The lesson of our journey, the moral of our story.
Just as Clybourne Park (premiered at Playwrights Horizons) and Once (workshopped at American Reportory Theatre, premiered by New York Theatre Workshop), with victories at The Tony Awards, prominently reaffirmed how central this country’s not-for-profit theatres are to new theatrical work, we learned that The Goodman Theatre’s production of O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh (not a new work) will not be brought to New York by producer Scott Rudin (though others may yet step in). Just as I confess to being pleased about the first two works being anointed last night, I also confess that I am not disappointed by the prospect of Iceman remaining a Chicago phenomenon (even though those involved in the production may be).
Now perhaps it’s easy for me to say that about Iceman because I went to Chicago to see it, and therefore its potential inability to transfer doesn’t leave me out in the cold. But I wouldn’t mind it being seen only in Chicago because it further reinforces the notion that superb theatre exists around this country and that a transfer to New York should in no way be the sole arbiter of artistic success.
Despite protestations to the contrary, America does have a national theatre. We simply don’t restrict it to the work of a single company. America’s national theatre exists across the country and a centralized company or facility would, by necessity, be insufficient. Unlike Europe, where the dimensions of the major countries are simply smaller than the U.S., and therefore it is possible to have a National Theatre that is theoretically available to all, any such venue here would be inaccessible to most of the population. Iceman is a production of America’s national theatre, as was the other show I saw on my jaunt, Timon of Athens at Chicago Shakespeare.
The Iceman phenomenon put me in mind of Hartford Stage’s Peer Gynt in the late 80s, for which I was the publicist. This was a rare full-length Gynt, in a new translation that retained Ibsen’s rhyming verse; it ran six hours in two parts and while the audience was wary at first, it became a smash, running eight weeks (the longest run at that theatre before that time and, I believe, ever since). There was talk of a New York transfer, with particular interest from then-prolific producer Roger Stevens, but it was not to be. Yet despite lasting only eight weeks in Hartford, without New York imprimatur, it is a show still spoken of in artistic and audience circles. I continue to meet people who tell me of their travels to see it, and its enormous impact on them. It too was a beacon of America’s national theatre.
What if Jordan Roth had not rescued Clybourne Park when the Broadway production faltered? Would New Yorkers have been deprived, since only a relative few had been able to see it at Playwrights Horizons? Yes. But would America have been deprived? No, because the play had already been seen at numerous regional theatres and had begun international production. Our national theatre had embraced it.
I could cite example after example. But the juxtaposition of the Tonys and the recent news about Iceman (which, again, is hardly the last word on the topic) prompts me to proclaim my own credo about theatre in America and about my theatre going: there is great theatre everywhere in this country and countless opportunities to see it. We may not always gather in vast numbers in stadiums or arenas for our entertainment, but we gather constantly for our theatre. We gather on Broadway, in storefronts, in resident theatres and in school auditoriums. No one can see all of it; we will always be disappointed in that which we can’t see, but only in the very smallest of communities, only from economic limitations or distress, might we have to go entirely without.
Yes, despite living in one of the world’s theatre capitals, I am driven to seek work in other cities (a topic I hope to explore in greater length one day soon); I am the exception. As we heard as children, at the end of a beloved film, sometimes what we’re looking for is right in our own backyard. We only need to appreciate it for what it is and know that while there may be magic and grandeur elsewhere, there’s plenty to satisfy us in America’s national theatre, which is located wherever you live.
In 30+ years of attending professional theatre, I have to say that more often than not – Broadway excluded – I am shown to my seat by a volunteer usher. On balance, volunteer ushers have been the norm at theatres where I have worked, or that I have run. They provide an enormous budgetary savings to the institution or venue and they usually want only one thing in return: that when the show isn’t sold out, they can watch. That only makes sense; otherwise they might choose to volunteer in other disciplines, say at schools so they can work with young people, at health care centers so they can brighten the days of those who are invalids, and so on. But odds are, they’re there because they love theatre (and may not be able to afford to see it any other way).
According to a report in today’s Buffalo News, Anthony Conte of Shea’s Performing Arts Center doesn’t want his ushers to sit down. He is quoted as saying, “The very first thing I said when I came here was, ‘If you volunteer to see a show for free, I would ask you to please leave.’ And I believe that. Anyone who comes here because they want to see a show for free should not be coming.” It’s a harsh statement, but it’s his absolute right to say so, and he reiterates the sentiment later in the article, saying that customer service is his first priority.
I agree with him in general about customer service. But when it comes to volunteer ushers, we come from different worlds, it seems. I say, if there are seats, let them sit – and I don’t even care how old they are, an issue the article plays up. If they’re bartering their services to you – namely their work as ushers – then reciprocity seems essential, and that should come in the form of being able to see the show when the house isn’t sold out.
I’m well aware of some of the challenges of using a largely volunteer house staff – they don’t all follow instructions to the letter, you struggle with last minute cancellations, they want to be assigned to locations near their friends, they can’t be counted on to always spout, or even know, the company’s party line about productions. That’s part of the trade off, but what you can gain is a group of passionate individuals out in your community who speak with vigor and a sense of belonging about your venue. What you may lose in pitch-perfect customer service you may gain in community relations and marketing.
Having run a resident company in neighboring Rochester for a few years, I am well aware of upstate New York’s economic challenges, now hardly different than the rest of the country. I also know that there is a tradition of theatergoing in those communities, once standard touring stops 75 years ago for tours that often featured the original Broadway casts. That tradition remains, and it’s tremendous that there are so many people who want to support your work, especially since the loss of Studio Arena a few years ago.
In my opinion, the choice here is simple: either let your volunteers sit (unless there are other necessary tasks to be undertaken), or stand at the back or sides – or start paying them. If you want a certain level of behavior, if you want accountability for behavior, that’s why you pay people; it compels their compliance with practice and policy. Now I know how expensive that can be, especially when staffing a hall of some 3100 seats, but you are in fact staffing it, while apparently denying any quid pro quo in the process.
As I write, I’ve found it unable to avoid words like staff and work, because that is what these volunteers do. If you expect them to do it for nothing, simply out of their own altruism, then you may have to wrestle with a diminished usher corps, reduced attention to customers, resentment in your community, troubles with your local fire department (if they require a certain number of staff at specified positions), and perhaps even a visit from the labor board (after all, you can’t even call these internships with a straight face).
We all rely on volunteers in one way or another in the arts, but it’s essential that they be respected and even honored for the assistance they give our companies. Heck, it even costs them money to volunteer, since they may have to drive and park, or take mass transit, in order to show up. If letting volunteers fill empty seats is too much to ask, too unprofessional, then the way is clear – hire professionals (who may well be your current volunteers), and hope your former ushers want (and are able) to buy tickets to see the shows they so want to enjoy.
Even as I wrote this, I was receiving tweets saying that seated ushers are not disruptors of the theatre experience — it’s latecomers who expect to be seated whenever they arrive. Fascinating.
If a 49-year-old person suddenly announced one day that they were terminally ill and committed suicide the following day, you’d be stunned. And that seems to be the prevailing sentiment in press coverage about the sudden closure this past weekend of the Vancouver Playhouse in British Columbia, Canada, just one year shy of its own half-century mark. That said, the press coverage that’s emerging notes that the financial problems of the theatre were not unknown, so this is more akin to someone who knew they were sicker than most may have been willing to believe, and that their self-directed passing was driven by a desire to neither take on, or impose, any further burden. In a sad irony, it had one production left this season: God of Carnage.
From the vantage point of New York, why should I care about what has happened in Vancouver? Because it is neither the first regional theatre to close in recent years and it will not be the last. I cannot pass judgment on the decision of the company’s board to close, I cannot effectively analyze the factors that led to the company’s significant financial distress. I can only marvel at what was by all accounts a sudden endgame, even if there had been portents for some time. The closing of the Vancouver Playhouse evokes other examples here in the U.S. – The Intiman in Seattle and Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis are two that spring to mind – but the fact is that there are theatres closing constantly these days, and while the world economic downturn is surely a major factor, it cannot be the sole reason.
As Michael Crichton wrote in his thriller Airframe, no single mishap brings about a plane crash; it is instead a series of events stemming (often) from a single fault, snowballing into an “event cascade.” If you prefer a human metaphor, I’ll give you a simpler one courtesy of Dr. Sherwin Nuland in How We Die: we die when we stop taking in oxygen, everything else leads up to that point, and in business, commercial or not-for-profit, money is oxygen. When it runs out, time is up.
As companies large and small close, there is often an enormous amount of hindsight: about the cultural loss, about the decisions that led to the closing, about whether different steps could have or should have been taken, even whether the company can be revived. Certainly organizations that announce a death watch – “We need $1 million by June 30 or we’ll have to close” – put a very specific goal and timetable on their distress, in hope of driving a campaign or surfacing a heretofore unknown benefactor. Other companies slash staff and productions, but in many cases that diminishment only serves to lessen the work that might draw audience or donors. We hear of victories and life goes on – witness Pasadena Playhouse – while others fail to succeed and pass into memory, preserved in the minds of their audiences and artists for a generation or two. Perhaps their existence is recorded in annals like Theatre World or local newspaper archives, but the reveries are quickly overtaken by more current events, by companies that emerge as viable entertainment alternatives, by the pharmacy that sets up shop in the building that was once home to great art.
I have lost friends and family to illness with shockingly little notice and I regret that I did not have the time for closure with them. Whatever has taken place in Vancouver this past weekend, it afforded audiences in general and the arts community in particular no time to prepare for the hole that was to be left so suddenly, which is why crowds gathered outside the theatre on its closing night on Saturday and why others gather as I write to read plays at the site of the now shuttered company. Would more alarm have helped save the company, or would it simply have given time for everyone to prepare both professionally and emotionally for the inevitable? I can’t say.
But maybe, just maybe, we need to know if our institutions are in death throes, maybe a stoic, silent walk to the gallows or hope against hope for divine intervention benefits no one. I once literally had to appeal to the state’s governor to save a venue I ran, and I wasn’t shy about saying that the company would close if promised funding wasn’t forthcoming; the proverbial death chamber stay of execution did come and that company survives more than a decade later. Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit failings, but isn’t the best time to own up to them before it’s too late for any possible salvation? Maybe the arts – their staffs, their creative artists and their boards of directors, as well as the media that cover them – have to start keening as loudly as possible before there’s a death, not after, however unseemly it might be. It doesn’t always work, to be sure, but will it hurt?
Among the presentations, I have to say that the one which most affected me was the hip-hop editorial by Matt Sax (@MattSax), who has created and performed in the shows Clay and Venice. While I am slightly out of hip-hop’s target demo, Matt’s rhythmic commentary on his Broadway experiences past, present and future galvanized me and thrilled the audience as well (though the lack of audience miking doesn’t do our response justice). You can watch on YouTube to see his performance or view it below (he does two pieces; I’m focused on the second one), but the words alone have enormous power. Matt was generous enough to transcribe his handwritten work and give me permission to reproduce it. I suspect you may find it eminently quotable.
Bravo, Matt!
* * *
tedxbroadway – 2012
by Matt Sax
Twenty years ago I saw my first Broadway show
The Secret Garden starring John Cameron Mitchell
who would have known, twelve years later Mr. Mitchell
would give me a carwash in the 2nd row
after that first show I devoured scores day by day.
Memorized every lyric on the Great White Way
Was entranced by the majesty – whether comedy or tragedy
I’d imagine showsin my mind doing the play by play.
I knew my fate was sealed by the time I was ten
didn’t know how to begin, only knew I had to get in.
My dreams were affected like never before
wanted to put on a mask – I couldn’t sleep no more
So I trained to be an actor. A serious actor…who sings
but soon I knew I also wanted to create puppet strings
See I’m a product of a generation of entitled, impatient, apathetic,
lazy children who all feel alone… We created the internet
so we wouldn’t have to leave home. We are also brave
and process information differently
We combine multiple mediums
From rap shows to symphonies
We see music visually and hear images implicitly
We cross genre boundaries, prone to eccentricity
We’re a generation who tweets about the skeletons in our closet for recreation
We all have a voice and are prone to speak with exclamations
I AM not a hipster
or a skater
or a thug
or a hater
I AM a great creator and I love the-ator
So where is Broadway going? What is the best it can be?
