The People

The business of the arts is a business of people.  The product is defined by its people (change any member of a cast or production team and you get a new product). The group dynamic in the audience is changed by one person.  The management is no different in that respect.  However the types of employees including union affiliation (or not) are critical aspects to the frameworks and functions of personnel in a theatre.

To help get a sense of the 'experience' of working in unions or on the management side of the arts, watch/read the following interviews.  What did you learn from them about personnel (aka human resources), management, unions, and the arts?  What questions did they generate? Did it change your mind/alter your assumptions or biases in anyway?

The 2007 strike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0t7AI0fFI&feature=related

MSNBC coverage:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21717187/ns/business-us_business/t/broadway-goes-dark-stagehands-go-strike/#.Tzm3KCNpGkg

Why/How to join the union
http://www.actorsequity.org/newsmedia/news2010/oct18.JohnPasha.asp

Working as a union musician
http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/ben-cohn-keyboardist-assistant-conductor-wicked-on-broadway/

Artists Agents
http://www.entertainmentmanagementonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/3c17f5090d886

Working as a Broadway Manager
http://www.theatermania.com/blogs/tmu/interview-with-rachel-reiner-off-broadway-producer_44201.html

Not required but very interesting:  many of the various interviews/videos on the American Theatre Wing:  http://americantheatrewing.org/wit/

The Power of Place: DC and Baltimore, so close yet so different

 The power of place brings a lot of variables with it.  In the Baltimore area, Everyman Theatre is building a new theatre (http://everymantheatre.org/new-theatre) , but overall, Baltimore has had little 'building' investment in the arts for years.  Washington, DC, however, is coming out of a boom.  Read the following article and discuss, using the text, why DC might be such a boon town for theatre (who attends the arts?)? Why have so many organizations chosen to invest in buildings (versus rent or lease?)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater-dance/washington-dc-theaters-have-they-overbuilt/2011/12/23/gIQAm6TIfP_story.html

This is not to say Baltimore doesn't have theatrical chutzpah -- just that it comes from a different vantage:

http://dctheatrescene.com/2012/01/06/new-year-big-deal-for-baltimore/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DcTheatreScene+%28DC+Theatre+Scene%29

How are Baltimore and DC different (demographical, sociologically, etc) such that they would generate such different theatre communities?

Welcome to Spring 2012's Theatre Administration Blog!

Welcome class of 2012! After reading through the syllabus what thoughts/questions do you have? Take a moment to fill out the information form:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VDHTVZD

You can view my background in "my profile" on the blog. 

Hull House in Memoriam

Last week the Hull House closed its doors after 120 years of operation.  Based in Chicago, Hull House was not only notable for its social service, but also its incorporation of art, especially theatre arts, into its operations.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-us-hullhousecloses,0,4975233.story

The story of its end is both a reflection of the current economic crisis (in which nonprofits are still embroiled) and the shifting terrain of community development in urban centers. Nonprofits of all kinds must maintain strong fiscal and operational management as well as maintain a continued understanding of their core constituents such that their position in the community is critical.  As the social dynamics change, programs and services must change or the organization becomes obsolete. Likewise, with all businesses, if poor oversight is allowed to settle in to the Board or operations, then it will come to an inevitable end.

For those interested in community development or people who have changed the world -- Jane Addams, one of the co-founders, life and her path on the creation and development of Hull House is an excellent study for anyone interested in community development and the complications  (policitcal and otherwise) therein.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/site/newspaper/news/ct-per-flash-janeaddams-0129-20120130,0,1917605.story

While unlike, the Neighborhood Playhouse of the lower east side of New York City, Hull House's theatre was never a core activity but it still served a critical role in Hull House's frameworks for success.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3207448

The world and the economy are eco-systems no different than natures.  Environments change, lives pass, new organisms emerge.  The best and most recent case study of a healthy attitude toward this ecosystem comes from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

I believe that the company took the most responsible and visionary action in the current environment.  Funds and audiences are limited, thus, by creating a planned closure Merce Cunningham actually supported a healthy eco-system, making way for NEW artists to engage current and future audiences and funders.  

Read more details and opinions here: http://www.artsjournal.com/jumper/2012/01/a-planned-ending-for-merce-cunningham-dance-co/#comment-2698

Only here for the ecstasy

Only here for the ecstasy
Provides an interesting evaluation of the means and the ends of the performing arts in today's society.

The life of a trained artist

The following article clearly reveals that those who study the arts tend to follow their passions successfully. The flip side is the average salary is less than optimal at $34,000 / year (although this is still a decent salary depending on where you live in the USA ).  Additionally, artists tended to be exceptional entrepreneurs, feeding our economy and our creative business sector.


http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/03/graduates_of_arts_programs_fare_better_in_job_market_than_assumed

Those who left the profession did so for a more steady income (and I would assume benefits).  Ultimately, one can find a successful life path as a practicing artist until a desire for family, health insurance, a home, mortgage, etc come in to play.  At that point, someone in the household needs to provide a framework of financial stability.  Until the United States figure out our health care and supports individuals over corporations, the artist will have to make choices that your average career path would not.