Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 9.11 Arts
Session Abstract or Summary
A public conversation between three former ensemble members on the history of The Road Company, an ensemble theatre company based in Johnson City, Tennessee, from 1975 to 1998. The Road Company created more than 20 new plays about the histories, legacies, and concerns of people in Upper East Tennessee. The company used collaborative processes, bringing actors, writers, and designers into creative exchange with people from all walks of life in the Tri-Cities area.
This history offers a local context to the national emergence of the arts as an expression of local community perspectives and values, a force that grew from the beginning of the 20th century to national recognition and stature as a mature cultural movement in the 21st. The Road Company was one of many artistic enterprises of the late 20th century that embodied this movement. In particular, The Road Company worked at home in Johnson City and with compatriot artists throughout the Southeast to bring the arts back from the exclusive domain of the wealthy, privileged classes into the regular cultural life of mainstream American communities. Using this local history as a springboard, the discussion will identify how this movement has grown in capacity through a vision of art and culture as one of the essential elements of healthy democracies and sustainable communities.
Kathie deNobriga and Ed Snodderly will join Bob Leonard, the founding artistic director of The Road Company, in this Panel.
Presentation #1 Title
The Road Company: Stories, Challenges, and Invitations in Community Cultural Development.
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
A public conversation between three former ensemble members on the history of The Road Company, an ensemble theatre company based in Johnson City, Tennessee, from 1975 to 1998. The Road Company created more than 20 new plays about the histories, legacies, and concerns of people in Upper East Tennessee. The company used collaborative processes, bringing actors, writers, and designers into creative exchange with people from all walks of life in the Tri-Cities area. This history offers a local context to the national emergence of the arts as an expression of local community perspectives and values, a force that grew from the beginning of the 20th century to national recognition and stature as a mature cultural movement in the 21st. The Road Company was one of many artistic enterprises of the late 20th century that embodied this movement. In particular, The Road Company worked at home in Johnson City and with compatriot artists throughout the Southeast to bring the arts back from the exclusive domain of the wealthy, privileged classes into the regular cultural life of mainstream American communities. Using this local history as a springboard, the discussion will identify how this movement has grown in capacity through a vision of art and culture as one of the essential elements of healthy democracies and sustainable communities. Kathie deNobriga and Ed Snodderly will join Bob Leonard, the founding artistic director of The Road Company, in this Panel.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Robert H. (Bob) Leonard. Professor, School of Performing Arts, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. where he directs the MFA in Theatre and the primary advisor for the MFA program in Directing and Public Dialogue. He founded and led The Road Company in Johnson City, TN, from 1975 to 1998. He has more than 40 years experience as a director/facilitator of improvisation in theatre and community dialogue through theatre.
Presentation #2 Title
Kathie deNobriga
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
Kathie deNobriga, originally from Kingsport, TN, offers her perspectives as a former Road Company ensemble member, and her extensive experience in leadership positions with many other arts organizations including:
- Alternate ROOTS, a 37 year old artist-driven regional arts service organization recognized internationally for its cultural organizing in the Southeast;
- The National Performance Network (NPN) is dedicated to its mission as “a group of diverse cultural organizers, including artists, working to create meaningful partnerships and to provide leadership that enables the practice and public experience of the arts in the United States.”
- Arts and Democracy works to “build the momentum of a growing movement that links arts and culture, participatory democracy, and social justice, … [putting] arts and culture on agendas where it hasn’t been before.”
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Once an ensemble member of The Road Company, and a founding member of Alternate ROOTS, a service organization for community-based artists in the South, Kathie deNobriga served as ROOTS' executive director and planning/development director for ten years. She is now a consultant, specializing in strategic planning, building organizational capacity, staff/board retreats and creative conflict engagement, and, after three terms on the City Council, is now Mayor for the City of Pine Lake, where she is an advocate for and practitioner of arts and community development.
Presentation #3 Title
Ed Snodderly
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
Ed Snodderly, an East Tennessee born musician and one-time member of the Road Company ensemble, was there at the beginning of The Road Company and remained a guide and artistic collaborator throughout its history. He is a leader in the arts at home and a fiercely committed proponent of the arts as expressive of regular people’s hearts and souls. He brings a myriad of perspectives to the conversation, including his position as co-founder/owner of one of Johnson City's cultural institutions, The Down Home Pickin' Parlour.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Ed Snodderly is a musician, songwriter and actor from the mountains of East Tennessee, a one-time ensemble member of The Road Company, and a co-owner of one of the country's longest running music venues, The Down Home located in Johnson City, TN. His songs have been recorded by such artists as: Sam Bush, Missy Raines, Jerry Douglas, John Cowan and others. He has performed at major festivals as well as on national radio shows e-town and Mountain Stage. He is venerated in the Country Hall of Fame Museum where a verse of his song, “The Diamond Stream,” is inscribed upon the wall in the Hall of Honor.
The Road Company: Stories, Challenges, and Invitations in Community Cultural Development.
A public conversation between three former ensemble members on the history of The Road Company, an ensemble theatre company based in Johnson City, Tennessee, from 1975 to 1998. The Road Company created more than 20 new plays about the histories, legacies, and concerns of people in Upper East Tennessee. The company used collaborative processes, bringing actors, writers, and designers into creative exchange with people from all walks of life in the Tri-Cities area. This history offers a local context to the national emergence of the arts as an expression of local community perspectives and values, a force that grew from the beginning of the 20th century to national recognition and stature as a mature cultural movement in the 21st. The Road Company was one of many artistic enterprises of the late 20th century that embodied this movement. In particular, The Road Company worked at home in Johnson City and with compatriot artists throughout the Southeast to bring the arts back from the exclusive domain of the wealthy, privileged classes into the regular cultural life of mainstream American communities. Using this local history as a springboard, the discussion will identify how this movement has grown in capacity through a vision of art and culture as one of the essential elements of healthy democracies and sustainable communities. Kathie deNobriga and Ed Snodderly will join Bob Leonard, the founding artistic director of The Road Company, in this Panel.
