Art Making in the Time of the Virus: An Interview with Stella Adelman, Dance Mission Theater Managing Director

By Polina Smith

Navigating these times can be difficult, especially for professions that concentrate on the arts. With shelter-in-place restrictions and cancellation of live performances, it can be extremely difficult for businesses that rely on hosting classes and public events. One such organization, Dance Brigade​ is going through exactly that. We recently caught up with Stella Adelman, Managing Director, to see how Dance Mission Theater is making adjustments during this time of Coronavirus.

What was Dance Mission Theater working on before the shelter-in-place went into effect?

Stella Adelman: ​Dance Brigade​ runs the venue Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco. We had shows booked every weekend, and we’ve had to cancel everything through the end of April. Now things are starting to seep into May and June 2020.

Things are changing so fast that it’s hard to know how to predict and how to plan. Everything pertaining to the theater has been closed through the end of April, and now people are cancelling for May and June little by little.

We had several projects coming up that we were doing off-site. We had a show May 8t​h​ at Mission Cultural Center. We’re trying to figure out when we can do it. We want to do it again, but we don’t know - we don’t have a date yet. We have had so many programs either cancelled or postponed to a later date.

Another big unknown that we have is our ​Grrrl Brigade​ show, which is our youth leadership program. We have a huge show in the beginning of May every year. We were trying not to cancel it. That’s going to look very, very different than how we originally planned it, and we’re trying to do some online classes with the girls.

We had this festival, which we did two years ago. It’s an every other year event that was looking at inequity with health disparities and trauma, specifically HIV and AIDS. That was going to be in correlation with the International AIDS Conference, which has its 30t​h​ anniversary this year, in Oakland in early July.

Dance Brigade performing Butterfly Effect at Dance Mission Theater, photo by Robbie Sweeny

And so, there are huge questions as to when - or if - that will be held. Everyone is in triage mode. No one can focus on working on our project now, even though maybe this is the time when it is really needed. Our partners have so many different priorities than what they originally had.

And what about your classes?

We’ve also had to cancel all of our adult classes and all of our youth classes at the studio, and then also classes that take place outside of our location. We offer free adult classes with a partner organization, and we have youth classes that we offer in a school.

Have these changes impacted your budget?

We’re having to re-figure the budget because we can’t predict anything. It felt very unwieldy to continue as normal. We are constantly readjusting the budget for all these new factors.

Are you moving anything online?

A lot of our teachers are offering adult classes online. Of course, you still need Internet access, and some people just don’t have a lot of space to move around because they live with a lot of people. But we’re all trying to set up adult classes online and maybe also some youth classes. As of now, we’re not planning on doing any performances online.

So, I imagine what would be most supportive for you right now is financial support?

Cash is first, right. We’re collecting donations online for our teachers and our independent contractors, so that we can give them support. This is a situation where artists are worried that this might be it for people - thinking that maybe they should just call it quits.

Are there other ways that people can be supportive of you as an organization?

There are other ways to support us, such as writing senators and representatives to make sure that the art community is included and also that freelancers and gig workers are included in the relief package in terms of unemployment. When you think about it, a lot of folks can’t call out of work, even if they are sick. Think of the safety net everyone would have if we had a universal healthcare system.

What do you think we can learn from this time?

One thing I am really thankful for is seeing how it is when things are shut down and everyone is willing to change their lifestyle. People are not going outside. Everyone - the whole world - has changed, right? The levels of carbon dioxide have plummeted, and think about how clear the skies have been.

So, the earth can clean itself, and there are ways that we can interact with the environment that can be helpful. There are ways that we can disrupt the systems enough to heal the planet. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to do it so that it will not be at the expense of all these lives - and livelihoods.

Dance Brigade performing Butterfly Effect at Dance Mission Theater, photo by Brooke Anderson

What do you see as the role of artists during this time?

I love that Toni Morrison quote: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. . . We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal." This is the time for artists to roll up their sleeves and not to despair. It is the role of the artist to imagine a new world - it’s a mirror oftentimes and draws the artist to inspire. Another quote I love is: “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” I think this is a time that artists can do a lot of good and have a chance to rest a second.

So many times the hustle is so real. Artists are fighting to make it work and produce and meet a need and uplift your community. And uplift yourself. And to do all these things and agree they’re good. And so, you do have to put on your oxygen mask first, so that you can then put it on others.

At the same time we want to give the artist the permission to just rest a second, and see how their work can inspire themselves and others so that we don’t all collapse. Many people tried to move so quickly and figure out how to be even more creative. They figured out their medium and then had to decide whether to switch online or just how to respond.

