{"id":1944,"date":"2019-03-03T16:55:08","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T21:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/?p=1944"},"modified":"2019-03-03T17:22:21","modified_gmt":"2019-03-03T22:22:21","slug":"management-and-the-arts-5e-march-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/uncategorized\/management-and-the-arts-5e-march-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Management and the Arts 5e – March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The price of fun. First-time managers. Small theater company survival. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this update, I\nfound three recent stories that can be used\nfor discussions on economics, leadership, and organizations adapting, or not to\nchanging environments.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ticket\nPricing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short article and graphic from The Economist<\/em> magazine 1843<\/em>\nshow ticket price comparisons you don\u2019t\nnormally come across. As the author\npoints out, \u201cThe price of fun is far higher in America than elsewhere,\u201d which makes\nsense given the different public and private funding structures for the arts in\nthe U.S. If nothing else, this story can prompt a discussion about what prices\nare being charged for arts events in your\nrespective communities. However, if you want to take a deeper dive into ticketing pricing, I suggest you consider Michael Ruston\u2019s\nbook Strategic\nPricing for the Arts<\/a><\/em>. It was published\nin 2015 after the 5th<\/sup> edition of\nManagement and the Arts<\/em> came out, and so there is no mention of it in chapter 10,\n\u201cEconomics and Financial Management.\u201d Rushton takes the reader through a comprehensive\nand methodical approach to pricing that can be\napplied to all kinds of arts and cultural organizations. I would strongly urge using Ruston\u2019s book when you are working on chapter 10 with your students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First-Time\nManager? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no new ground-breaking insights in the article on\nfirst-time managers, but in a way, that\u2019s\nthe point of including it in this month\u2019s update. These seven first-time manager\nareas of concern keep coming back regularly\nbecause of their universality. Whether you\nwork in a small nonprofit arts organization or a big business, you are likely to encounter\nthese situations. Many of my former students\nhave shared with me their stories of\ngrappling with getting respect when they moved to a management capacity, or I heard about their struggles with setting boundaries\nwith their former co-workers. I think including\nthis topic in discussions connected to chapter 8, \u201cLeadership in the Arts,\u201d would be a good idea. It is always useful to\nstress the need for future arts managers and leaders to develop their social\nskills if they want to be effective wherever\nthey work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial Pressures\non Small Theater Organizations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article about the struggle to sustain small to medium-sized\ntheater companies in the Houston area can be a good discussion starter about the\narts ecology of a community. The issues of audience development, finding and cultivating\na donor base, and the impact of changing economic environments in a city can be explored at multiple levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theater company featured in this article is shutting down (Horse Head<\/a> – \u201ccommitted to producing Houston, regional and world premieres\u201d) over revenue shortfalls. It appears they have been doing interesting work, but they haven\u2019t been able to secure grants or fundraise enough to keep the doors open. I looked at the Horse Head website, and I was frankly underwhelmed. I thought they would have had a more robust site after ten years. The \u201cSupport\u201d link lists several whimsically titled donor levels and a modest list of Sponsors. Clearly, some people found Horse Head worthy of their support. What I didn\u2019t find was a way to make a gift. I then checked their profile on GuideStar, and there was very little useful information to be found about the company. However, what I did find was this notice: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This organization\u2019s exempt status was automatically revoked by the IRS on October 15, 2018 for failure to file a Form 990\/990EZ\/990N\/990PF for 3 consecutive years. While this organization may still appear on the Publication 78 and\/or IRS BMF, further investigation and due diligence is warranted.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This bit of information shines a new light on the plight of\nthe Horse Head Theater Company. Now I see why they might not have a donation link on their website. Maybe some of\ntheir problems extended beyond fundraising? Having your exempt status revoked\nwould not instill my confidence in the management of the organization if I were\na prospective donor. Clearly there is more going on with this theater\ncompany\u2019s finances than the reporter of this story is bringing the reader\u2019s\nattention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a fuller picture of the arts ecology of the Houston area, I suggest you go to the Houston Arts Alliance<\/a> website and then follow the \u201cWhat We Do\u201d link. The most recent report (FY17)<\/a> provides evidence of an extensive list of organizations and individual artists who were funded (see pages 16 to 22) by HAA. You and your students can reach your own conclusions about how robust the arts funding system is in Houston. On paper, it seems to look pretty strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks again for reading this blog and best wishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Byrnes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

