The Art of Creating Change
I've been creating and shaping Treehouse Shakers for 26 years. And over these 26 years, I have written, directed or produced over 20 original shows. When I started the company with my friend/business/creative partner, Emily Bunning, theater was a man's world. Men were the directors. The majority of plays, that were the industry standards, written by men. I had been raised on the writings by men. Executive and Artistic Directors were men. Directors were men. Producers were men. Presented choreographers were primarily men.
Theater felt like an uphill battle. Auditions were men behind tables. Men seemed more connected, able to network faster than I could. Oftentimes, if I was in a room full of male colleagues, they talked over me. Through me. I was the girl. Blaringly aware of my gender. When I landed one of my very first big professional NYC Acting jobs, the director, a man, left me Hershey kisses in my dressing room before the performances. Every time we were at a big celebration for the success of the show, the director would try to kiss me. The Hershey kisses symbolic. Me an object. If I had played along, perhaps I too would've been the lead in the next big project. But I didn't play along. Instead I wanted change.
I wanted to change the industry.
I am writing this, to remember the way the world was. To remind myself how far we have come as a company. And me, as an artist. The way the world was. Still remains. The last few years we have watched powerful men, taken down for their actions, for their abuses against women from decades ago. The decades I am now referring to.
But those early years pushed me. Sparked my passion to do better. Treat others better.
Featured Performers: Kristina, Lara Hayes, Gillian Walsh, Virginia Jones, Valerie Green
Fast forward all these years. I am so proud of the work Treehouse Shakers has accomplished. All the plays I have directed, written, produced. Festivals I started. Awards I have helped others to receive. Artists we have supported. Young people we have inspired. Families who have been raised on our shows. Schools we have partnered alongside. The collaborations, the networks. Ways of doing things. Making theater. Creating dance. The ways of doing changed. Long before it was trendy, Treehouse Shakers worked as a collective. We have always devised with our company of artists. Today, there is a glaring tokenism in our industry, that seems to feel inauthentic. Hiring solely for diversity sake. It is degrading to the artists. Creating equity has to be more than that. True collective art-making, true equity is valuing artists. We must demand that others are heard, not spoken over. Goes back to those early years and I felt minimized, talked-over, looked-over for my gender. I still crave more for my own art-making process and success, to be truly seen for the work. But at the same time, it is the artists in our company that I also want to succeed.
Our Very First Show for Young People, Flying Through Rainbows, Written/ Directed by Mara McEwin (also who acted as B.B. Butterfly), Choreography by Emily Bunning, presented as part of a larger festival I was also the Co-Founder of Pure Pop Festival, 1999
Mara & Emily at 2023 THS' Spring Benefit, Photo Credit Christopher Claxton
The Littlest Cove, Written/Directed by Mara McEwin, Choreography by Emily Bunning2023 Premiere at Ailey Studio Theater
Featured Performers (left to right): Reginald K. Jackson, Olivia St. Peter & Katie Montoya
Featured Performers (left to right): Olivia St. Peter, Aria Publicover, Ella Leh, Barry J. Gold
Your experiences and astute observations concerning the exclusionary behavior of the "old boys network" and patriarchy that dominates and disenfranchises creatives is right on point! I've never accepted tokenism, even if others attempted to foist that label on me, to make themselves feel better. Any decent psychoanalyst will tell you (if they're honest) that superiority complexes usually are attempts to mask an inner inferiority complex, so narcissists of this kind (the most glaring example of our time, DJT) are so imbued with nepotism, paternalism, racism along with other isms, that it becomes an expected way of life. The anger and pushback we have witnessed from the halls of Washington DC to around the world is now being exposed, documented and called out for what it really is-fear, anxiety and guilt, that accountability is coming and it scares them, like it did so many others throughout history. We must keep confronting and exposing the detrimental forces through creativity, positive activity and role models, and keep learning, keep researching, keep discovering the humanity in us all, and you are doing that! I continue to do it with my musical and visual practices, though it has always been an uphill battle, when some "join up" and knuckle under for a few crumbs, instead of standing up for the right to flourish through effort, kindness, and sharing the simple pleasures of helping others, and thereby, helping oneself. Rip Van Winkle is alive and well in the patriarchy, and wants us all to go back to sleep, like sheep. They're in for a rude awakening, but that's the choice of those who deny so much to others, and eventually, themselves. Stand strong, and let me know if I can assist my art in your fundraising activities. I know Mario Giacalone, who recommends your group. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing one of your productions!
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