Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Steve Smith

Who are you? Steve Smith

What do you do? I am the co-founder and administrative czar of CBACT, the Consortium of Boston-Area Children’s Theatres

Where are you from originally? Philadelphia

How long have you been working in Boston? 21 years

Why do you stay? Exciting city, great culture, the Sox…oh, and close to both ocean and mountains

What’s your earliest theatre memory? Falling asleep while watching the original Broadway production of Camelot….

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? Seeing Shakespeare at the ART.

What was your first job in theatre? Techie-stage crew

What kind of theater excites you? Anything original and thought-provoking.

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? I think it’s great. I’m looking forward to hearing from all of the many voices in the Boston theatre community.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

The Regulars Part 2

by Marco Paulo Carneiro

How well are we doing at knowing our patrons? Many of them were with us the week before, and they’re back to see our show a second or third time, this time with friends. Are we doing enough to remember them, and truly say thank you for their support? Are we recognizing their continued contributions and applause, their commitment to our work through the good and bad times? Some of them are what allow us to exist (especially for we Fringe-ers).

There is so much (necessary) talk about what we can do to create an interactive experience for our audience. But how far can this go if the audience doesn’t feel they could comfortably fit in with us at a mixer, post-show talk or even in a piece of interactive theater? We should know our regulars. Remember their faces, remember their “orders,” try to remember their name and make sure they know who you are. Find out what their needs are, what would make for a better patron experience. Invite their thoughts in person. Online forums and discussion boards are invaluable, but I guarantee they will feel like they are literally part of our team if you take some time -make some time- to get their views right there in the theater. And feeling like a team member leads to dedicated patrons who are just as excited for the next production as you are. They might not be the hotshot reviewer you want to impress, but their insight and opinions -especially when they start contrasting past, current and future plans for repertoire, facilities, etc- are incredible ways of knowing if what we’re doing is clear and consistent with our mission and vision; their opinion is a way of knowing if we’re having an affect at all. They wield incredible sway power within their own communities and can help make or break the public success of our work, even if the success isn’t what we’re after. They help keep us grounded so that we don’t overlook the basics. And all of that makes for the beginnings of a great foundation for dialogue-driven community.

In the end, knowing our patrons is all about the community we’re all building together with each passing day of readings, productions, exhibitions and conversations. Knowing them gives us feedback, provides us with loyal support, and allows us to keep growing in our Boston community. The more we know our patrons, the more they’ll want to know us. So please, take some time to remember who gets the extra-toasted bagel. It could be the best thing you’ll ever do to help keep the homegrown movement alive.

 

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Meri Jenkins

Who are you? Meri Jenkins

What do you do? Program Manager, Massachusetts Cultural Council

Where are you from originally? London, UK

How long have you been working in Boston? 20 years

Why do you stay? Cultural life, of course! (and family…)

What’s your earliest theatre memory? A theatre in education troupe that came to my school when I was about eight years old, and I can still see, smell and feel that performance.

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? I worked on the original production of Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill in London, and when I moved here, there happened to be a production of the play – I wanted my partner to see it. It was a much smaller production!

What was your first job in theatre? Having left drama school, I joined a group of people rehabbing a warehouse space on the River Thames for live/work space for artists on the upper floors, and performance space on the first floor. We presented and produced, and did everything involved between us.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had before a show? Curry.

What’s your favorite rehearsal snack? Nuts.

Do you eat before you go on stage or do you wait until after your performance to eat? After the performance – always. No one wants you to upchuck when you step into the footlights.

If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? Locally? Have the guts to do the work you want to do at a scale you can do it…

What kind of theater excites you? Physical, unconventional, well written, performed with care, directed with attention to detail, and with lots of heart.

What advice do you have for artists just starting out? Just do it. Don’t wait. Find like minded people. Work hard. Don’t complain. And the work will get better.

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? It is lively if you ignore the local spin, it is lush in that there is a lot of it in the region to choose from, and it is blessedly local, which translates into being accessible.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Beth Peters

Who are you? Beth Peters

What do you do? Theatre Educator, Director, and New-Media Consulatant

Where are you from originally? Chicago

How long have you been working in Boston? 7 years

Why do you stay? There is a greater amount of drama education work here.

What’s your earliest theatre memory? Being in a music-show in 3rd grade, in which I played a Bee. My best friend had the “lead” and she forgot all her lines and was crying. I helped her remember all of her lines.

What was your first job in theatre? Development Assistant for the Court Theatre, Chicago. Prior to that, acting and ASMing around town.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had before a show? This might not be a popular choice, but I like to eat a big steak, since I probably won’t eat again for like 6 hours.

What’s your favorite rehearsal snack? Trail mix, baby!

Do you eat before you go on stage or do you wait until after your performance to eat? I eat about 2 hours before curtain and only water until after the show.

