What’s step No. 1 when you suddenly find yourself in competition with a larger business?

    CAROL OSTROW: Remember—always remember—that small means agile and that is a huge competitive advantage.

    A theater like The Flea can turn on a dime. Our stages always reflect the world at present–this allows us to be prescient and completely of the moment. By deliberately not planning our seasons three years in advance, we can produce the newest playwright or the hottest young director NOW. Artists know that when they contact The Flea, their work can be seen—soon.

    Large can be unwieldy. Larger staff, larger budget, larger audience base, larger loss means that decisions take longer and are likely to be risk averse. Smaller institutions can take risks because our agility means that we can circumvent obstacles, change direction, reboot plans and respond quickly to adversity and opportunity.

    The Flea is “in competition” with the largest theatrical institutions in NYC but we are challenged and not chagrined. We compete for funding, we compete for artists, we compete for audiences. But we are empowered by the presence of Broadway and off-Broadway and the rich theatrical diversity they provide. And our task is to play a vibrant part in the theatrical landscape–to be something different–to do something new–and to always be Flea.

    Carol Ostrow is the producing director of the Flea Theater in New York City.

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