Anatomy of a Mess

I've been a little surprised at the lack of coverage of the Goodman's recent decision to pull the musical "The Boys Are Coming Home". In my book, a major regional theatre yanking one of its subscription shows is big news.

Shedding some light on the situation is Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune, who thoughtfully details the rise and fall of "The Boys Are Coming Home" in this article. I love that the Tribune even ran this - it's rare to find such a nuanced description of the sometimes-painful, sometimes-breathtaking process a play goes through on its way to maturity.

I highly recommend checking out Jones' account of the Goodman's decision to first produce, then trash "The Boys...". Lots of good lessons for artists, playwrights, administrators, designers... I could go on.

Notable from the article:

"We couldn't find enough tickets to give to people," says Dominic Missimi, who runs Northwestern's musical-theater program.... In a weird inversion of the usual state of business, critics and audiences seemed to have a lot more confidence in the show than the people who were charged with taking it to the next level."

"Still, the only collaborators on "Boys" whose work was ever fully formed were the original, mostly student cast members. Too young to be cynical and blissfully unaware of the fatal delicacy of new material and its creators, those undergraduates gave a suite of gorgeous songs everything they had. And if only for a few memorable summer nights in Evanston, that was all it took."

Career Transition Experiences

The following from a recent Playbill.com article... I have to admit, I've never heard of this program, although it sounds pretty good. For me, the Juilliard professional internship in Arts Admin was probably the best thing I've ever done. Any other thoughts on good/bad career transition experiences?

Theatre Wing Accepting Submissions for SpringboardNYC Summer Intensive

The American Theatre Wing's SpringboardNYC, a two-week theatrical intensive for college students planning careers in the theatre, is now accepting applications for its 2008 summer program running June 2-15.

SpringboardNYC is described as a college-to-career transition program that includes workshops, seminars, master classes and field trips that introduce college students to the professional theatre world in New York City.

Subjects within the seminars include resume development, interview technique, audition technique (monologue, cold reading and on-camera), and a mock open call. Throughout these seminars participants are provided with ongoing feedback and evaluations from working industry professionals.

Limited to 35 participants, SpringboardNYC offers financial aid and multiple scholarships to students. Applications are being accepted and are reviewed on a rolling basis between now and April 15 for the June 2008 session.

Complete information and application materials are available at www.americantheatrewing.org/springboardnyc.

New BAM Scholarship for Theatre, Dance, and Arts Admin!

From today's NYTimes:

Arts, Briefly

Brooklyn Scholars

Compiled by PETER EDIDIN

Published: February 16, 2008

The Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday announced the creation of the Samuel H. Scripps BAM Scholarship Fund, for students who pursue a higher education in arts administration, dance or theater. Awards will range from $4,500 to $20,000 and are open to any student who has taken part in the academy’s education program between kindergarten and the 12th grade. Roughly $45,000 will be disbursed yearly. Application details are at bam.org.

This is wonderful, particularly because (in my experience) it's so hard to find grants specifically for arts-admin. What's that about? We're poor, too.

Creative use of your creative talents

Via the Osocio social advertising blog:



Things I took away from this:

1. Performing artists aren't the only creative people who face challenges using their training for its original purpose. I mean, how familiar does this sound:

The situation so many design graduates find themselves in is frightening, and yet there are so many possible avenues to vehicle our talents toward.

2. I love this advertisement's approach - use your creative training for a social purpose. It reminds me of the Voss study in its regard for creative talent and training as special and worthwhile, not cumbersome and irrelevant.

Trouble in Buffalo

Uh Oh...

Studio Arena Layoffs, Fundraising
Thursday, February 14, 2008 04:33 PM - WBEN Newsroom

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Studio Arena Theater is reportedly set to lay off some staff members, this as it prepares for a fundraising campaign.

Theater management did not return our phone calls, but Celeste Lawson, executive director of the Arts Council of Buffalo and Erie County, says she's learned the campaign will be aimed at raising $1.2 million. As for the layoffs, Lawson says she has not learned of the exact number, but she says the theater's new management, led by Kathleen Gaffney, is trying to streamline its operation to continue being a successful regional theater.

Lawson hopes community organizations will not give up on Studio Arena, saying every cultural organization has had severe financial trouble in the past. Donors skeptical of giving, urges Lawson, should take a look at what the new management is doing to keep the theater going past this season.

What's going on up there? Not a good sign...

The Regional Rebellion

I wanted to submit the following resources with some thoughts on the current chatter in the blogosphere (am I really using that word?) about the Regional Theatre model (discussions happening here and here and here and here).

I'm wondering if what's going on is really a kind of a natural progression of the American theatre - as in Broadway leads to Off-Broadway leads to Off-Off-Broadway, etc. I've been trying to turn up some data on how long it actually took the Off- and Off-Off movements to generate, and I haven't found anything too concrete, but I'm going to take an educated guess and say like 30-40 years? Anyway, by those figures the Regional model is way overdue for a malcontent child. "Alt Regional"? "Off Regional"? I don't know.


Food for the malcontent child:

A recent article from the Beacon Journal Arts (Ohio) about The Bang & The Clatter Theater Company. This brilliant company is creating a kind of Regional alternative in Ohio (Akron to Cleveland). Who wouldn't love these guys? From the article:

At first, word of the free beer and wine given out at performances might have enticed audiences to check out the unprepossessing (OK, makeshift) theater upstairs in the Summit Artspace building in downtown Akron. But people keep coming back for more of the raw, unpredictable drama that co-founders Sean Derry and Sean McConaha began producing at Akron's Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company in October 2005.

An amazing article from the Harvard Business Review ('96 I think) about how strategic collaboration between arts organizations, such as shared ticketing initiatives, not only improves the finances of each arts organization, but improves the local economy.

The New Radical Theatre Notebook, by Arthur Sainer. Have you read this? Sainer's discussion of the birth of Off-Off Broadway, which he witnessed firsthand, is nothing short of inspiring.


One more thing I'd like to point out: as far as I can tell, girls have been conspicuously absent from this debate (besides commenters and now myself, I guess) . For that matter, I can't think of any girl-written performing arts blogs. Yet another area where the wider Nonprofit world trumps the performing arts: Rosetta Thurman, Katya Andresen, Beth Kanter, and many other brilliant women write regularly on nonprofit technology, management, marketing, and other issues of interest. Am missing something? I would love to be corrected.

The Ugly American at the Old Vic

Hilarious article from today's Guardian Theatre Blog, decrying the American tendency to clap at a star's entrance, fidget around in their seats, and blow their noses. Did you know that eating ice cream in the theatre is a London tradition?

Choice quote (actually via London Blogger Helen Smith):
"I was a bit wary at first because the theatre was full of American students who actually burst into applause when Kevin Spacey appeared on stage, as if they thought they were part of the live audience for an episode of Friends. But they settled down. Then there was an American woman behind us who did a special loud nasal honk whenever there was a funny line, to show that she was particularly attuned to David Mamet's cerebral style of wit."

And I'm back! I've been run a little ragged by my schedule, but I'm hoping to work some posts in when I can.