For example, if you are being super creative and thinking about how to go mobile. A musician could go mobile and do music concerts. Such as driving from place to place and giving mini concerts. Amazing artists are creatives like no other, and they need creative thinking to think outside the box. I encourage that.

And also, if you need to rest, rest. I do want to acknowledge that a lot of people can’t do that because they have to figure out how to continue to make a living, how to pay rent, how to pay these bills. It’s a delicate balance. How can you take care of yourself when the reality of life hits? It could be really hard.

Stella, what would your message be to artists - especially young artists - right now who are thinking about how to get creative and resourceful during this time?

One thing that I really enjoy seeing is how people are showing up for one another. People are still trying to be connected. The minute I switched from emailing people to Zoom, it was life-changing because I need that connection with other people. You see their face and hear their voice and feel that there is an energy versus email.

I’m also still trying to reach out to folks. There are a lot of people who are trying to collaborate and share ideas. One thing that’s been really helpful in terms of art organizations is that everyone’s coming together and asking - how are you doing this? What do you suggest? We are all sharing our best practices.

It also helps to have somebody hear you out when you’re freaking out and to have somebody in the same boat. I think that is a really great way to prevent utter despair. It’s hard.

Dance Brigade performing Butterfly Effect at Dance Mission Theater, photo by Robbie Sweeny

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Sometimes I think about the 1918 influenza that wiped out so many people. I wonder what happened then. More people were killed by that flu than were killed in World War I. I also think about my great grandfather.

He was set to fight in the war. He was drafted, and then he got the flu so he couldn’t go. Then he got well. He was sent out again and that’s right when the war ended. So, for him, the flu saved his life. It makes me think - okay, how can we flip the script a little bit?

Also, we had this group visit us at Dance Mission from New Zealand. It was this amazing company that did a whole show about the 1918 flu in 2018, when it was the centennial anniversary. And so, I was looking back at that footage, because they were very inspiring. That wiped out 22% to 25% of Samoa’s population. It’s also just recognizing the devastation of everything.

People talk about a new world, and I encourage you to just keep dreaming into that possibility. That’s kind of anxiety-provoking but it’s much better than if it was only guaranteed f*ing doomsday. Also, I want to go surfing . . . I’ll still stay six feet away from people.

Thank you so much to Stella for chatting with us. We know times are hard, and we want to give a huge thank you to the creatives who have shifted gears so quickly. They keep us inspired, connected, and moving forward with their artistic offerings.

For more information about Dance Mission Theater head to their​ website.​ If you are an artist and need resources during this time, ​check here​. If you are interested in taking online classes with Dance Mission Theater during COVID-19, see their ​offerings here​.

This interview was lightly edited for clarity.

Polina Smith is the Executive Director of​ Crecent Moon Theater Productions​ creating original, thought provoking new work that spans across the disciplines of theater, dance, music and circus. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Inquiry from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Smith is an art event producer for Bioneers and​ ​Seismic Sisters.​ ​

An Interview with Rhodessa Jones on the Role of Art and the Artist during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Polina Smith

Rhodessa Jones is a legendary artist and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area with a focus on theater and social justice work. Jones serves as co-artistic director of Cultural Odyssey and director of The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women, an award-winning theater company committed to women’s personal and social transformation. As a United States Artists Fellowship recipient, she expanded her work into jails and institutions around the nation and internationally. Jones has engaged with academic institutions through teaching residencies at Brown University, Scripps College Humanities Institute, and Dartmouth College. Rhodessa Jones is a vibrant and influential force for social progress through art. 

Rhodessa Jones at the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco. Photo by Tumay Aslay

In the following interview, Polina Smith, who worked closely with The Medea Project for nine years, speaks with Rhodessa Jones to get her thoughts and insight on the role of art and the artist during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Polina Smith:  What was The Medea Project doing before the ‘shelter-in-place’ order went into effect?

Rhodessa Jones:  Well, we had just come back from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We had been invited by the Classical Literature Department to do a performance. It was very powerful! More and more we’ve been invited by classics departments to present at universities as they grapple with the questions: how do we make the classics relevant, how do they matter in the modern day?

The Medea Project has always worked with the classics, starting with the name. I knew the myth of Medea when I started working in the jails and I met a woman who had killed her baby. She had a big fight with her husband who wanted out. She was just getting addicted to crack, she smothered the baby in revenge. She had been a graduate of UC Berkeley. When I met her in jail, she was just ‘on the moon’ and I was trying to figure out who is this woman? She sat in the back in a cage all by herself. It just brought me back to my Medea.

As The Medea Project grew and became prominent, performers in the group started bringing in other stories. Demeter and Persephone was the other story I brought in. It is about a daughter being abducted and the mother having the power to stop the seasons. And so it began that the classics were showing up in the ‘matrilineage’ segment which we do at the end of each show. “I am Rhodessa, call me Persephone.”