I think embracing this culture is a necessity.
I hate to say this – but Broadway is looking too much like Vegas
Retreads of old movies are never going to save us.
We need to look closer at the entertainment we’re affording them
We need to get back to creating stars instead of just importing them
And I believe in the importance of critics for chronicling our theatrical history –
But it can’t be that our collective fates are only written by Isherwood or Brantley
We ALL have a voice and we’re not afraid – look
what critic is gonna argue with a million “likes” on facebook?
We’re still in the world wild west where the internet’s free
And because of this the artists have a chance to shape the industry
Its important I swear
the opportunity’s there
to be at the forefront of pop culture
instead of in the rearview mirror
If I’m a little naïve – okay – I know the dollar is important
but for the future of our business we’re alienating people who can’t afford it.
As long as we create shows for only people who can see them
we run the risk of transforming the theatre into a museum.
Today we are willing to pay but expect content for free
so I say we take our Broadway shows and stream them live for a small fee
It’ll expand our reach. A million people watching in Dubai
maybe could save us from the fate of Bonnie and Clyde
I know the finances suck. How can we create a show that sells
when the NY non-for profit houses can’t produce a musical without commercial help?
It’s a different world now and I have to say
we can have people’s ears and hearts before they or we have to pay.
and before the purists scream at me and cry out
fuck out of town, give me an internet tryout
Everyone’s online, from 90 year old jewish women to toddlers
so lets get the public’s opinion before we drop a million dollars.
And so twenty years from now, what do I imagine Broadway to be?
Well I hope and pray that future will include me.
Galinda wants to be popular and so do we. I want to hear
our songs on the radio and keep seeing them on TV
I want Broadway’s reach to expand past the nation
it’s my goal to tell stories to inspire my generation.
And I am humbled to be in the presence of all these people out here
it is an honor and a privilege to have pirated your ears.
Continuing our now monthly Twitter conversations on theatre, Peter Marks of The Washington Post and I invited Kwame Kwei-Armah, the new artistic director of Centerstage in Baltimore to be our guest in February. A playwright and director, Kwei-Armah joined center stage after forging his career in England, and so we used the opportunity to explore the dual roles of artist and artistic director with someone who had just recently added the latter role to his portfolio of achievements. As an added bonus, Charles McNulty, theatre critic for the Los Angeles Times, joined in, just days after he’d published a much discussed critic’s notebook on the state of artistic leadership in southern California.
As before with these transcripts, they are reconstructed to the best of my ability, relying upon participants’ use of the #pmdhes hashtag for tracking, although it is omitted here. I have cleaned up some common Twitter abbreviations for ease of reading, and changed AD and MD to artistic director and managing director wherever I spotted it, but I was cautious about converting anything where I wasn’t absolutely sure about meaning; sticklers, as a result, will find some messages that exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit. Retweets of messages within the conversation have mostly been excised, unless accompanied by comments which expand upon them. Finally, the transcript is most expediently prepared (and trust me, ‘easily’ is pretty much of a misnomer) in reverse chronological order, so you’re advised to jump to the end of this post and then scroll upward for proper continuity.
* * *
ASC_Amy 1:04pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama *gleam in eye*
HESherman 1:03pm @petermarksdrama I am not having the “who wrote Shakespeare’s plays” debate with Jacobi!
Theatreontario 1:02pm @kwamekweiarmah But with seriousness – it’s where my deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger (adap. from Frederick Buechner).
Petermarksdrama 1:01pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman A terrific theater convo, everyone.
Kwamekweiarmah 1:00pm Thank you all for a wonderful tweet out. It’s my first and def wont be my last! Thanks ya’ll — Kwamz
Kwamekweiarmah 12:59pm @HESherman Bless you. what fun!!!!
Kwamekweiarmah 12:59pm @AmandaThietje Nice. x
ASC_Amy 12:58pm Thanks to everyone for the great convo! @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah @petermarksdrama
AmandaThietje 12:58pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah Thank you much for your insights, Kwame…this was great!
_plainKate_ 12:58pm @kwamekweiarmah @petermarksdrama #HESherman Thank you, gentlemen, for the conversation.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm @jabberjw Nice!!!!!!!
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm @petermarksdrama Love that. Another for my wall
CS_Dramaturgy 12:58pm multiculturalism: (in no order) Lydia Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Tom Gibbons, Kristen Greenidge, Lauren Yee…
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm RT @petermarksdrama: Why Theater? Because it saved my life. And continues to.
Jabberjw 12:58pm Why theater? Because it’s the place for a lot of the things that need to be said out loud, with an audience.
AmandaThietje 12:57pm @kwamekweiarmah Also, when it’s profoundly immediate, it’s our stories in our own voices.
Jamesholod 12:57pm @kwamekweiarmah It requires presence, engagement and constant dialogue, which for me enriches the way I view the rest of the world.
HESherman 12:57pm We seem to be winding down and it’s just about 1 pm. Let’s thank @kwamekweiarmah for being on with us today so he can slip away.
Halcyontony 12:57pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Gotcha, makes sense.
Petermarksdrama 12:56pm Why Theater? Because it saved my life. And continues to.
_plainKate_ 12:56pm @kwamekweiarmah Sweet!
Rebcincy 12:56pm Why Theater? More fun to spend my life with this crazy pirate crew than any group of people I ever met.
Petermarksdrama 12:56pm @halcyontony @CharlesMcNulty You mean restaurant critics? I agree with that too. I meant dance, classical music — even movie critics not as much.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:56pm @_plainKate_ beautiful. That’s going up on my wall
Theatreontario 12:56pm @kwamekweiarmah Combines enough passions in a way that astronaut and pro golfer couldn’t.
ASC_Amy 12:56pm @petermarksdrama Indeed. Although, works in reverse too. We see lots of student mat kids bring their parents back.
HESherman 12:55pm Seeing lots of (well-deserved) love for @RealEmilyMann here. We all have to join forces and get her tweeting actively.
_plainKate_ 12:55pm @rebcincy @kwamekweiarmah Steal away. That’s why I mention it.
Jamesholod 12:55pm @HESherman So true! So then, how aware is the public of the difference? Does it matter to them? Or just easier for the office?
Petermarksdrama 12:55pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty Not only for practitioners, but for young theatergoers as well.
Halcyontony 12:55pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Don’t think I agree with that. I think restaurant critics are very much expected to be market analysts.
RivierePatrick 12:54pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty SO true when I was Education Director at Second Stage it was all about involving kids directly with process and multigenerational work
Rebcincy 12:54pm @_plainKate_ @kwamekweiarmah Very cool, steal-worthy idea.
HESherman 12:54pm Why theatre? I was born this way. Can’t imagine doing anything else, and never really did.
_plainKate_ 12:54pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah @CharlesMcNulty Yes. I learned so much assisting @RealEmilyMann.
ASC_Amy 12:53pm @kwamekweiarmah Instant gratification. No other art gives you in-the-moment-of-creation connection with your audience.
Petermarksdrama 12:53pm @halcyontony @CharlesMcNulty For reasons that bewilder me, theater critics are expected to be market analysts in ways other critics are not.
HESherman 12:53pm @kwamekweiarmah @CharlesMcNulty I feel the same way about @RealEmilyMann. She’s inspiring, brilliant and passionate.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:53pm My question to you all. Why Theater?????
HESherman 12:52pm @kevinhoule You are not alone. It’s a common story.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:52pm @CharlesMcNulty @jamesholod @HESherman @petermarksdrama @RealEmilyMann Emily is awesome. Haven’t had the pleasure of others.
HESherman 12:52pm @CharlesMcNulty Mentorship in theatre (probably anywhere, but its all I’ve done) is so essential.
_plainKate_ 12:51pm @kwamekweiarmah Beginning of season, experts from all walks discuss themes of season at an event for subscribers, et al.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:51pm @jabberjw @_plainKate_ lol! This is the big challenge that lays before us.
Jabberjw 12:51pm @HESherman Would you clarify difference between season and subscription models?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:50pm RT @halcyontony: @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy Totally, general public will never care unless we give them a reason to care.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:50pm @_plainKate_ @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy Oh that’s interesting. Thanks for that
CharlesMcNulty 12:50pm @jamesholod @HESherman @petermarksdrama 3 great teachers of mine: @RealEmilyMann, Joe Papp, Village Voice editor Ross Wetzsteon.
HESherman 12:50pm @jamesholod Should make distinction between “season” (slate of plays) vs. “subscription season” (marketing model). Not always same.
Petermarksdrama 12:50pm @ASC_Amy 🙂 I expect a song celebrating that.
Jabberjw 12:50pm @_plainKate_ @kwamekweiarmah Audiences are buying a la carte and theater wants to present prix fixe menu #stretchedfoodmetaphor
Halcyontony 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy Totally, general public will never care unless we give them a reason to care.
DavidGSchultz 12:49pm @petermarksdrama Walter Kerr being the classic example.
_plainKate_12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy Some companies, like Remy Bummpo in Chicago, hold events re ‘narrative’.
ASC_Amy 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah That is the trick, isn’t it? How to speak & listen so that everyone cares.
Petermarksdrama 12:49pm @halcyontony Wasn’t ignoring your thought re critics. I think some of us struggle against the tide more successfully than others.
HESherman 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah Don’t obsess about sports rules. I’ve seen well over 20 Ayckbourn plays and still know nothing of cricket or rugby.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:48pm @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony We have to make them care. Or at least gently lead them there.
ASC_Amy 12:48pm @petermarksdrama How romantic of you.
HESherman 12:48pm @MichaelHHarris Soviet director had no idea that entire audience would see shows in same order, play by play.
Petermarksdrama 12:48pm @rebcincy @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony Even if it’s subliminal, I love the concept. Has poetry.
Jamesholod 12:47pm @HESherman Fascinating. I’d love to learn about the origin of the necessity for a “season.” Is it distinctly American?
HESherman 12:47pm @MichaelHHarris He was intrigued. I had to explain why there had been concern about his play following Turgenev adaptation.
Theatreontario 12:47pm @_plainKate_ @DavidGSchultz Need to provide value from a subscription purchase in a way that you don’t get from a single-ticket
ASC_Amy 12:46pm @jamesholod That’s why I loved Brooklyn College – classes at night & full-time internships all day. Need that experience on the ground.
HESherman 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah There are a million stories in Charm City…
Rebcincy 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony WE love season narrative. Does general public care? No.
MichaelHHarris 12:46pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah What did he think?
DavidGSchultz 12:46pm @_plainKate_ Thinking about how theaters obviously skew programming and mission toward bankable subscription audiences that won’t be there soon.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman Yes. I’m busy trying to learn the rules of basketball and football so my characters have opinions I don’t
Jamesholod 12:46pm @JessHutchinson @kwamekweiarmah I would hope so! After all, that’s why I want to make my livelihood in theatre.
HESherman 12:45pm @jamesholod I’m not speaking against training at all, but I think my experience coming into business was different than many today.
Jabberjw 12:45pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah How does the artistic director tell the story of the season in other ways than full subscriptions. Multi-storied?
_plainKate_ 12:45pm @DavidGSchultz Heck, I don’t subscribe. I definitely cherry pick plays that interest me within a season.
JessHutchinson 12:45pm @DavidGSchultz @_plainKate_ Maybe it’s time to change the form to match the changing audience.
Petermarksdrama 12:45pm Hey, [we’re] trending. Very cool.
HESherman 12:45pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah At Hartford, we had Soviet guest director, and notion of “subscription season” was alien. I had to explain to him.
