Things Are The Same All Over

by

Two articles shared the same webpage over a Artsjournal.com today. The first is one talking about Pittsburgh Ballet’s decision to perform to recorded music to save money. The decision was made to preserve the ballet’s budget. They aren’t the first ballet company to go this route and according to the article, they probably won’t be the last.

The move has Drew McManus worried that this is not only a harbinger of the rise of recorded accompaniment, but that mission statements will be used to justify gutting artistic value for economic reasons.

Which leads me to the second article I mentioned earlier. It seems our brethern in Australia are also facing the necessity of making A Better Case for the Arts, as discussed on Artsjournal.com earlier this year in response to a recent Rand report. (I have discussed this before.)

An excerpt from a speech Prof. David Throsby made in the last couple days was printed in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Throsby’s speech sounds much the same as the discussion on Artsjournal.com and the points the Rand report makes:

More and more do arts organisations feel they have to demonstrate their financial rather than their artistic prowess as a means of obtaining funds to support their existence. Arts festivals big and small commission economic impact studies to trumpet their success in creating employment, raising local incomes and encouraging tourism; understanding their cultural impacts often seems to take second place.

Actually, he cites the Rand report right after he cites a similar report made by a British policy group, Demos, titled Capturing Cultural Value.

…John Holden, takes up these arguments, writing that “the value of culture cannot be expressed only with statistics. Audience numbers give us a poor picture of how culture enriches us.” He goes on to argue for a reshaping of the way in which public funding of culture is undertaken. He suggests the need for a language capable of reflecting, recognising and capturing the full range of values expressed through culture, drawing on ideas from anthropology, environmentalism and the debate about “public value” in the field of public sector management.

I wouldn’t be surprised if similar articles started to appear in Germany, France, Spain, et.al. (Or perhaps it is the English speakers’ epidemic.) Looks like everyone is facing the same dilemmia about how to resolve artistic sensibilities with capitalist ones at about the same time.

Good Service Can Be Surprising

by

I have to say that sometimes I find great customer service in places I don’t expect. About half way through the season last year I started doing radio spots with local stations owned by Cox Broadcasting. The lead ad rep is a really great guy and took the time to sit down and discuss what I was looking for with the ad buy I was doing. I was really impressed by the attention he gave me considering I really wasn’t spending much at all.

Last week he sat down with me to discuss what I was envisioning about the next season. We talked about what I felt the competition for the theatre was, what our audience was, how we differed from other theatres on the island. This took about 2-3 hours.

He came back today and had some suggestions for me about increasing our exposure that had nothing to do with buying time on his station. Some of it he could help me with, some we would have to do on our own. He had more questions for me because after our last meeting, he realized he hadn’t gotten a full enough picture to make a suggestion. We spent another 2 hours talking today–and he left with a promise to have a plan for our meeting next week.

Now I have to tell you, the ratio of time he is spending talking to me trying to get a good sense of our business so he can build a lasting relationship with my organization to the amount of money I will spend can’t be profitable.

At this point I am wondering if this guy is gonna lose his job. His company is very corporate. I sent over a CD for a group we were presenting last year that had been nominated for the local equivalent of the Grammys. The program managers for two stations decided it didn’t fit the mix that their market research said people wanted to listen to so they wouldn’t play it.

However since they are also the stations closest to the genre of the performers we were hosting, I took air time. We sold the show out based a large part on the ads. Someone listening must have wanted to hear the group.

So based on this, I am thinking the company might be scrutinizing the time management of their sales people to insure they efficiently selling air time. On the other hand, this guy is a lead sales guy. Whenever I am talking about buying time on multiple stations, he brings the reps for the other stations out to meet me and does most of the talking. People pretty much defer to him.

Unless he is pulling a Jerry Maguire and has decided to treat customers like people instead of commodities thereby sabotaging his career, I am thinking whatever he is doing is working for his bosses.

So the lesson I walk away with today- Even if the behemoth corporation’s only interest in people seems to be based on what demographic they fall in to, there can be cogs in the great machine whose concern extends beyond that point.

Health Care for Artists

by

About a month ago I made brief mention in an entry of NYFA article that discusses how a hospital in Brooklyn is offering low cost health services to artists in NYC.

I actually made Laura Colby’s (agent mention in article) acquaintance a year ago and emailed her with praise for her efforts. She told me there are similar efforts being made all over the country and I should keep my eye open for them.

I forgot that suggestion until today when I came across a section on the Folk Alliance website listing all sorts of health resources for artists.

Along with a listing of insurance companies, the website has links to pages dealing with industry hazards like tinnitus, performance anxiety and hand care of musicians. One of the most amusingly titled links is The Accordian: A Back Breaker. The webpage includes a 7 part series of articles on the best way to enjoy playing and how to choose the instrument that is right for you.

Much to my surprise, there was also a link to a Performing Arts Medicine program at Ithaca College. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise. There are sports medicine programs, why not performing arts medicine? I mean, except for the fact that athletic programs in schools and professional sports organizations have more money to toss around than their arts counterparts.

But wouldn’t you know it, a Google search on the subject turned up a number of such programs, including a Performing Arts Medicine Association.

Taking up Laura’s challenge, I also did a Google Search for non-union entities that offer help with artist health care.

Washington State, Rhode Island and Texas have a mixture of resources and advocacy efforts for artist coverage going on right now.

The Artists Foundation in Boston directs people to some insurance sources. They also make people aware of the hazardous materials they may be coming in contact with depending on the type of art they are pursuing.

Out in LA, the Center for Cultural Innovation offers medical and dental coverage for $19.95 a year. I saw some implication that it is an introductory rate. Still, pretty dang good unless it just covers bandaids and dental floss.

The Actor’s Fund provides healthcare and support for all entertainment industry professionals. (I actually didn’t know they were a separate entity from Actors’ Equity until today.) They even have their own nursing home.

Fractured Atlas seems to offer the largest listing of resources as it contains a database of health insurance providers for their members listed by state.

It is no surprise health coverage is a big issue for artists–heck it is a big issue for most people. Hopefully as time progresses, similar programs will emerge as more and more people realize this is an issue that needs attention.

Programs like the one in Brooklyn is actually win-win. In exchange for the low rates, some artists promise to perform in the various wards. For some people, there may not be any more potent an encounter with the arts than when they are feeling their most weak and vulnerable.

Audience Reviews

by

Looking to revisit the idea of audiences reviewing performances, I took a look at some research Greg Beuthin over at Extension 311 had done on the subject. Though I did a Google search similar to the one he lists in addition to using some keywords of my own, I didn’t find much more than he. Even worse, the one theatre I found in my last search that appeared to be setting up a way for performers and directors to blog has removed their website entirely. Though others like My London Life , a chronicle of a London based director’s experiences, are going ahead strong. (Though understandably with some commentary on the recent bombings.)

In fact, of the sites he links, many of those that offer the opportunity to review don’t have any posted. The exceptions are fringe festivals (which he says really encourage their audiences to do so). He uses the examples of San Francisco Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe (The Edinburgh ones are more like advertisements from people who have seen the pieces elsewhere since the festival doesn’t actually start for another week.)

One of the best audience review sites in terms of the detail to which people go in discussing the experiences is On The Boards. I have been critical of their editorial policy in the past, but I have never questioned the quality of their entries which seems to remain high.