Off Stage Conversations

Hello Everyone, it's Andie Arthur, executive director of the South Florida Theatre League, with this week's installment of Off Stage Conversations, where I look at what ideas are being talked about in the national and international theatre community.

The Power of Stories

Good has an inspiring piece on how the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we consume drive our culture -- if we want change in the world, we need to change the stories we tell, most importantly on our stages.

Storefront Playwrights

The League of Chicago Theatres and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs have banded together to showcase playwrights at work. Literally.

The Arts Cliff

Michael Kaiser wrote a piece on the arts organization fiscal cliff, saying that austerity spending cuts aren't the answer to an arts organization's problems, but instead diversify and increase funding.

Diane Ragsdale has a response on Arts Journal, saying that there are bigger cliffs facing the future of arts organization, highlighting the arts education, diversity, and leadership. Ragsdale points out that a great deal of the revenue problems stem from these larger problems.

Smart Phone and Arts Patrons

A study on how arts patrons use their mobile devices. A lot of useful stuff here with one REALLY GREAT idea at the end -- arts administrators (who tend to be huge arts consumers) should experiment with ideas at other organization's arts events, as a way to test the user experience. (Obviously, don't live tweet a performance that isn't set up for that, but I think the best way to learn how to use something is to try it and I see a lot of arts organizations forget that social media is social.)

Do I Want an MFA?

Polly Carl of HowlRound posts on the benefits and drawbacks of seeking an MFA.

How to Watch Directing

Jon Jorry, former artistic director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, has a great piece on how to watch directing.