How We Do Things
Rhymes Over Beats Theater Collective is dedicated to creating pieces of theater in NYC and touring them around the country and the world. In this we are like thousands of other theater groups and individuals. But we do things just a little differently. Not just because we use hip hop as the focus of our creative efforts – but also in the way that we are structured, organized and funded. We are the way we are because we are hip hop.
We are a Collective
First of all, we are not a theater company, we are a theater collective. There’s a big difference. The difference is that when someone belongs to Rhymes Over Beats, they are a member because they want to be. What does being a member mean? It means that they believe in our mission and are willing to work with us to help accomplish it. There is no secret vote. No initiation ceremony. Just as there’s no vote that makes you a hip hop artist! You are one because you say you are one. You demonstrate that to everyone because you do the things a hip hop artist does. A person is a member of Rhymes Over Beats because they act that way – by bringing work for us to do.
- songs that that can be turned into musicals
- scripts that can be turned into plays
- stories that can be developed
- attending shows that we present
- participating in the community
- most importantly, by promoting both their membership in Rhymes Over Beats and what we are doing artistically.
Our Collective Includes Producers
We include theater producers in the collective because of our immersion in the hip hop culture. In a traditional theater company, shows are done because one person, called the artistic director, producing director, executive director or some other such title, wants to do that show. This person’s primary function is not producing – typically they’re the creatives. Not suits. No traditional theatre company includes people whose primary interest is producing. Instead, we have the hip hop attitude that producers are an integral part of the creative process. So all of our productions are done by members of the company whose primary interest is producing.
Our Artistic Council
So how do we decide which shows we do, if there is no artistic director in charge? For the first few years we’ve budgeted two shows a year, one to open in the spring and one in the fall. There are two ways that we select these shows:
- The first is for a company member to decide that they would like to do a particular show. They become the producer and are assigned a slot.
- The other way is by the creation of a program to begin in January 2018, open to non-members.
Each year beginning this January we will have an open submission process. Send us your plays and musicals! They will be read by our Artistic Council, and each year one play (or musical) will be selected for development. Our artistic council consists of one member from each of our member categories. (MC, DJ, Playwright, etc), and the development process will be a three year commitment. Our commitment to the selected script will follow this three year path:
- The first year the piece will be worked on by company members.
- The second year will be a formal reading.
- The third year will be a production.
In short, the shows we do will be selected by our community of members.
Our Programs
Producing shows is only one of the things we have planned. We can’t be hip hop if all we do is entertain the community. We need to participate fully in all of its aspects. As a non-profit we want to give back to the community. So far we have:
- sponsored Hip Hop Hacks, a program that encourages young adults to learn how to write computer code.
- helped promote DJ Ted Smooth’s Old School Jam in the summer
- supported the Guns Down Life Up initiative of Health and Hospitals Corporation.
- coproduced Broken City: Harlem with POP Up Theatrics and National Black Theater
- co-produced The Assignment with Houses on the Moon Theater Company
- co-produced My Father’s Daughter by Ursula Rucker.
Finally, We are Funded Differently
Typically, theater happens because one wealthy individual gets some of his wealthy friends to pool their money and put up enough to present a show. We call this the “$10,000 from 10 People” model. AKA “Rich People’s Theater.” This is not what we are about. We are hip hop theater. Our audience is not people who can get on a plane and fly to NYC to come to see a show (except if they are a famous rapper). Our shows not for tourists – they’re intended for the people in our own community. For you. Our funding comes from the community. Our goal is having 10,000 people give us $10.