Whose job is "relevance?" Does the word appear in any job title on your company's organization chart? Does the word even appear in the job description of any position in your organization? Will you argue that "relevance" is the obvious province of your organization's artistic director or curator since it is they who are responsible for interpreting and advancing your organization's artistic mission? With all due respect to artistic … [Read more...]
The Enemy is Empty Seats
Do empty seats make you angry? They should! They should make you BOILING MAD. Each empty seat represents a direct cost: the wasted expenditure of advertising, the loss of immediate cash flow, pressure to increase ticket prices and/or spend even more on marketing, a diminished pool of future donors. Each empty seat also carries the indirect cost of the APPEARANCE OF FAILURE to artists, audiences, members & donors, visitors, … [Read more...]
Gymnacafatorium
The word rolled off his tongue so easily, I almost didn't catch it. Steve Martin is the Managing Director of Childsplay, the renowned professional theatre company here in the Phoenix area whose chosen audience is children. We were discussing the evolving nature of the cause of “audience development” and the various implications of its growing number of metaphors – pathways, on-ramps, entrances, channels, passages, approaches, avenues, … [Read more...]
A New Dimension for Engagement: “Fan-Funding”
With gratitude, I share this interview with Brian Camelio, the founder of ArtistShare - a pioneering "fan-funding platform for artists" to which I was introduced just a few weeks ago. I contacted Brian through his website's general information e-mail and asked if he'd be willing to share his experience & insights. I am profoundly grateful for his willingness to do so. In addition to reading this interview, I encourage you to thoroughly … [Read more...]
The Most Important Theatre Company
In the Greater Phoenix region, Actors Theatre isn't the oldest, largest or even most popular professional theatre company. It's just the most important. And this morning, Actors Theatre announced: "...the Board of Directors and Management have decided to take a PAUSE to assess and redesign our business model and to consider all options to “take control of our future.”... We are not closing. We are stepping back because we need to change … [Read more...]
Defining Our 3 Most Important Questions
Visiting with a colleague recently, we got to talking about what would be the THREE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS that a mid-career professional in ANY sort of arts or cultural organizations should be asking. We further imagined that the process of ANSWERING such questions might serve as some sort of rite of passage for early/mid-career professionals - with the organizations that employ them expecting, supporting and respecting a staff member's … [Read more...]
Miz’ed Opportunity
Do you hear the people sing? I really want to. I absolutely loved the new Les Misérables movie. In fact, I just returned from doing something I have NEVER done before: saw the movie again while it is still in the movie theater. I wanted another opportunity to drink in in the film's visual richness. I wanted another injection of the emotional heroin that literally left me sobbing. I wanted to wrap myself in the virtuous flag of … [Read more...]
Stephen Brand: “Innovation” is not “Risk”
In this interview, I’m delighted to introduce you to Dr. Stephen Brand, President & Chief Imagination Officer of the New Enterprise Factory. His firm designs, launches and scales revenue-generating, mission-driven ventures. In his words, he “finds the profit in non-profits.” How do you define the word “innovation” for a non-profit organization? Is it synonymous with “risk?” It’s entrepreneurship that is synonymous with risk, not … [Read more...]
Richard Florida: Next NEA Chairman!
Entirely wishful thinking on my part. But consider this: Now is an opportune - and incredibly necessary - time to connect the nation's arts & cultural policy to our country's most profound challenges. With all due respect and appreciation to NEA Chairs of the past, the ideal leader for President Obama's second term is someone who can substantially inspire, articulate and mobilize the significant opportunity of the arts & cultural … [Read more...]