Director, writer, performer and puppet maker Eric Bass offers a beautiful essay on what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be a puppet performer. And his points resonate rather deeply with what it means to work expressively in the world. He disputes two myths about puppet performance: That the puppeteer controls the puppet, and that […]

There’s been lots of chatter in the economicsphere about Thomas Piketty’s new megabook on Capital in the 21st Century (read a quick summary of the looooonnnnngggg book here). It offers a ponderous and rigorous overview of where economic inequality comes from, and why the marketplace alone won’t fix it. In the process, more to our […]

ArtsEmerson’s David Dower had a bit of a Jerry Maguire moment recently when learning new stuff about negotiation and influence. And no, I don’t mean a “You complete me” moment, nor a “Show me the money” moment (although, kind of). I mean a crisis of conscience moment as appears in the opening scenes (remember?). 

What if you could form an organization that maintained a persistent and separate legal presence, protected its founders from liability, could receive tax-exempt contributions, but didn’t require the usual baggage of a nonstock corporate structure, an IRS tax ruling, an annual tax return, or a separate governing board? In short, what if you could garner […]

Freakonomics Radio offers a great conversation on the differences between serving the public as a mayor, a governor, or a president. All serve in the executive branch. All are accountable come election time. But the tools, tactics, and tone of their public service are dramatically (and necessarily) different.

In voting for the dissolution of the San Diego Opera last month, the organization’s board was attempting something that’s all but impossible in a cultural nonprofit: acknowledging insolvency before actual insolvency. General Manager Ian Campbell called the vote an attempt to close ”with dignity and grace, making every effort to fulfill our financial obligations, rather […]

All that I think or write or teach or wonder or learn about the management of cultural organizations connects back to Dr. E. Arthur “Al” Prieve. Not only was he my first professor of Arts Administration, he was my on-going reference for how things connect. He passed away last Wednesday. But his lessons continue.

Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air shares a beautiful interview with author Colm Toibin which weaves through religion and ritual and beauty and faith. While the whole thing is worth a listen, I was struck by the last little bits of their conversation. Gross notes that Toibin dislikes the label ‘storyteller’ and the assumption that his […]

Sarah Lutman, formerly of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and currently of the consulting world, shares an essential and compelling treatise on art and place, and the interplay between the two. She focuses on Minnesota Orchestra’s possible future, given its recent stormy past. But her framing is important for any arts organization.

In a favorite scene from a favorite movie (Stranger than Fiction, 2006, trailer below), Dustin Hoffman describes the consequence of dramatic structure to Will Ferrell: “In a tragedy, you die. In a comedy, you get hitched.” Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS agent who starts hearing his life being narrated by a British woman’s voice (Emma […]