TH475 Arts Management II

Fall 2009 will be the first time I teach Arts Management II. This blog will be an opportunity to share articles of all sorts, to be used in class discussions and to further our conversations. Check back often, and let me know what you think!

A management shift. A sign of things to come?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/arts/dance/17ballet.html?_r=1&ref=arts

Read this blog entry that talked about a blog post by Michael Kaiser about diversity in the arts. Provocative. What do you think?

New article about SPIDERMAN in today's Times. This will be a great topic for TH275 next semester. And I know I am showing my age, but do you guys know the band Carney? Is that going to be a draw?

I just tweeted that if Michael Riedel's article about the marketing plan for BRIGHTON BEACH is true, it is an epic and unfair fail. Reduction to 140 characters precluded me from a longer diatribe. What the? No direct mail? No reaching out to subscribers of Lincoln Center, Roundabout and MTC? Marketing malfeasance. And again, one wonders if the producers could have left it open to try and regain the ground.

Lots to talk about on this one...

UPDATES:

A Variety article about the marketing and another about other reasons for the failure.

Money quote:

"Unlike his closest trans-Atlantic counterpart, Alan Ayckbourn, who was viewed as a one-man middlebrow hit factory through the 1980s but has since acquired the stature of a modern-day Chekhov, Simon has never really benefited from critical re-evaluation. Even some of the positive reviews for "Brighton" felt the need to stress that it wasn't quite Arthur Miller. Duh. One critic reviewing the revival astutely pointed out that it will probably take a repertory staging of the trilogy at London's National Theater for Simon to be embraced as a leading 20th century American playwright."

Interesting WSJ article about Rocco Landesman, his management style and the NEA. Great article, and here's one quote:

"As a producer and president of New York's Jujamcyn Theaters before he left for Washington, Mr. Landesman knows celebrities. What he may himself be best known for, aside from bringing important plays to Broadway, is picking a public fight with nonprofit competitors, especially the Roundabout Theatre. In a June 4, 2000, New York Times op-ed piece, he asserted that certain nonprofits didn't deserve public subsidy because, instead of taking artistic risks, they had adopted a "template of success . . . from the commercial arena, which, in the end, is not dedicated to the art so much as to the audience."

When I asked if his vendetta against such institutions might influence NEA's future grantmaking, he replied, "Let me put it this way: For those theaters, when I was nominated by the president, it was not their lucky day!"

In 2008 and 2009, the Roundabout, which he named in his op-ed, received NEA grants of $45,000 and $40,000, respectively. Because Mr. Landesman retains an ownership interest in Jujamcyn, his best policy on applications from New York competitors would be to recuse, not to refuse."

Much to be said, and talked about, regarding the closing of BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. Here's one article from the Times, with the director's perspective. And here's another article with a little more reflection.

But here's my question--did the show suffer because it was using a commercial model? Remember, BYE BYE BIRDIE, which got horrid reviews, is still running under the umbrella of Roundabout.

There will be much more written, and lots to discuss, about this well received show not lasting past a week.

Interesting story about a production of CHRISTMAS CAROL. Much to discuss re producing, and the media.

Plus it sounds like another fun story to track.

Lets to talk about--

Here's the Bloomberg article about the stagehands at Carnegie Hall and their income.

Here's the article about the rebranding of the Boston Ballet.

Here's another one about Shrek closing.

And Spiderman...will open when?

Another batch of articles from class discussions:

Rocco Landesman is making his mark.

FINIAN'S RAINBOW is reopening on Broadway.

A blurb about banning people from tweeting is here.

A list of 50 Most Powerful from Broadwayspace.com

And the PSM from SOUTH PACIFIC loses his job for...peeping with an iPhone? There has to be more to this story. If not, what a waste.

Thanks everyone for sending me links to articles.

Here's the one about the hearing actor playing the deaf mute in THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER.

Here's the one about the theater reopening in Baghdad.

Here's the back and forth and back again in England about Dame Judi and Rupert Gould.

And finally, here's the Michael Riedel article about PHANTOM 2, and here's the Twitter account.

The Globe reports that another theater company is in trouble--this time it is Shakespeare and Co. It is interesting is that the MCC helped fund an audit to determine how far reaching the debt is. The first report gave a dire 'must raise 2.3 million by March in order to stay open'. The second, longer report denied that claim. Seems like Shakespeare and Co. is thinking differently about how to get through this crisis.

Thanks to Cait for sending me this link about the Kennedy Center's new program, "Any Given Child", a long range arts and education plan for K-8 which is being piloted in Sancramento. As Cait asked, and I have to wonder, Mr. Kaiser hard at work?

And here's another longer article. And yes, its our guy. Walks the walk, doesn't he? Question is, being able to do things like these, why is he going to leave?

