Last week was a good week for CRADLE. On Wednesday, I had the good fortune to spend much of the day with six members of the Transcendence Theatre, who are spending two months on a cross-country “research tour” they call Project Knowledge.

These veterans of Broadway and regional theatres across the US came to a point in their careers where, despite their seeming success, they were dissatisfied with the type of work they were doing and its effects on themselves and other artists.

On their website, they have published their beliefs, which includes the following:

What would be possible if an artist trained with an approach that integrated personal development with artistic development?

• Our vision of a transcendence artist is an artist soaring creatively yet grounded in a balanced life.
• We believe that the artist’s personal development is just as important as the development of the work itself. We believe that the work is an expression of who we are.
• We feel that the physical and mental well-being of an artist is essential in order for them to create to their highest potential.
• Therefore, we incorporate holistic health, healing arts, peak performance nutrition, mindset training, and creative arts training to create a company of members inspired to serve ourselves and our communities with vibrant uplifting theatre.
• The arts & entertainment fields are fraught with many artists who suffer from a wide variety of personal challenges. (eg. eating, addictive, anxiety, & mood disorders.) These personal problems hinder the quality of life & creative potential of an artist. By adopting a holistic approach focused on physical & mental health, we will help artists create a strong foundation to transcend their lives and art to new levels.

They go on to talk about how their theatre wishes to interact with the community:

What would be possible if a company of transcendence artists dedicated themselves to working harmoniously with a local community?

• We believe that community outreach and involvement are immensely important components in the success of a shared theatrical experience. Our audiences of course will benefit from the power of art, but over and above that we want to explore ways to bring them into the equation.
• We want to invite them to become partners or participants in our collective experience because it is through this togetherness that we will shine as a community.
• We believe that community collaborative art and community service will be a foundation for creating transcendent experiences within a community and BEYOND.

Because of my ideas concerning the importance of spreading the arts throughout the US in small and rural communities, as well as my belief that the current paradigm is simply no longer functional, they included me as one of their stops along the road. We had an exciting conversation — well, OK, I did an awful lot of the talking, I’m embarrassed to say — and afterwards they met with my students at UNC Asheville. It was clear that the students and they immediately connected, and I sat on the side drinking in the energy of young people talking about realizing their goals.

They showed a video about their 3-month sojourn to Mexico, where they did their inaugural productions:

I came away from the day rejuvenated, and convinced that I need to somehow create a link between CRADLE and Transcendence Theatre Company. While they are currently located in LA, one part of this tour seems to be about deciding where they would like to put down roots in the future.

A couple things I really admire:

• their complete integration of personal values and beliefs with their role as artists;
• their understanding of the need to benefit from the wisdom of others before setting out on their own quest;
• their “just do it” attitude — they set off on their adventures before securing funding, assuming that the wherewithal will follow.

So Amy, Brad, Leah, Randi, Stephan, and Robert: I wish you the best of luck on your artistic hero’s journey. I hope our paths will cross again.

And I hope my readers will follow your travels, and if you have a few dollars to spare I hope you’ll make a contribution. One of my students was so inspired that she contributed $100 after they visited class.

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