I was recently asked to take the reins of a small, venerable little organization, whose dedicated membership had dwindled to a handful of enthusiasts: The Shakespeare Readers.
Begun in the 1980s by a pastor as an activity for his intellectually hungry congregation, the group met twice a month in the church basement to read one entire Shakespeare play aloud. As this very informal group evolved and changed leadership in the 1990s, the "rules" and "privileges" of membership clarified.
When the pastor handed the leadership over to the next volunteers, the group named itself "The Washington Shakespeare Reading Group" (WSRG), a schedule of readings was circulated, a formula was created for assigning parts to give equal numbers of lines to all who chose to attend, and ads were placed in the local newspapers to boost membership. (That's about when I joined the group. I made the T-shirts.)
For about a dozen years, that's how things were done. Membership grew, peaked, and began dwindling. Life happens, as does death. Leadership passed to the next volunteer, but the legacy of the incumbent could not be conveyed. For whatever reason, the church could no longer provide the free, comfortable basement classroom as a space for the Shakespeare fans, most of whom now were not also members of the congregation. There was no longer a relationship to build on.
The new leader also wanted to introduce changes to the formula: Rather than being assigned parts in each scene, readers would take lines in turn as the play moved around the table. She was then advised by the incumbent, who wanted to protect her own legacy, to come up with another name for the group.
"Shakespeare Readers" was born, and the process of finding free, comfortable space and a universally agreeable monthly day and time for the readings became a challenge. Montgomery County libraries wanted money for their spaces, but D.C. libraries welcomed the group for free on Sundays until municipal funding ran dry. Then the American University library offered space, and the Readers could read again.
I tell this tale because this spring, as the youngest still-somewhat-actively participating Reader, I was handed an envelope of contact information (i.e., mailing addresses and telephone numbers) for all individuals who had attended the Shakespeare readings since the days of the pastor and his basement congregations. The resigning leader wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren.
It is a coincidence that this "greatness" was thrust upon me at about the same time I became the editor of THE FUTURIST. So I needed to apply some of the lessons of leadership I'd already begun absorbing.
The leader's legacy matters to the members as much as to the individual who is stepping aside. What matters most to this group are the relationships it established with each other and with hosting organizations, such as the churches and libraries. And one of the most important relationships was with our local royalty, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, which grew from a personal connection established early on by the WSRG leader and allowed our group to attend invited dress rehearsals. This would be our most significant (but unadvertised) membership benefit.
Another lesson is to embrace new ways of doing things, even if they're a bit outside of one's comfort zone. Advertising in local newspapers or library bulletin boards just wasn't going to cut it. I found MeetUp and quite a few local Shakespeare fans who were as eager for intellectual stimulation and the opportunity to use their voices as the pastor's congregation was a quarter-century ago. I was told by several of these "Shakespeare Explorers" that they would have joined our group many years ago if they knew we existed, but we couldn't be found on the Internet. So that will have to change.
While I was congratulating myself on finding a new source of members (and new opportunities for Shakespeare-related activities), the WSRG leader gave me a call to express concern for our group's integrity. I knew she meant her legacy. Did what she had built up and leave behind matter to anyone but herself? Of course it did. I reassured her that I was not leaving our Readers behind, and that I was not preparing a merger with this new group.
With the support of two previous Reader leaders, and the influx of new ideas and energy from the Explorers, I think I have a pretty good head-start on a legacy. Shakespeare inspires us both to use our voices and to listen to each other. Leaders need to do both--often at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment