Dynamic Arts Consulting

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time”

T.S. Elliot, Four Quartets

Pioneering and exploration have always been key elements in human nature.  Our ancestors were required to constantly seek new horizons and opportunities as a survival technique.  This fundamental tendency has not ceased as technology advanced, but rather continues in many forms of modern society. 

The arts provide an excellent example of those who continue in today’s clture with a pioneering spirit.  Composers, artists, dancers, actors and musicians build their careers on stretching the boundaries of possibility and breaking with convention.  With a background in violin performance and training as an arts administrator, I am increasingly findinng correlations between artistic and organizational planning throughout the nonprofit field.

This week, on a whirlwind trip back to Sisters OR, I had the opportunity to be involved with a nonprofit organization in the making.   Tucked away in Central Oregon, five members of the Sisters community are planning to build an organization the size of the galaxy.  The proposed project is called SCOAP: Sisters Cascade Observatory and Planetarim.  Coming together with a great vision and passion, these educators, scientists and community members are in the beginning stages of creating a nonprofit organization for the purpose of building a planetarium and observatory in Sisters.

SCOAP’s meeting on  Thursday illuminated the importance of the planning process for all nonprofit organizaitons.  Three key elements in strong organizational planning emerged:

1. Determining the core purpose and mission of the organization
2. Assembling a group of people who have a strong passion for the organization’s vision
3. Promoting a organization culture  that supports the above two objectives

In the competitive environment of the arts, it is easy to loose sight of an organization’s core purpose within the greater struggle for survival. Becasue artists constantly strive to be the best, the stars, it is sometimes difficult to remember and focus on the purpose that brought the organization into existencce initally.   Administrators also face the  challenge of performing to the highest standard and constantly improving organizational output. However, it is critically important for arts managers and artists alike to promote a culture that values inclusivity and utilizes the opinions of the entire organization.

 The core purpose of arts is to showcase talent while entertaining the audience.  By assembling a strong cast of artists and administrators, arts leaders ensure that the organization is sustainable despide an ever shifting political and cultural landscape. Further, the evolving organizational culture must support a sometimes intangible and far-reaching mission and core values.  Each memeber of an organization should be able to answer: “why are we here?” annd “what are we trying to accomplish?”

Organizations that focus on their core values and continuoulsy revisit the mission statement to compare current organizational programs with the original stated objectives will be able to weather economic and cultural challenges more effectively.

In Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins states that visionary companies “preserve the core and stimulate progress”.  He cites hmanity’s drive for progress that comes from the human urge to explore, create, discover, achieve, and improve. 

“Indeed the drive for progress is never satisfied with the status quo, even when the status quo is working well.  Like a persistent and incurable itch, the drive for progress in a highly visionary company can never be satisfied under any conditions, even if the company succeeds enormously: ‘we can always do better; we can always go further, we can always find new possibiliies.’ As Henry Ford said ‘You have got to keep doing and going’” (p. 84).”

The need to continue to reach new heights of achievement is clearly evident within groups such as SCOAP who have committed to a vision and are willing to invest personal time and energy to make it happen.  In this article on nonprofit visions, Merle Benny notes that: 

“Growth and success require a very clear vision shared by an ever growing number of people. These people will become your employees, volunteers, advocates and donors.  It’s the magic of the vision that will inspire passion and dedication. The mission and goals come later, once they are committed.”

I am increasingly convinced that with a strong visioning core, all companies create a solid foundation for growth and expansion.  Jim Collins’ focus on stimulating progress reminds me of the arts that are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to express ideas of humanity.    Building an organizational vision pushes boundaries while relying on history and tradition, just as with art itself.

Attack Theatre: http://www.attacktheatre.com/

This weekend I toasted the beginning of fall by…… going to see an outdoor Shakespeare production – in the rain.  

Let me explain.

When invited to see the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s rendition of Henry VIII last week, I recalled the warm, indoor theater of the OSF from the last play I attended there a few years ago, The Importance of Being Earnest.  However, I did not immediately connect that this play is staged authentically in the Elizabethan venue.  All other playgoers were equipped with at least three warm layers, ponchos, and blankets.  These were hardy and devoted Shakespeare fans.

Devoted – not just for braving the elements, but for choosing to attend this play.  Henry VIII is the last play that William Shakespeare wrote and one of his lesser performed works.  The plot chronicles Henry’s struggle to divorce his wife, Katherine, and his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn.  However,  the harsh realities of the time have often been glossed over or left out entirely because of Shakespeare’s disregard for portraying true historical accuracy.  Shakespeare needed to please the Tudors and portray royalty in a positive light. 

From: Oregon Performing Arts Theater Reviews "OSF's 'Henry VIII' is unemotional, but a treat for canon completists"

Of course, there’s pleasure to be taken in the flights of language, the solid performances by the likes of company stalwarts Anthony Heald (as the understated villain Cardinal Wolsey) and Michael Elich (as the Duke of Buckingham), and — if you’re one of those Shakespeare canon completists — the chance to scratch a rare one off your list. And it’s a great one if you like hats. 

June 22, 2009, 10:05AM

Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

While in Ashland, I learned  how the Oregon Shakespeare Festival succeeds in marketing their season so successfully.  Patrons are encouraged to check off their list of attendance to the Shakespeare plays in the traditional “canon”.  By doing this, they earn a certificate of completion.   The Shakespeare canon includes the 36 plays found in the First Folio and Pericles, according to the OSF.  Henry VIII has only been performed one other time in the history of the festival and is therefore necessary for many to check off their canon lists.  Evidently, since opening in 1935, OSF has completed the canon three times: in 1958,1978, and 1997.

In the season’s programming, there are two other plays which complement Henry VIII as well.  These are: Macbeth and Equivocation.  These three productions are linked in ways that hard core Shakespeare fans can appreciate.  The choice of these plays was also partly derived from an audience survey to determine the popularity of Henry VIII. 

All this background is leading up to my point that the Oregon Shakespeare festival displays forward-thinking programming and marketing, founded on a strong history and providing a backbone for the future.  The festival has linked their branding, promotional material, and artistic image seamlessly.  The comprehensive website even provides links to the last 6 years of financial statements (somewhat unimportant except for nonprofit sleuths).  Additionally, I now have my very own “Bard Scorecard” and I am tempted to seriously and compulsively start checking off the list.

This weekend was a successful trip for supporting the arts and honing my skills of arts marketing detective-work.  Cheers to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2009 success!