Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work

Managing Convergence and

Emergence

A play’s director manages the convergence of vague ideas

into less vague ideas, of available materials into an emerging

form. The rate of convergence is a primary concern. As the

play-to-be moves toward performance, it inevitably takes on

greater regularity, a persistent, increasingly recognizable

shape. The actions of the emerging play become more and

more similar from iteration to iteration. If this happens too

quickly, the ensemble fails to explore the space of possibilities

adequately; if it happens too slowly, the play won’t be ready for

opening night.

Almost always, managing the rate at which the form of a

play emerges ...