Off Stage Conversations

Hello! It's time for Off Stage Conversations, where I, Andie Arthur, executive director of the South Florida Theatre League, share blog posts and articles on the national and international discussion of the field. There's a lot of good stuff this week -- both inspirational and practical.

I Believe

Taylor Mac gives a rousing theatre manifesto for the Under the Radar Festival. You can either watch the video or read the transcript. There are so many parts of this that I love, but I'm going to pull out this quote as my current favorite, "I believe my work and all “experimental work”, is commercial theater. I believe the non-profit sector is and has been incredible but that it’s taught audiences that theater is something most people won’t want to see."

Changing the Debate

Margy Weller writes for ArtsJournal on reframing the arts funding debate, and the trap that the arts get into being seen as entertainment and not as a public good.

A National Standard of Arts Education

Talia Gibas takes a look at what a national standard of arts education would look like in the United States and how we could learn from other countries.

Arts Marketing Round Up

Ron Evans writes on what arts marketers can learn from Five Guys.

PBS covers a new study on how the arts use social media and digital technology. It also tantalizingly mentions a yarn bombing promotional campaign, but doesn't give many details. As knitter, I would love to figure out how to use the needles to promote theatre.

Trevor O'Donnell has great post on where Arts Marketing Logic Fails. It's a great reminder that your marketing shouldn't be about your needs, but about your audience's needs.

Fundraiser Burnout

The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes that half of the top fundraisers/development directors would like to quit. Jennifer Berkshire gets into the broken fundraising cycle that puts unrealistic demands on development staff.

Board Development Roundup

Barry's Blog looks at what to do when board micromanagement is a problem.

Laramie Board Learning Project lists 10 ways to energize your board.

Non Profit Quarterly asks what do you talk about at your board meetings? The right answer is NOT reports.

5 Things the Dance Field Should be Talking About

Marc Kirschner writes on dance for the Huffington Post, but a lot of the issues he mentions could easily be translated to theatre. One of the things he specifically talks about is the relationship between NEA funding and digital innovation, which is of interest to all arts groups.