My Career In Theatre: What A/An ____________ [ADJECTIVE] Road!

Contributed by Robin Rothstein

For me, working in the theatre has been a thrilling and ever-changing road map. I've been down quite a few roads in my career – actor, playwright, lyricist, producer, arts advocate, and commercial theatre professional, to name a few.

It’s not unusual, though, to wear different hats over the course of a theatre career and it’s also no secret that it’s a tough industry, loaded with personal and financial risk from indie theatre on up to Broadway, and beyond. But this is partly what makes it so rewarding and exciting, right? And the industry is expanding every day – artistically, commercially, globally. You can create opportunities everywhere if you know how to look for them.
What’s been so cool for me is being part of both the indie theatre world and the Broadway world. I owe a LOT to both for giving me a wide range of knowledge and experiences. In the indie world, I’ve been fortunate to have my writing produced in New York festivals over the years, including, once again, the NY Indie Theatre One Minute Play Festival coming up this May, and I’ve learned about local politics by getting into the trenches alongside my colleagues at the League of Independent Theatre (LIT), where the fight for more financial support for the arts goes on. My interest in arts advocacy also inspired me to join my community board where I was promoted to Chair of the Arts & Institutions Committee. I continue to use that as a platform to raise awareness and to remind people how instrumental the arts are to the well being of society, both culturally and economically.

And it is at this intersection, between the arts and economics, where I now find myself. Having worked in the touring division at Broadway Across America for a number of years now, I have seen time and time again how important commercial touring shows are to keeping theatre alive across the U.S., and how “the road” feeds back to Broadway in the tourist dollars that were part of the record numbers reported for 2015. This same paradigm of the arts benefiting local economies can be found across the country. It has also been a known fact for years that artists and arts organizations help the local economy here in NYC.

The past few years have been especially rewarding for me, as I took the initiative to combine my creative writing expertise, my theatre business know-how, and my interest in the arts promoting community prosperity. I got an idea for a project that fulfilled me artistically, and that I also believed had enduring commercial potential. This project was my family musical, MAD LIBS LIVE!

It took nearly eight years for the project to get from the “light bulb” going off in my head in my mom's kitchen to the world premiere Off-Broadway this past November at New World Stages. And while there were many challenges and unknowns all along the way, I wouldn’t trade a moment of it! What an exciting road the MAD LIBS LIVE! process has been and continues to be, as our team is now busy preparing for the exciting touring and licensing opportunities beyond our Off-Broadway run.

There will continue to be roads to choose from, but as long as I keep choosing, I’ll be on the right road, even if I end up making what feels like a wrong turn. (I’ve learned those can often turn out to be right turns in the end.) And as I move forward with MAD LIBS LIVE! and other endeavors, I can't wait to see where these next roads take me! 

______________________________________________________ 

Robin Rothstein is a critically acclaimed playwright and commissioned book writer and lyricist whose writing has been produced in New York, across the U.S., and internationally. She is also Director of Operations at Broadway Across America and Chair of the Arts & Institutions Committee of Community Board 2, Manhattan. For more info on MAD LIBS LIVE!, please visit MAD LIBS LIVE!

Health Insurance & the Theatre Artist

x

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Brad Burgess.


The first important point about health insurance and thereby healthcare in our industry, is that even in the best unions, a minority of members qualify for their respective insurance requirements. (This is aside from the lack of representation for the majority of artists in our community who are not represented by the unions.)

In fact, the current arrangement is such, that if you work 8 weeks in Equity, 8 weeks in SAG, 8 weeks in AFTRA, for a total of 24 weeks, which is over the minimum requirement of weeks in one year for each of their plans, you would not qualify for any one those insurance plans. The lesson is, that even the establishment in our industry is unable to handle the health insurance of its members.

It’s important to note that all of those unions perform great services for artists, and really do have the best of intentions for their members. So, given their current situation is in sync with ours, there is an opportunity to work together from various angles with unions, government, and foundations included, while these problems seem clearer and clearer to us. Especially now that it is clear that the government is requiring insurance, it is indeed the responsibility of the industry leaders to assist and advocate on behalf of all the artists, as all of them are affected.

It starts from the top of it with the National Endowment for the Arts. If someone can explain to me how it is reasonable that through the economic explosion of the 90’s and early 2000’s, the NEA’s budget has actually dropped a couple million from its highest point in the very early 90’s, I would appreciate that very much! ha! That’s crazy.

This year it’s only 160 million, though for the first time it will be higher than the city of New York’s budget for the DCA because of a major budget cut that’s happening. But in recent years this city’s made more money available for the arts than the federal government. How did that happen? One city found a way to make more money available for the arts than the federal government.

...160 million for the arts industry while the congressional budget for its small business committee is 400 billion dollars… I mean, this is what we are dealing with, all of us, a complete and utter lack of money in the industry from the government, along with the financial problems of foundations and individual patrons.

The ones that are mass affected by this are the thousands of low income artists in this city that scrape and claw and hustle to survive without nearly enough money working its way into their hands for the work and responsibilities they handle. I can’t say enough about how impressive it is, the dedication of the individual artists all over the city that make their art and provide for many aspects of the culture. Many of them do this in addition to having families and full time jobs. I think this is likely a pretty nationwide phenomenon in the arts industry in regional and community theatres and arts spots everywhere in the U.S.

But it’s clear we have an advantage in this city with its perspective on culture from the residents to the businesses to the politicians and we all have a responsibility to make the best of it. We need to be hopeful and diligent and happily continue to work together as we are.

I’ve been working on organizing a push for a proposal, with the help and focus of many individuals. As of right now, so long as the bill pushes through without disaster, I will be working with the help of the policy writing team from Equity, and the gracious guidance of their national director of special programs who is a really cool lady if there ever was one. Speaking of, Olympia Dukakis and Judith helped me meet with many industry leaders and ultimately Flora at Equity, with whose help this idea can really tackle the necessary details of a proposal like the one we need.

The details of this proposal are pretty vague at the moment, but let me say that everyone I’ve talked to has been very supportive and sure that we can come up with something that really benefits everyone in the industry without disturbing the status quo for the people are comfortable and secure with it.

Stay tuned for more about it in the coming months, we’ll be asking for all the help and participation we can get. Please feel free to email me with interest!

Less politics and more art tomorrow.


bb

x

The Practice of Progressive Politics

x

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Brad Burgess.


So, before even getting to how artists fit into all this, I think the most important thing when talking about healthcare reform (this one is really health insurance reform), is to take the following perspective, “I must let go of whatever bill I would have written if it were %100 up to what I think it should be word for word.” In fact this may be the most fundamental, yet modernly unpracticed, aspect of progressive politics. We can’t make all the progress at once.

It would be foolish to criticize the healthcare bill because it doesn’t also solve the energy crisis. By the same token I feel its important not to criticize the bill because it does not solve every problem we have with our health and with the way we practice it in society with one another.

This is one area in which being part of a collective is very helpful. A collective is not a congress, and that is a tremendous advantage of a group’s ability to compromise. At The Living Theatre everyone is considered a director of the play at rehearsal and is given the opportunity to act as such as much as the individual artists in the group will go along with whoever has the floor. We almost never come to an impasse where half the group thinks one thing and half the group thinks the other. We have many common interests and it’s not hard to find them in the creation of our art together.

The debate on our health should have a plethora of common interest. Instead, somehow, every member of the red team thought the exact same way. I can’t imagine how this is possible. If this last vote does not display that: this system of decision making is not good; then I’m not sure what can. Not one republican could compromise on this bill? About our health!? If they can’t agree about that, then how can this congress possibly have a chance at really representing our common interests?

I’m not saying that it’s the republicans fault at all, though lots of activity on the right is quite terrifying at present, including the racial slurs and shouting at people during press conferences. Kudos to Obama for keeping it totally focused and calm and collected amidst all this.

But, it is the systems fault. There are two problems that showcase this systematic failure as I see it. The democrats couldn’t come up with a bill that one republican would vote for. And, not one republican could make any compromise with the proposal. When those two factors are true, then it seems there’s a pervasive systematic break down at that point. ‘Two parties’ does not work as a system. It can’t. We are too diverse, and it’s very silly to think that all 300 million people in this country fit into two categories on any level, especially the political level.

