We are writing as the board of Northern Stage in response to recent columns by Jim Kenyon attacking the theater and, most recently, our managing director. We are frankly mystified about where his sense of moral indignation and snide tone are coming from.
We have been silent as a group because we trust that people who live in the Upper Valley and beyond believe in our integrity. But Kenyon’s latest accusations cross the line. Northern Stage has never said “the law doesn’t apply to us.” To the contrary, we carefully adhere to the many rules that regulate us and seek legal counsel where needed, a fact Kenyon criticizes. Our purpose here is to assure the wider public that we take our governance responsibilities very seriously. We work closely with our two leaders, Carol Dunne and Irene Green, and can say with conviction that they are exceptional professionals who work tirelessly to bring positive experiences to the community and to the internal world of the theater. We would hate to lose them because of unfair and ill-informed potshots, excused by the Valley News as “opinion.”
We see a thriving Northern Stage as integral to a thriving region. Successful nonprofits must invest in their communities and their own futures. That is why we hope to create workforce housing for our staff, apprentices and visiting artists in White River Junction. That is why we are investing in people, including our apprentices, as never before. The business model of a regional theater is near impossible, but we pledge to you to continue to develop what so many of you value: great theater at affordable prices, outreach and access programs, education programs that change young lives, and partnerships with others that enhance quality of life in the Upper Valley.
No organization is above legitimate criticism, and we always strive to be better. But in our humble opinion, Northern Stage is a community treasure worthy of your support.
David Grant, Jennifer Kaye Argenti,
Elizabeth Stedina, Jim Lynch, Cyn Barrette, Danielle Davidson, Carolyn Dever, Jamie Horton, Jennifer Langhus, Joe Major, Nancy Murray,
Amy Redpath, Terry Samwick, Rubi Simon,
Jon Spector and Milena Zuccotti
Northern Stage board of directors
Openness is not the norm in today’s contentious political climate. Violent threats against lawmakers in Congress are on track to double this year, and the virulent political discourse undercuts collaboration across party lines. Many of us shy away from conversations with others who we know hold political beliefs contrary to our own. As our partisan perceptions become more entrenched, we are likely to believe that we are right and others are wrong. We find ourselves in our own ideological bubble surrounded by people with whom we agree.
To burst the bubble, imagine a conversation with another person who holds political beliefs contrary to yours. You’re curious about his reasoning, but how to begin? An example: “I know we differ on a number of political topics. But, I’m really interested in your thinking on immigration.” What is crucial here is to be straight with your intent and to actively listen to and empathize with the other person.
Additional ideas that I find helpful:
■Be curious. Use your emotions as a force for being curious.
■Call “it” what it is. Be aware of the elephant in the room and deal with it directly.
■If your conversation is difficult, try a new path, a new angle. Ask: What if?
■Ask: What’s another perspective? Treat the other’s view as an opportunity, not an obstacle.
■Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to act.
■Listen intently to the other’s voice.
■Identify your interests that lead you to take a position.
There are caveats, which Mark Epstein in The Zen of Therapy underscores:
■Be aware of your need to be in control.
■Do not respond to anger with anger. If you encounter adverse behaviors, don’t take them personally.
■Acknowledge your discomfort.
■A lot of anxiety has its roots in avoidance.
■Acknowledge the presence of disharmony.
■Do not assume that you know what the other’s real intentions are.
Bob Scobie
West Lebanon
It is not a rumor!
I was asked if I would accept a two-year seat on the Hartford Selectboard if there were enough “write-in” votes.
I would be honored to serve if I am elected.
I thank you all in advance for your support.
Mike Morris
Hartford
I’m writing in appreciation of Willem Lange’s latest Valley News column (“Deep in a ‘pathless wood’ and feeling fortunate,” Feb. 16).
I am “only” 65, but I see various health issues my friends and I are experiencing are not unexpected at this stage, and we are no longer shocked to open the paper and read an obituary of a former classmate.
I have been very fortunate, and yet I can relate to the sentiment that “Life at the moment feels rather like a glade, a clearing, in Frost’s dark pathless wood.”
Thank you, Willem Lange, for expressing that sentiment so beautifully and for reminding us to treasure life for what it has been, is now, and would be.
Barbara Schumacher
Grantham