Interview with Max Parrilla, financial manager, company member

By Keith Hennessy

Max Parrilla: I’ve been a company member since ’86. Right now my current position is financial manager. Basically, I handle all the book keeping, pay the taxes, write the checks, make sure that everybody has the money that they need.

Keith Hennessy : What keeps you here? What inspires you?

MP: Well, for me, it is the sense of family that keeps me here. When I came here, I was the first technical director that they ever had. I helped with the construction of the building, of the space that we are in now, along with the other space that we had. When I left, I left for financial reasons, not because I wasn’t happy here. I saw that, having a family, I needed to — even though I loved the work here, it wasn’t financially viable for me. It was a hard decision for me to make. It was a decision that, in one sense, I regret, and, in one sense, I don’t. I still am a part of it, and I feel like I am an important part. We are all an important part. But at the same time, I needed the financial resources for my family. As far as I am concerned, Jump-Start was always a part of me. I hope that I will always be a part of Jump-Start, no matter what happens or if I ever leave San Antonio. It is just the sense of family that we have here. We all like each other, and I feel like we all genuinely care about each other too as people, not just as artists or by what we bring to the table. People are generally concerned about the well-being of each one of us. That is important. Family is important to me, that is why I like sticking around here.

KH: Talk to me about the art that gets made here.

MP: I know that we do important stuff here. I know that it has changed over the years. One time, Sterling and I were just having a conversation about where we started at. One of the things that we started as, and its main reputation was grown on, was that we were a gay-centric arts organization. We did a lot of that art, which I think was some of the best art we’ve done "Out of a Time of Plague," bringing in Tim Miller and introducing him to San Antonio. Some of the other artists that we’ve brought in. That was important work. Since then we’ve branched out into more central, mainstream I guess is the best word (even thought we are not mainstream) art. Dealing with Latino issues, women issues, other things that bring people into the seats. We seem to have gotten away from the gay-centric work, and that is something that I really miss. To me that is challenging. That really pushes the envelope. That really makes people think. I think that they have come to forget that, and I want to get back to that. I really do. I want to get back to that art. That is what makes it, when Jump-Start pushes the envelope. We are doing a lot of things because we have to. Even though they make a lot of money. The stuff that makes us a lot of money, the programming we do, is still not what you would consider mainstream for a normal theater. People consider it that because that is what is out there.

KH: For me, coming from a different place, it would be hard to see focusing on Latino issues as mainstream, but I guess in San Antonio it is actually a majority population, it is not a minority. Even though it could be a minority issue politically, it is the biggest source of audience here.

MP: Right, exactly. I am glad we are doing that. I know that the majority of us here at Jump-Start are getting a little long in the tooth here. With age and maturity comes a certain sense of, I don’t know if it is not willing to take the chances. But we all get into this comfort zone.

KH: Has there been a Latino queer festival here?

MP: No. There hasn’t been one.

KH: Seems like you are ripe for it.

MP: I think so, I think we are. It is just finding them. Finding those artists, and bringing them out here.

KH: They exist.

MP: I know they do. I know they exist. I just think we need to be doing that.

KH: That would be awesome. Talk to me about who is in charge, how decisions get made, and how does that sort of function in the organization.

MP: Obviously Steve, whether he wants to admit it or not, he is in charge. I mean we all look to him for the final decision. Even though we all come to consensus, if he is vehemently opposed to it we all will sit and listen to his reasons why he isn’t in support of it. Usually, he makes a good argument, or he has good reasons for why he is opposed to something. If we want to do something, or we choose to challenge his decision, if we make a viable argument for it, he will do it. For me, the leadership starts with Steve and then it moves to everybody else. I don’t think there is a second in command. We are all equal, even Steve in certain aspects. Particularly the financial, what Steve and I deal with. I understand the fact that for me he is the final decision. If I say we need to hold onto this check and he says, "No, we need to spend it," I say "you’re the man, you know best." He does. He only has the best interest for Jump-Start at heart, and he always has. He understands the bigger picture of where he thinks it should go.

KH: Are there particular challenges you see in terms of the structure that has evolved over time?

MP: I don’t think there has been a change in how we make decisions. Being around as long as I have with the organization. I basically see it as the same decision-making process, just more people are involved.

KH: It is still very cooperative, and if push comes to shove Steve has the largest picture.

MP: Exactly. There are more people involved, so there are more voices.

KH: And how have you handled that complexity? Do you feel that has been a bigger challenge or does what you had set up just work?

MP: I think it just works. I don’t see it as a challenge. I just see that this is something that works. The beauty of it is that people that have come in after us have grasped it. They have seen that it does work so they are willing to accept it. We have had board members come in and try to change it, try to bring more structure to the decision-making process. They’ve all left. They’ve all chosen to leave rather than put up the fight. The way we run a board meeting is not the way it is done. It really isn’t. I’ve been to other board meetings and it is very structured. Business goes on, boom boom boom. We have an agenda, but we bounce around. We let everybody speak what they want to say. We can go 20, 30 minutes on one subject and then diverge. It just goes. That is the natural flow of a conversation anyway. In that sense, we have had other board members come in and say, "I want to call a question." I remember the first time someone came in and said that at a board meeting. Everybody looked at each other like, "What? What does that mean?" Nobody knew what it meant. But then they left. And not to say that they aren’t still Jump-Start supporters, because they are. They just realized that they are just not set up to be part of the decision-making process at Jump-Start.

KH: What do you think Jump-Start does the best? What makes Jump-Start unique?

