{"id":138,"date":"2021-12-02T11:10:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T16:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/?p=138"},"modified":"2021-12-02T11:15:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T16:15:20","slug":"a-special-time-of-year-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/2021\/12\/02\/a-special-time-of-year-really\/","title":{"rendered":"A special time of year&#8230;really."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"color:#fcfcfc\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Row <\/span><span style=\"color:#fbfeff\" class=\"has-inline-color\">X blog by Hannah Grannemann<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image.jpg?resize=218%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Child's hand reaching up to touch a calendar\" class=\"wp-image-140 size-medium\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?resize=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1 218w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?resize=746%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 746w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1055&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?resize=1119%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1119w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?resize=1492%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1492w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?w=1864&amp;ssl=1 1864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\">Your audience circled December on their calendar last spring. They didn\u2019t want to miss the holiday show this year. Seeing something earlier than December was <em>possible<\/em>\u2026they\u2019d have to feel it out\u2026but they would <em>really<\/em> try to get back to their holiday show. The holidays just weren\u2019t the same last year without a trip to the theater to see their favorite production. Anticipating the show this year would be a little light shining for them through all the uncertainty they were experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Holiday events are different than other arts experiences for audiences. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/wetheaudience\/2020\/09\/holidays-are-canceled.html\">Last year I wrote<\/a> about the unique importance of holiday shows to audiences, with three evergreen observations:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>It might be the only professional level arts event they engage in all year<\/strong>\u2026or maybe the only arts event at all. Take a look at this chart from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arts.gov\/impact\/research\/arts-data-profile-series\/adp-18\">2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts<\/a>. A holiday arts event is likely the \u201c1 or 2 times a year\u201d that the green bar represents.<br> <br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"475\" class=\"wp-image-139\" style=\"width: 600px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/NEA-SPPA-frequency-of-attendance-graph.png?resize=600%2C475&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Graph of frequency of attendance from the National Endowment for the Arts Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2017 (Figure 6)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/NEA-SPPA-frequency-of-attendance-graph.png?w=599&amp;ssl=1 599w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/NEA-SPPA-frequency-of-attendance-graph.png?resize=300%2C237&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/li><li><strong>It\u2019s an important time with friends and family<\/strong>. And time with friends and family is the number one reason people attend the arts (another stat to remember from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arts.gov\/impact\/research\/arts-data-profile-series\/adp-18\">NEA\u2019s Survey of Public Participation in the Arts<\/a>). It\u2019s a tradition for many families and friends groups. Jackie Alexander, Artistic Director of North Carolina Black Repertory, tells me that their annual production of <a href=\"https:\/\/ncblackrep.org\/according-to-the-gospels-2021\/\"><em>Nativity According to the Gospels<\/em><\/a>, is the only time some of their audience members see longtime friends who live far away. The lobby is a place for reunions.<\/li><li><strong>Audiences are active participants<\/strong> in holiday productions in a way that\u2019s not offered to them throughout the year. Performing in the show is often available to amateurs and pre-professionals. Choirs and dance teams are invited to perform at intermission. Concession stands sell homemade goodies. Toys and canned food are dropped off on the way across the lobby. Bills are pressed into little hands to choose \u201cone thing\u201d from the gift shop.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>December has also been circled on the calendar of many arts and cultural organizations as the time when they\u2019ll \u201creally be back\u201d, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. <strong>Uncertainty has been one of the biggest issues throughout the pandemic, arguably the main stumbling block to recovery.<\/strong> A few months into 2021, leaders and staffers reached a level of confidence in the logistics of producing. <a href=\"https:\/\/ideas.capacityinteractive.com\/ci-to-eye-podcast-episodes\/tessituras-new-ceo-on-reopening-leadership-transition-and-the-art-of-listening-andrew-recinos\">In an April 2021 interview<\/a>, Andrew Recinos, CEO of Tessitura Network, with his finger on the pulse of the decisions of arts organizations from around the world, described how some organizations framed their smaller shows in the fall as warm-ups, all to get ready to be full-on for the holiday show. They felt confident that they had made significant progress on figuring out safety protocols for performers, staff and audience. In the intervening months, they figured out their approaches to vaccine and testing requirements. Nothing would be without risk but moving forward was necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most obvious reason arts organizations prioritize holiday events is financial, since they often represent an out-sized percentage of annual earned income compared to other events. But I would argue that <strong>holiday shows are mission oriented<\/strong>. First of all, earning money means that the work of the organization can continue, art gets made and audiences can see it, and there\u2019s no need to apologize for that. Further, holiday events are a chance for organizations to connect with audiences, even if it\u2019s the only time of year that they attend. No matter how you slice it, that\u2019s a wider audience, more people impacted by the art, and that shouldn\u2019t be downplayed. Finally, it\u2019s an opportunity to prove that the organization truly is a community organization through opening up for broader participation, partnerships with other nonprofits, and visibility for the work of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Staffers at arts organizations are often cynical about the audience for holiday shows. It\u2019s a prime example of the resentment of the audience that Helen Freshwater talked about in her book Theatre &amp; Audience that I described in my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/2021\/10\/25\/the-hope-and-frustration-of-understanding-audiences\/\">previous post<\/a>. Hallway talk about holiday shows often derides the audience for their taste (because they only come to the holiday show, and don\u2019t have the sophisticated taste to see other works in the season), their lack of knowledge about the unspoken rules of how to be \u201cgood\u201d audience members, or their high level of interest in concessions and gift shop purchases (\u201cDidn\u2019t they come to see the show??\u201d). (Those souvenirs actually help the experience to be memorable, aka &#8220;sticky&#8221;, reinforce the experience as a tradition, prompts them to remember the experience throughout the year and likely helps them to become repeat attenders.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reconnecting with the meaning that audiences get from holiday shows can reset that cynicism and allow a Scrooge-like transformation to transport a burnt out arts worker back to one of the main reasons we\u2019re all in this: to give people meaningful experiences through art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holiday arts events are truly special to audiences. Embracing the unique role of holiday shows can revitalize staff&#8217;s connection to mission and purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[44,46,47,42,50,43,51,49,48,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-covid","8":"category-strategy","9":"tag-andrew-recinos","10":"tag-ci-to-eye","11":"tag-covid","12":"tag-holiday-events","13":"tag-jackie-alexander","14":"tag-national-endowment-for-the-arts","15":"tag-nativity-according-to-the-gospels","16":"tag-north-carolina-black-repertory","17":"tag-recovery","18":"tag-tessitura","19":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Calendar-Image-scaled.jpg?fit=1864%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdmYVE-2e","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rowx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}