JessHutchinson 12:44pm @kwamekweiarmah @jamesholod Love it – and doesn’t that build more organically, passionately connected ensembles/organizations?
DavidGSchultz 12:44pm @_plainKate_ Not sure I see audiences subscribing at the same rate in the next 20 years. Big screen HDTVs changing the game.
_plainKate_ 12:44pm kwamekweiarmah Plays that you love and people sharing joy sounds pretty wonderful!
Petermarksdrama 12:44pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman So is your job also a research endeavor for your writing?
HESherman 12:44pm @_plainKate_ @jabberjw @ASC_Amy I watched as 9/11 accelerated decline of subscriptions nationally. Fear of committing long-term.
ASC_Amy 12:43pm @petermarksdrama Ya gotta have both!
Jamesholod 12:43pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty A current student, I can say that classes are so helpful, but don’t equal practical experience.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:43pm @jamesholod @JessHutchinson That’s my aim.
Jabberjw 12:43pm @kwamekweiarmah The arc of a season tells its own story, but unbundling subscriptions breaks up story into “keywords.”
_plainKate_ 12:42pm @HESherman @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Also, fragmentation of people’s leisure time dollars contribute to more single ticket buying.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:42pm @_plainKate_ Being able to say YES when I find a play I love. Being in a building filled with people that wanna share joy daily!!!
HESherman 12:42pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy I subscribed to a theatre for first time in my life this year. Fascinating experience. Customer service is superb.
Petermarksdrama 12:42pm @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony Love “season narrative.” Way more than “mission.” !!!!
ASC_Amy 12:42pm @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw Indeed. I’m just not sure subs are the best way to aid that consumption at this point.
HESherman 12:41pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Not sure if research or simply slowing of sales drove move to flexible seasons/unbundling.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:41pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Each artistic director attempts to create a season narrative. What ever aids that full consumption should be encouraged!
HESherman 12:40pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Oh, the kids today. I learned at the feet of Jim McKenzie, David Hawkanson and Michael Price.
Jamesholod 12:40pm @JessHutchinson I like to think that new members jump on board because they are inspired by the mission. They then further the conversation.
Petermarksdrama 12:40pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Are you writing that play now?
Jabberjw 12:40pm @kwamekweiarmah Time for the Centerstage summer picnic in Druid Hill Park. Bring the family together.
_plainKate_ 12:39pm @kwamekweiarmah I appreciate your candor about what you’re discovering, what you don’t know yet. What do you dig about artistic directing thus far?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:39pm @HESherman Absolutely. And I’m so scared!!! My next play will be set in US with US characters. My first play in American!
HESherman 12:39pm Other voices out there following [discussion]? Please join in. Only 20 minutes left.
Petermarksdrama 12:38pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty I mean out of management programs.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:38pm @jabberjw Not sure I know how to do that yet.
HESherman 12:38pm @kwamekweiarmah I had a feeling that was the case, but didn’t want to assume.
Jabberjw 12:38pm @ASC_Amy I think market research drove unbundling of seasons, but it means patrons don’t follow the arc of season, just parts.
HESherman 12:37pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty That said, younger generation is coming into biz with more training. I essentially apprenticed.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:37pm @HESherman To a degree. The UK artistic director has less beat by beat fundraising to do and doesn’t have to think about subscriptions.
AmandaThietje 12:37pm RT @kwamekweiarmah: @HESherman @petermarksdrama Hear, hear! My managing director is an artist as well in this building
ASC_Amy 12:36pm @jabberjw Do you think subscriptions are the best way to build those bridges?
HESherman 12:36pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty How do you mean “credentialed”? Many managing directors don’t have grad school or arts management degrees (I don’t).
AmandaThietje 12:36pm @JessHutchinson @DavidGSchultz @petermarksdrama Perhaps for audiences.
JessHutchinson 12:35pm @jamesholod @RivierePatrick @HESherman If we want the work / company to be sustainable, yes. Otherwise, what happens post-founder?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:35pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama Here, here! My managing director is an artist as well in this building
CharlesMcNulty 12:35pm @petermarksdrama Definitely think that’s been a major factor. Most are excellent stewards but there needs to be a clarification of values.
HESherman 12:34pm @kwamekweiarmah Sorry to keep tossing questions but: will living/working in US provoke you to write US-set work?
Halcyontony 12:34pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Do critics have responsibility for that as well?
JessHutchinson 12:34pm @DavidGSchultz @petermarksdrama Giving audiences a place who didn’t have a home before, yes? Artistic homes for more than artists.
Jamesholod 12:34pm @RivierePatrick @HESherman Oh, absolutely. But having collaboration broaden our understandings is invaluable and (I think) necessary.
Jabberjw 12:33pm @kwamekweiarmah Will you focus on increasing subscriptions to un-silo audiences from their preferred genre in season?
Petermarksdrama 12:33pm @CharlesMcNulty Is the answer to the question, When did patrons turn into customers? The rise of the modern, credentialed managing director?
HESherman 12:33pm @kwamekweiarmah Do you think or find that job of an artistic director is different for US theaters than in UK?
CharlesMcNulty 12:32pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @petermarksdrama They’re not but marketing has become much more pronounced. Values have changed.
DavidGSchultz 12:32pm @HESherman RIGHT. They’re not replacing Lou with another Lou.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:32pm @CharlesMcNulty @HESherman I would have to say I feel very outreach orientated. That’s why I’m a playwright. A political playwright!
DavidGSchultz 12:32pm @petermarksdrama I would argue that a great artistic director develops new audiences where none existed before.
Erauh 12:31pm I agree “@halcyontony: @petermarksdrama I think a truly visionary artistic director is able to create within the bottom line.”
ASC_Amy 12:31pm RT @HESherman: @petermarksdrama Remember that managing directors are partners with just as much commitment to being part of great work.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:31pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje I think the challenge is to attempt both. I am trying to avoid that binary.
Rebcincy 12:30pm Yes MT @kwamekweiarmah The theater isn’t mine. I’m a caretaker of the seat. My gig is to ask and to lead. My choices are not only for me
Halcyontony 12:30pm @petermarksdrama Inspiring people moves the bottom line faster than the status quo does.
HESherman 12:30pm @petermarksdrama Remember that managing directors are partners with just as much commitment to being part of great work.
CharlesMcNulty 12:29pm @HESherman That has been my experience out here. New artistic directors aren’t outreach oriented. Greatest innovation: dynamic pricing.
ASC_Amy 12:29pm @halcyontony Bingo. And a truly visionary managing director helps the artistic director’s dreams come true (if perhaps on a longer timetable).
HESherman 12:29pm @petermarksdrama That attitude would either cause managing director to lose their mind or — better — work to figure out how to make project work.
Halcyontony 12:29pm @petermarksdrama I think a truly visionary artistic director is able to create within the bottom line.
_plainKate_ 12:29pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje A bit of fantasy. Might say, ‘Let’s do this one show that might not sell’ but have to balance.
LeeLiebeskind 12:29pm @kwamekweiarmah @DavidGSchultz What have you noticed about my hometown (Baltimore) audiences so far?
DavidGSchultz 12:29pm @kwamekweiarmah Might that include going to other spaces in town?
Theatreontario 12:29pm @ASC_Amy @LeeLiebeskind Me too, but so much of “the art” comes from the artistic director, chosen and enabled by the board
ASC_Amy 12:28pm Not romantic fantasy. There are some that work that way. But, I’m seeing more balance with managing director & board @petermarksdrama @AmandaThietje
Kwamekweiarmah 12:28pm @DavidGSchultz i mean, what they like, where they might like to be taken, what our collective destination might be season by season
Erauh 12:28pm Truly enjoying the conversation with @kwamekweiarmah and @petermarksdrama.
HESherman 12:27pm @CharlesMcNulty Do you think the mindset has truly changed in that way? I haven’t been at producing organization since 2000, so I can’t say.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:27pm @_plainKate_ @AmandaThietje @HESherman I agree.
Petermarksdrama 12:27pm @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje So maybe notion of a visionary artistic director — who says f–k the bottom line, let’s create — is a romantic fantasy?
DavidGSchultz 12:27pm @kwamekweiarmah What comes to mind when you say “learn about Baltimore audiences”?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty @HESherman @petermarksdrama Are they not both? Didn’t think it was mutually exclusive
AmandaThietje 12:26pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Kwame, has your role shifted at all in light of trends toward localizing work/productions/artists?
_plainKate_ 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty Can you talk about how you perceive difference between patron and consumer?
ASC_Amy 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty I think some artistic directors always have and some artistic directors never will.
HESherman 12:26pm @kwamekweiarmah I noticed that you are going to be doing directing in US, away from @CENTERSTAGE_MD. How does that fit in with new job?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:26pm @petermarksdrama A little. But I’m not in the UK. I certainly have a notion of what UK audiences want. But must learn about Baltimore audiences.
CharlesMcNulty 12:25pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama When did artistic directors start treating audiences as consumers instead of patrons? Move from cultivating to marketing?
HESherman 12:25pm @theatreontario I agree completely. My role here is to toss out “red meat” (aka ideas) to provoke discussion.
ASC_Amy 12:24pm @AmandaThietje And when board understands that it is the art at the heart.
LeeLiebeskind 12:24pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy Depends on the institution and what trouble they are in or not.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:24pm @petermarksdrama the theater isn’t mine. I’m a caretaker of the seat. My gig is to ask and to lead. My choices are not only for me.
@kwamekweiarmah around.
AmandaThietje 12:24pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty Managing director, artistic director and board relations are less frustrating when artists at helm deeply understand dollars equal production and people.
Theatreontario 12:24pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy Seems to me that would depend on the organization – not a one-size fits all matter.
ASC_Amy 12:24pm @HESherman No, the leaders are still artistic director & managing director. Board there for oversight and support.
JessHutchinson 12:23pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Yes! The richness of a true home that can nurtures artists and a community – to me – comes in that diversity.
HESherman 12:23pm @ASC_Amy Not saying that, but has the balance between artistic director’s authority and board authority changed as orgs have matured?
Jabberjw 12:23pm @kwamekweiarmah Who is writing self-consciously multi-cultural plays? Plays that address multiculturalism in ideas and casting?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:22pm @petermarksdrama Hell no! Quite the opposite for me. I didn’t intend to write for Centerstage for a while until challenged and….
ASC_Amy 12:22pm @HESherman I don’t think so. Just because artistic director isn’t founder doesn’t mean vision does originate there.
Ru_ality 12:22pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @petermarksdrama Got to go, but would like to know skills aspiring playwright and artistic director could focus on developing? THANK YOU!!
Petermarksdrama 12:21pm @kwamekweiarmah I wonder if expectations for you are ratcheted up because you’re from the UK – notion that you have answers we don’t?
LeeLiebeskind 12:21pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @JessHutchinson Usually that one voice just echoes till you get a choir to sing with you.
HESherman 12:21pm To @CharlesMcNulty’s point, as organizations shift from founders (now pretty much complete) has the board of directors become more prominent?
MimchaelHHarris 12:21pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson Artistic home is the entire reason we started @InVioletRep. Finding time to work outside is challenge.
JessHutchinson 12:21pm @LeeLiebeskind So much truth.
Egoetschius 12:21pm Would love to participate, but #24mag calls. Suffice it to say, excited to be doing work in Baltimore with @kwamekweiarmah around.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:21pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson Yes! But one’s goal can be varied. And seldom is a singular voice diverse enough to fill a home
JessHutchinson 12:21pm @HESherman Of course – just pointing out the newest voices in that continuing conversation. Hopefully that topic never leaves us.
HESherman 12:20pm @jamesholod A completely valid point. At one time, I think idea of artistic director as center of institution was even more prevalent.
ASC_Amy 12:20pm Sure, but can produce results & be light-hearted or produce results and be stressed/finding the way @petermarksdrama
RivierePatrick 12:20pm @jamesholod @HESherman True but when you are also FOUNDING the org it is often the artistic director’s vision that drives those early days.
