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Interview with Mark Valdez, artistic associate[Interviewer’s note] A glance at Cornerstone's organizational structure is particularly instructive. This is one grassroots ensemble that has recently moved into the endowment phase of fundraising, which many are never able to do. An endowment provides a type of financial surety that can encourage long-range planning, and Cornerstone is certainly taking advantage of that opportunity. It's safe to say that no small theater ever stops running from pillar to post, raising funds for production and using production to raise funds, but because of the endowment, Cornerstone will be able to take a breath, so to speak. Artistic Associate Mark Valdez has been with Cornerstone for three years, and a full-time employee for a year-and-a-half. Although we had conversations on many subjects, time and space permit including only this conversation, which outlines the company's administrative workings. – F.L.] Ferdinand Lewis: What is the company's annual budget? Mark Valdez: The annual budget for 2001 is $900,000, and for 2000 it was $600,000. FL: How do you account for that jump? MV: It's safe to say that the company has grown every year, but the jump from $600- to $900,000 is a grant from Lila Wallace [Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund] to establish an endowment and cash reserve. FL: What does having an endowment do for you? MV: It gives us the ability to stop worrying about the money and focus more on relationship building. It's a visible difference. We're spending a lot of time looking ahead, sharing what we do with the communities we work with and our colleagues nationwide, and internally clarifying our roles. These are things we couldn't focus on before, with a staff of only four people, trying to do these big epic shows, it was all about trying to get the work done. FL: How many people do you employ in a given year, in any capacity? MV: In this past year, we employed somewhere around 80-100 people, all of whom were paid. FL: How do you contract with the freelancers who work for you? MV: Everybody we hire has a letter of agreement, laying out rights and responsibilities. FL: How about the ensemble? MV: For the ensemble, we have contracts to pay them for x number of weeks a year. The amount varies according to programming, but they're paid for 10-15 weeks per project, maybe a total of 30 weeks per year. Members have an option to do other things outside and pull out of programming, and responsibilities vary. All ensemble members have health and retirement [benefits], and have had for the last three years or so. There's lots of crossing over within the ensemble, many actors also direct and write, compose. Less so with designers, but a couple of them are talking about initiating projects. FL: How many are on staff? MV: Eight are on staff. Two are part-time and six are full-time. FL: The ensemble membership committee has become important in shaping your company. Can you describe that committee? MV: Up until two years ago, it was presumed that once you were in the ensemble, you had a lifetime membership. We decided to clarify the requirements of what are the rights and responsibilities, and to give the ensemble-at-large the opportunity to evaluate one another, and they established criteria for evaluation. There are three ensemble members on the committee, those whose contracts are not up for renewal. The founders of Cornerstone are on the committee in an ex-officio capacity. Currently there are 17 ensemble members in the ensemble. A person's first year in the ensemble is [a contract] for one year. If you're renewed, it's for one more year, then the third year it's a two-year contract. So far, no one has been asked to leave. FL: What is Cornerstone's relationship with the union? MV: We are considered a "Developing Theater." We've been fortunate, they work with us because we pay a living wage. For the commission in Cleveland, for instance, they said we could only hire a certain number of nonprofessional community actors. The union has something to say in all our shows, but often it's a 99-seat waiver. [Unions suspend some regulations for theaters seating fewer than 99 people.] But as we expand and perform more in midsize venues, that'll be changing more. Our last long-range plan was to get rid of debt and establish a cash reserve. The past few years have been about eliminating that debt. The board of directors was key in that. Ferdinand Lewis is a founding member of The Ghost Road Company, an educator, writer and theater artist. He is currently at work on two books: "Ensemble Theater: An Anthology" and "Ensemble Theater: Traditions, Approaches, Strategies." He lives in Los Angeles.
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