Thunder Ridge Nature Arena’s Post

Continually facinated by this ongoing story. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's successful $78 million fundraising effort for its expansion and renovation project contrasts sharply with the broader challenges faced by many non-profit arts institutions in the post-pandemic economy. While the Rep showcases a best-case scenario of robust community and donor support enabling ambitious growth, other organizations struggle with financial strain, reduced revenues, and a focus on survival rather than expansion. This disparity highlights the diverse impacts of the pandemic on the non-profit arts sector, with the Milwaukee Rep's success story being more the exception than the rule, as many institutions continue to navigate economic recovery and the quest for stability. How is the support of the arts in your community?

Here's a interesting read about the 'Made by the Opera House' program, which discusses its relevance and reflects on a decade of multidisciplinary collaboration. https://lnkd.in/dXfaVkzy

I bloody love the Sydney Opera House. Recently, while enjoying a performance in her newly refurbished concert hall, some recruiter-ly thoughts popped into my head.   (*see note in comments re protocols for applying gender to buildings)   The selection panel for the original design brief/competition came perilously close to making a ‘safer’ choice.   And that would have been tragic.   Perched on her tiny peninsular of ultra-prestige real estate, this magnificent building is both exquisitely elegant and yet fabulously flamboyant. But enough about architecture… She turns 50 this month. Happy Birthday Old Gal!  Here are 3 recruit-erly tips for hiring managers from her story: 1.  She did not make the initial short list-   Of the 233 entrants in the design competition, Utzon’s stunning design did not make the original shortlist.   Yes, it’s important to have a selection criteria to assess applicants against.   It’s also important that your screening processes are robust enough to nudge those boundaries for an exceptional candidate/entrant that could re-define the outcome.   2.  Beware of Prestige, Pedigrees and Bias (deliberate or unconscious)   Don’t assume the entrant/contestant/candidate with the most impressive pedigree will produce the best results.   Contenders on the original shortlist made up a veritable ‘who’s who’ from some of the most prestigious design houses (of that time) in the world.   Utzon was an unknown. Be prepared to fully explore the merit of an underdog/dark horse entrant.   And, if they’ve got what it takes, back them in     3. It’s a gamble.   The enormous difference between the original estimated and eventual cost was largely funded by the NSW state lottery. (Thank You punters of NSW!)   Hiring companies mitigate the risk of a bad hire through strategies like panel interviews, skills and psychometric assessments, reference checks etc.   All to increase the odds of a favourable outcome. A safe bet   Think about your hiring processes from a candidate’s perspective- what evidence does your company offer throughout the process that what you’re offering is a safe bet. In the saga of the Opera house build, Utzons’ professional reputation took a hammering (in the short to mid-term) as did the poor fellow to whom the baton was passed, to complete the build.   Hiring decision doesn’t work out? As an organisation, you’ll get over it, most likely far quicker than your departing team member.   Consider what you have in place to de-risk the move your candidate is contemplating. They're putting their professional reputation on the line after all.   and one more thought- When you can, STOP EVERYTHING! for original thinkers. The world needs more of these. And yeah, I could have included a stock image of her. Instead, heres's a treat. A performance- one of my favourite songs, a collaboration of some of favourite artists, in a favourite setting. Do yourself a favour...(PS. best enjoyed LOUD)

International Theater Systems: Theater in China M.A. Theater and Music Management HfMDK Frankfurt The composer Qi Chu, gave us an excellent introduction into the history, present and structure of the Chinese theater system. Starting with the history of theater in the various historical dynasties up to the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong and from there to the present, we dealt with the various phases of development of the Chinese culture. Later, the students discussed the significance of the play Nora for the Chinese theater landscape and and its effects: the at least partial emancipation of women in the more academic and intellectual circles. Mao's wife, who later as his widow would take the Cultural Revolution to its extremes and lead it into a bloody phase of denunciation, persecution and imprisonment in camps, was once an actress herself and shone in the role of Nora. China is a theater country in the broadest sense of the word. On the one hand, the country draws on traditional forms of theater, comedy, acrobatics, dance and singing, which are shown at every opportunity in order to maintain cultural competitiveness with the West. But there is also a modern Chinese theater, with new authors and directors who also deal with political subtexts, which, similar to the Prague Spring of 1968, or the theater in the former GDR until 1989, are based on charging canonical texts with current political content. The training in the theater academies in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in many other cities in China, is also first-class. In 2024, over 9,000 applicants applied for acting at the Beijing Academy of Performing Arts, of which only 28 were accepted. The high demand testifies to the importance of theater in the country. This is just my opinion and does not take into account the opinion of our students: China's present is characterized by great diversity. On the one hand, there is political and bureaucratic Beijing, and on the other, cities such as Shanghai and others at the southern coast line where capitalism and forms of liberalism have taken root. And yet the Chinese Communist Party rules the country with a firm hand. Alongside huge leaps in development, we also find cultural conformity and violations of human rights, which do not change the fact that Western companies are happy to trade with Chinese companies or to invest in the huge country in East Asia. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is also currently in China. The thirst for Western culture, which coexists peacefully alongside Chinese culture, seems insatiable. Culture has great power and can bring people together, not only through artistic exchange, but also through exchange about values, and about ethical and democratic aspects of social life.

