It was exactly one year ago that I posted the very first entry on this weblog. It’s not an astounding milestone, to be sure, but worth a personal note. So far, it’s been great fun to spin, and rant, and connect some dots here and there. And I’ve met some great new colleagues through the […]
Archives for July 2004
An engine shifting gears
The Washington Post has a great article on the seismic shifts in America’s Broadway touring circuit, as seen through the eyes of Equity (ie, unionized) actors, tour producers, and performing arts presenters. The monster touring mega-musicals with Equity casts — Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera — are gone now. Taking their place are […]
Big Night
In the guise of a story about an Italian family restaurant in 1950s New Jersey comes the best movie yet about arts and cultural management.
A few odds and ends
Two of my fellow ArtsJournal bloggers have been exploring topics related to my previous posts. I thought a few pointers would be handy. For one, Drew McManus picked up the trail of this entry on conductor salaries, and was gracious enough to ask and quote clarification of my point. Drew has been posting a lot […]
Cause or effect?
How often have you heard statements like these at conferences, in board rooms, or in the back of your head? Nonprofits are driven by mission. For-profits are driven by money. Nonprofit performances are engaging and ennobling. Commerical entertainment is crass and pandering. Nonprofit arts organizations build community. For-profit organizations destroy bonds and values. Heads will […]
Missing the larger point
The Sunday New York Times splashed symphony conductor salaries in its arts section. Said the piece: Paralleling trends in corporate pay, salaries for orchestra leaders shot up during the late 1990’s. Among the 18 American orchestras with 52-week contracts, at least 7 pay their music directors more than $1 million, and 3 pay their managers […]