A Letter from Founder and Artistic Director
Robin Lynn Smith
Peter Brook said: “One can say a true artist is always ready to make any number of sacrifices in order to reach a moment of creativity. The mediocre artist prefers not to take risks, which is why he is conventional. Everything that is conventional, everything that is mediocre is linked to that fear.”
We created Freehold as a safe place to practice what is not safe. We ask our collaborators, students, board, audience and extended community to practice risk in rehearsal and performance, in individual practice, and in collaboration. We ask that they risk taking this art form seriously and risk believing that the theatrical event can be of consequence.
We ask the actors to risk creating live theatre – to be in the act of creation in front of an audience. We ask our collaborators to risk creating theatre that is deeply respectful of the audience’s need to grapple with our essential human dilemmas of loving and dying. We ask the audience to risk engaging in this experiment with us.
These risks take heart, guts, humor, and determination, but the reward is a practice that can remind us of the mystery and wonder of human being.
Robin Lynn Smith
Founder & Artistic Director