MP: Our openness to do something new. Our openness to let someone come in and try something. I remember when I said I wanted to direct my first play. I went to Steve and said I had a play that I wanted to direct. Mainly, it is all original work, and work written by a Jump-Start member. This was one of the first ones that wasn’t that Jump-Start did. It was written by a friend of mine’s father and I thought it was important work to get done. They let me do it and they supported it financially. Jump-Start just put the money in, and this was at a time when Jump-Start wasn’t a rich company. Even though we are not a rich company now, we have grown. So, they took the chance. I thought it was successful, not only as an artist, but as a company member. I think that is what makes it. Anyone can go up and say I want to do a show. A few questions are asked, but there is no box that you have to operate in.

KH: What are some of the questions that get asked?

MP: Just like does it match the mission? Has it ever been done anywhere else or is it an original work? Those are the two main questions that are asked. If it fits in both those two things...it doesn’t have to fit them both. It can fit one or the other. That is the beauty of it. The next show that I directed had been done by another group, but it fit the mission.

KH: How do you see the mission?

MP: We are here for the people that don’t have any place else to go. If they have something to say, then this is the place to say it. That is the one thing. I know there was a time when everyone in the community knew that. I don’t know if they still know that. Especially younger artists.

KH: Have any new spaces in Jump-Start emerged to fill that void, or do you think they need to find out about Jump-Start to get their voice out?

MP: I think they need to find out about Jump-Start to get that word out. There are a lot of things that we do, but I don’t think that we do enough out-reach for them. I think that is something we need to correct. One of the things that you mentioned, a Latino gay festival would be great. Where do we go to find those people? We are not finding them. Where are they? Why aren’t they coming to Jump-Start? I don’t know. I don’t know how to get those answers. They are out there. I don’t see the same people coming to pieces that are coming now. Before I could see the same people at every show. And it is great that I don’t recognize everybody that comes here. I like that part. But where are these people that would come to every show?

KH: What do you think about the growth of the education program and how Jump-Start has been in the schools? How does that play into the mission or the future of the company?

MP: Well, I think it is great. We are not only exposing the children to a different way of thinking, but we are cultivating our audience base. Those children will grow up. They will have been exposed to art, and they will know the name Jump-Start. When they become older they will be able to make those decisions. I think that is important. They will have the name recognition. The most important reason though is that we are exposing them to art and how it can benefit them.

KH: Do you see Jump-Start fitting into any kind of political or national model? Like there is a network of places like this? Do you feel that Jump-Start has been inspired by other places outside of here?

MP: Well, I don’t know. I’ve toured with other artists around the country and they have gone to other alternative spaces. Take Sushi in San Diego. That is similar, but it is not the same. So, I’m not really sure. I’ve been to Montana. The Contemporary Indian Art up there is not the same even though it is an alternative arts organization. It is not the same either. I don’t know. Where I have been, I haven’t seen it. It doesn’t look like Jump-Start is modeled after someplace else. I find that people tend to resist.

Going back to the power thing, people like being in charge. That is a natural thing to want to be in charge of what is important to you. That, to me, has been the downfall of a lot of arts organizations that started off as a grassroots organization. It falls apart because that one person who is in charge, or who started it, rises to the top and starts making decisions. People don’t agree with those decisions and organizations just die because of that. To me that was a fear I had at Jump-Start. We went through a rough period ourselves. A growing spurt, especially moving into here. Things started getting out of hand, but I think because we all started to focus in on what we want to do. In fact that is when we started our retreat. Because we saw that we were going in all directions and needed to get focused. The retreat has helped that. It has helped us get focused on everybody, on the goal of what we are. And get back in touch. When you are a smaller organization you can socialize and do business at the same time. When you get the amount of people that we have now it is harder to do that. The retreat has turned into both. I’ve been to other retreats for other organizations and they are nothing like the retreats that we have. They are all business. It is all "How do we become better workers," but it is all structured. You can’t become a better worker if it is all structured. Well, I guess the corporate model is that you can.

KH: Yeah. You can speed up. Get more efficient.

MP: Right. But you can’t become a better worker. I really do believe that we are running at top efficiency. As chaotic as other people may think we are, compared to other arts organizations that I, at least, know well, we are one of the better ones.

KH: Anything you want to say about Jump-Start? Anything you want to leave them with?

MP: Yeah. To learn to respect other people’s opinion. Just because you feel strongly about something and don’t believe someone else should feel as strongly about it. It is hard to explain that to them, why you feel so strongly. To listen. That is the most important thing. To not just hear, but listen to what they are saying. Basically to believe. You have to believe in what the organization is. That is what I will leave it at. Just believe and listen.

Keith Hennessy is a Canadian-born, interdisciplinary artist choreographer and community arts organizer living in community in San Francisco. Hennessy's solo work has been produced throughout the U.S., in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, including several gay and lesbian performance festivals. Since 1998, he has performed with Cahin-Caha, cirque bâtard, a French/American, mongrel circus based in France. Hennessy was a member of the performance collective Core and was a founding member and principle collaborator in Contraband, a San Francisco-based performance company. Hennessy co-directs 848 Community Space. He is a member of Alternate ROOTS, a service organization for community-based artists, and serves radical cultural agendas as a consultant, director, teacher, curator and agitator.

PERFORMING COMMUNITIES
Carpetbag | Cornerstone | Dell'Arte | Jump-Start
LAPD | Pregones | Roadside | WagonBurner
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