On Witnessing: Between Process & Purpose
You're reading work ◆ flow, a newsletter by Family Affairs Studio written by founder Michael R. Holt to share updates from our studio and content designed to help you reach flow in your creative venture or practice.
Dear Friends & Collaborators,
As we navigate through a difficult winter marked by wildfires and displacement across Los Angeles, and tectonic shifts throughout the United States, I find myself thinking deeply about what it means to witness - both art and upheaval, both transformation and loss. This edition of work◆flow brings together reflections on recent performances, updates on our studio's evolution, and resources for our network...
On Witnessing:
Notes from the Space Between Process and Performance
There's a moment in Spenser Theberge's INTIMATES where time seems to fold in on itself for me. As I watch from the light booth at the Odyssey Theatre, I'm simultaneously experiencing the performance unfolding before me as Spenser remembers the choreography he danced with his partner, Jermaine Spivey, in their work Position 3 (which I produced in 2018, thereby activating my memory of his memory)—while I also remember us at eleven years old, taking our first classes together at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. The way he performed then - with raw talent, charisma, and technique beyond the rest of us - somehow both different from and exactly the same as the precise, vulnerable performer commanding the space below.
This is what Intimates does so masterfully - it creates a container where multiple realities and memories can coexist. As both witness and documenter, friend and producer, I find myself thinking about the scaffolding that makes these moments of artistic truth-telling possible. What structures need to be in place for an artist to safely inhabit that vulnerable territory between process and performance? How do we build sustainable frameworks for risk-taking?
The answer lies partially in the rigorous improvisational practice Spenser developed during his time with The Forsythe Company, where he learned that true presence emerges not from perfect execution but from a deep embodiment of past and present memory. This training becomes evident in Intimates as we watch him navigate between structured phrases of choreography and spontaneous discovery, straining to remember how it feels to dance onstage with Jermaine, allowing muscle memory and lived experience to surface organically in response to the moment. It's a practice that requires both technical mastery and the courage to let that mastery go—to trust that the body knows how to speak its own truth.
Maxwell Transue's score provides another layer of this scaffolding, creating a sonic architecture that both supports and interrupts Spenser's movement investigations. Their collaboration demonstrates something essential about artistic infrastructure - it works best when it's responsive, when it breathes with the work rather than constraining it. The sound doesn't simply accompany the movement; it creates conditions for discovery, much like the improvisational structures that allow Spenser to achieve presence through recall.
Another crucial element lies in the investment Spenser has made to develop enduring relationships – with me, with Bret Easterling, the founder of BEMOVING (co-producer of this iteration along with Odyssey Theatre Ensemble) and a fellow graduate of Spenser's from Juilliard, with his students who take his weekly classes and the audience members who have seen his body of work. These relationships form a web of trust that allows for deeper artistic risk-taking. In the world of interdisciplinary improvisational dance theater that Spenser has elevated, this network of support becomes as vital as technical skill.
As I watch the audience lean forward in their seats, I'm reminded why we do this work at Family Affairs Studio. Yes, we build systems and create operational efficiencies, but ultimately, we're in service of these moments - when art cuts through our daily performances to touch something real. When an artist can say, as Spenser does in the piece, "I feel like I'm alone," and somehow make us all feel less alone in the process.
Intimates asks us to consider what we're really witnessing when we watch performance. Are we seeing the culmination of months of rehearsal? The accumulation of years of training? Or something more immediate - the present-tense negotiation between performer and audience, between what we remember and what we're creating together in real time? In Spenser's work, the answer is always both/and rather than either/or.
Perhaps most remarkably, Intimates suggests that all of these layers can coexist. Just as Spenser and Maxwell have found a way to weave together movement, text, and sound into something that transcends its individual elements, we in the audience are invited to hold multiple truths simultaneously. We can see both the scaffolding and the art it supports. We can witness both the performance and the very human act of performing.
In this way, Intimates becomes not just a meditation on memory and authenticity, but a master class in how to build sustainable creative practice. It shows us that the most powerful artistic experiences happen not in spite of their supporting structures, but because of them - when the infrastructure is as thoughtfully considered as the art itself, allowing for both rigorous preparation and genuine surprise, both deep memory and absolute presence.
All photos of Spenser Theberge's Intimates taken by Michael R. Holt.
STUDIO UPDATES & OPPORTUNITIES
LINT Winter Refresh
We're excited to announce our partnership with Studio 3XP, bringing new energy and possibilities to this downtown creative hub. We've refreshed both our systems and our spaces, and we're currently:
- Accepting bookings for 2025 (15% off for work◆flow subscribers)
- Seeking proposals for long-term warehouse sublets
- Launching new production support services
→ View our updated deck
→ Submit a booking inquiry
→ Propose a long-term sublet
Bottoming for Jesus Returns
After a sold-out premiere in June 2024, BFJ returns March 13-14 in downtown Los Angeles. Exclusive pre-sale access for work◆flow subscribers begins Monday, February 24. Limited to 125 seats per night.
→ Use code WORKFLOW when tickets go live [link]
Fresh Pressed Tiny Zine Fest 2025
Join us this Saturday, February 22 at Pop Hop Books in Highland Park! We'll be debuting new templates, tools, and zines from FAS collaborators and friends.
Resources for Los Angeles Artists & Art Workers
As Los Angeles faces ongoing challenges from the Altadena and Pacific Palisades wildfires, we want to ensure our creative community has access to immediate support and long-term resources. Arts for LA, in partnership with the California Community Foundation, has developed a comprehensive resource hub specifically for artists and cultural workers affected by the fires.
→ Access the Resources [link]
Family Affairs Studio is also coordinating additional support through our network. If you've been impacted by the fires and need assistance connecting to resources, please reach out to us directly at hi@familyaffairs.studio.
Looking Ahead:
- March: BFJ performances + documentation
- Late April: BFJ west coast tour to Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA
- May: Humor & Grace podcast launch with Mandy Harris Williams
As always, reach out to discuss potential projects and opportunities. I am currently accepting new clients for projects beginning in Q2/Q3 2025.
With care,
Michael
MICHAEL R. HOLT is an artist, producer, and creative strategist based in Los Angeles. His work examines and transforms institutional infrastructure to create more sustainable pathways for artists to cultivate and maintain the value of their creative practice. From 2018-2024, he served as Executive Director of NAVEL, where he developed programming and support systems for artists and cultural workers. Previously, as Assistant Director of Marketing at Lincoln Center (2012-2015), he guided loyalty marketing efforts across eleven programs and festivals. As founder of Family Affairs Studio, he combines strategic design with operational expertise to help artists and organizations build sustainable creative infrastructures.
FAMILY AFFAIRS STUDIO is a management consultancy and creative production company that empowers artists and organizations through strategic design and operational excellence. Founded by Michael R. Holt, we combine over 25 years of collective experience to help creative ventures navigate change with resilience and purpose. Our client collaborations include Robert Rauschenberg Foundation's Residency on Captiva Island, LA Commons, The Nest Creatives, Visions2030, Denniston Hill, Spenser Theberge, and Mandy Harris Williams. Through services ranging from organizational therapy to workflow automation, we build sustainable infrastructure that allows artists and cultural workers to focus on what matters most: their creative work.