Interview: Atlanta's Seedling Project, 'Theater for Research. Theater for Community. Theater for Growth.'

Avant-Garde playwright Samuel Beckett once said, "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." That sentiment is alive and well in one of Atlanta's newest theatre groups, The Seedling Project. The eight person collective is defying the conventional theatre format in an effort to break free of the economic restrictions that most companies face as day-to-day realities.

The Seedling Project is a one-year endeavor that will present eight theatrical events (five full productions and three readings), free of charge, to Atlanta audiences. The group consists of Atlanta writers and actors Jennifer Acker, Mandi Lee, Brandon Partrick, Mary Ruth Ralston, Chris Rushing, Spencer G. Stephens, Rebekah Suellau, and Michael Tarver. Rushing says that the group came together because they were looking for opportunities to create, without having to worry about whether or not a specific project would lose money.

"We want to make our decisions based off of what we think speaks to us creatively, and what will hopefully speak to the community creatively," he said.

As part of the project, each group member is contributing $100 to each fully staged production; they have also launched an Indiegogo campaign. A month in, the group has through this Sunday, October 4th, to raise just over $2,800 for the campaign to be fully funded. Rushing says that, no matter how much the campaign brings in, the Seedling participants will not be taking any money. Instead, the crowd-funding, and any donations taken in after performances, will go directly to paying for venues, designers, materials, and actors outside of the group's core. The campaign includes perks that range from a date night complete with "smooth lines written by (Seedling Project) writers," to dinner parties for four with all Seedling Project members in attendance.

Another unique aspect about The Seedling Project is that the group has made a commitment to thoroughly documenting each step in an effort to learn as much from the process as possible.

"We decided that we were going to track the endeavor as well, by having talkbacks after the show," Rushing explained. "(Also,) every director is going to be required to have a journal, and we're encouraging the actors to as well."

After each show, every Seedling member will publish a one-page report about what they learned, and after the year, all of the information will be compiled and thoroughly analyzed. The idea was born from the lack of MFA acting programs in the immediate Atlanta area. Rushing said that the intense examination of the process was designed to simulate what one would experience by going through an MFA program.

No matter how much money the group raises, or what information they glean from the experience, Rushing says that having just taken on such a risky project is a success itself.

"Theatres don't have the luxury of failure anymore. If they have a show that flops, that's gonna cripple them for the rest of the season," he said. "A lot of great art (has been) created on that line between failure and success, so we wanted to put ourselves in the situation where we might fail, and if we did fail, then so be it."

The group's first production, SERIAL KILLERS, took place in August to rave reviews. The unique premise was something that likely couldn't have occurred in a traditional theatre company. For four consecutive weeks, five teams of Atlanta theatre artists, including members of The Seedling Project, wrote, rehearsed, and produced live "webisodes" in just one week's time. After each performance, the audience voted on their favorites, with the top three earning the right to return the following week with an all new "episode." The winning stories continued the next week, but the teams that weren't selected had to start over. You can check out all of the SERIEAL KILLERS episodes on The Seedling Project's YouTube page.

As the competition grew, so did the audiences, eventually to the point where it was standing-room only.

"For SERIAL KILLERS, the response has been great," Cushing said. "We feel like we are resonating with the theatre community, now hopefully, the next goal is to continue to build traction and branch out to the people who don't always see shows, or maybe only have a passing interest, and decide to go because it's free."

The group's next productions will be the French plays THE MAIDS and DEATHWATCH, both by Jean Genet. The shows will run in repertory from October 1st through 11th at The Big House on Ponce. As with all Seedling Project shows, there is no charge, but audiences do have a responsibility.

"We can't do this in a vacuum," Cushing said. "We need people to come and experience and be a part of this process with us."

The slogan for The Seedling Project is "Theater for research. Theater for community. Theater for growth." If you believe that risks must be taken for anything great to be created, you can contribute to The Seedling Project's Indiegogo campaign by clicking here, and if you believe in the communal power of theatre, make plans to catch THE MAIDS and DEATHWATCH in October.

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What do you think of what The Seedling Project is attempting to create? Let me know in the comments below, or by "Liking" and following BWW Atlanta on Facebook and Twitter. You can also chat with me about the show on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Scenes from SERIEAL KILLER: Jessica Fern Hunt | The Seedling Project

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