HESherman 12:19pm @JessHutchinson Artistic Home conversations date back to Todd London’s monograph on that topic for TCG some 20 years ago.
LeeLiebeskind 12:19pm @JessHutchinson @HESherman @RivierePatrick and you can’t serve all those masters as well as you would like.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:19pm @LeeLiebeskind it begins with the word! The idea the desire to connect words and thoughts n com those to others. The rest follows
JessHutchinson 12:19pm @HESherman To me your home’s goals need to be paramount. If you’re lucky, there’s great overlap with your own.
LeeLiebeskind 12:19pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson The inclination is to want to lift up many people to your home and expectation from others is also there.
Petermarksdrama 12:19pm @_plainKate_ @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah And at same time, pressure to produce results IMMEDIATELY is intense, no?
Rebcincy 12:19pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama I second that motion!
LeeLiebeskind 12:18pm @halcyontony That’s awesome. Just as Admin there are so many “Help me, help me!” that makes me want to scream back sometimes.
Jamesholod 12:18pm @HESherman I believe that the organization’s vision is greater than artistic director’s vision. Diversity in contributors equals stronger results, but artistic director’s voice is part of that!
Petermarksdrama 12:17pm @kwamekweiarmah I can see that in your play Elmina’s Kitchen. How did @CENTERSTAGE_MD and you first meet up?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:17pm @HESherman I saw Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Tricycle Theatre and it turned my world around. August and Muhammad Ali both walked me into manhood.
RivierePatrick 12:17pm @JessHutchinson @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman So true, and for me, I had to primarily just artistic direct; some writing but mostly grants. 🙂
HESherman 12:17pm @JessHutchinson Devil’s advocate: if you are an artist with a home, shouldn’t you be focusing on pursuing your goals through it?
Jabberjw 12:17pm August Wilson created room for black casts and stories on Broadway. @kwamekweiarmah did same in West End. Must compare.
_plainKate_ 12:16pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah Maybe not, but that idea: it’s process to settle into job of artistic director or managing director, finding one’s groove.
JessHutchinson 12:16pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman There’s been some great discussion @HowlRound on the advantage / responsibility of the artistic home.
ASC_Amy 12:16pm @petermarksdrama Uh oh.
HESherman 12:16pm @petermarksdrama Seductive indeed. All part of how does an artistic director balance own artistic drive with needs of institution & audience.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:16pm @petermarksdrama He showed me on the page and on the stage that you could be proud and define your culture and self through theater .
JessHutchinson 12:16pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman But isn’t it vital that you are responsible to your home, not making it a self-serving place?
LeeLiebeskind 12:15pm @kwamekweiarmah Can you expound on what you mean by writing is leadership? In traditional we understand director as leader.
JessHutchinson 12:15pm @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman @RivierePatrick The challenge there (for me) is the many masters you’re trying to serve – and serve well.
RivierePatrick 12:14pm @HESherman Yes…which is why I had to limit the acting and allow the creating to happen as artistic director, which was very fulfilling.
ASC_Amy 12:14pm @rebcincy I also stopped acting & directing when became managing director; still sing a bit on the side. Been asked if it will come back.
Halcyontony 12:14pm @LeeLiebeskind sure there’s days that happens. Same with anyone. I am way happier than when I was a freelance designer without a home
Petermarksdrama 12:14pm @HESherman I love that–must be hugely seductive, having a home to tackle serious plays.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:14pm @LeeLiebeskind Don’t know but it all feels very natural. Writing is leadership whether we call it that or not.
HESherman 12:13pm @kwamekweiarmah What was the August Wilson influence for you in England? How did it manifest?
Rebcincy 12:13pm When I became managing director, I stopped directing. I couldn’t take the pressure of being responsible for the art AND the money at the same time.
Petermarksdrama 12:13pm Can you say more about that? Was Wilson an inspiration for you? MT @kwamekweiarmah I’m here because of August Wilson.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:12pm @MichaelHHarris @HESherman @halcyontony I agree.
HESherman 12:12pm @petermarksdrama Mark Lamos, when asked if he would leave Hartford, used to say, “Who else would let me do Peer Gynt?”
_plainKate_ 12:12pm @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah Oskar Eustis said to me in second year at The Public that he was ‘about a year from being light-hearted in the job.’
LeeLiebeskind 12:12pm @HESherman @RivierePatrick It is…trust me! Also try running an organization, while having to have a day job and acting/directing/anything.
Jabberjw 12:12pm RT @kwamekweiarmah: have to create a process that allows writing to be just as vital as running the day to day business of theater.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:11pm @petermarksdrama By not thinking it! By not having that attitude in my DNA I’m here because of August Wilson.
ASC_Amy 12:11pm @kwamekweiarmah I love the conviction in that statement. and the acknowledgment that these things take time.
HESherman 12:11pm @RivierePatrick I would think acting is particularly stressful. Performing at night while running organization during day. Like old-time rep!
Theshelternyc 12:11pm @HESherman: Our artistic directors and executive director are also company artists. We find it most important to focus on a collaborative development process.
Petermarksdrama 12:11pm @kwamekweiarmah I would think there’d also be a tendency to say: I get a theater to put on any play of mine I want!
LeeLiebeskind 12:10pm @kwamekweiarmah Also that you have stronger skills to explain and analyze that type of process from having to draft so much?
ASC_Amy 12:10pm @HESherman Then you definitely had a hand in its support and success. I think some discount the creativity that goes into that side.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:10pm @_plainKate_ @HESherman Yes I am trying to create that process. it being my first year I haven’t yet found that rhythm but I will.
Gregreiner 12:10pm Great conversation happening now with @HESherman @petermarksdrama and @kwamekweiarmah.
LeeLiebeskind 12:10pm @kwamekweiarmah That’s interesting. So do you feel you are in a better place to be process oriented rather then product?
HESherman 12:10pm Lurkers, please leap in & join conversation with @kwamekweiarmah.
RivierePatrick 12:09pm @HESherman As an artistic director it was tough to juggle acting/writing; often took a back seat, but it also developed tools/relations for later.
TheShakesForum 12:09pm It’s not like there’s a thousand things to focus on but every moment there’s a new thing I get to explore.
MichaelHHarris 12:08pm @HESherman @halcyontony Lots of joy in creating opportunity for others.
HESherman 12:08pm @ASC_Amy I agree with you, coming from that background. My name isn’t on AVENUE Q, but it was workshopped at O’Neill when I was executive director.
LeeLiebeskind 12:08pm @HESherman @halcyontony But don’t you also find a longing sometimes that you wish others do the same for your creative endeavors?
TheShakesForum 12:08pm I find working on the administration of our company very creative in itself.
Petermarksdrama 12:08pm @kwamekweiarmah And coming from London, how do you avoid the “I’ll show ’em how we really do it in Britain” syndrome?
_plainKate_ 12:07pm @kwamekweiarmah Do you silo your time, so that there is writing time distinct from artistic director time?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:07pm @petermarksdrama No, probably not. I think I’m looking for the playwrights that say the things I do not yet know how to say.
HESherman 12:07pm @halcyontony I’ve heard that before — that there’s an enormous sense of reward in the success of work you’ve brought to your stage
kwamekweiarmah 12:06pm @HESherman Have to create a process that allows writing to be just as vital as running the day to day biz of theater.
ASC_Amy 12:06pm @halcyontony I find that true from the managing director side as well. Creativity comes in all forms.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:06pm @HESherman Yes, I certainly am worried about that. Just finished a new play and had to write it in the cracks as it were.
_plainKate_ 12:06pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah Yes, yes, how are you selecting work? How is it connected to your own writing?
HESherman 12:05pm I see artistic directors who work hard not to focus seasons on own work, and others who plan around what they do personally. How to balance?
LeeLiebeskind 12:05pm @kwamekweiarmah I wonder if you could talk about how your skills as a playwright have been helpful in the task of artistic directing?
Petermarksdrama 12:05pm @kwamekweiarmah Are the choices of what to produce informed in some ways by the content of your own plays?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:05pm @petermarksdrama Not really. I love the idea of being able to develop VOICES period. Like people who think differently to me.
Halcyontony 12:05pm @HESherman For me being an artistic director expanded my notions of what being creative was (i.e. my being creative also includes others’ work).
_plainKate_ 12:05pm @HESherman Will lose some creative time, but paradox also gain since all time will be in theatre.
LeeLiebeskind 12:05pm @HESherman most definitely, trying to help others artistic purists you can often times lose out on your own but very rewarding.
HESherman 12:04pm For those who are currently working artists aspiring to be Artistic Directors, are you concerned about losing creative time when you’re running an organization?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:03pm @HESherman …. meaning most ideas are drafts until someone says it’s good!
_plainKate_ 12:03pm @HESherman I’d think anyone doing the administration of being an artistic director while trying to direct or write has to juggle.
LeeLiebeskind 12:03pm @HESherman Not as an artistic director but still administration. But yes, juggling.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:03pm @HESherman By not sleeping very much. Seriously I’m loving it. I see most decisions I make through the lens of being a playwright.
Petermarksdrama 12:02pm @kwamekweiarmah Are you looking for voices that are simpatico with yours?
HESherman 12:02pm Are there others with us who are juggling their own artistic pursuits with the managerial needs of being an artistic director?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:01pm @dloehr Interesting question. It means that I read all scripts from beginning to end because I’m feel guilty if I don’t.
HESherman 12:01pm @kwamekweiarmah You’re wearing many hats now – playwright, director, artistic director. How do you balance these?
Petermarksdrama 12:00pm @dloehr asks the essential question: how does being a playwright affects your approach to being artistic director?
HESherman 12:00pm Because @dloehr couldn’t wait, we’re underway. And his question to @kwamekweiarmah was a variant of my first question.
DominicDAndrea 11:59am Oooh, this is gonna be good!
Petermarksdrama 11:59am I’m here! Great to have you, Kwame.
Dloehr 11:59am @kwamekweiarmah Early question, since I’m vanishing…how do you think being a playwright affects how you operate as artistic director, as opposed to a director?
When you last saw Peter Marks and me, we were being thoughtful and playful on the stage of Arena’s Stage’s Kogod Cradle (you can watch here on New Play TV), as a result of the impromptu debates that sprang up between us over several months on Twitter. It was clear that there was an appetite for more conversation, and indeed some of our regular Twitter pals who attended the live event were frustrated that they couldn’t just interrupt us at will and, no doubt, might have preferred shorter answers. So Peter and I resolved to continue the conversation, but no longer by accident. The following transcript is from the Twitter dialogue on December 7, our first since the November event at Arena. This conversation included more than two dozen active participants, as well as our invited “special guest” Robert Falls, artistic director of The Goodman Theater in Chicago, arelative newcomer to Twitter.
As before with these transcripts, they are reconstructed to the best of my ability, relying upon participants’ use of the #pmdhes hashtag for tracking. I have cleaned up some common Twitter abbreviations for ease of reading, but I was cautious about converting anything where I wasn’t absolutely sure about meaning; sticklers, as a result, will find some messages that exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit. Retweets of comments within the conversation have mostly been excised. Finally, the transcript is most expediently prepared in reverse chronological order, so you’re advised to jump to the end of this post and then scroll upward for proper continuity.
* * *
Chadbauman 3:42pm Similarly, Rick Lester from @trgarts likes to say that prayer shouldn’t be a marketing strategy.
Danfrmbourque 3:41pm @productionkat I know. They love to retweet you and send out press release stuff, but not much real interaction. Thus I follow few.
Chadbauman 3:40pm A takeaway from the event was @petermarksdrama saying if your business model is based on good reviews, you’re in trouble.
Productionkat 3:38pm @Danfrmbourque I have been suprized at how little theatre do tweet to promote or answer questions
Danfrmbourque 3:36pm @Chadbauman curious as I’ve had theatres tweet at me days after I had mentioned them; a bit funny, like they are in a time warp!