If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? It would be diverse without a constant worry and argument about the word “diverse.”

What kind of theater excites you? New plays that reflect our new culture in America…whatever that might mean.

What advice do you have for artists just starting out? “If you know what you want, then you go, and you find it, and you GET IT.” - Into the Woods. In other words, be tireless. Be shameless. Go get the work and do well at your job and don’t worry about the money starting out.

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? I think Boston has a lot to celebrate within itself, but should be open to young or new-to-Boston artists.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

The Regulars Part 1

By Marco Paulo Carneiro

I’m still working towards my undergraduate degree, and it’s been a long way coming. Granted, I took time off/sometimes lightened the course load in order to work some fantastic freelance gigs and develop self-started arts opportunities throughout Boston and beyond. I even got paid! But, as grateful as I am for all of those wonderful jobs, I’ve always had to look for part-time work to put some extra coins in the piggy bank. For the most part, it’s been in retail or the food industry.

For a while now I’ve worked at a coffee shop. While serving out beverages and pastries, you start to remember the regulars who come in everyday ordering the same drink or asking for their bagel to be extra toasted. From there, we start being able to converse with them about the products they like, what they did on the weekend, and how their grandmother’s gallbladder surgery went (if nothing else, it helps pass the time when they’re awkwardly staring at you, impatient for the milk to finish steaming…) Right then and there, we’ve connected and discovered something about our customers, and we’re also able to find special ways to fill their needs. All this is from simple conversation – the “filler” stuff. For some of us, it’s only natural that we should remember and be able to create this experience; they come in everyday and we are good at making those connections. For others, it’s actually a big effort to remember so they too can make the customer feel welcomed and known while expediting a regular’s order. Either way, the customer will walk away feeling appreciated and special; we accomplish that much through simple conversation and maybe even a familiar smile.

Now, I go out of my way to treat retail and food service workers well; I know how hard they are working – I’ve been there, I sympathize. But, it’s not often I get that special treatment I try to give out, mostly because I’m not really a regular anywhere. But when it does happen, I have to admit it feels great. Suddenly you’re a VIP whose name and needs everyone knows and the other people around can only wish they had their product delivered with such love. Right? (RIGHT?) Anyway, you can imagine how great I felt when I had a similar experience when I walked into a small-town, family-owned, homegrown bakery while visiting my parents over the holidays. I hadn’t been there in years and I was bundled up with a scarf and furry hat covering most of my face. I was hardly halfway through the door when the saleswoman looked up, remembered me from at least five years earlier and said, “You’re picking up for Olivia?” (Olivia is my mother). To think that after years of being away and being half-mummified in polyester-blend winter wear, she could still remember me and whose son I am. Maybe she just has a good memory; she certainly has a flair for being familiar with customers. And she even thanked me for coming in again. “Again.” As if I was just there the week before. And that’s where this is going.

About the Author

Marco Carneiro is the Managing Artistic Director of the Boston Stage Company. www.bostonstagecompany.org

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Catherine Peterson

Who are you? Catherine Peterson

What do you do? Executive Director, ArtsBoston

Where are you from originally? Berkeley, CA

How long have you been working in Boston? 13 years

Why do you stay? gorgeous city, fabulous arts scene

What’s your earliest theatre memory? 1776 Original Cast with William Daniels, Ken Howard, Howard da Silva and Betty Buckley

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? Wonderful Jule Styne festival at Boston Conservatory

What kind of theater excites you? I’m a musical theatre junkie!The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? I love the locavore focus! We have great theatre “to consume” through out the year- with our anchor regional theatres, our flourishing mid-size theatres and our vibrant fringe companies. We can “taste and sample” home grown theatre all year and keep our mental “palates” engaged and fresh.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

Heart, Head & Hands: Food/Theater/Community Part 2

by Candelaria Silva-Collins, copyright 2011

The audience is there, we just have to build it.  I will share a few ways that I have built appreciators In both my dedication to home-cooking/breaking bread with others and in bringing people to theater.

Invite people – consistently, frequently, in a variety of ways.

I invite people to meals cooked by me at my home regularly.  A lot of the invitees have been surprised because they are not my friends, they are acquaintances.  Nearly everyone comes.

I never go to theater without a companion – from performances at Huntington Theatre, by Company One, Wheelock Family Theatre, Speak Easy Stage Company  and the African-American Theatre Festival (to name but a few) – I bring someone with me.

Inform people

I share recipes and theatre reviews & information both informally through emails and more formally through blog posts.  If I like something, if I find something provocative or interesting, I share it.

Throw the net widely/reach beyond usual comfort zone

When I was Director of ACT Roxbury, I informed broad networks of people about our events.  I didn’t presume to know who would or would not be interested in our events and initiatives.  I didn’t let geography hamper me.  So I invited Roxbury residents, residents of surrounding communities and people in the metropolitan area.  I participated in the Multicultural Committee of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to inform visitors about the plays we produced and the Roxbury Film Festival, for example.