=========================================== <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Price of\nFun<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

James Tozer | Feb.\/Mar. 2019 | The Economist<\/em> 1843 Magazine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the best things in\nlife are supposed to be free, the best days out rarely are. A trip to the\n\u201chappiest place on Earth\u201d (or Disneyland\u2019s resort in California, as the\ngrown-ups who have to fork out usually call it) will cost a family of four\nabout $500 (\u00a3390) in tickets. And that\u2019s\nbefore you\u2019ve shelled out for hotdogs and sugary delights, snapshots of your\nloved ones riding a flying Dumbo, and a hotel with fairy-tale turrets. Don\u2019t\nexpect those thrills to get any cheaper, either. The entry fee to Disney\u2019s American\ntheme parks has risen by nearly 40% in the last decade \u2013 even after adjusting\nfor inflation \u2013 and has quadrupled since the 1970s.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the rest of the short article and a graph of the event costs go to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.1843magazine.com\/data-graphic\/what-the-numbers-say\/the-price-of-fun?mc_cid=a150d17249&mc_eid=1a1932085a<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I Wish\nI\u2019d Known as a First-Time Manager<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Advice from 10 people\non stepping into a brand-new leadership role<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Goldfarb, Medium, February 7, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your first management\nposition will probably come with some growing pains. Sure, it\u2019s exciting to\nland a larger office, new title, and pay bump, but all those things come with new expectations. You\u2019re held to a\ndifferent standard now: In addition to doing your job, you\u2019re also supposed to\nbe a leader, coach, and mentor to your subordinates\u200a\u2014\u200aand you probably\nshouldn\u2019t be letting off steam with them in the break room or participating in\noffice gossip sessions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transition can be\nespecially tricky if your employees don\u2019t respect you, if there\u2019s any kind of personality clash, or if you don\u2019t have\nadequate support. It can feel overwhelming to navigate. It can be lonely.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read the responses go to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/medium.com\/s\/office-politics\/what-i-wish-id-known-as-a-first-time-manager-a864a079a982<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small\ntheaters face closure as affordable space heads for the exits<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wei-Huan Chen, Feb. 26, 2019 | Updated: Feb. 28, 2019 11:04\np.m. | Houston Chronicle<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its last\nperformance, Horse Head Theatre Co. decided to go morbid. In early February,\nthe group staged \u201cWe\u2019re Gonna Die,\u201d the title not only a reference to\nhumanity\u2019s fate but also an acknowledgment that, after a decade of surviving as\nan organization, it now must shut down.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horse Head Theatre,\nconsidered one of Houston\u2019s more daring professional theater companies, was hit\nlast year with a dismal financial reality: the lack of public grants and\ninsufficient individual donations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no money, so\nthere\u2019s not going to be art,\u201d said Jacey Little, the company\u2019s artistic\ndirector. \u201cIt\u2019s really depressing. But that\u2019s the reality.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the rest of the story go to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/entertainment\/arts-theater\/article\/Small-theaters-face-closure-as-affordable-space-13646934.php?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The price of fun. First-time managers. Small theater company survival. For this update, I found three recent stories that can be used for discussions on economics, leadership, and organizations adapting, or not to changing environments.   Ticket Pricing The short article and graphic from The Economist magazine 1843 show ticket price comparisons you don\u2019t normally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,4,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-featured","category-portfolio","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9mams-vm","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1944"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1948,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944\/revisions\/1948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/managementandthearts.com\/5e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}