Chadbauman 3:34pm @Danfrmbourque We try our best to be continually staffed, but sometimes that is impossible.
Danfrmbourque 3:32pm @Chadbauman Chad, how regularly is Arena twitter account “Staffed”? Some theatres seem to have accounts live a few hours at a time.
RSTStatusReport 3:32pm @Dloehr And the Tony goes to ………”Bathroom Espionage Stories!”
Petermarksdrama 3:31pm I love what @Klange has gleaned about reviews. And thanks to @Bankyhimself for the hashtag reminder! Can trample my lawn anytime.
Chadbauman 3:31pm @HESherman @RobertFalls201 @petermarksdrama great discussion today guys. Glad I could participate. Thanks for pulling it together!
HESherman 3:31pm @rosalind1600 #pmdhes is PeterMarksDrama & HESherman, since this all started as online debates between us.
HESherman 3:30pm @rststatusreport You’re as young as you tweet!
Dloehr 3:30pm @RSTStatusReport @HESherman The phrase “bathroom espionage stories” alone was worth the price of admission.
HESherman 3:29pm @Chadbauman And in some cases, during.
Chadbauman 3:29pm @HESherman Much easier these days. They’ll tell us on Twitter what they think minutes after a performance.
HESherman 3:28pm @petermarksdrama And the ones who retweet fans messages from people who just want to be retweeted by a celeb.
RSTStatusReport 3:28pm @HESherman I bet there are some good bathroom espionage stories. DO TELL.
Dloehr 3:28pm @RobertFalls201 That #blatantpromotion was with a wink, yes?
HESherman 3:27pm I’m going to sign off. Feel free to keep talking and use #pmdhes, as I’ll create a transcript of all messages with it from this afternoon.
RobertFalls201 3:27pm @HESherman This has been great & int, this new world. Tx 4 questions, comments, confusion. Go see #RED @arenastage #blatantpromotion
Klange 3:27pm @HESherman @RobertFalls201 @petermarksdrama Thanks to all of you!
RSTStatusReport 3:27pm @Chadbauman The fact that I first read “SM” as Stage Manager and not Social Media might be a sign that I’m getting old.
Petermarksdrama 3:26pm @HESherman I also dislike proselytizing celebs who hammer daily at the same political causes. Gotta turn down the volume
HESherman 3:26pm @Chadbauman I remember when I had to send spies into the ladies restroom to listen to conversations to judge reactions. Old times.
SMLois 3:26pm @HESherman @robertfalls201 @petermarksdrama thank you guys for engaging in the conversation.
Walt828 3:26pm @asc_amy: @robertfalls201 Of course. Doesn’t alter the case: 55% of grant funding goes to top 2% of NPOs.
Dloehr 3:25pm @HESherman @RobertFalls201 @petermarksdrama Let’s all do this again sometime. 😉
ASC_Amy 3:25pm @HESherman Thanks for organizing it!
Edenlane 3:25pm Usually my plan too… unless featuring an interview RT @HESherman: @smlois I discuss what I’m going 2 c, not my post-show opinion.
Jfdubiner 3:25pm @Dloehr @ASC_Amy @LindaInPhoenix Me too – expansive opps for communicating dif ideas about same content to dif auds.
Productionkat 3:25pm BRAVO! RT @ASC_Amy: @Walt828 @robertfalls201 We covered 96% of our expenses in October with earned income.
Chadbauman 3:25pm @HESherman I can tell how a show is being received in part these days by SM responses in previews.
HESherman 3:25pm I think we’re slowing down. B4 all fall away, thanks to all of you, and especially @RobertFalls201 for joining the fun.
ASC_Amy 3:25pm @Walt828 @robertfalls201 But if there is one, there are very possibly more & it proves other models are possible.
Dloehr 3:25pm @PirateQueenKate Indeed. I’m actually drafting a post about OccupyDowerApt.
Walt828 3:24pm @asc_amy @robertfalls201 One outlier doesn’t undermine the argument.
Productionkat 3:24pm I found it to b a great 1st connection then larger donation @Klange: @RobertFalls201 @productionkat @HESherman @GoodmanTheatre
PirateQueenKate 3:24pm @Dloehr See my #WDW2011 epic story of Washer/Dryer installation. Danger. Drama. Heartbreak.
HESherman 3:24pm @petermarksdrama Andy Borowitz, John Fugelsang and Albert Brooks are worth a follow.
Klange 3:23pm @RobertFalls201 We are nothing if not trailblazers.
Dloehr 3:23pm @Jfdubiner @ASC_Amy @LindaInPhoenix What really intrigues me is the idea of telling a story that spans all of those forms…
SMLois 3:23pm @HESherman I try to mention most of what I attend before I see it, but if I love it I promote. I never publicly criticize.
HESherman 3:23pm @Chadbauman Twitter is simply the tech amplification of word of mouth. A media for the masses (vs. mass media).
Walt828 3:23pm True. Does it have to be 100%? RT @asc_amy @robertfalls201 I’m not going to repeat our earlier “discussion,” but that isn’t the case
Danfrmbourque 3:23pm @SMLois @Klange If I see a show I usually mention it, every little bit helps. If I really hate something I’m not likely to though
Petermarksdrama 3:22pm @HESherman To answer your question: I followed a lot of well known comedians etc. But a lot of them perform on here. Doesn’t do it for me
SMLois 3:22pm @RobertFalls201 @Chadbauman I suppose it depends on the reviewer. From some a positive review is gold. Others just don’t matter.
ASC_Amy 3:22pm @Walt828 @robertfalls201 We covered 96% of our expenses in October with earned income.
HESherman 3:22pm @smlois I discuss what I’m going 2 c, not my post-show opinion. More interested in promoting theatre than critiquing it publicly.
Chadbauman 3:22pm @RobertFalls201 @SMLois @Klange we’ve had shows get negative reviews and do quite well because of positive word of mouth.
Walt828 3:21pm @robertfalls201 Seems like Baumol and Bowen gave a license.
ASC_Amy 3:21pm @Walt828 @robertfalls201 I’m not going to repeat our earlier “discussion,” but that isn’t the case everywhere.
HESherman 3:21pm @Klange There’s great similarity.
Walt828 3:20pm @robertfalls201 Seems as if the nonprofit model is built on ever-increasing unearned income. Wasn’t always like that, says Ziegler.
Klange 3:20pm @Chadbauman @SMLois right! Cuz, ideally, each aud member has a unique experience across a broad range of tastes. Like attracts like
Dloehr 3:20pm @PirateQueenKate @LindaInPhoenix Different types of stories, to be sure, but a fun challenge nonetheless.
Dloehr 3:19pm @PirateQueenKate @LindaInPhoenix It also allows for fun storytelling–I’ve done it with plays, I’m doing it with #celebbowling.
Klange 3:19pm @SMLois oh, of course not. You act as a curator – not just a mindless booster.
HESherman 3:19pm @lindainphoenix Yes! I can ramble on in my blog posts, and I do. Here it’s about focus and brevity. Headlines, essentially.
Jfdubiner 3:19pm @ASC_Amy @LindaInPhoenix @Dloehr Interesting how forms is defining function as there are more forms – fb, tw, blog, tmblr etc.
Dloehr 3:19pm @HESherman @robertfalls201 Ben has an account, and we joked about it in January. I’d love for him to join in.
JaysenElsky 3:19pm @HESherman Well, I am a youngin, so it really is an exercise. But it came from a real conversation. and, I agree with your hope
Geohunka 3:19pm @HESherman But that’s true of any form of communication. Besides, similarly, you only hear what people want to tell you.
PirateQueenKate 3:18pm @LindaInPhoenix @Dloehr brevity forces clarity. You can’t couch weak ideas in flowery language and obfuscate. short, sweet, simple.
Chadbauman 3:18pm @SMLois @Klange Nothing replaces word of mouth. I’ll take positive word of mouth over neg reviews any day. Trick is to get both.
HESherman 3:18pm @petermarksdrama Yet your corporate overlords would be so proud of you.
Klange 3:18pm @HESherman @robertfalls201 Maybe that’s where #OWS got the idea for the “human microphone.” 😉
Productionkat 3:18pm I look at everyone as potential funders too-
RobertFalls201 3:18pm @Walt828 I hear you and understand. These are issues we’re all grappling with. Large or small, we all need funding.
Klange 3:17pm @RobertFalls201 @productionkat @HESherman @GoodmanTheatre It’s mostly people we met here. Tighter #DCTheatre community sprung up
SMLois 3:17pm @Klange but I’m not going to promote all 150+ shows I see each year.
Dloehr 3:17pm @LindaInPhoenix Exactly. I’m just responding to the idea that these 140 char posts exist independent of any context.
HESherman 3:15pm @geohunka Over time, its sort of remarkable, depending on how much you wish to say publicly.
Petermarksdrama 3:15pm @HESherman I was shilling with a wink.
Petermarksdrama 3:14pm @Walt828 I so agree. And you gotta listen to what people are saying.
HESherman 3:14pm I’d promised @RobertFalls201 a 45 minute conversation. Please stay if you can Bob, but no one will think ill if u must bow out.
Klange 3:14pm @SMLois @petermarksdrama @hesherman I think it’s incredibly important to support other work, too. Word of mouth for plays, etc.
Chadbauman 3:14pm @RobertFalls201 We are putting much more effort into building our own communications infrastructure as well.
RobertFalls201 3:14pm @Klange @productionkat @HESherman I find that so interesting. No funders that I’m aware of at any level following me @GoodmanTheatre
Walt828 3:14pm @robertfalls201 A recent report shows a huge income gap between rich NPO’s and the rest: top 2% get 55% of grant income. Is this fair?
Dloehr 3:14pm Enough with the 140 character thing. It’s the accumulation of conversation that reveals who we are, as with any other medium.
ASC_Amy 3:13pm @geohunka You can reveal your point of view quite easily. Honesty in convo = transparency.
Playwrightsteve 3:13pm @HESherman @Walt828 Control usually equals canned PR messages. But Twitter is best used as a dialogue. Much less control there.
Dloehr 3:13pm @RobertFalls201 People can also follow you on Twitter lists without officially following you, so it may be more people than that.
NicolesNotes 3 :13pm @Walt828 I agree. It’s quite likely that this is why so many companies remain ineffective. There should be format, but flexibility.
HESherman 3:13pm @petermarksdrama Now you’re just shilling. Doesn’t become you.
Petermarksdrama 3:12pm @ddower Critics are assumed to be this, that, other thing. But we’re really just like Soylent Green. Believe it or not, we’re PEOPLE.
HESherman 3:12pm @Walt828 One can control their own message, but not the flow of communication.
Klange 3:12pm @productionkat @HESherman @robertfalls201 We reach a lot of small funders aka followers, but we’re tiny. Haven’t noticed big funders
ASC_Amy 3:12pm @RobertFalls201 I think it has grown in the past hour.
Geohunka 3:12pm How much can you meaningfully reveal in 140 chars? Camaraderie is not transparency
RobertFalls201 3:12pm Not sure what 2 make of having a reg aud of 20K 2 communicate w as a dir but putting lots of energy into comm w/600. (or is it more)
Dloehr 3:12pm @TheTicketMaven If it’s “usually promo 4 org,” I’d say it’s being done wrong. Without engagement, there’s little point in following.
HESherman 3:11pm @petermarksdrama What celebs WERE you following? Do tell! Inquiring minds want to know!
SMLois 3:11pm @petermarksdrama @hesherman I’ve also stopped following anyone who only pushes their own work and doesn’t converse.
ASC_Amy 3:11pm @TheTicketMaven Actually only about 30% of my time on Twitter is promo for my org.
Walt828 3:10pm Seems to me that to participate in Twitter you have to be willing to reveal. If you want to control the message, it won’t work.
RobertFalls201 3:10pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman @jenniferehle Depends on the celeb. I find it interesting to get to know them without PR protection shield.
