I often think that there should be a large sign on the office wall of every person who works in a theatre building: I CARE ABOUT YOU! Who is the “You” in this case?
You, the performer; you, the playwright; you, the stagehand; you, the theatre owner; you, the designer; you, the audience member…It is a mighty list!
Who is the I CARE ABOUT YOU! sign “from”? The theatre, of course.
My name is Ann Sachs, and I'm developing a process I call Theatrical Intelligence®. This is my Beta-Blog, where I post ideas and bits of writing as I build the idea into a book and a business.What is Theatrical Intelligence? It is a process that uses theatrical production as a model for collaborative leadership, and impacts work performance. It provides insight into the way people choose the kind of work they do, and what is important to them when they do it.
Having worked in the professional theatre for 40+ years, I've learned that theatre people gain more satisfaction doing their work than in any other profession I know. Many of them are just plain happy. (Is it because in our work, we put on a 'play'?)
Fact: 73% of Americans describe themselves as not engaged or actively disengaged at work when questioned in a Gallup Poll about how happiness and well-being affect their job performance. Theatrical Intelligence has the potential to change this.
About me: I spent twenty-five years as a professional actor, playing leading roles on and off Broadway and in our country's finest resident theatres. A couple of decades into my career I began to crave something different: to work ON a production, not IN it.
In the meantime my husband Roger Morgan, a Tony Award winning lighting designer and gifted theatre artist, began a theatre consulting firm quite by accident. Roger couldn't care less about business, and consequently nobody was "watching the store".
At Roger's request, and having ZERO experience in this area, I stepped into the position of President and CEO in 1992. I was surprised to discover that the multiple roles the Studio was missing were ones I was born to play.
Working together, we built the Studio into a successful enterprise, and in 1998 Roger persuaded me to put my name on the door next to his, in what is now Sachs Morgan Studio - Theatre Design Specialists (note the billing - ladies first, a gallant gesture!)
Theatrical Intelligence is the culmination of my life lived on both sides of the stage.
Welcome to Theatrical Intelligence!