An interesting article about the possibility of Roundabout's deal with American Airlines possibly coming to an end. This on top of their BYE BYE BIRDIE woes. Not an easy time for any arts organization, but for the bigger ones, a tougher adjustment. Will be interesting to follow.

CLUB OBERON has more programming than just THE DONKEY SHOW, which is pretty interesting. What do you think?

Thanks to Stephanie, who gave me some names to help me track stories.

Here's the Playbill article about the American Musical Theatre of San Jose going under when their co production with Atlanta's Theater of the Stars. Here's another article that talks about the impact locally.

Thanks Justin for sending this link along. What do you all think? Sounds like a fascinating evening of theater, doesn't it?

While our discussions last class led us away from the journeys of Michael Kaiser, they were nonetheless relevant and fruitful. I thought I would make some links available to you:

Betsy sent on the link for the article on the BSO college card. Here is the information about ordering the card. What a great deal!

Mackenzie sent a couple of links as well. Here is one about a boy from JP who took part in CityDance (Boston Ballet's outreach program), and is going to dance in Giselle. She also sent articles about the new Enron musical, about Doug Hughes directing OLEANNA and THE ROYAL FAMILY at the same time, and Ken Davenport talking about Broadwayspace.

Thank you for the feedback--keep it coming!

And email me by Monday with the subject line "READ IT". I want to see who is reading the blog.

Here's an article about the Next to Normal twitter efforts, and an award they got. 800000 followers. Just saying. 

As promised, here's the link to the blog post where we got this week's ideas. This blog is actually full of really interesting information, with a lot of ideas. Worth adding to your list!

Thanks to Steve for sending this link about Hackney Empire closing for a "period of reflection". This is after the artistic director left last month by mutual agreement. While there is likely more to this story, I think it is interesting to read about companies taking a time out to regroup after the economic excesses of the past few years. Also interesting to read that subsidies (though I don't know if this theater got them) aren't a panacea.

I feel like this is a gift to the Philadelphia group, but here's an article about a recent decision to add an "art tax". Not sure if it applies to sports as well...what do you think? Fair, or unfair?

Another interesting and thought provoking blog post by Michael Kaiser, this time about cultural diplomacy and what that can mean beyond exporting our artists. His ten rules. Again, I love that he looks beyond art makers as contributers to the artistic life.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention (and to Mackenzie for sending me the link). What an interesting "article", and use of new media on NYT. 

These podcasts are on the syllabus for a reason--they are great, current conversations with people in the field. This week's conversation with Victoria Bailey is no exception. In fact, her discussion with Howard Sherman touches on a lot of topics we will be covering this semester.

In August there was a three part NYT interview with Victoria Bailey here, here and here. TDF is an huge organization that does SO much more than sell half price tickets. Look at their website. Very impressive, and inspiring!

And Howard Sherman is on Twitter--follow him! And let him know how much you like the podcasts!

Very interesting commentary on arts funding, and the chronic underspending on overhead. Maybe part of what is happening can readjust that as well? C'mon, a girl can dream...

Here's a NYT article about the move. And while I do not condone illegal taping, here's the Youtube of the closing night curtain speech:


BTW, AVENUE Q is coming back to the Colonial in November, and the company manager is coming to class. Start thinking of questions now!

Jordan Roth is the new head of the Jujamcyn Theaters  As Ken Davenport says in a blog entry, this is a game changer. Why? Formerly the average age of the three chains (Shubert, Neaderlander and Jujamcyn) was 75. He brings it down to 66. Another great story to follow.

The problem, according to Michael Kaiser, is the lack of trained, talented and creative managers. What a great segue into the semester! He truly advocates what we've talked about in our Intro Class, and what I am so passionate about--arts management is such an important and overlooked aspect of the arts! Nice that he is framing the discussion, isn't it?

Another theater company facing a budget shortfall needs help. But this isn't mismanagement per se--more over reaching during a downturn perhaps? (Opening a second space?) As always, the comments are as important as the article itself. Theater cannot be seen as a dismissible art form, and yet it is...how can we change that?

One blogger posted a comment on this tactic, suggesting that ransom demands need to stop. We've talked about this before--in this economy they don't work as well, and may even put people off. What do you think?

Interesting article/gossip about the SPIDER MAN musical. I wonder if it will open, and what will happen? Should be an interesting show to watch this fall.

UPDATE 8/12  New Michael Riedel update. Doesn't look like it is going to happen.

UPDATE 8/14L Another column from Mr. Riedel. Will the Weislers step in?

UPDATE 8/28 Oh, its the theater's fault. It's cursed.

UPDATE 9/2 In Variety, rumors that some people are being called  back to work. What that means isn't clear. Michael Riedel weighs in as well, with a little more verve in his prose. This will be the show to watch this fall.

