Archivist

Position: Archivist

Reports to: Artistic Associate

Part-time, temporary through August 2024.

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About Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA), founded in 1979 by its Artistic Director Jeffrey Horowitz and led by Horowitz and Managing Director Dorothy Ryan, is an award-winning off-Broadway LORT- C theatre whose mission is to develop and vitalize the performance and study of Shakespeare and classic drama alongside other new work.  TFANA is dedicated to building a culturally diverse and equitable environment and strongly encourages applications from underrepresented populations. The position will remain open until a diverse and qualified pool of candidates is identified.

 

Values and Strategies:

We are guided in our work by five core values: a reverence for language, a spirit of adventure, a commitment to diversity, a dedication to learning, and a spirit of service. These values inform what we do with artists, how we interact with audiences, and how we manage our organization. Language is at the heart of all we do. We focus on the language and ideas of writers. We believe that hearing great language powerfully expressed improves our listening skills, opens our eyes, and deepens our perception and understanding of the world around us. We infuse our work with adventure—provocative ideas, visual boldness, and a sense that we are on a lifelong journey with Shakespeare and classic drama. We are committed to diversity—diverse approaches to dramatic material, diversity on our staff, in our casting and audiences, and multifaceted relationships with uniquely different communities. Learning is a fundamental principle of the Theatre, and we value learning as a process that takes place over time—a process that depends on our ability to promote curiosity, reflection, study, research and dialogue in all our work. We are dedicated to service. Inspired by our civic role, we seek to create broad public access and to bond the diverse New York community through the language, pleasure and ideas of classical drama.  To advance our mission and values, Theatre for a New Audience:

  • produces Shakespeare alongside other plays of classic stature and major contemporary plays, creating a dialogue over centuries between Shakespeare and other authors about our contemporary world;
  • builds long-term associations with artists and offers programs for their growth and ongoing development;
  • promotes the humanities by presenting dynamic discussions with leading artists and scholars in a variety of fields in conjunction with the plays we present;
  • programs for wide-ranging audiences—from connoisseurs of diverse repertory to young people who are seeing groundbreaking productions for the first time;
  • promotes access for diverse audiences by offering reduced-priced tickets;
  • provides rich arts-in-education programs, including teacher training and the largest in-depth program to introduce Shakespeare in NYC Public schools;
  • contributes to the international theatre community through touring, artistic exchanges and partnerships.

 

Archivist

The Archivist will work in close collaboration with TFANA’s Artistic Associate, other TFANA staff, and database / web-development vendors to construct a public-facing digital archive showcasing the Theatre’s 40+ years of history.  In addition, the Archivist will create protocols, a manual, and training for existing TFANA staff for archiving future material as it is generated, so that the Theatre can maintain and build upon the work of this project.

 

Responsibilities include:

  • Producing a comprehensive timeline of the Theatre’s history.
  • Creating inventories, catalog records, and finding aids of the collection utilizing archival metadata and description standards.
  • Digitizing materials in-house and supervising off-site digitization of materials including stills, audio, film and video from live performances; marketing materials; production designs; press clippings; educational materials; select correspondence; etc.
  • Arranging for physical preservation and storage of select materials.
  • Curating virtual exhibits/features showcasing topics in TFANA’s collection and history, e.g., the foundation of the Theatre, major affiliated artists, building Polonsky Shakespeare Center, etc.
  • Establishing archival policies and procedures, writing training materials, and training TFANA staff on archival best practices for new material.
  • Securing permissions and licensing additional materials from TFANA-affiliated artists.
  • Other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications and Traits:

Note: We know that many great candidates may not have all of the qualifications listed below but possess fully transferable skills. We encourage submissions regardless of whether they meet all criteria.

  • ALA-accredited Masters degree in Library Science, or equivalent professional experience in the archival field.
  • 2+ years professional experience as an archivist in the arts/cultural field; theatre and other performing arts institutions a plus.
  • Proficiency with archival content management systems, databases, and reference ticketing systems; proficiency with Collective Access software is preferred, and such proficiency should be described in your application cover letter.
  • Familiarity with digital best practice standards.
  • Motivated, detail-oriented team player and problem-solver.
  • Outstanding communication skills (verbal and written).
  • Ability to climb an 8’ ladder and carry a 30 lb. box in order to access materials.

 

This would be a great opportunity for you if:

  • You are excited by the potential of digital public archives to tell compelling stories about an arts institution; to reflect institutional values through an archive’s curation and design; and to bring to the fore historically marginalized voices and perspectives.
  • You appreciate the disparate needs of the anticipated stakeholders / end users for a not-for-profit theatre company’s archive: academics, young students, artists, patrons, and the institution itself (for marketing, development, and artistic purposes).
  • You want to hone your digital project management skillset. This project is made possible by a grant from the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator Program, which is committed to developing and sharing best practices around technology investments.
  • You enjoy a structured process that entails significant autonomy. The archivist in this role will need to realistically assess the institution’s medium- and long-term goals, collaborate on a detailed timeline for execution, be self-directed in much of the day-to-day work, and reliably report progress and setbacks to the project lead and team.
  • You have an interest in interpretations of work by playwrights as varied as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Henrik Ibsen, Alice Childress, Samuel Beckett, Maria Irene Fornes, Richard Maxwell, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Will Eno, Adrienne Kennedy and Thornton Wilder.

This is a part-time position (~20 hours/week). The start date is May 17, 2023 (with some flexibility) and the anticipated term of the position is through the launch of the archive in August 2024.  Most work will take place at TFANA’s administrative offices in Manhattan (West Village), with some remote work possible.  All TFANA staff are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

Compensation:

Salary: $30/hour.

 

To Apply:

Applicants for this position should send a detailed cover letter and chronological resume in a single, combined PDF to jobs@tfana.org with “Archivist” in the subject line.

 

Theatre for a New Audience is committed to attracting, hiring and retaining employees who reflect the cultural diversity of our community. We believe that every employee has the right to work in a respectful environment that is free from discrimination, consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and respect. This commitment extends to all aspects of the employment relationship.