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Still Cool As Hell After All These Years

July 9, 2012

by:

Joe Patti

Today I am going to point you back to an interview Michael Rice of Cool As Hell Theatre Podcast did with playwright Paula Vogel.

Michael stopped doing his podcast a few years back but keeps the site working because, you know, he is cool as hell.

It is worth listening just to hear his customary lead in, but as I observed when I first wrote about the interview, Vogel has some interesting things to say:

“She does say some interesting things about the messages artists are getting these days. Among them are her feelings that “Darwin and captialism are very bad models for art” (3:15) and art begets art.

I was also intrigued by her idea that even though she was a klutz, she had to learn to play sports and as a result, all athletes today, artists of the flesh she calls them, speak for her inner athlete. She hopes for the day that every creative artist speaks for the inner artist housed in everyone.

[…]

She does present some quotable moments like “art is a dog that you feed that bites you” (7:05) when arguing that art should challenge society but the agenda of arts funders is to make art palatable and devoid of challenge.

Advocacy, Art(ist) Education, State of the Arts

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Thomas Jefferson, Artist

July 4, 2012

by:

Joe Patti

On this lovely 4th of July, I point you to the Founding Father’s Musical, 1776. While there are some songs I like a little better, this one appeals to me because:

1- As John Adams and Ben Franklin press Martha Jefferson about what attracted her to Thomas Jefferson, she lists many of his impressive accomplishments as a landowner and statesman. But as to what really smote her, she says it is because he plays the violin. What arts person doesn’t like it when the art gets the girl?

2- I like the concept that playing the violin makes Thomas Jefferson a complete person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T23elli1Vc

Art(ist) Education

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Still Asking Why The Show Was Not Advertised

July 3, 2012

by:

Joe Patti

Back in 2006 I was pondering the situation where people came up to me at a performance and asked, “Why Didn’t You Advertise This?”

Now given I get this comment most from people who have attended the event for which they are bemoaning the lack of advertising, obviously something worked to get them in the door.

Often they did see/hear an ad or a story or heard about the show from a friend. The problem they have is that they learned about the show close to performance time and had such a great experience, they are concerned that having almost missed it, they will lose out on something equally great in the future.

I made this post 6 years ago so my marketing mix has changed a bit from the one I describe, but many aspects still remain the same, including the fact I get the same question.

What is interesting to me as I think about this phenomenon is that while something we did was clearly effective at getting them into the theatre, some people have an expectation that they will hear about performances from a very specific source, often print media.

I would be curious to know what others do when faced with this situation.

Arts in an Age of Technology, Audience Relations, Marketing/PR

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Brisket Will Keep Us Together

July 2, 2012

by:

Joe Patti

So I am off on vacation for a couple weeks. But not to worry, I have plumbed the depths of my archives in order to provide you something to think about while I am gone.

While I am taking a vacation to relax, I have made some arts related plans and appointments and hope to have some interesting things to report when I return.

Since I am going on vacation, I thought I would start out linking back to a light hearted remembrance of rituals some of the theatres I worked out enacted to keep the weary team bonded together.

Check it out, share some of your favorite arts related bonding rituals.

General Musings

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