HESherman 3:10pm @danfrmbourque Yes, comments devoid of context can be tricky. Also sort of amazed by folks making off-color jokes here.
TheTicketMaven 3:10pm So social media is two-fold…usually promo for org but growth for the employee participating.
ASC_Amy 3:10pm @RSTStatusReport @JaysenElsky @Dloehr Indeed. *digs in heels at Shakespeare theatre*
Dloehr 3:09pm @JaysenElsky Probably not. There’s always room for verbosity, or for a Mametian scene of nothing but one to two words back & forth.
RSTStatusReport 3:09pm @JaysenElsky @Dloehr Gosh, I hope not. I’d like to think there’s still a place in the world for flowery language.
HESherman 3:09pm @jaysenelsky Seems like a formal exercise to me. But IMHO, fad, not future (I hope).
Petermarksdrama 3:09pm @HESherman I’ve stopped following all celebs/famous actors (except @jenniferehle because she’s so charming) don’t learn anything
Danfrmbourque 3:08pm Twitter can be intimidating because so little room for context, Always careful when replying to those I don’t know because of that
Ddower 3:08pm @HESherman I’ve learned a lot from watching what you’re learning, @petermarksdrama. Bunches about what we assume critics know/feel.
Dloehr 3:08pm @HESherman @morydd The real trick is focus. The is well-focused because of time. The #2amt stream is more freeform & always on.
Productionkat 3:07pm We have done twitter fundraisers! 🙂 RT @HESherman: @robertfalls201 Have you found any funders who are actually engaging on Twitter?
HESherman 3:07pm @petermarksdrama U still have vast audience if using print. Unless u say something inflammatory online, @washingtonpost best soapbox
Petermarksdrama 3:07pm @HESherman @robertfalls201 I’ve found it wildly useful for background, for trends, for shows+writers I didn’t know about
BankyHimself 3:07pm As someone who’s hung with @Dloehr in person, I’ll attest to his real-life “bounciness.”
Dloehr 3:07pm @ASC_Amy @morydd It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the stream. That’s why the #2amt site’s there, to distill or spark conversation.
JaysenElsky 3:07pm @Dloehr On true intimacy in 140 characters. Funny. working on a one act with dialogue entirely in 1-2 words. The future?
HESherman 3:06pm @morydd I’ve used the firehose analogy as well. And this sort of Twitter gang conversation can be even trickier.
BankyHimself 3:06pm Do these great minds sit around all day and think about theatre? No, sometimes they’re on the couch watching Breaking Bad too.
MariselaTOrta 3:06pm @JaysenElsky @HESherman @robertfalls201 Listening aka lurking is also 1st level of engagement. Participating will likely follow
Petermarksdrama 3:05pm @SMLois I see.
BankyHimself 3:05pm Getting 2 know the person-side @RobertFalls201 who’s work I’ve studied/d admired , has helped encourage me as a young artist.
HESherman 3:05pm @robertfalls201 @petermarksdrama Yet Peter says he has new perceptions from Twitter. If participation adds value with critics…
Klange 3:05pm @Dloehr @petermarksdrama I can attest to that.
Petermarksdrama 3:04pm @RobertFalls201 I’ve been told by PR people who advise, don’t respond to a critic, cause they have last word! (Not true anymore!)
Michaeldove 3:04pm @HESherman Opening up the process and sharing the experience is so key to Forum. Can’t think of it any other way-just feels natural
ASC_Amy 3:04pm @morydd I sometimes have to take 15 minute “twitter breaks” from my regular work, with timer and everything.
SMLois 3:04pm @petermarksdrama don’t want any revelations of behind the scenes activity or anything implying I’d work on days off
Dloehr 3:04pm @petermarksdrama But in person, I’m very much the same as here–bouncy, usually ready with a joke, ready to engage.
HESherman 3:04pm @asc_amy Focus groups can be misleading in many cases, but absolutely, the self-selection of SM holds perils
JaysenElsky 3:04pm @HESherman @robertfalls201 I think people lurk because they are afraid they have nothing to add
Morydd 3:03pm @HESherman I also find following the #2amt much like drinking from a firehose. Hard to stay on top of convo and get other work done.
Dloehr 3:03pm @mlaffs Man’s a good hugger, what can I say?
HESherman 3:03pm @robertfalls201 I RT’d stories re MOTHER WITH THE HAT in Hartford, but didn’t offer personal comment due to possible perception of conflict of interest
ASC_Amy 3:03pm @LindaInPhoenix @HESherman *zing*
Dloehr 3:03pm @petermarksdrama …explain why I’d be vanishing for a few days in October.
Mlaffs 3:02pm @Dloehr that bromance with @travisbedard is legen- *and i hope you’re not lactose intolerant* -dairy
LindaInPhoenix 3:02pm @HESherman Maybe when I teach arts management next year…
Dloehr 3:02pm @petermarksdrama …there’s a lot I don’t share. I kept very quiet about my mother this fall, for instance, only blogging to…
RobertFalls201 3:02pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman @HESherman MORE?? No. I have enough critics in my life!
Petermarksdrama 3:02pm @SMLois @HESherman @michaeldove Lois, what is the distinction? Why some ask you to stop?
Dloehr 3:02pm @petermarksdrama Indeed. And I’ll admit, there are certain aspects I highlight, others I downplay. As open & silly as I am here…
ASC_Amy 3:01pm @HESherman You have a very self-selected focus group on social media, have to be careful of drawing conclusions.
Petermarksdrama 3:01pm @Dloehr It’s extraordinary how much you DO get the essence of the person on twitter. Also, we all start w/common habit
ASC_Amy 3:00pm @TheTicketMaven Yes, only about 5% of my interaction is with our patrons.
RobertFalls201 3:00pm @morydd @HESherman V true. I follow discussions re: MOTHER WITH THE HAT, tweeting in theaters, etc etc, but have nothing to say to jump in
RSTStatusReport 3:00pm @playwrightsteve Exactly. Also good way to make connections. I’ve met several playwrights through Twitter conversations.
Seanjbryan 3:00pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama 98% of the people I know in the US I met through an online platform of some kind
HESherman 3:00pm @RobertFalls201 Are there things you would like to learn from people via social media, as opposed to audience surveys?
TheTicketMaven 3:00pm Many want the convo to be with the patron and that isn’t always the case.
Petermarksdrama 3:00pm @HESherman @RobertFalls201 Bob, do you have a desire for more contact with critics??? Or is that secondary?
Mlaffs 2:59pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy some folks are unable to think big and grasp implications of the nebulous internet
LindaInPhoenix 2:59pm (it helped that social media was a topic)
Mlaffs 2:59pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy @LindaInPhoenix i think case studies/ROI helps focus the convo to concrete benefit to org.
LindaInPhoenix 2:59pm Half our speakers series this year was built on connections made initially via twitter
Michaeldove 2:59pm @MariselaTOrta @hesherman And did you get any pushback on that?
HESherman 2:58pm @morydd Didn’t mean to suggest all lurkers are reticent. You point is well taken. See, danger of very brief statements!
ASC_Amy 2:58pm @playwrightsteve the @pewresearch folks have found the same thing in their studies.
Mlaffs 2:58pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy good points, but convincing technophobes brings up the question of Return on Investment. I use case studies & consumer data
Petermarksdrama 2:58pm @Dloehr @Klange @ASC_Amy I don’t pretend that we’re 1 big happy fam. But hearing voices as passionate about theatre as mine helps in job
Dloehr 2:58pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama Like with us, for example. 🙂
Playwrightsteve 2:58pm Doesn’t decrease human interaction. Social media helps me keep contact w/ people with whom I otherwise would have NO contact
Dloehr 2:58pm @petermarksdrama But meeting in person? All the awkward getting-to-know-you-ness drops away. Never ceases to amaze me.
HESherman 2:58pm I have made more new real-world friends via social media of late than through just “meeting” people. Just had lunch with @nestruck.
GwydionS 2:58pm @asc_amy @Dloehr I would never have met either of you without Twitter.
Ddower 2:57pm MT @HESherman Yes. Our communication department @arenastage created it. But atop that you also have the Institute, with different rules of engagement.
SMLois 2:57pm @HESherman @michaeldove I’ve had companies ask me to stop tweeting about our work while others pay me extra to run their account
MariselaTOrta 2:57pm @HESherman @michaeldove “no social media” in artist contract–I blog my writing process. That wldn’t work for me
Dloehr 2:57pm @petermarksdrama Amen. I’ve never seen it as a replacement for human interaction, which is the other criticism I’ve heard.
Playwrightsteve 2:57pm @ASC_Amy Okay. So, we shared a brain just then.
Ddower 2:57pm Interesting discussion at #pmdhes re: critics, artists, and Twitter. Join in now, or read and respond later.
Playwrightsteve 2:56pm @petermarksdrama @Dloehr And Twitter leads to opportunities for 1-on-1 face time that would not have occurred otherwise
ASC_Amy 2:56pm @petermarksdrama @Dloehr Twitter has actually increased my one-to-one face time with folks I wouldn’t otherwise have met.
HESherman 2:56pm @mlaffs Is ROI the be all and end all? Isn’t a great deal of the benefit qualitative, not quantitative?
Morydd 2:56pm @HESherman Not all lurkers are afraid of the interaction. I don’t join into every conversation I listen to in real life either.
Petermarksdrama 2:56pm @Dloehr agreed–it’s not perfect, and not really a sub for one-to-one face time. But ppl who poopoo it usually don’t try to do it
HESherman 2:55pm @Chadbauman Have @arenastage social media policies had to evolve as mass acceptance of form has grown so rapidly?
Jfdubiner 2:55pm @HESherman That’s a hard pill for an old #dramaturg to swallow…
Dloehr 2:55pm @petermarksdrama @Klange @ASC_Amy My wife was dubious until she saw how much fun I was having with @travisbedard & his ilk.
Michaeldove 2:55pm @HESherman No mentioning of the show, that is, good or bad.
SMLois 2:55pm @Dloehr @petermarksdrama which is why it has to be a conversation.
RobertFalls201 2:55pm Yes. I think there is a danger of too much Twitter. Distracts f/the silence I need as an artist vs. noise I require as a producer
HESherman 2:54pm @michaeldove ‘No social media’ in artist contracts sounds like a 1st amendment violation to me. Likely unenforceable.
Dloehr 2:54pm @Klange @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama What’d y’all have for lunch? (ducks from the brickbats)
Chadbauman 2:54pm @HESherman @ddower Arena adopted social media guidelines in 2009.
Mlaffs 2:54pm @Dloehr @petermarksdrama also arts orgs are overworked – they see it as *another* time-suck/commitment/resource-stretcher
Klange 2:54pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy Lol. It does take time, but the convo here has definitely led to increased collaboration in #dcTheatre
Petermarksdrama 2:54pm @RobertFalls201 It’s easier transaction with you Bob because I admire your work. But as you said in an early tweet, you’re a “big boy” – I think so am I
Playwrightsteve 2:54pm @Dloehr @petermarksdrama What is the character threshold on “true intimacy” anyway?
Dloehr 2:54pm @petermarksdrama And my answer is, it’s not possible in a single face-to-face sentence, either.
HESherman 2:53pm I remain amazed I’m so fluent on twitter. As I often joke, in person I have trouble says ‘hello’ in 140 characters.
Dloehr 2:53pm @petermarksdrama I’ve gotten the “true intimacy isn’t possible in 140 chars” line before from people who don’t like twitter.
Mlaffs 2:53pm @ASC_Amy @SMLois @petermarksdrama i’ve made a point of speaking 2 ROI & strategy to help people understand how it can be a benefit
ASC_Amy 2:53pm @michaeldove I posted them on my blog (pls ignore the time lapse since my last post)
HESherman 2:53pm @Jfdubiner Accepting that bad grammar & punctuation is OK, boiling thoughts down to briefest essence is new way to think
LindaInPhoenix 2:53pm thought it would be a great way to interact w/ students, but only a handful follow.