I love the idea of the universal story, especially with incarcerated women. How do we bring in a story where everybody feels it? Then as director, my job is to instruct everybody to put yourself at the center of the story; what kind of Medea are you?

‘The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women’ performing at Blessed Unrest festival in San Francisco. Photo by Thatcher Hayward

How has The Medea Project been adjusting since the ‘shelter-in-place’ went into effect?

We had a wonderful Zoom meeting the other night. We're going to be meeting now on Zoom every Tuesday at six o'clock. It's been really lovely. Everybody was so happy to see everybody. We started to talk about life and dreams. Everybody had a lot of ideas, and we got to laugh and just be together. Everybody checked in and then there were just some crazy conversations that happened!

What do you think is the role of artists during this time?

I think one, we have to be a symbol of hope and light and laughter. We also have to be, as Mister Rogers’ mother always taught him, to be a helper. To go where the people are helping and do something. I think we must keep busy. The artist’s role? I think it's hope, I think it's light, I think it's assurance. And I think that it's making a way out of no way. I think that is what the artist does.

What is your spiritual perspective on this time?

Well, you know, Sekou Sundiata has this wonderful line in one of his poems. He’s talking about racism and the culture, but he says, "In this long reign of the upside-down," and I feel like we're in the upside-down. We're free falling. I was talking to Medea yesterday and it just came out of my heart when I said to them, "You know, I lament the freefall, but I do know where my heart lies," because everybody was writing and everybody was just so supportive of each other, and we all swore to be sisters forever and ever.

On one level, I think it's a good time to be still. I'm really enjoying those other places in my mind and in my heart. You know, lying in bed at night, when I finally turn off the television because in lockdown we are so (do we say blessed?) in this culture that we have stuff to distract us – and here we are on ‘Zoom’ talking - that I think we're gonna work through it, you know? But I don't know. I can't see through the darkness yet.

I call on my mother a lot. I call on my mother to tell me, to help me be still, to help me make sense of it, to help me be a better mother, lover, leader.

What gives you hope during this time?

I'm in lockdown, I'm at my house, it's just me, myself, and I. My nature is to enjoy the life, the light. My nature is not to be a somber dark person, but I try to prepare myself for the fact that we may be colliding. Somewhere somebody might be looking at Earth as this planet that's spiraling towards some great bang. That happens, but then I think, ‘Wow, it's too bad I can't feel the speed of it,’ versus like, ‘Oh God.’

So, I think what gives me hope is the fact that if I die tonight, I've had a good life, I think I've touched people. I still go out and talk to people because I think we must still honor the circle of life. These are traits and habits that I have, that my job, my directive from the goddess is to ‘Go do that.’ That's what happened with me with The Medea Project. She was like, ‘You go, and you do this.’ And I'm like, ‘Do what?’ She said, ‘You go, you're gonna see. You're gonna find out what you have to do.’

Rhodessa Jones opening Blessed Unrest at CounterPulse Theater. Photo by Thatcher Hayward

What would your message be to young artists during this time?

Work! Don't think about the work, just work. Just work and everything will be done in time. The alchemy of artistry, of art-making, has to do with keeping your heart open, keeping your eyes and your ears open. Right now, in the 21st Century, all these artists I know are doing stuff for each other online. Engage. Engage with each other.

Be ready to stand up for people you feel might be getting a bad deal. There's the Poor People's Campaign, you know, with Reverend William Barber. It popped up on my computer yesterday. This huge Poor People’s Campaign is underway because poor people are getting the short end of the stick.

They’re talking about this big deal in Congress, an emergency financial aid package, but if you do service work, if you have no identity in America. . . There’s people who are working their asses off, like my darling Roberto who worked three jobs. He took care of the restaurant, he served the food, but these people will be. . . The same ones that do the toilets, people who sweep up the bus station, where are they? How are they even going to be found?

We need to be stern and ready to take care of each other and to take care of those people who are less fortunate than us. My famous saying is “Politics don't work. Religion is a bit too eclectic, but art can be that parachute that catches us all.” I believe that. I really do.

Thank you so much Rhodessa Jones for chatting with us, we are deeply moved by the inspiration, leadership and vision you bring to so many during these challenging times.

For more information about Rhodessa Jones and The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women head to their websites. Also see our previous profile of Rhodessa Jones at Seismic Sisters.

Polina Smith is the Executive Director of Crescent Moon Theater Productions creating original, thought provoking new work that spans across the disciplines of theater, dance, music and circus. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Inquiry from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Smith is an art event producer for Bioneers and Seismic Sisters.