With the dissolution of the TSCP Core Group in January, a series of "Re-Creation" meetings culminating in a retreat in Spring, 2009  will be held.  Notes will be posted and updated here. All TSCP "Star Holders" (members) and friends are encouraged to attend.  Feedback in the form of Letters to the Ed (Ardys deLu), proposals, statements, and opinion pieces are welcomed, and will be posted on this site.

January 25, meeting Notes:

The Starlight Circle Players, meeting notes Jan 25, 2009

Call to order, Lezlie, Lauren, Vito, Ardys, Alan Specter, Kay, Debra Bender

2pm

Introductions:

Vito is from S. Cal, now in Walnut Creek. Was a member of the Celestial Opera. He’s a vocalist, piano and drums, does musicals, some theatre makeup. Lauren told him about us.

Alan Spector, is looking for a theater group, he’s a professional musician, jazz. Worked with Claire de Lune theater group, musical “Palace” in San Diego, can compose, build things, wants to find out who we are.

Kay, mask maker, founding member, now has a play.

Ardys: helped with Girl Who Touched the Stars, and now newsletter editor, kitchen elf and galley mistress of "pyrate" play (Deadmen Tell No Tales, 2007)

Lezlie: in theatre since 5 years old, day job in science. In ritual theatre, Spiritmasque, and classical theater. Loves folk lore and folk music. Feels right now that there’s no hands on leadership, let someone create fresh ideas to make group function, culminating in meeting and retreat.

Lauren: leadership is beginning. Lezlie was looking for venue and musical director for TGWTTS, Lauren had BFUU for space. She was moving toward Earth-based spirituality. She was an elf in TGWTTS and we did her pyrate play. Then she had A Question of Sanity, but people had scattered. She writes music, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, reviews. She has to limit her volunteer, has a day job in construction, wants advisory role.

Debra: as friend of group, has a long history of public rituals in Earth-centered. They hold 6-8 rituals a year, generally ritual theatre. Debra came to TSCP for Spiritmasque ritual theater conference

Lezlie: Has offered to become liaison between two groups, MART/MAIA and TSCP. “The Ring” (Christmas play), production was halted due to criminal act, illness, death.

Alan has stage manager experience, but would rather have something more main stream. Leaves the meeting.

Lezlie: Do we exist? Apparently the answer is yes. I don’t think we can/need to entirely re-create from scratch. However, there are important things that must be discussed and rectified in how we go about doing things.

Lauren: we have an archetype of descent into underworld in all of our projects.

Kay’s play: Venue is USS Hornet. Liability (Lezlie) talking to VA therapists to have liability insurance to cover therapeutic work. Debra suggests going to COG for liability insurance, or perhaps Glenn Turner’s under her umbrella with specific insurance riders.

Expectations for TSCP:

Lezlie: we will wander in the wilderness for a while, but put a timetable on that wandering and make a decision. Pieces in place now will continue, ie website and newsletter.

Lauren: keep what’s best for group in mind. The group looked at Lauren and Lezlie as leaders, group needs to be able to continue without them in that role. Continue a Core Group with advisory group.

Vito: has no expectations, except to grow and learn. Wants personal growth, open to suggestions, open to learning.

Ardys: wish list is to make some money while to do something healing and important.

Debra: wants meetings without background music (hard to hear). Looking to see if she can be helpful, has money and time but not energy.

1. Find specific projects and make them happen, and build group through that.

2. Create organization starting from scratch first. She could be involved in it.

Lauren: rather than expectations, have a goal in mind and flexible in logistics.

Lezlie: need to develop process for making decisions.

Lezlie: we decided to do Kay’s play last summer by consensus of the whole roupe.

Lauren: for play and company to be successful, needs to follow through.

Lezlie: playwrights do find themselves hanging on limb. Talling (?) take structures in place so that Core Group can say what can I do to make it happen?

Agenda 1: we do want to exist – Yes,

1. Do we come under MAIA’s umbrella ... ? – Yes. We don’t have an incorporation 501 c3 status. And- still under discussion.
   

2. 3. Do we keep our name? Under our name, some of the group could be ensemble, like Lauren and Lezlie collaborating on her play, Buried Moon.

Lezlie: Buried Moon has an invitation to do it in Yorkshire, England, but has to perform it in US first.

Lauren: A Question of Sanity. Mythos and ritual about couple with depression who get better until child dies and each go through insanity. Play about transcending.

