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They had nothing against the arts establishment;
they just saw an opportunity to add to what was
already here. Their DIY battle cry: If work isn’t
coming to me, I can make my own. In NoExit’s
case, that meant a collaborative effort performing
innovative work at non-traditional spaces, venues,
and stages. Smith, who joined the company in
2008, says site-specific work became a necessity
because permanent space was unaffordable.
“Theater isn’t a competitive
sport. Even if you had five
different companies all
doing a production of the
same show that opened on
the same date, it still really
wouldn’t be a competition
because you would be doing
it in a different way.”
Also almost everyone involved in an indie
company has a day job. Know No Stranger’s
Goffinski is a social worker. Smith’s day job is
head of the acting program for Young Actors
Theatre, and NoExit runs largely on the strength
of volunteers. Artists are paid a modest stipend,
but the administrators work for free. “It’s hard
for artists and performing artists to stay in the
city because there’s a lot of work, but there’s not
a lot of money behind the work,” says Smith,
echoing a sentiment expressed over and over by
different groups. “We want to get to a point where
we can pay people, to have lots of opportunities for
artists to have paying work.”
All the arts activity “is making the city come
alive in kind of an underground, rising way,” says
Ben Asaykwee, a founder of the theater company
Q Artistry, which opened shop in Irvington in
summer 2010 and does four shows a year featuring
original work. Asaykwee, an Indianapolis native
who makes his living as an actor and writer, was
based in Chicago when the company started.
When he returned to Indy, he looked in vain for a
group that solely produced plays by Indiana playwrights.
“Even finding places in Indiana to submit
your work was difficult,” he says.
Q Artistry started with a show called Cabaret
Poe, a musical Asaykwee wrote and the company
performs annually based on the works of Edgar
Allan Poe. Since then, its shows have included
East Side Story, a West Side Story parody pitting
adults against neighborhood kids (the young
actors audition and get mentoring from the
working professionals in the show), and Zirkus
Grimm—a circus-style retelling of the Brothers
Grimm fairytales.
Grimm featured Georgeanna Smith from
NoExit and Thomas Cardwell from Eclectic
Pond, one of the many new Shakespeare/classics
Pattern .
how they describe themselves: A new way of thinking about and doing fashion
in Indianapolis. As such, it endeavors to become a safe space for fashion-minded
individuals to engage with each other, creating a network of people with diverse
backgrounds and ambitions. /// what they’re known for: Monthly meetups in
various locations and Pattern, the magazine, which circulates in seven countries and
almost exclusively features the work of the Indianapolis fashion community.
Q Artistry .
how they describe themselves: A non-profit collection of artists dedicated
to enlightening, educating, and entertaining through original and re-imagined
productions, presentations, and events. /// what they’re known for: Cabaret Poe,
a musical featuring the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and East Side Story, a musical romp
about a friendship on the east side of Indianapolis that parodies West Side Story.
MOTUS, ROVING CINEMA, PATTERN BY TONY VALAINIS; Q ARTISTRY COURTESY Q ARTISTRY
20 IM | THE TICKET 2014