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?

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)

“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!

"Seis directores para los Teatros del Canal " In my country, there are no public processes for selecting high positions in public theaters. But it's not just that; the most important theater in the Community of Madrid will now be managed by six persons who haven't been chosen through any project, just like the rest of the public cultural events in my city. It's a very serious and outrageous situation. The only way to access positions of power in this country is not open to everyone, only to those persons who have influence and certain political connections. This poses the risk of culture being directly tied to the political ideals of the moment, which is very dangerous for freedom of expression. (We consider past cases, such as the one involving Paco Bezerra and his play 'Muero porque no muero' https://lnkd.in/d7Y7-B-P ) It's hard for me to believe how it's possible and how it can be allowed that there are no public competitions for the selection of artistic directors for theaters and performing arts festivals. It's a form of neglect towards the public, as we are subjected to programming without a clear artistic direction, except for some exceptions. We are not receiving the best artistic direction project, the most excellent one; instead, they are choosing the one that is most convenient for the current government. Additionally, it's a form of neglect towards the artists because there is no continuity in their projects due to changes in leadership. This situation leads us to a scenario where, as there is no consideration of the role each theater plays in the city based on the artistic direction project, the spatial capacity of the theater itself, and coherence with the budget, a single and exceptional public theater must bear the burden of contemporary creation, including dance, philosophical discourse, performance, music, despite not having the best space or budget. (And thankfully, we at least have this! Like a light in the darkness!) https://lnkd.in/dVXmftNS

What do our clients say about working with us? Beyond reproach, except perhaps for my taste in music. Thank you for the kind words! #formaltraditional #interiordesign #luxurydesign #traditionaldesign #transparency #testimonial #designismybusiness #remodeling #renovation #additions #newbuild #bespoke #luxury #fullservice #custom #oldworld #timeless #classic

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.

Opera is perfect for elegant contemporary settings

Ever heard of Habibi Kiosk? A Bold Move For Munich’s Main Theater Culture in Munich is mutating into new perspectives at Habibi Kiosk ; the success at its privileged location addresses difficult questions about the city. Although the Habibi Kiosk looks like an independent cultural space, it is actually the bold appendix of the publicly-funded Kammerspiele theater of the city of Munich. Locally renowned, this theater is difficult to spot from the outside. Its building, Schauspielhaus, is absorbed into the homogenous architecture of the Maximilianstrasse. In contrast, the Habibi Kiosk has been cannily shoved under people's noses on the high street. In a city where one in four residents hails from an immigrant community, the theater’s team began exploring the following question: Is Munich's urban society – with all its different perspectives – represented at the theater of the city (financed with everyone’s taxes)? In other words, can we find a fair representation of all citizens here at the theater? #culturechange #munich #HabibiKiosk #theater #inclusive #cities #culturematters

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.

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