Our Mission, Vision, & Story
In part, Murmuration started because it's tough to meet people as an adult. As early-career creatives grappling with the crash isolation of COVID lockdowns, it was especially hard to find community, even in—or perhaps especially in—a big city like NYC.
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It's also difficult to transition theatre from a curriculum, hobby, or dream into actively navigating an opaque (and often exclusionary) industry, needing to position yourself as an expert who can hit the ground running. The field of theatre is a complicated and high-stakes machine that operates without a user's manual, and the “grindset” can get old fast if you don't see results. Once you're in the professional world—even in a place where there are a TON of projects happening all the time—opportunities to learn the basics, or work on upping your skill level, are either scarce or prohibitively expensive.
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We also started this company to adjust the structural model of theater—lots of people are noticing that what we're doing isn't working (with strikes, fewer productions, and closures for companies and shows without existing IP) and there's a movement that's starting to move towards collective action + ownership. Big commercial ventures are making less money, and they're feeling more and more hollow.
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We’re also grounding our practice in the theory that we can provide real and consistent value to the areas where we perform. By working on timely pieces and partnering with relevant community organizations, by considering statistics and the day-to-day needs of NYC residents, we can format our programming around building conversations, running educational events, and providing needed resources. We don’t operate in a vacuum, and we won’t forget that.
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Murmuration Theatre Co was created to move forward in three directions: to spotlight unsung creators and artists; to make art that connects with and materially helps our community; and to join forces and build connections within the independent theatre community.​
Why are we called "Murmuration"?
Literally speaking, "Murmuration" means
1. (v) the act of murmuring (intimate communications)
2. (n) large groups of birds, usually starlings, that all fly together and change direction together.
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In the first sense, Murmuration is a pure play on words. Theatre is largely a verbal art form, our purpose is to start conversations, and we're all coming into the room to chat together. Our internal shorthand is MurmurCo, which is, in our opinion, endlessly appropriate.​
The second definition is a little more whimsical, a little more abs​​tract, and a little more mythical.
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From Wonderopolis:
"As they fly, the starlings in a murmuration seem to be connected together. They twist and turn and change direction at a moment's notice...Scientists believe murmurations are similar to other systems, such as crystals forming, avalanches, metals becoming magnetized and liquids turning to gases. These systems are 'on the edge,' which means they're ready to be completely transformed in an instant...Regardless of the size of the murmuration, all the birds seem to be connected to the same network."
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The idea of an interconnected network is important to us — like a synaptic net, like a dance, like a gymnastic pyramid
The idea of following each other and not orienting around a leader is also important to us:
flowing shifts in leadership, of community action and mutual uplift
agility and responsiveness to the environment,
& continuing to adjust to the present moment​​​
Poet Linda France on murmurations as an inspiration point:
"I wanted to borrow their natural capacity for shared purpose, communication and movement to embody what human beings might be capable of if they worked together to address the biggest ever challenge facing the planet and all its species and systems — the perfect storm of the climate emergency, mass extinction and an unprecedented global pandemic…"
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We believe in:
strength in numbers
communication and collaboration
problem-solving on a scale that increases in proportion to our collective buy-in
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