TC SQUARED encourages and produces staged readings of new work by former students of the Boston Arts Academy who are now writing and acting in the professional theatre, as well as opening the stage to others. Our role is to mentor young artists to reach diverse audiences through socially relevant issues. We challenge opinions and push artistic boundaries to produce transformative theatre.
When I left full-time teaching at Boston Arts Academy in 1998, after ten years as Founding Chair of Theatre, a group of my alumni sat around my kitchen table and talked. I discovered there was a real hunger for continued artistic growth and a sense of community, reminiscent of their nurturing days at BAA. These alumni had taken different paths; some worked part-time jobs following graduation from BAA; some graduated with advanced degrees from college; some went on to teach, write, or work in the arts; some formed their own theatre companies; but all of them wanted to be involved in a special community in the arts. Several of them are now married, and some have children.
I was determined to foster this artistic growth among our alumni, as they continued to pursue their passion for the arts. I wanted to sustain the connection they had with BAA, and provide a professional environment that would allow them to develop their craft within the community, while continuing the values and habits of mind they had gleaned at BAA in their role as artist/scholar/citizen. I started by offering a Professional Development Acting Workshop, under the umbrella of Company One, with the intent of activating a network where BAA alumni could work alongside other professional actors. This has been exceptionally successful. Many BAA alumni have participated and several have been cast in professional shows. My production of The Sing Song Show by John ADEkoje, at Boston Playwright’s Theatre in 2010, involved ten BAA alumni onstage and backstage.
The next step was to form a theatre company to develop alumni playwriting and acting. This has proved inspiring and rewarding. The alumni on my Board continue to sit around my table, sharing food, and volunteering tirelessly to redefine our Mission and Vision Statements, to read scripts, and to plan the next stage in their artistic journey of TC SQUARED. As a result of this energy, creativity and hard work, we continue four years later with strong writing and acting in original work by TC SQUARED: THE NEXT STAGE.
We continue to mentor new alumni playwrights who will continue to address social issues and transform audiences. We have also opened our doors to other artists who are connected to our community and follow our mission. We provide a platform for current BAA writers or actors who we feel exhibit exceptional skill in their craft. Alumni actors are ready to perform these new works. This artistic heartbeat is alive. It needs to be fed every day, whether these young people are teaching, running a theatre company, working at a copy shop or behind a bar, taking care of their families, or sitting in a café on a computer writing new plays!
We thank Company One, Boston Arts Academy, and our Honorary Board for their support, and we are delighted that our appreciative and critical audience, always ready to give feedback, is a part of this new venture. We need to look to our young artists. We have much to learn from them. The stone has been cast. Let the ripples travel far!
Rosalind Thomas-Clark
Artistic Director TC SQUARED
Boston Arts Academy Theatre Faculty Emeritus