Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2017 - Public - 66

book

review
Collaborative Leadership
Leadership in the Performing Arts
by Tobie S. Stein
Allworth Press, 2016; 252 pages
$19.99 paperback or ebook
Reviewed by Shan R. Ayers

e
e S E T

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNICIANS

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www.usitt.org/eset

This book should be in the hands of
every academic theatre department chair
or program chair, regional and commercial
theatre leaders, and arts management program professionals. I wish I had had Stein's
Leadership in the Performing Arts when I
began my stint as a program leader more
than two decades ago, especially when I
was trying to convince colleagues that collaborative leadership was, in fact, the way to
run a program.

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S u m m e r 2 0 1 7

Stein is a recognized leader in the performing arts. Her years of teaching, speaking, mentoring students, and directing
programs gives her the authority to write
this text. With all that authority and all
those years of experience, Stein practices
what she preaches; she brings in others to
share their ideas, challenges, resolutions,
and practices to craft a strong and valuable
text.
Stein's book offers provocative and
important notes on each page, and this review cannot discuss them all. First, and I
think most interesting, are the case studies
Stein includes throughout the text. Rather
than write what could be dry, lecture-like
pages on a "how to," Stein turns to successful leaders to describe how they handled
an issue in their organizations, including
the New York City Ballet, Metropolitan
Opera, American Theatre Wing, Brooklyn
Academy of Music, Stage Directors and
Choreographers Society, Ford's Theatre, The
Public Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and others. Included are entire or
excerpts from mission statements of these
companies. If you have ever struggled to
write a mission statement, reading these
will give you a creative jumpstart.
Additionally, as the text progresses,
Stein turns to the words of the executive
directors or CEOs of these companies to
discuss other issues they encountered and
how their teams responded. In true collaborative spirit, a concept that is reinforced
throughout this wonderful book, Stein, and
the cadre of experts she has assembled, offer their wisdom, their unique approach,
and their stutters-all to maintain that
working together is far more successful.
True leaders are often born and nurtured, Stein asserts. Page after page, she reflects such lessons others have shared, such
as having pride in one's work, finding and
encouraging employees' strengths, knowing the difference you are making, and not
quitting. Leaders need to be open to new
experiences, she says. Those experiences
could lead to exciting moments in our lives.
Having a serious and hard-nosed mentor
is crucial, she says, especially early in your
career, and that maintaining that mentor/

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2017 - Public