The Evolution of Digital Stage Art Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Huy Dung is one of the first visitors to experience the “Essence of Confucianism” night tour at Hanoi’s Temple of Literature. “When my children see the lighting and 3D mapping technology tonight, I am sure they will be curious to know more about what the Temple of Literature is and ask themselves many questions,” Dung said. Dung hopes that this show will become a reference for tourism that combines cultural, historical, and technological elements as technology has and will help promote stage arts and bring historical and cultural aspects closer to the people. Engaging audience by using technology Recently, both central and local arts organizations have stepped up the creation of fan pages on Facebook, TikTok, and other digital platforms in the theater industry to inform the public about the schedule of their performances. In addition, some theaters are broadcasting snippets of plays on social networks to get their audiences hooked. The Vietnam Drama Theater’s fan page frequently updates information about the performance schedule, current plays, and upcoming debuts. In addition, light-hearted narratives about acting or other theater-related activities are regularly shared with the public.  Light art applied to Khue Van Cac, the pavilion inside the Temple of Literature, as part of the newly launched night tour. Photo: Lai Tan/The Hanoi Times To increase interaction with the public, the Vietnam Drama Theater organizes teasers in short plays for theater lovers, with incentives in the form of tickets to the theater’s performances. This has captured a significant number of regular patrons. According to Xuan Bac, Director of the Vietnam Drama Theater, technology improves the interaction between the theater, artists, and audiences. So far, technology has been used to raise awareness of Vietnamese theater and to disseminate information about theater events to a wider audience. For example, the Youth Theater frequently broadcasts livestreams on the theater’s fan page to update ticket-holding audiences about upcoming performances and promotional programs. The theater’s artists are highly proactive in promoting the play and interacting with the online audience. The theater encourages online payment and the use of QR codes for ticket validation. It’s convenient and satisfying for audiences to avoid having to call or visit the theater in person to purchase tickets. Meritorious Artist Nguyen Si Tien, Director of the Youth Theater, highlights the theater’s keen interest in metrics such as the count of followers, the number of visitors, and the interaction rate of posts on the fan page. Aggressive promotion has had a positive impact on revenue. The theater continues identifying promotions on social networking sites as a customer service. The Vietnam Circus Federation fan page frequently shares updates on new circus programs and exclusive performances by art...

Workshop week in Berlin/ MA Theater&Music Management at HfMDK Frankfurt It was our last visit to the @Berlin University of Acting Ernst Busch for the summer semester. In the picture, a group of students from our master's program is working with the dramaturgy students on a mission statement (another group is sitting in the other part of the room). The focus was on three parts of a very complex workshop cycle. On the first day, we started to create a mission statement in three groups: the groups developed a statement for the State Theater in Karlsruhe, the Deutsches Theater Berlin and a city theater. The mission statement is the essential prerequisite for functional communication and production processes at all levels of a cultural organization and at the same time a protective instrument for all employees. Employees should be actively involved in the development of a mission statement, esp. in the formulation of the main values & headlines. In the second part of the workshop, we developed the financial structure of a public theater. Step by step, we examined the key elements on the expenditure and income side and developed sub-budgets based on the real conditions that we currently find in the theater landscape. This also includes the consequences of a just canceled NV Bühne collective agreement, which shows the full fragility of the theater system and the unreliable and weak agreements between employers and unions. The main aspects that were discussed were follows: * the high personnel costs of + 80%, which is due to the precious repertory system * the still too low average fees for artists - compared to musicians, technicians, and administration * the immense management costs, which are on average between 4 and 10 times higher than the ø fee for artists * the low budget share of ø 10% for artistic production costs * the low income due to the subsidized ticket prices. Can we therefore speak of a structural financial crisis? Possibly. In any case, we can speak of a structural asymmetry in fees when artistic directors earn up to 8-10 times more money per month than a young actress. There was a also a fine workshop at the Berliner Ensemble on modern marketing and communication tools - thank you to Ingo Sawilla. And in the nights: theater, theater, theater.... The interdisciplinary collaboration with the dramaturgy students of the "Ernst Busch" University has already enriched us enormously at the last workshop in Berlin. It is exciting for our students to see and experience how projects and concepts develop from the interdisciplinary ideas. Theater is teamwork in which the individual must be prepared to merge her/his artistic input with that of the other colleagues to the point of insignificance. Anyone who wants to stand out here, be it an artistic or stage director, or a leading actor, has not yet understood the magic principles of theater "ensembleism" and endangers the theater at least as much as any offensive or toxic desire for power.