But, we have to get over all of this. It’s all there and we have no choice but to work with it. We have to get over the fact that there are enough problems to make everyone go on passionate rants that make every idea sound like a bad one and create an impossible environment for progress or change.

Do you think that, as an anarchist, I like that this bill gives insurance companies more money? Do you think that I like %100, that now, I am being forced by the government to pay for something that I have freely chosen not to pay for for the last few years? Listen, I can’t even stand that there is a government at all. So, what am I gonna do, try to prevent the government from doing anything? How could anything get better if that was my attitude?

Well, that is the attitude in Washington D.C. It’s mostly preventative politics instead of the politics of progress. So for now, let me give a resounding, “Hell yeah!” that something forward thinking got done some how.

Tomorrow I’ll tackle how we are possibly going to handle being able to pay for health insurance when we can barely figure out how to even pay legitimate salaries to those deserving in our organizations, or even rent a lot of the time.

BB

x

Our World has Permanently Changed

x

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Brad Burgess.


Hello everybody!

I am very excited for my week here on the IT blog. Three cheers for everyone at IT by the way. Without their valuable statistical analysis and dedication to improving our industry and its understanding of itself, we would not be moving forward as fast as we all are together.

That’s where I’d like to start this week, and just address the state of the industry from my perspective over here at The Living Theatre. Judith and I talk about it often and really embrace our role as small business organizers as well as artists. In fact I think that the movement and action in the Off-Off-Broadway scene of the past year, represents some of the most innovative business being done in the new economic world.

It seems our world has permanently changed as a result of the economic crisis. We almost saw it (DOW) hit zero in a matter of months. Barack Obama probably saved us from a militaristic fascist coup, which is usually what happens in societies where the economy collapses, along with riots, death and other mostly awful stuff. It pains me to say it, but thank heavens for the bank bailout, because even though the current system is pretty lousy and well below what our intelligence is capable of, it offers hope for change, something that marshall law would have likely stifled a little. It would not have been pretty if he hadn’t acted quickly. Judith lived through the great depression as a child in the 1930’s and also feels this way.

I say this all as a pacifist anarchist who does not vote, because as JM says, “I can’t responsibly elect someone to be in charge of the armed forces.” I think that money is on its way out in the long haul. (Are there going to be trillionaires? really?) I don’t think we will let it carry on like it is now, where so few have mostly all the wealth.

Noam Chomsky said yesterday at Pace University that of the seven thousand billion dollar gross national product in the US for the year, that about 500 people made two thousand billion of it. In a country of 300 million people, that’s simply wrong. It’s wrong ethically, morally and rationally.

I think this crisis was a big wake up call on that train of thought and people are really ready to listen to suggestions that they weren’t before because the faith in the system is fading. It almost collapsed on its own.

One major sign of this change for me, was the Community Board Congress on the state of small-midsize theatres, last February at The Players Club. There, Scott Stringer challenged the city’s politicians to take care of its artists and challenged us to help make it happen. It was a great event for anyone who wasn’t there.

There we all were, industry wide from the communities we all live in, and since then there has been an amazing amount of work being accomplished on all accounts, with great effort on everyone’s part like IT, the community boards, the executive directors and administrators at all the theatres and the politicians in the city. It has been great to see what we are capable of and we are just getting started. Also, I think we, as artists, can help provide examples of good business at a time when we need to reexamine our societal practices, and make sure that equality actually becomes a real concept in practice not just in theory. This is especially true I feel at nonprofits where the goal is actually in the corporate identity of the companies. Not for profit actually means for the culture, if you define it by what it is instead of what it isn’t. At least for me that’s what it means.

So that's a start for now. I'll be addressing healthcare and how artists can fit in at some point this week as I have been working on a proposal with the help and support of Olympia Dukakis that is coming together now that yesterday happened. Also, I'll try to cover other aspects of the industry, and maybe even a little art at some point!

More tomorrow...


x

What’s happening with the Healthcare Bill?

x
contributed by Shay Gines

With the surprise election of Republican Scott Brown in the special Massachusetts Senatorial race and the fact that political experts expect the U.S. to swing toward the right with more Republicans being elected in November, the Healthcare Reform bill finds itself in a precarious situation with increased pressure to pass it and quick. Without the super majority that Democrats have enjoyed this last year, it is not likely that they will be able to push the bill through. For some Democrats the rocky road ahead may not seem worth the fight and enthusiasm for the bill is waning.

