Mettlesome, “a Durham based performance and production collective,” was a winner of the 2017 Indies Arts Awards awarded by Indyweek. Rose Werth, one of the founding partners and stakeholders, outlines the thoughtful planning process to develop the infrastructure of the collective, the types of Projects Proposals they seek from area artists, why Mettlesome doesn’t consider itself to be solely a comedy theatre, and Mettlesome’s plans for 2018 and beyond. Get inspired!
Rose Werth is a performer, actor, storyteller, and producer based in Durham, NC. She is a founding partner and stakeholder of Mettlesome. For the last several years, she has performed in shows in North Carolina and across the country with local theater and improv companies. When she is not performing Rose works as a research analyst at a local nonprofit research institute. No matter what she is doing, her passion is and will always be for telling truth through story.
Correction: Mettlesome currently has THREE and not two partners (Tamara’s mistake!). They are: Rose Werth, Ashley Melzer, and Jack Reitz.
Mettlesome events and mentions:
Indyweek article: With the Comedy World’s Toxic Culture on National Notice, Mettlesome is a New Kind of Organization for a New South by Katie Jane Fernelius
WIT (improv game show, Jan 13)
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Time break-down:
[0:00] Episode intro and Rose Werth’s bio
[1:15] Mettlesome won an Indy award — yay! What was the reaction and what does Rose hope that recognition will do for the collective?
[3:13] Reluctance to categorize Mettlesome as solely a comedy theatre
[4:41] What does “a New South” mean to Mettlesome?
[6:11] Rose’s background and how she came to Mettlesome
[11:07] The organizational structure and infrastructure of Mettlesome. How did these components develop and why? (Values, constitution, code of conduct, clarity, stakeholder board, safe and welcoming space for artists, giving creative artists the rights to their work)
[17:30] Examples of Mettlesome projects: Hush Hush, WIT, Golden Age
[21:03] Mettlesome org con’t: terms like Partners, Stakeholders, Captains, Sponsors
[24:48] Balance and growth: How will the people of Mettlesome balance the growth of this company (personally and as an organization)? What will 2018 bring?
[31:02] Are there particular types of projects that Mettlesome is looking for when artists submit Project Proposals?
[34:27] Rose is a WIT WINNER! Hear about Powerpoint Karaoke, her trophy, and her admiration for opponent Alex James.
[37:44] Mettlesome’s podcast, Clarified Butter.
[39:03] Thanks and sign-off
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