Danfrmbourque 2:52pm Twitter really breaks down walls between artists and critics. Casual, deceptively simple it encourages small talk and then bigger
Petermarksdrama 2:52pm @Klange @ASC_Amy My wife says “You’re twittering your life away.” Makes me feel guilty!
SMLois 2:52pm @petermarksdrama @asc_amy and the meaty discussion tends to come from the same small percentage of users
Dloehr 2:52pm @petermarksdrama I think people are afraid also because they don’t realize how much like regular conversation it is.
HESherman 2:52pm @ddower Is there a social media policy in place @arenastage regarding content? Who created it?
Jfdubiner 2:52pm @RSTStatusReport @petermarksdrama Is that still true? Or is it hard to bend old ideas of community engagement to new definition of comm?
Ddower 2:52pm One of fastest changes underway in this sector is the move from controlled messaging/access to transparency. Twitter works there.
Petermarksdrama 2:52pm @RSTStatusReport I think that’s very true
RobertFalls201 2:52pm @petermarksdrama Interesting. Some critics want NO contact with people they’re reviewing; does having this contact compromise or assist?
HESherman 2:51pm @theticketmaven But that’s fine. You’re interested. Maybe you’ll join in, if not today, another time.
Michaeldove 2:51pm @ASC_Amy @ddower @robertfalls201 @hesherman @shakespearectr What kind of guidelines, if you can share?
Klange 2:51pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama Many view it as trifling chats on reality TV/sports/whatever. I know it to be a place for real connection
Petermarksdrama 2:51pm @ASC_Amy @SMLois It is a time-suck, no doubt. + I find the meaty discussion crowds out the promotion, so u have to wanna TALK
Dloehr 2:51pm @Jfdubiner @petermarksdrama It’s almost like a haiku.
HESherman 2:51pm @robertfalls201 Absolutely people lurk, but term is pejorative. Many not bold enough to engage with strong personalities at times.
TheTicketMaven 2:50pm @RobertFalls201 I’m lurking right now
ASC_Amy 2:50pm @ddower @RobertFalls201 @HESherman Indeed. It took official social media guidelines to get everyone at @shakespearectr comfortable.
RSTStatusReport 2:50pm @petermarksdrama Maybe some folks feel more comfortable in a bubble? Engagement with larger community could shatter preconceptions.
HESherman 2:50pm @robertfalls201 I refer to social media as the earliest days of radio or TV. Still so new. Constantly evolving.
Ddower 2:50pm @RobertFalls201 @HESherman And it takes courage for an institution to allow the individual voice. So staffers, like me, walk a line.
Jfdubiner 2:49pm @petermarksdrama As someone new to twittering, the form itself is hard. Like being a transfer student in a foreign language.
Dloehr 2:49pm @petermarksdrama This is after taking me to the airport, asking, “Why are you going to DC? Arena Stage invited you to what? Why?”
HESherman 2:49pm @petermarksdrama Yet its a subset of theatre folks who a) are on social media and b) who you choose to “hear.” Not general public.
Dloehr 2:49pm @petermarksdrama Took two years and the wave of 2amt to get my AD on here, since he realized he should see what I was doing.
RobertFalls201 2:49pm @petermarksdrama I have more than 600 followers BUT only interact w/5%. Think most people are “lurkers” and afraid 2 participate.
SMLois 2:48pm @petermarksdrama many companies I work with see twitter as waste of time with no clear Return on Investment
ASC_Amy 2:48pm @petermarksdrama Everyone I talk to fear the possible time suck, don’t understand the possibilities.
Petermarksdrama 2:48pm @RobertFalls201 Your passion comes thru. Our engagement is esp interesting, Bob, ’cause I’m going 2 see your work in DC soon.
Edenlane 2:48pm @HESherman Funders / Underwriters are asking about all of our social media presence to measure the reach of their support
RobertFalls201 2:48pm @HESherman It all feels a bit like the Wild West. Uncharted.
HESherman 2:48pm @brookem1109 Brooke, Brooke, Brooke. Priorities, young lady, priorities. But I guess getting @petermarksdrama good seat is vital.
Petermarksdrama 2:47pm My question is, what limits Twitter in many theatre people’s minds? Why aren’t they flooding the platform?
Klange 2:47pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @PirateQueenKate Thank you! I can only strive to get better & take what I can from each piece of feedback
HESherman 2:47pm @lindainphoenix So many people assume retweets or “curated” content is something you agree with; don’t get it may b just for convo
ASC_Amy 2:47pm @HESherman I’ve seen funders in other nonprofit areas mostly. Although a couple arts funders out of Chicago.
RobertFalls201 2:46pm In my profile, I say I’m intensely political & have no fear of exposing opinions. Want to opine re: arts, politics, pop culture…
HESherman 2:46pm @robertfalls201 Have you found any funders who are actually engaging on Twitter? Maybe that’s the next piece of the puzzle.
Petermarksdrama 2:46pm @Klange @ASC_Amy @PirateQueenKate Karen, Your responses to the post review on here were smart, not emotional.
ASC_Amy 2:46pm @HESherman @moorejohn I first really engaged with Twitter during my two months of unemployment. Huge to have a community.
BrookeM1109 2:45pm Want to follow convo but must finish press night seating #Tessitorture #Procrastination
Dloehr 2:45pm @RobertFalls201 @HESherman In the past, I’ve compared it to a global MST3K experience and/or a virtual Algonquin Round Table.
HESherman 2:45pm @moorejohn As someone who’s consulting and doesn’t have regular daily gig, Twitter keeps me engaged with theatre community
PirateQueenKate 2:45pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama Yes, the theater wasn’t willing to admit shows were weak, easier to ban reviews from green room.
Petermarksdrama 2:44pm @Jfdubiner @moorejohn for me, absolutely. I have far more context about what audiences and theater folks are interested in
Dloehr 2:44pm @HESherman Indeed. Hopefully we can act as a gateway for them. (I’ll happily recreate Bob & Ray routines at the drop of a hat.)
HESherman 2:44pm @robertfalls201 At the same time, I feel like I’m playing to an audience at times, with hashtag games and blog promos
ASC_Amy 2:44pm @Klange Indeed. Have faith in your vision and acknowledge there are different tastes/perspectives.
RobertFalls201 2:43pm @HESherman I agree & have come 2 learn that. Always a line 2 walk b/c institution = critics, funders, auds.
Rosalind1600 2:43pm @Jfdubiner @HESherman @petermarksdrama But agree with Peter Marks on no politics. Plenty of other venues for that — like work.
HESherman 2:43pm @robertfalls201 To me, it’s like having a whole bunch of pen pals all at once, with instantaneous response
Klange 2:43pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama @PirateQueenKate Or see one bad review as a referendum on your project/worth. One has to get past that
Rosalind1600 2:43pm @Jfdubiner @HESherman @petermarksdrama I don’t mind talking only about theater. But other arts/culture interesting to discuss too.
LindaInPhoenix 2:43pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama I’m in a similar boat re political comments, but am comfortable posting political content w/o comment
HESherman 2:42pm @Dloehr Yet we talk about Tom Lehrer and Bob & Ray, and probably lots of our followers have no frame of reference
HESherman 2:42pm @petermarksdrama Save for weighing in on current #GOPmuppethearings, I am apolitical on social media, except for arts policy
Jfdubiner 2:42pm @moorejohn @petermarksdrama Has getting to know audience/artists changed the way you write about the work?
ASC_Amy 2:42pm @petermarksdrama @PirateQueenKate I see it happen when folks don’t take control of their own destinies and blame others for failures
Moorejohn 2:42pm @HESherman Honestly it’s so raw, I haven’t wrapped my head around that it’s over. I took the buyout and had to be gone in 24 hours
SMLois 2:41pm @petermarksdrama @hesherman @robertfalls201don I know some critics who feel it is a conflict of interests to get to know artists.
RobertFalls201 2:41pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama One does form common community w Twitter…find people around you with shared interests include info AND entertainment value
Petermarksdrama 2:40pm @PirateQueenKate Fascinating to hear theaters “demonize” critics. What the heck is that about?
Edenlane 2:40pm @moorejohn True for our broadcast too… & the back channel can drive our content at times
Moorejohn 2:40pm @HESherman I was seen as just a guy, not some cliched monster. People felt comfortable approaching me in theaters, and I welcomed it
ASC_Amy 2:40pm @petermarksdrama I’m the same way. I’ll comment about a lot, but not politics or religion.
HESherman 2:39pm @moorejohn So what’s your feeling about continuing now that you’re leaving the paper? Do you still want this presence?
Jfdubiner 2:39pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama I want to hear about other interests/concerns/opinions. Talking only about theater gets boring.
Petermarksdrama 2:39pm @HESherman @RobertFalls201don’t feel comfortable, e.g., commenting on political issues the way theatre people do on here. Journalist in me
Dloehr 2:39pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @RobertFalls201 …such as a common love of Tom Lehrer or Bob & Ray, for instance.
Michaeldove 2:39pm RT @SMLois: I think candid but careful might be the twitter motto for working professionals
RobertFalls201 2:39pm @petermarksdrama Correct. Tricky to be both leader of an institution and individual artist. But that’s always an issue for me.
HESherman 2:38pm @smlois Sort of the artistic Twitter version of “Trust, but verify”? 😉
Dloehr 2:38pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @RobertFalls201 What’s fascinating to me is finding those common interests beyond theatre…
Moorejohn 2:38pm @HESherman Plus, social media connected me with new readers who didn’t buy my paper and never would’ve found me. Total game-changer
RobertFalls201 2:38pm @HESherman @TheWing I too was urged by PR/Devo 2 blog about #RED. Found interesting to some but don’t want to just promote, want more
PirateQueenKate 2:38pm Before Twitter, theaters could “demonize” a critic because the review was their only voice, now it can be contextualized more & discussed
HESherman 2:38pm @petermarksdrama That’s an interesting point. We may start here given common interest in theatre, but how far beyond should we go?
Edenlane 2:37pm GR8 rule of thumb RT @SMLois: I think candid but careful might be the twitter motto for working professionals
HESherman 2:36pm @moorejohn How did social media change your image John? (and please hashtag all messages to be sure they’re seen)
Petermarksdrama 2:36pm @RobertFalls201 To me, Bob, it seems to have allowed you to open up on a variety of topics, not just theater…
SMLois 2:36pm I think candid but careful might be the twitter motto for working professional
Klange 2:36pm @PirateQueenKate @petermarksdrama Agreed. I’m no longer terrified of critics. I’ll take my lumps, but love the conversation
HESherman 2:36pm RT @moorejohn: I was pretty much a presumed stereotype till people got to know me on social media.
HESherman 2:35pm I first got involved in Tweeting and blogging at insistent urging of @TheWing’s Dir. of Web Development
Dloehr 2:35pm @GwydionS Is it supposed to be different?
HESherman 2:35pm @robertfalls201 Are you on Twitter at staff’s urging, personal interest, or what motivated you?
PirateQueenKate 2:34pm I feel that @petermarksdrama is more accessible & now more someone I’d like to meet in person thanks to his tweets, not so before
Edenlane 2:33pm great connection tool
RobertFalls201 2:33pm Yes, got in trouble 1st wk (Should’ve used DM; in supporting colleagues, alienated others) Have had to learn 2 B candid but careful
HESherman 2:33pm @petermarksdrama Same question does for you – are you engaging with people you didn’t know or didn’t expect (besides me)?
HESherman 2:32pm @robertfalls201 So are you meeting new folks or connection with people you already knew professionally?
MariselaTOrta 2:32pm @RobertFalls201 Who then do you find yourself talking to?
GwydionS 2:31pm The fifth question: why is this Twitter chat different than all other Twitter chats? (Had to ask.)
“Mr. Roth,” the tweet went, “What kind of system is needed to feed the truly great theatre all over America to Broadway?”