Both the House and the Senate have already passed their version of the bill. However, they are not the same bill. Normally at this point, representatives from the House and from the Senate would meet to address the critical differences between the two, make compromises and merge the bills. Then each house would re-pass the bill before it is sent to the White House for the Presidential signature.

However, with the loss of that one crucial Senatorial seat the bill will not be able to garner the votes needed to pass in the Senate. Proponents of the bill have stated that they are considering their options which include breaking the bill into smaller pieces or scaling back. However, the current front runner is passing the bill through “reconciliation.” If the House supports the Senate’s already approved bill, it would allow the Senate to pass the bill with a simple majority vote and bypass a potential filibuster by Republicans.

While some supporters see reconciliation as the most amenable solution, there are some possible complications that need to be taken into account. Bill supporters from the House who feel that they have already made too many concessions want certain guarantees if they approve the Senate’s version of the bill. They want assurances that the inconsistencies between the two bills will actually be addressed by the Senate. The flip side of this is the threat from Senate Democrats who will reverse their vote if the final bill diverges too dramatically from the bill they originally passed. Ahhh politics.

Meanwhile Republicans are baring their teeth, anticipating that Democrats will try to avoid a full vote in the Senate. In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribute, Utah Senator Orin Hatch (R) said passing the bill through reconciliation would be "one of the worst grabs for power in the history of the country" and it would lead to all out political war.

In his State of the Union address, Obama said "Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people."

However where healthcare once occupied the top spot on Obama’s agenda, it is now overshadowed by the economy and creating new domestic jobs. Obama and his administration are turning the focus to more achievable prospects. The politicians are tired of the debate and so are the American people. Hill staffers predict that if the bill is not passed by mid-March, then it will no longer be an attainable goal.

Given the choices, what would you do?


x

Speak Up at Community Boards

x
There has been a remarkable amount of positive momentum in support of the Tax Abatement proposal. With the inspiring and unprecedented cooperation of all the Manhattan Community Boards (CB), that momentum continues to grow. The Arts Task Forces from Community Boards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 have already passed resolutions or letters of support for this program and it has passed at the board level for CBs 2 and 9. As a normal part of the process, Community Boards hold forums where the public is allowed to express opinions on the proposals. Because public opinion carries substantial weight, your voice could help determine the fate of this movement.

This Wednesday, February 3rd, at the Fulton Center Auditorium, 119 Ninth Avenue (between 17th and 18th Streets), Manhattan Community Board 4 is going to consider a letter written by its Theater Task Force to support a tax abatement proposal that benefits Off-Off-Broadway.

At 6:30, on that evening, members of the public are invited to sign-up for a public session at which they will be given two minutes to speak on any topic that interests them.

Any member of the public, who resides or works (or performs) within the confines of Community District 4, 14th Street to 59th, 8th Avenue to the Hudson River, is invited to attend.

Get more details
Read the letter from Community Board 4 to Speaker Quinn's office.


x

The Buzz Word of 2010 is Sustainable

x

Contributed by guest blogger of the week, Zachary Mannheimer.

You heard it here first.

Answering the New York Times article, In Europe, the Arts Ask for Alms 1/20/2010

Text Message: OMG! We’re going to lose all of our state aid! What are we going to do!!!???


There really is no way around it. With state and g'ment budgets being slashed left and right (10% across the board here in Iowa, I believe it's worse in NYC) and basic services like police and fire and education being cut, why should we artists believe that our funding won't be cut as well? The President said tonight (which is why this is a day late) that in 2011 all g’ment spending would freeze.

There are many different schools of thought on this, though. One can look to Minnesota who has recently surpassed Hawaii as the top state funder of the arts ($5.67 per Minnesotan goes to the arts). When compared with other states, this is dramatic - my state ranks 36th and gives 42cents per Iowan - California is dead last at 3cents per Californian and budgets are being slashed left and right - Pennsylvania and Florida both planned on eliminating arts funding entirely for fiscal year 2010 but were saved by rallies from artists - though both states suffered still almost a 50% cut in funding.

