration during the workshop. One of our actors performs it. And we talk about replacing it. Because it doesn't matter if you're speaking in Shakespearean English, the message is clear what he's talking about: Do I keep on living or do I not keep on living. It can be triggering to students. But it also reminds them that people have been dealing with this. . .it is part of the human condition. And there's comfort in that somewhat. So, do we want to replace Hamlet?
Second was new program development. Where do we see opportunities for PlayWrite? I don't just mean new partners, but do we want to serve other populations, too. Something that comes up again and again is that, to serve certain partners we would need to develop a shorter program. That is also an open conversation.
And the third piece was how do we standardize our training program so our coaches are ready for the job and we’re able to replicate that, as opposed to training being very reliant on the most senior coaches imparting their knowledge. How do we capture [the program] so it can be passed on, updated or reevaluated as needed.
Our last training program led to discussion about other opportunities and new programs. What if the training program is the new program. What if we take PlayWrite elsewhere? What if we develop something similar to the Georgia project and go to rural and coastal areas and teach small teams the PlayWrite program? We can expand our reach, and there's funding for those programs.
That was where the road signs were pointing. So that is what we're working on developing now. We have a great team. Brian Kettler [Program Coordinator] is working very hard on this. [Coaches] Ashley Olson and Orion Bradshaw are doing the nitty gritty. Other people on the Program Committee are informing our work. We’re very fortunate to have such educated, wonderful coaches and teaching artists willing to participate. They're very excited about the potential of taking it elsewhere.
We are looking for partners in areas like Tillamook County so we can go out there and make this happen.
Interviewer: So, when you say partners, do you mean partner organizations? What kind of organization?
Aimee: Partner organizations, yes. School or a school district, library, theatrical organization, anybody that has a stake in the work we're doing and wants to bring it to their area with the connection that can make it happen. We put together a memorandum of understanding and apply for grants jointly. It's hard for us to get a grant in Yamhill County, for example, when our organization is fully in Portland, Oregon, and we haven't ventured there yet.
Interviewer: It's brilliant. Because it takes the PlayWrite program and seeds something that will impact untold numbers of communities and lives.
Aimee: Doing it in other areas also gives those communities opportunity to support emerging artists. Sometimes kids don't even know they're interested until they do it. “Youth at the edge” is very, very important to us. But I would say after the pandemic, all these kids have been through some trauma.
What Bruce has built is so very important. I want to keep us tied back to him and the ideals. One of the things he said is adolescence is at the edge. When you talk about “youth at the edge,” just being an adolescent is being at the edge. Art is at the edge. That's where “the edge” came from.
As long as our main focus is youth at the edge and we are making ourselves available to kids who are incarcerated, or in group homes, or whatever, as long as we're making sure of that, we are fulfilling our mission.
“The coaches don’t just do it for the money”
They do it for the experience. They do it because they know how important art is in their own lives and want to impart that to another generation, even if those kids don't go into the arts. Anytime anyone brings up theater, I'm sure for the rest of their lives [the kids] will think about when they did PlayWrite and wrote a play. They'll say, ‘Did you know I wrote a play, and did you know that people performed it and I got to direct it.’ I mean, it's just the coolest thing.”
But a secondary mission for me and the organization is serving our coaches, our teaching artists. The more experienced a coach is, the better coach they are. I also believe they should be able to create art and help teach that art to others. That's a noble pursuit, that is a career choice. A lot of us in this city need to come together and talk about how we're serving these artists. Because if we don't, they'll disappear. We have a vibrant arts community, and I want to keep it growing. Things don't stay static. You're either growing or shrinking. And if you don't know which it is, it's probably shrinking. (laughs) So you have to really push for the growth thing to happen.
Interviewer: Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing, Aimee.
Aimee: Thank you!
Coming Up
Don’t miss the final HOLLYWOOD FUN FEST of the year, Saturday, October 26, from 10am-1pm! Join PlayWrite and other neighborhood friends at the PBOT-sponsored Play Streets event next to the Hollywood Farmers Market (44th Ave between Sandy & Hancock).
Enjoy fun-for-all, family-friendly games (cornhole, giant Jenga), casual PlayWrite performances and activities, and more. There might even be some sweet Halloween treats.
We have a two-week workshop with Mt. Scott Learning Center beginning December 2, with a final performance scheduled for Monday December 16 (location and time TBD). Contact us if you’d like to attend.
Thank You
PlayWrite is proud to be among the recently announced recipients of FY 2025 Operating Support grants from Oregon Arts Commission.
OAC Operating Support helps us sustain our transformational performance-based programs for “youth at the edge.” Thank you, OAC! And congrats to all awardees!
News About PlayWrite People
PlayWrite Coach/Actor Chris Harder has been teaching Authentic Connection, his fun, supportive acting class for 15 years. Using the Meisner technique, you'll learn to build connection through attentive observation, listening, repetition, and moment-to-moment authentic responses. Open to all levels.
Classes upcoming. Get more info.
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