On Creative Differences: A Farewell to the Theatrical Board

When I was younger, I used to think of the idea of creative differences as a joke. It was always just a silly way to wave away controversy, really covering up bickering and personal problems within a group. The words "creative differences" themselves had no meaning other than as a euphemism.

But, as the title of this piece implies, I am leaving the Theatrical Board. And I think I get creative differences now - the actual words rather than the euphemistic joke.

I don't know when I decided, once and for all, that I was going to leave the Board. I don't know if there was ever a moment where it officially clicked in at all. Rather, I felt it growing in the back of my mind. As I found myself wondering to find what to say next in my articles, I also found the inklings of next steps growing in my mind. There was an after-the-Theatrical-Board that was becoming more and more real.

So it just became a matter of when to say I was leaving, and how. As it turns out, the moment presented itself to me in the past several weeks. I told the Board, and now I tell all of you readers farewell.

But the question still remains: why am I leaving the Theatrical Board? Simply put (and you saw it coming), creative differences.

To elaborate: I have grown immensely as an artist and person during my time on the Board. Part of that growth came from realizing how my artistic views, aesthetics, and values didn't quite fit with the Board the way I had anticipated. The rest of it came from shifts in my personal life, from earth-shattering events down my street to conservatory training leading me to hone my interests as a theatre-maker.

I look at the work I've done and the work I want to do and the work that speaks to me and I find that it doesn't mesh with the Theatrical Board the way I want it to. That is all, pure and simple.

This is no one's fault. It's just the way that the art world works: some things fit your aesthetics and goals, and others don't. I only have to glance around my school, or even just my directing class, to see the vast variation in how people approach theatre and want to move forward. The Theatrical Board is another part of that. It's all creative differences.

I am truly honored to have been a part of this Board, among fantastic writers and theatre lovers. I am grateful for my opportunity to grow and share my thoughts with a thoughtful audience. Getting to articulate my thoughts on theatre helped me to shape my skills in so many ways, whether figuring out my values or just simply improving at writing. Yes, there is a part of me that is sad to go. But go I shall. I have enjoyed my time on the same path as the Theatrical Board, but now I'm at a crosswords and I believe I need to go my own way.

This is Rebecca Hodge, now former Dramaturg-in-Residence and Acting Editor-in-Chief from late 2018 to early 2019, signing off. I hope we will all meet again, somehow, somewhere. I am wishing the best for this Board going forward - I will gladly transition over to audience member. Thank you all so much!