Short Summary
Double Edge Theatre is an artist-run, multifaceted, and internationally recognized nonprofit organization located in Ashfield, Massachusetts. The group produces and hosts live performances on and off their 100-acre plot, provides space and time to dedicated artists and artisans, offers training to people of all ages and experience levels, farms some of their own food, actively creates spaces of inclusion and dialogue for community members, and provides housing for those in transition.Website address: doubleedgetheatre.org
Location: Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA
Founder & Artistic Director: Stacy Klein
Profile
With all that Double Edge Theatre manages to cultivate, it can be easy to forget that their primary mission is to create high-quality art. However, their holistic approach to art is what makes them so successful. According to Carlos, they gauge their success according to their vision and mission statements, whether members experience personal fulfillment, whether they provide an environment for folks to explore and find meaning, and long-term, external collaborations. High quality art follows from these intentions, which Double Edge Theatre has been achieving successfully for some time. To the folks at Double Edge, art is more than the destination; it is also the journey.Members use art to process pain and prevent political paralysis. The theater calls this “art justice.” The integration of community, artists, and art—“living culture”—has allowed them to merge and enrich their work and personal lives.
YOUTUBE G1Gzbe02zFQ Leonora's World (Trailer 2018/2019)
Governance
Double Edge’s commitment to self-governance and related practices falling under the umbrella of commoning is another reason for the notable quality of their art. Leadership consists of two bodies: the ensemble and the board. The ensemble is the artistic core group; twelve people lead and direct the group’s art production. Work and personal life coexist and the two are interdependent, with barter, food systems, and exchange as part of its members’ economy. Half of the nonprofit’s board consists of long-term ensemble members, and half of external partners such as a former state representative, a community college president, and business, legal, national field artists, and local representatives.Both bodies use consensus-based decision making, and because of their member overlap, information flows freely. They are also governed by written by-laws, further increasing overall transparency. Additionally, artists legally own the content that they create at Double Edge Theatre. Copyright may seem counterintuitive to the commons, but it removes barriers that artists often face as a result of more traditional hierarchies and ownership structures. Artists usually opt to give their original content freely to those building an alternative organization such as a commons, but they reserve the right to charge or deny someone if a non-member wants to profit from the theater’s original material.
Friends & Partners
Double Edge Theatre's consistent commitment to integrating itself with the community is also a manifestation of its effort to common. It does not separate itself from its neighbors in Ashfield. In fact, it invites them to participate. In the same vein, Double Edge Theatre members sit on local commissions, are politically active, and use ecologically sound agricultural practices for future users and to mitigate climate change. The theatre is embedded in the ecological and social systems surrounding it, and yet it is also resilient and partially self-sufficient with its on-site housing and food production.This nuanced, multi-layered relationship mirrors the history behind the group’s name, which comes from the double-edged ax used in Ancient Greek tragicomic rituals. These rituals represented life’s paradox of simultaneous comedy and tragedy.
YOUTUBE iGPpdH0VaRg Double Edge Theatre Artist Immersion Testimonial