March 11: Antic Teatre

By Claire-Solene Becka

Do YOUR work, YOUR ideas, YOUR job. Fight for your ideas and rights, and put all your life into it,” urged Semolina Tomic, Artistic Director of Antic Teatre.

Antic Teatre, founded in 2003, began as a group of artists rehearsing in a formerly abandoned building. Programming developed organically, and now, the organization functions as a radical social and cultural center focused on experimental theater, performance art, and multidisciplinary work. The venue also has a large outdoor terrace and bar, which funds the programs almost entirely. Key to the organization is its political values and advocacy. This activist spirit touches every aspect of the company: from its space (more on that later!), the programming and content, community engagement, and strategic work and operations. While there is opportunity for the organization to make more money via marketing and the bar, they refuse to abandon their anti-capitalist ideals, saying, “They see the money. We don’t care about this… we care about our art.”

Our class briefly toured the building, gathering in the small blackbox theater as Tomic introduced the organization and its activities: artists perform short runs of shows, typically 1-4 days long, all year round. She pointed out the set in the theater: the current show features two women lost in the ventilation of IKEA. For Antic Teatre, sustainability for their artists is important. The theater leverages its networks to support the long term success of artists so that their political ideas can go beyond a few days of performance.

Tomic spoke at length about the fight surrounding their building. They have spent years negotiating bureaucracy and laws surrounding operational and civic requirements, and have used press and political sway to try to maintain the space under their current values, programming, and leadership. The question of who is managing publicly owned organizations came up, and Tomic pushed us to always think critically about who is funding and making decisions in organizations we interact with. This was an invigorating session; one that encouraged us to reexamine how we function as arts administrators and arts lovers in a capitalist society. Thank you, Antic Teatre!