Our first class is fast approaching, and as I was listening to the Downstage Center podcast with Ken Davenport I thought this was a perfect way to start our semester conversation. He touches on SO many issues, not the least of which is the dirth of "creative" producers (he quotes Hal Prince a few times in his interview). He also talks about his path.

We can, and will, talk about art and quality in balance with the business. But as important is passion. And Ken Davenport has passion. Luckily for us, he also blogs about it!

Listen to his interview, and browse his blog.

Nick Peterson has created a new website, Explore Boston Theatre. It has some interesting content, including a wonderful post by Kate Snodgrass on "Why Theatre is Important". Nick has worked with New Rep and the ART, and knows this area well. Keep an eye on this website--I think it is going to add to the conversation.

Rocco Landesman was confirmed as Chair of the NEA today. It will be interesting to see what this means.

UPDATE: An interview in the Times on Sunday gives us a preview. "Art Works". Love his passion.

Another interview with Mr. Landesman. This is going to be a great story to follow. Pay attention.

And another article.

Another interesting article, for a couple of reasons. First, what a great idea this is--a large non-profit that coordinates volunteer ushers for theaters. Second, this power struggle of a non-profit has so many things we've talked about--boards, governance, change, fiscal responsibility...

And as always, read the comments. Wow. There's some nasty stuff flying there!

Another great article about how a theatre complex (the Geffen) is coping with ecomonic challenges. It includes the limited number of seats in their small theatre, renovations planned in happier times and budget cuts. One thing they've done--reduce ticket prices to previews. What do you think?

Indirectly, this is a legacy of our Wang Center class discussions. The Boston Ballet has moved to the Opera House. This article is about the expansion of the orchestra pit, but it also talks about box office, bookings, non profits working with for profits and other issues.

An interesting article in the Seattle Times about actors having trouble making a living on Seattle stages. Part of the reason is show choices--solo shows added to a season where full productions used to be. As always, a complicated issue. And as always, the comments are as interesting as the article.

I found a blog that has a list of the 25 most influential non profit arts leaders. The list is helpful, as is the blog. Bookmark it and check back. In class we are going to talk a lot about people to know. Often arts administrators aren't as well known, but they are essential to making it all work.

Scott Sinclair posted this on FB, and it is an interesting article, worth discussing. Bartlett Sher directing JOE TURNER. I suspect August Wilson would not have approved, but his wife did. That's one question. The other is, does it work the other way? Do black directors get the opportunity to direct plays by white playwrights? Interesting discussions that need to be had.

We will be reading and listening to Michael Kaiser's thoughts a lot this semester. Here's an example: Why the Arts Don't Pay for Themselves. As interesting as the post are the comments.

And here's another post about the arts and how they should react in challenging ecomonic times. "Good art supported by strong marketing."

Here's a podcast from his visit to Harvard last winter. Lots to talk about there as well!

Here's a blog report based on Mr. Kaiser's trip to Madison.

Another post by Mr. Kaiser about the relationship of Artistic Directors and Executive Directors.

This is a little more positive about its potential and use.

This is one article about tweeting during auditions. Interesting to think about how life needs to catch up with technology. What do you think?

Some quotes from a talk Rachel Maddow gave at Jacob's Pillow about the importance of arts in America. http://blogs.courant.com/curtain/2009/08/rachel-maddow-on-arts-in-ameri.html

An article in Variety talks about the hits and misses of late.

An interesting article about the downside of widespread audience development...

Interesting article about some realities of the effects of the recession on theater.

Do you know who he is? In August he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Ten years ago one of the shows he produced, FOSSE, won a Tony. What happened? Very interesting story.

The website also had some letters in support of Mr.Drabinsky prior to sentencing, including one by E.L. Doctrow. Mr. Doctrow's quote on the second page of his letter, about Mr. Drabinsky's impressario vision, struck a chord.

It has been a tough few months for me--no new Downstage Center podcasts. But they are back! Howard Sherman flew solo the first one (and that may be the case now), but as always it was an interesting hour interview. It will take them a while to get through the actors (which will bring them more attention), but I have no doubt the state of the business will be part of the discussions. Listen every week.

You can also subscribe to them on iTunes.

I am a huge Twitter fan. I love that I can follow so many people and groups, and get snippets of information that send me to a blog. I learn something new every day.

There are many blogs that cover topics we will will discuss in class, and which also point you in new directions. Two of them are Americans for the Arts and Arts Journal. Book mark them, and visit them regularly.

What are some other sites or blog that you find helpful or interesting?

The Pennsylvania legislature is considering bringing their arts funding down to $0. In these difficult times, many excuses can be made for this sort of thinking, but does it make sense? Part of what we need to do is to articulate why the arts are so important, especially in these hard times.

An interesting article about how the $14 million dollars in the budget is actually money well spent.