Giving Audiences What They Need

There has been resurgence over the last couple of months in discussions online around the Need vs Want issue in programming for the arts. Should we give audiences what they want, or what they need, and how do we know which is which?

Tips on Theatre Touring

Today I spent the day in a room with 130 other people interested in theatre touring, at the 2013 Victorian Theatre Touring Workshop. Present were venue managers, artists, producers, writers, theatre companies, support agencies and managers. What a fascinating conversation!

Got something to say about Arts Management?

The Managing Arts Blog is now seeking submissions from guest bloggers interested in writing about issues of interest to arts managers.

A chance to talk about touring

I was very pleased a couple of weeks ago to receive notification of the 2013 Victorian Touring Workshop, being organised by Regional Arts Victoria, Theatre Network Victoria and the Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres. As the topics of programming, marketing and touring are three of my key interests, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk about all these things with other people in the industry.

Should audience data inform programming decisions?

A couple of weeks ago the UK's Stage Newspaper asked a question - Should theatres make more use of audience ticketing data when deciding what shows to stage? Here’s my take on it.

Is the Programming Strategy to blame?

There was a lot of media coverage last week following the announcement of mass redundancies at Arts Centre Melbourne, caused by a rumoured $8m operating loss for the last financial year. So what went wrong?

What is the future for the Presenter Driven model of Programming?

When I first started working in Arts Administration in Australia I was intrigued by the complex theatre touring landscape and the reliance on what is referred to as the Presenter driven model of programming. I was amazed to discover that large numbers of venue managers got together two or three times a year to collectively choose work to put on their stages.

An exercise in Arts Programming for the small screen

For those who may have missed all the blatant promotion, I’ve recently been working with Renegade Films on their new television show Studio at the Memo with Tim Rogers. They engaged me to work with them on developing a program of appropriate artists to appear on the show, which I describe as a sophisticated (but a little bit edgy) variety show, sitting somewhere between Later with Jools Holland and a night at the Famous Spiegeltent.

Is Arts Centre Programming Really Failing?

For a couple of months I've been thinking about how I might put down on paper my own thoughts on the role of arts programming in audience development. It's taken some time as I've been sidetracked with programming of a different kind for the past couple of months. But this blog post by Ricky Bryan has got me back on track.

A little bit more on selling tickets

It's been a busy couple of weeks at Managing Arts. Last week ArtsHub published my article on Predicting your Ticket Sales, which is an expansion on my blog post a little while back called Can I really sell that many tickets? The ArtsHub article provides tools and techniques for forecasting sales which will be useful for anyone looking for some tips on ticket sales.

I've also just started working on a new TV project with the great bunch at Renegade Films who make the fantastic music TV show RocKwiz. I had the pleasure of working with them on RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl in 2009, so very excited to be working with them again on this new venture.

In the meantime, I am still in the midst of thinking about what Audience Development means in terms of programming, and hoping to get something written in the next couple of weeks!

The Brochure isn’t dead…yet

There was some great discussion on the Linkedin forums and Facebook last week following my post on Is the Theatre Brochure Dead. I loved reading all the different points of view on the topic. On the whole, most agreed that there is still a place for some kind of printed marketing collateral, but the concept of a brochure had mixed reactions.

Is the Theatre Brochure Dead?

I've been wondering for a while now how much longer the traditional theatre brochure has.

Like many, I have fond memories of waiting with anticipation for the delivery of box loads of glossy, smelly printed brochures and flicking through excitedly hoping they looked as good in the flesh as I'd imagined.

But, realistically, I've begun to realise that the days are probably numbered for traditional brochures. Sometimes beautiful works of art in their own right, is it possible that the printed brochure will survive the increasing digitisation of our world?

The Art of Short-listing Job Applications

This week, I've been thinking about how you go about short-listing candidates for roles in the arts. I've been responsible for recruiting a number of roles in the past, most recently in the area of producing and production management. The number of applications I've received for some positions has been overwhelming, so I've found it essential to have a short-listing system and stick to it.

Can I really sell that many tickets?

Following my post last week on budgeting I’ve been thinking about the concept of forecasting ticket sales, and how you can realistically project ticketing revenue for performances.  And that means not setting the target low so you can achieve it easily, or setting high revenue targets so they look good on paper (but are really unrealistic).

The notion of forecasting sales is common across all businesses, but in the performing arts there can be a large number of variables which make forecasting ticket sales a complex area. These can include (but certainly not limited to):

When is a shoestring budget really too short?

Small, tiny and in some cases non-existent budgets are all too common working in the arts. Over the years I have worked on lots of projects where there has been such a small budget that I have had to beg and borrow as much as I can to actually get things off the ground. And, as any artist knows, having constraints means you have to be creative, and that’s what makes great art!

Bringing the Famous Spiegeltent to Melbourne

In my time working at Arts Centre Melbourne I spent the good part of 5 years working on presenting the Famous Spiegeltent on the Arts Centre forecourt. The Famous Spiegeltent is a wonderful travelling Belgian mirror tent with an impressive pedigree – most famously hosting a performance by Marlene Dietrich in the 1930’s.

To visitors, the Spiegeltent mysteriously appears for up to three months at a time in Melbourne, and then disappears again to another location on her touring circuit. The Spiegeltent arriving is an exciting time, but behind the scenes getting it to Melbourne each year is a highly complex project.

My experience of Leadership in the Arts

I recently came across a great article on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network blog about the value of strong leadership. It got me thinking about some of the lessons I've learnt in my time leading teams, large and small, in the arts.

My tips for successful leadership:

Should cinemas be screening the performing arts?

I've come across a few articles recently discussing the increasing trend for live theatre productions to be filmed and screened in cinemas around the world. The most prominent of these are the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series and more recently National Theatre Live and the Royal Opera House.

I've been aware of these screenings for some time, but never really considered them a risk to traditional performing arts. The articles I've read show that although many were initially concerned about the impact screenings might have on their live audience numbers, it seems the opposite is happening for some organisations.

Influences on Programming in a Performing Arts Centre

Performing arts programming is something I have a real fascination with. When I studied for my Masters degree at Northumbria University I wrote my dissertation on influences and issues in theatre programming in the UK. Since then I've spent five years working in the Programming unit of a large performing arts centre, and during that time I did a lot of work on programming strategy.

We were constantly juggling multiple and often conflicting priorities, and one of the constant challenges was balancing the financial and attendance targets with artistic aspirations. In fact it's a constant reality for most arts organisations!

In order to make well-informed programming decisions you need to have a good understanding of these kinds of issues (in no particular order):

A great tip for getting your foot in the door in the arts

I'm trying to ease myself in gently with this blog, so lets start with the basics! The arts industry often has a glamorous reputation. Exciting shows, star performers, big venues, bigger parties. The fact is, like a lot of other things, it is also hard work.

Many people working in arts management have found their way to the top by starting at the bottom, but there seems to be an increasing number of arts management university graduates who are hoping their qualifications will fast track them into plum roles in the industry.