Not only does a cut in funding impact the state budget, federal dollars are tied to the amount the state has allocated. So if the state funding is cut, so is the amount the federal government gives to the state, so it's basically a double whammy for arts organizations.

This is not going to change any time soon. Even if the economy rebounds, it's not going to be dramatic enough to re-instate arts funding on a mass level - indeed most states operate at a deficit anyway, so they will most likely up what politicians deem "essential services" and the arts is not one of them. Plus, it's hard to justify not funding a school and instead funding a theatre company or museum, and these are the kinds of decisions state legislators are going to have to make. You think they will be voted back in if they help the arts over a police officer?

Therefore, we as arts institutions need to change as well. All over the country (and the world, clearly) the buzzword for 2010 is going to be "Sustainable". Businesses, non and for-profit alike are pushing towards sustainability. For a for-profit business this is easier to define - Sustainable meaning you are bringing in enough revenue to cover your bottom line. For non-profits (or social-profits, which is a much better term for us) this definition is more difficult. As 501c3 organizations, we are limited to 1/3 of our annual budget being represented by dollars that do not deal directly with our mission. That means, for theatre companies, only ticket sales and some merchandise can account for earned income with no limitation. If you are selling beverages or food, for instance, in your lobby - the gross-profit you make from this cannot exceed 1/3 of your annual budget as it does not serve the mission of your organization.

So what do we do? One idea is to lobby congress to change the laws surrounding 501c3's to stop that limitation. I would argue that a deal can be made where, since for years opponents of charities have wanted us to pay taxes like any other business, that we should pay taxes. Not at the same level as for-profit entities, but something. 1% even. If they remove this 1/3 limitation. We can still accept donations and grants and offer a tax-deduction to our funders, but we should pay 1% or more for this.

We artists have been saying for years: “You have to fund us and we also will not pay taxes.” And we wonder why those on the right side of the aisle find us elitist, or ignore us altogether. We are what they think we are – a bunch of begging bums.

Obviously this is a long battle to change these laws, and we need answers now as all over the nation arts organizations are either shutting their doors or slashing programming.

So we have to change. Now. No more whining about how we need more grants. We need to run our art like any other company – we need to be conscious of our bottom line, and find ways to meet it. The idea that we will grow up to be another Public Theatre or St. Ann’s Warehouse is not going to happen without a millionaire board member, and those are hard to find these days. The only reason why those companies exist is because they either have this millionaire(s) or they have built up a loyal endowment over the last 20 odd years. These companies are eating up all the grant money anyway. The rate of non-profit arts groups being founded versus the rate of new funding sources is not even in the same hemisphere. We have to find our budget somewhere else. I would like to offer my organization as an example.

The Des Moines Social Club is an experiment. So far it’s working. Our funding model is based on the premise that we have had to have at least 2 full-time jobs to make theater (1 that pays us and the other, theatre, that does not). So why not combine them? My job was in restaurants – which I’ve been doing for over 17 years now. If we have a for-profit entity (restaurant/bar) whose sole purpose is to fund the non-profit and serve as a meeting ground for artists and audiences, we might survive.

All of us have “marketable skills” that pay our bills when theatre does not. How can we combine these two worlds into one, cut down on the amount of hours and commuting we work, and put it under 1 roof. Originally I wanted the bar (it will be a restaurant next year – grease traps are fucking expensive) to be part of the non-profit, but the IRS did not care for that idea, so we separated the companies. The bar pays 1/3 of the gross profits of the bar to the non-profit as rent as the non-profit owns the lease on the building. The bar is a completely separate company, an LLC. I am one of the owners of the bar. I have never seen any income from the bar and doubt I will – that’s not the point. The point is that the monies from the bar go to the non-profit. It’s like having a fundraiser everyday. The bar is open every night as any other bar (and our specialty cocktails and wine list are killer, btw).

This is one approach to paying our own way. As we grow we will be adding more for-profits to the building, all with a similar agreement the bar has. Our predictions show that we will hit 70% sustainability in 5 years at the rate we are moving now. That’s without the restaurant, catering company, wine store, etc. I predict we will be sustainable in 5 years.

And this lets us pay our artists. I’ve made more money as a director in DSM in 1 year than I did in 8 in NYC put together.