Until I saw that, I had no intention of writing a semi-sequel to my blog post of last week, “This Blog is Prior to Broadway.” But despite the fact that I am not Jordan Roth of Jujamcyn Theatres, for whom the original tweet was intended, I feel compelled to put in my two cents on this topic, since I began working in American not-for-profit theatres in 1983, during my junior year of college, and have spent the past seven years in the Broadway environs as head of the American Theatre Wing.
There’s no question that despite all rational arguments, resident theatres dream of getting a show to Broadway and having it become a big hit. The dream was instilled in the hearts of many when Arena’s Stage’s production of The Great White Hope was, by general assent, the first show to make the journey from a regional production to a Broadway landmark. It is a trip that has been made many times, both successfully and unsuccessfully. In my own experience, I have had the opportunity to see three plays on which I worked and dearly loved (and several others less adored) make the journey to New York (one to Off-Broadway) with varying degrees of success: Our Country’s Good (critical success but commercial failure), Marvin’s Room (critical hit, and I don’t actually know how it did commercially), and Stand-Up Tragedy (critically lambasted and a fast flop).
Since last week I elucidated the reasons why I worry about theatres that dream of and promote shows as prior to Broadway, let me more directly address the idea of regular berths on Broadway (or even in New York) for regional productions.
1. It’s been tried before. Not that prior failure negates future success, but I can think of two efforts that were particularly friendly to shows from resident companies, and neither lasted.
In 1985, the Joyce Theatre Foundation hosted a summer series, the American Theatre Exchange Festival, of regional shows, each with a four-week run: Season’s Greetingsfrom The Alley, Faulkner’s Bicycle from Yale Rep, and In The Belly of the Beast from the Mark Taper Forum. Interestingly, when I mentioned this festival recently to Cora Cahan, who ran the Joyce at the time, her response was one of surprise; I believe she said she’d forgotten about it. But she elucidated on some reasons why it didn’t work, which I’ll fold into my thoughts herein. (You can hear her on this edition of Downstage Center. )
In the early 90s, there was a plan created called The Broadway Alliance, which was designed to reduce the cost threshold which might be keeping certain works from Broadway. Only four shows were ever produced under this plan, which had achieved concessions from all of the unions but also capped a show’s capitalization in order to qualify; to my recollection, the limit was $400,000. The two regional shows that did make it to Broadway under this plan were the aforementioned production of Our Country’s Good, from Hartford Stage, and The Speed of Darkness, from the Goodman. The former ran for 48 regular performances, the latter for 36. Skimping doesn’t make for success on Broadway.
In addition, a stand-alone project seeking a downtown berth, designed to import productions from resident theatres, the American National Theatre, was trumpeted by the New York Times in September 2003 as a $170 million, three-theatre project in lower Manhattan. More than seven years later, there is no such building nor to my knowledge has the organization behind it imported any productions.
2. The theatres are full. Even though we’re just weeks from the annual spate of January closings, which every year is bemoaned as a sign that Broadway is unsound, as if such mass closings had never happened before, those theatres will be filled again by April. If any of those shows opt to not go forward, there’s probably a backup booking for every single theatre, and in some cases, backups to the backups. This is not the 1980s, when we saw the Mark Hellinger sold to become a church, and owning theatres is, in part, a real estate business. No one rents space cheaply when demand is high, and no one is likely to be charitable when there’s money to be made.
3. There are already resident theatres on Broadway. While the term regional doesn’t apply, we now have three not-for-profit companies, operating on LORT contracts, with their own Broadway houses: Roundabout with three and Manhattan Theatre Club and Lincoln Center Theatre with one each (LCT also frequently rents Broadway houses when the Beaumont has a long-runner on its stage, such as South Pacific); Second Stage is slated to join that cohort soon. Combine the output of those three theatres with shows that start Off-Broadway in not-for-profits and then make the move onto the Great White Way (a journey pioneered with great success by The Public Theatre with A Chorus Line and sustained today by a plethora of shows from The Public alone), and the kind of work that regionals/not-for-profits do around the country is hardly alien to Broadway. Further, with short-run, often star-led limited runs of works by such resident staples as Mamet, Williams and Miller, it’s hard to say that there’s a notable distinction between the kind of work seen in major regional productions or on Broadway, save for the big musicals.
4. Press and Producers Rarely Travel. To get a regional show to Broadway, one must find a producer who wants to champion the show and take it on as a major commitment. Unfortunately, producers aren’t flying to theatres around the country constantly checking out every possible new play and revival for their next Broadway success. And unless you’re in a major city and you have a preponderance of positive reviews by long established critics (whose numbers are in decline), your own entreaties aren’t likely to cause anyone to jump on a plane unless you already have a relationship with them.
As for “national press” discovering your work and bringing it to the attention of New York bound producers, your only real option is luring The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout to see your show (and Terry regularly publishes his guidelines for what he’s likely to be interested in). While The New York Times ventures out of town on occasion (though most frequently to the Berkshires, Chicago or London, it seems), it’s rare even for the country’s largest newspaper, USA Today, to see work outside of New York; attention from television and radio is even rarer. There are many reasons for this, but as old-line mass media is fighting for its own place in the American consciousness, covering regional theatre is not a key point in their strategy, and thus a one-time tool is blunted. Internet-based writing has yet to achieve the same level of influence.
5. Broadway is really expensive. With plays costing between $2 and $3 million dollars to produce, and musicals typically ranging from $6 to $18 million (Spider-Man is an outlier), quality is not enough. There are indeed great plays, new and classic, produced around the country, but do they have enough inherent appeal to draw between six thousand and twelve thousand theatergoers on a consistent weekly basis long enough to recoup the investment that goes into bringing them to Broadway? A smash hit resident run in a large house might drawn 20 to 30 thousand audience members; that equals roughly three weeks on Broadway.
6. Planning for a regional hit is really hard. Frankly, we rarely (if ever) know what will be a hit on our own stages, let alone on Broadway. Until productions are up and running, there can be no judgment, and since Broadway theatres aren’t sitting idle, and even a New York not-for-profit can’t afford to hold slots open while waiting for a regional success to crop up, planning a New York stage schedule around what may come to pass is problematic, under commercial or non-commercial producing guidelines. In addition, runs are fairly short at resident companies, so there’s very little time to get the word out once you’re sure you do have something particularly noteworthy on your stage.
I could go on, with my brutal tough love for you all. And no one should misconstrue anything I’ve said as being anti-Broadway. I’ve repeatedly confessed to the thrill it has given me in the past, and I have seen extraordinary work there. It continues to be a magnet for major talent, who like many of you, have been seduced by the Lullaby of Broadway. And on occasion, it has provided windfalls of publicity, pride and money for not-for-profit resident companies whose work has made the trip there successfully.
So if Broadway is still your desire, let me speak to things you might consider, and explore, in order to make the trip.
A. Are you on mission? Many theatres around the country include in their mission statements phrases like “create theatre of a national stature” or “contribute to the national repertoire.” These are admirable, but presumably they are preceded, both in order of appearance and priority by a phrase about “serving their local community” or some defined constituency therein. So before you set your sights on Broadway, make sure your board of directors or trustees are truly behind any effort in that direction but with measured expectations of success, lest you find that your Broadway dreams undermine your relationship with your core audience, which must sustain you whether you produce the next Rent or the next Bobbi Boland.
B. Is the show likely to engage the hearts and minds of the New York press and theatre cognoscenti? There are plenty of shows that are brilliantly suited to regional theatres, and please audiences enormously, but simply don’t have the style or subject that’s likely to get past the gatekeepers of opinion in The Big Apple. That’s no insult to the work, your company or your audience, and their success on your stages are a testament to the perceptiveness of your artistic staff. But be brutal about whether the piece can compete in the crowded and often elitist New York marketplace, even though work on Broadway has to appeal to the largest possible audience. Yes, it’s a paradox, and it’s hard to judge your own work dispassionately, but it’s a necessity.
Also, in the case of revivals, check to see when the show you’re hoping to move was last on Broadway. It’s been roughly 25 years since Broadway last saw The Merchant of Venice, but the current one has Al Pacino and the last one had Dustin Hoffman. You’re not likely to land your Merchant on Broadway anytime soon, since America, unlike England, seems to think we can only have great plays in our commercial venues (or even in New York) every 10 to 20 years, instead of annually.
C. Take on commercial partners. I wrote last week about the double-edged sword of producing shows at your theatre that already have been optioned commercially, so I won’t rehash it, except to say that there are plenty of commercial producers seeking berths on resident stages in order to try out work or get it on its feet more economically. I refer you first back to item A above, and then, if the work itself (not the prospect of Broadway glory or the hope of enhancement money) truly appeals, make your decision accordingly. But don’t rent your stage to the highest bidder, and be sure you do full due diligence on the background of any prospective partner before you figuratively get into bed with them.
D. Find a New York or tri-state area not-for-profit with whom you can partner.Unless you are going to self-produce, the challenge outlined above in item 4 is significantly mitigated if you get the show closer to New York so it becomes easier for “the right people” to see it. Shows frequently play Off-Broadway or even Off-Off-Broadway and then are moved to Broadway when the New York press embrace them.Avenue Q didn’t leap from the barn at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center to Broadway; it came to New York first as a co-production of The Vineyard Theatre and The New Group (though in that case, there were commercial producers behind it all along).Marvin’s Room had been acclaimed in Chicago, but had no legs until the New York Times saw it at Hartford, after which it went to Playwrights Horizons and then to a commercial Off-Broadway run; Wit had a comparable experience as it went from South Coast Rep to a wholly separate production at Long Wharf, which in turn went to MCC Theatre and then to the Union Square and a Pulitzer Prize.
Don’t be afraid to share your show with other not-for-profits to give it a chance at a New York berth. You’ll get reviews to bring back home regardless of the ultimate outcome, and your risk will be vastly less.
E. Do it yourself. I’m personally not keen on this, but if you live in a large enough community, you might just be able to stir up enough local pride and money to raise funds to produce a show in New York on your own. Let’s remember, there may be plenty of folks who loved the show on your stage who believe it should reach a wider audience, and may pull out money to support such an effort that they might not have donated to you, since with a commercial production, there’s at least the prospect of financial gain. After all, these are the people who saw the effect the show had in your theatre. But if you choose this route, be very careful that you make no promises of success or return, and indeed are bluntly honest about the prospect of financial success for any Broadway show; that should commit to future donations even if the commercial effort fails. You don’t want these people abandoning you altogether if the trip to Broadway goes sour.
In addition, unless you have key staff with prior Broadway experience of note, hire highly recommended people to run the production for you in New York. A not-for-profit artistic or managing director may be brilliant in that context, but if they aren’t experienced commercial hands, this is not the time to afford them on-the-job training.
Broadway is our Field of Dreams; there’s no denying it, and it’s great to have an icon that makes the idea of American theatre an international beacon. But Broadway cannot, and never really has, represented every type of theatre, and in a country as large as ours, why should we restrict our imaginations to 40 theatres in Manhattan? We are a very large country geographically, politically, economically and aesthetically. Our literally hundreds of theatre companies and thousands upon thousands of theatre artists do themselves a disservice if they measure success by a single metric.
There are periodic calls for a National Theatre for the United States, but to make (or to allow) a single venue to carry that imprimatur is even narrower than Broadway dreams. All theatre in America, commercial or not-for-profit, is our national theatre and success on Broadway should be no more or less legitimate an achievement than success on any stage. I am as proud to have been part of shows that never reached Broadway and played to perhaps 18,000 people in Hartford CT as I am of shows that went to New York and died a quick death, or those that made the same trip and have subsequently been produced across the country.
But please, make theatre for your audience first and foremost, support the work of artists less known than those who intermittently reach Broadway; that’s what resident theatre, and presumably your company, was founded to do. And if your work makes it to Broadway (or Los Angeles or Seattle or Chicago or…), I hope I get the opportunity to see it, and I look forward to applauding it.