The dramatic loss in theater subscriptions described in this article is happening everywhere in the performing arts. Our organization includes a Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera, and Ballet, and in all three are subscriptions are half what they were before Covid, but revenue and audiences are, for the most part, doing reasonably well. The Philharmonic Masterworks series had larger audiences last season than in 2018-19. The Dayton Ballet had its best revenue season in memory, but that’s partly because subscribers have become single ticket buyers spending 20% more per ticket. Accessibility programs are attracting young audiences in droves. Like with the theater, however. we have to be extremely careful about doing anything bold or experimental, unless we are quite certain that experimentation will attract audiences rather than scare them away. In an environment like this, our choices will be dictated by audience tastes, rather than leading our audiences into new experiences. This is the grand artistic challenge of this new era. How do we LEAD artistically (not just FOLLOW our markets) without endangering ourselves financially? Yet this should’ve been the question all along. The subscription crisis is forcing us to be more attentive to our markets (not just our marketing) than ever.

Ever wondered why a patron might not recall a specific show your company produced? Or pondered why their last visit to your venue seems forgettable? While the performance itself is akin to the ice cream in an ice cream sundae, there are various toppings that contribute to a patron's overall brand experience. From their perspective, the show is just one element of the sundae, albeit a rather important one. Flamingo's Brand Experience Assessment delves into whether you're offering the basic scoop of ice cream or providing a spectacular sundae with all the trimmings—whipped cream, caramel, and more. We help identify your strengths and weaknesses, crafting a plan to enhance your patron's overall experience. Reach out, and let's chat about your Brand Experience Assessment. #Flamingo #graphicdesign #theater #design #sanfrancisco #bayarea #bayareatheater #bayareadance #dance #music #symphony #artists #graphicdesignfirm #creativedesigndirection #artdirection #art #broadway #brandingdesigng #posters #digitalmedia #communications #sanfranciscosmallbusiness #california #newyorkcity #designagency #brandidentitydesign

“At Wolverine Fireworks, I design the choreography of our shows, including The Bay City Fireworks Festival. There are a lot of things that go into deciding what goes into a show. Apart from the budget, the size of the site for the show determines the maximum shell size, and the size of the crowd determines how big the show needs to go. In the case of Bay City’s festival, where you’ve got people spread out 360 degrees for miles, you want to get big shells that go high in the air so everybody can see them. On the creative side, learning what different fireworks do is key. Picking songs is almost a show in itself: a song should have a lot of highs and lows, then you tend to stagger songs fast and slow to build the show up and bring it back down. Obviously, a lot of songs are going to suggest the word ‘red’ or ‘blue’ and you try to hit those moments. Other than that, it's about matching the sound of the music and the speed of the fireworks.   To actually create the show, we use software called Finale 3D. As you program the show, you can watch it go off in 360-degrees, which is important in Bay City because people are watching it from all different angles and it’s important to us to give everyone the best show we can. o as you're shooting it, you can have drone footage going around the show. It really gives you the idea of what that show will look like to scale on your site.   From a technical level, the finale gets less technical because the focus is on firing a lot of shells. Generally, a total shell count in Bay City is 8,000 shells, and about 2,000 of them are in that last minute during the finale. Once the design of the show is complete, the crew uses the information to label the fireworks appropriately according to the script. Then they pack it up, we ship them out to the site of the show, hook them up to the firing system, and it’s go time!” —John Compau, Production Manager, Wolverine Fireworks Watch Wolverine Fireworks at work this week at The Bay City Fireworks Festival!