The fact is that we can no longer rely on grants and rich folk to always fund us. We need to take some initiative. We love to plead poverty, but really it’s just laziness. We won’t make it on ticket sales and grants, so what will we do? DMSC is one model, there are many others. A big one depends on where you are doing your theatre. That is the discussion for the next blog.


x

Does the Health Care Bill work for OOB?

x


On November 7th, the House of Representatives passed the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,” which is actually the amalgamation of three different health care bills. The bill passed by a vote of 240-194, which included 1 Republican. (A fact that Speaker Nancy Pelosi used to proclaim the bill to be bi-partisan.)

The bill’s purpose is to “provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending.” President Obama called the passage of the bill “courageous” while many detractors are decrying it as “fiscally irresponsible.”

At a reported 2,000 pages there is plenty in the bill to support and plenty to question. For example, I have a medical condition that I have to manage on a day-to-day basis. It is of the utmost importance to me that there is no pre-existing condition clause for my health insurance. This fact has a major effect on what job(s) I choose and God forbid if I were to lose my job and the health insurance that goes with it. So making it illegal to deny coverage due to a pre-existing condition is something that I strongly support.

As artists we may not get health insurance through our jobs. So providing health insurance that is actually affordable would be a very empowering thing for our community. It could provide the opportunity for us to cut ties with unwanted day jobs and allow us to pursue our artistic aspirations while still caring for our health.

On the other hand, there are items in the bill that don’t quite add up for me, such as requiring everyone to have health insurance and if they don’t they are fined. So what happens to the poor folks that can’t afford food, let alone health insurance? Would the government seriously add to their financial woes by levying a fine upon them?

The bill still needs to pass the Senate, where changes will undoubtedly be made. Assuming it passes the Senate, a committee will have to reconcile the bill that the House passed and the bill passed by the Senate. Then both the House and the Senate will have to vote on and pass the reconciled bill again before it will make it to Obama’s desk. So, we have a long way yet to go.

Granted I have not read the bill in detail – although I’ve downloaded it and have started reviewing it.

I am wondering, what are your health care concerns? As an independent artist, what parts of this bill work for you and your family and what parts don’t?



x

Will the committee serve the Arts?

x

On November 2, the White House announced the selection of 25 new members to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. These individuals join 12 federal members of the committee, whose agencies have cultural programs. First Lady, Michelle Obama will serve as the Honorary Chairman of the committee.

This committee will work with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to promote the Obama administration’s arts and humanities objectives. The committee focuses on “arts and humanities education, cultural diplomacy, economic revitalization through the arts and humanities and special events dedicated to recognizing excellence in these areas.”

Included in the new members of the committee are: actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington, Forest Whitaker, Alfre Woodard and Edward Norton; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Senator John Kerry; director George C. Wolfe; CAA partner and managing director Bryan Lourd; independent film producer Liz Manne; publicist Andy Spahn. and Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue magazine.

Some critics say that the committee resembles a Hollywood who’s who, focusing more on celebrities than on artists. With no representation for visual artists, curators or folk or traditional arts, these critics may have a point. “Great list for a great party! Now if only the artists were invited” said one commenter.

What is your opinion? Will raising the profile of the committee with movie stars and fashion icons help garner support for the arts or are these celebrities too far removed from the realities of cash strapped arts organizations to be effective?

For more info about the committee, go here.

x

Community Board Responds to NYSCA Cuts

On April 1, 2009, the Theatre Task Force for Community Board 4 put forward a letter to Governor Paterson addressing the cuts to the 2009 second round of New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Funding. The letter calls on the Governor to "restore the NYSCA funds" and says that smaller theatres "enhance New York's competitive edge."

The letter to Governor Patterson cites two studies from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards and the Alliance for the Arts.

The full letter and more info are here.

PUBLIC FORUM UPDATES: what'd we miss?

I am thrilled to hear about the number of people that showed last night, and those of us that ran from set to rehearsal, or waited tables, or typed up meeting notes for our bosses or were stuck in tech owe you a huge thanks for representing the community.

Thank you.

So now, I'd like to call on the community to report back. Let us know your thoughts, questions, concerns: How was it? Do you feel as if anything happened? Did the number of attendees affect anything? Who spoke? How many people were there? It's up to us to keep the momentum going.

I dare you to report first. :)