Lezlie: Matthew wants to do martial arts presentations at conventions, has transcended the "norm" for this type of production with an interesting approach. Lezlie wants him to be fight director for TSCP on a permanent basis.

Lauren wants more publicity for us (re: the above).

Ardys suggests that the First Lady interested in helping vet’s families.

Lezlie: Theater Bay Area is a resource. Obama is talking about CETA-WPA for unemployment addressing artists.

Lezlie: if we like the current structure of TSCP to make plays, who should be in those roles. Core Group to keep things going. Tech head, promotions, newsletter, everyone has responsibility. And responsibility should be discussed.

Debra: structure core committee. 1 Admin, 2. programming. Not sufficient long term. What have they done before getting a core group, know how to settle disputes. Need procedures to get into Core Group and how to get off it. Process for making decisions needed. Elderflower had dysfunctional periods.

Lezlie: Create separate advisory board drawn from community at large (The Bay Area) with theater and business backgrounds. (part of oversight)

Core group at center, the playwright and director accountable to CG, and center is accountable to group. Center has to be non-competitive, and core should have one performer. There are  only 2 meetings per year and  People not showing up for 2 meetings per year should be dismissed from the CG.

Debra: bylaws are important.

Lezlie: A contiuning discussion with no resolution:  should playwright/director be on the CG  or just report to CG? (due to conflict of interest) To bring crises to CG before it becomes a crisis? Put structure in place.

Need point person for funding who may or may not be CG: need grants, public support contributions from business people.

Lauren: Listen for Life wants to work with us, and there’s a possibility of getting our own theatre space. Three people with construction ability to make any theatre space.

Lezlie: Issues that must be addressed as re-creation process continues: Those who (especially tech people) who volunteer and then ask for money when they are essential to the production

Kay: Make responsibilities clear in advance.

Lauren: Over-committing. 

Next Meeting: Feb 22, Sunday at 2pm at Kay’s house, RSVP:510-782-7439.

Next agenda: Kay will be facilitator. Governance board, nucleus and advisory board. Talk to other members. Make responsibilities clear in advance. Over-commit, volunteer and then ask for money.

February 22
Facilitator: Kay Pannell
Where: The home of Kay Pannell Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM

Agenda:

February 22
Facilitator: Kay Pannell
Where: The home of Kay Pannell  <kay_pannell-at-hotmail.com> (Please RSVP and check the member's list for address RSVP:510-782-7439.) Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM

Agenda: Next agenda: Kay will be facilitator. Governance board, nucleus and advisory board. Talk to other members. Make responsibilities clear in advance. Over-commit, volunteer and then ask for money.MART "meld" (Invite Kitty).  Theatre space update.  Proposal concerning youth members.

Feb. 22: Hi, this is Kay.  the meeting at my house today, was attended by Ardys. Period.  no one else showed up.  The agenda was not addressed as we did not have a quorum.  It was decided to reschedule the meeting for a time when more people were likely to show up.
I suggest that if people want to meet, they send in their suggestions for dates and times to this site or the newsletter site. Kay
(Send comments to: starlightcircleplayers_at_yahoo.com for posting here.)

Response, March 19th, 2009:

Dear TSCPers,
We have loads of interest from people "out there" - people who want to submit plays & come to plays -- We have projects that we want to do.
Therefore, I have a proposal, we've been stopped in our tracks because the governance board dissolved and because not enough people showed up to meetings to try and re-create some decision-making process. Therefore:

Ardys edits the newsletter. Kay has a (terrific) play. I have a Play, Lauren has a play. Dawn writes to the list often (who knows? She may have a play up her sleeve, too!), we all seem to have the desire to keep this thing afloat.

I suggest, therefore, that we become the governance board - pro tem - Kay and myself as liaisons with MART. Dawn(because she knows them) & Lauren (because she understands what needs to be done) as liaison to Molly & company at Flux 53 and Ardys as newsletter ed. (big enough job). We can invite Deborah (liaison to a -the greater Pagan community & also to the proposed Spiritmasque festival) and Lauren's friend Vito because he has great energy and a male person on the board is not a bad idea. And, finally, If one of these 6 fine folk will volunteer to be financial officer and work with Esther (bookkeeper) we can move forward.

We can meet as needed, but we do need to make some decisions regarding the plays on the table, Flux 53, MART, Matthew's play, The Mummers, planning a retreat -- What do you think? BB! Lezlie