The Rude Mechanicals

Website: rmtheatre.org
Budget Size: 50 to 100K
Region: Southeast
County: Benton
Artistic Focus Area: Theatre
Community Accelerator Grant Award: $12,500 in 2024, $22,500 in 2023
Primary Impact Category: Employment
Mission Statement: The mission of The Rude Mechanicals is to enhance our community through the performing arts, educate the public on the value and impact of live theatre, elevate the quality of live theatre locally, and entertain our community by delivering high-quality Shakespeare-inspired theatre.

When ArtsFund spoke to The Rude Mechanicals for a Year One case study, they shared that their first round of Community Accelerator Grant funding had kept their company from shuttering in the wake of the pandemic. When we sat down with them again this year, it was on the cusp of an opening weekend, in the midst of a hiring process, and in service of discussing a company that feels in a different place altogether.

The Rude Mechanicals are now, as they were a year ago, a community theatre group dedicated to offering Shakespeare, Shakespeare-inspired, and classical theatre to Southeastern Washington. “We try to make our work as approachable as possible,” says Producing Artistic Director Cyndi Kimmel. “We don’t want anyone to feel like Shakespeare is not for them, because Shakespeare is for everybody.” The company tends to eschew what Cyndi calls “the Ye-Merry-Olde-England Style” in favor of a more contemporary approach, exemplified by their September Shakespeare In The Park show The Girls of Miami, a retelling of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. “We’re using the base that Shakespeare gave us,” says Cyndi, “But we’re setting it in the year 2000 and focusing it on these two girls who are defying societal expectations and upending gender roles.” The company’s Board President, Emily Richman, chimes in: “The costumes, the music, it’s all such a vibe. I can see people being able to really connect and focus and pay attention to the characters because it’s all so familiar – down to the wide-leg jeans covered in acid-wash stars.”

Since 2022, The Rude Mechanicals have been offering a weekend of Shakespeare In The Park performances in their hometown of Richland. Thanks to a grant from the Wildhorse Foundation last year (which, Emily notes, they only sought after the confidence boost of receiving a Year One Community Accelerator Grant), they were able to amend that to Free Shakespeare in the Park, charging absolutely no admission fees – and thanks to Year Two of the Community Accelerator Grant, the program has metamorphized once again into Free Shakespeare in the Parks, as The Rude Mechanicals prepare to take The Girls of Miami on the road to Pasco, Prosser, and Walla Walla. They have expanded their run from one weekend to two, acquired body microphones to ensure that actors can be heard the same from venue to venue, and added an indoor show in recognition of the fact that many of their potential audience members cannot comfortably sit on the ground for the duration of a performance. Cyndi believes that making a commitment to being as mobile and accessible as possible has encouraged the company to be more artistically creative and dynamic than ever before. “We’ve always seen our limitations,” she says, “but now we’re really playing with the opportunities within those limitations.”

Behind the scenes, the Rude Mechanicals are also preparing for a major infrastructure shift. Their Interim General Manager is transitioning out of her role, and as Emily and the rest of the company’s board looked at their budget, they realized they could afford to not only fill her position, but expand their staff. “Our new General Manager will get to focus on fundraising, marketing, and admin tasks,” Emily says, “and our new Production Manager will coordinate all the production elements of our shows and events, which will give Cyndi bandwidth to focus on the artistic aspects of our shows and her incredible arts education initiatives.” Cyndi, who has long been working to increase The Rude Mechanicals’ presence in Tri-Cities schools and community centers, is thrilled to have more time and energy to dedicate to her outreach. “I’m running more workshops, adapting more plays for schools, giving more students more ways to connect with Shakespeare’s text,” she says. “I’m getting to be a consistent supportive resource for educators here.”

The Community Accelerator Grant kickstarted the company’s interest in seeking grants, and they have since secured contributions from grantors including the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation and the Three Rivers Community Foundation. While they note their appreciation for the Community Accelerator Grant’s straightforward application, consistency between Year One and Year Two, and lack of funding restrictions, Cyndi and Emily say the best thing about the grant has been the opportunity for The Rude Mechanicals to not only survive and thrive, but become, increasingly, a community leader. The troupe makes it easier for artists from all socioeconomic backgrounds to join up by offering gas stipends, food, and beverages to their volunteer actors, and their commitment to fostering more diverse casting processes has provided opportunities for BIPOC artists and artists with disabilities to take center stage, something that has historically been unusual in their region. “One of the things I hear consistently is that we’re one of the most accessible theatre groups in the area, and we’ve worked very hard over the last few years to live up to that, and I think it’s starting to show,” says Cyndi. “Artists and audiences are starting to trust that we’re offering them something that’s intended for them. I hear from people who have never seen a play before, or they’ve never seen Shakespeare before, or theatre isn’t something they can consistently afford, and year after year I’m meeting more people who say, ‘Well, except for The Rude Mechanicals.’”