Organizations like StageSource, Underground Railway Theater, and Bank of America Celebrity Series were open enough to have events at Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall, coming outside of their usual territory to meet the audiences we attracted.  Similarly, we hosted events featuring Roxbury-based artists in other communities including National Heritage Museum (Lexington) and Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (Boston seaport).

Collaborate

There is strength and expanded capacity in collaborating with other organizations on joint projects and in promoting each other’s events.  No organization is ever the only game in town.  No organization ever has an exclusive hold on or right to an audience.  People like variety, choice and to try new theater and food on for size.  We have to make it as effortless as possible for this to happen.

Educate and Nurture Future Audiences

Exposing children to well-prepared food and excellent theater prepares them to get hooked on these kinds of experiences.  We have to create future audiences and artists by going into the schools and community centers where young people are.

And don’t forget adults. Go to where adults are – community organizations, churches, gathering spots like restaurants, hair salons, and the Super Stop & Shop in the South Bay Mall, for example.  There are communities of seniors who would relish the opportunity to attend theater. (I work with Door2Door to the Arts to bring senior citizens to arts and cultural events using the vans that were previously mainly used to transport them to doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping.  In one year, we have brought seniors to nearly 50 events!)

Affordability/Marketing

In addition to the pay-what-you-can performances, ticket give-ways, discounts to community organizations, and ticket discounts through Bostix, we need to empower venues and staff to aggressively market unsold seats in the moment.

We need to pretend that no one knows who we are and what we do and inform them through public theater in places like South Station and Copley Square.

Food and theater connect people in a world where many people are becoming more comfortable with the remotely connecting through electronic portals than face-to-face. We all need food, we all need art in real time and actual space.

Holla!

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Joan Lancourt

Who are you? Joan Lancourt

What do you do? I’m an executive coach and consultant to non-profit organizations

Where are you from originally? New York City

How long have you been working in Boston? since 1972

Why do you stay? It’s got theater, art, dance and music, history, intellectual stimulation, variety, good restaurants, universities, etc. etc.

What’s your earliest theatre memory? Being back stage on the original set of Harvey and being given a big stuffed white rabbit by Dorothy McFadden who I believe was one of the producers

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? Something Commedia dell’arte-ish at ART

What was your first job in theatre? have not had a paid job in the theater

If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? Make it part of every school’s curriculum

What kind of theater excites you? Theater that is thought provoking

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? I think we need to use the theater as a forum for engaging audiences in dialogues raised by each play, where the theater becomes a kind of civic space in a community and enables people to hear different points of view and have constructive conversations about those differences – where people can learn about and gain a larger context in which to consider the issues.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

 

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Ida Dunham

Who are you? Ida Dunham

What do you do? Performing arts administration

Where are you from originally? Brookline

How long have you been working in Boston? 30+ years

Why do you stay? Masochist.

What’s your earliest theatre memory? The Colored Museum by George Wolfe at the Public Theatre in NYC

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? Cannot recall from childhood but loved Mabou Mines Lulu at ART in the 80s.

What was your first job in theatre? Intern at Metropolitan Center, predecessor to Wang Theatre

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had before a show? At the Hotel Sacher in Vienna before Andrea Chenier at the Staatsoper. goulash soup, tafelspitz and Sachertorte of course.

What’s your favorite rehearsal snack? Champagne and open faced sandwich of smoked salmon or jambon crui

Do you eat before you go on stage or do you wait until after your performance to eat? Not a performer thank God. I usually eat before but later would be better. This isn’t Madrid.

If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? Canned music in straight plays and pretentiousness.

What kind of theater excites you? Innovative contemporary theatre.

What advice do you have for artists just starting out? Ativan.

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? Sounds like a good idea. Get busy.

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!

 

Getting Lively, Lush & Local With: Spiro Veloudos

Who are you? Spiro Veloudos

What do you do? In theatre, I direct and produce

Where are you from originally? Springfield MA

How long have you been working in Boston? Too Long

Why do you stay? I love this city and New England

What’s your earliest theatre memory? Being cast as the Father in Father Talks Turkey in the sixth grade

What’s your first theatre memory in Boston? Seeing the Colonial for the first time

What was your first job in theatre? Actor

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had before a show? Sushi, but I try not to eat right before a show

What’s your favorite rehearsal snack? Coke Zero

Do you eat before you go on stage or do you wait until after your performance to eat? After

If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? Auditions and Technical rehearsals

What kind of theater excites you? Name it.  If its good it excited me

What advice do you have for artists just starting out? New York (and other cities) will always be there.  Give Boston a try first.

The Boston Theatre Conference is focusing on the lively, lush and local aspects of our theatre community. What do you think? I think it is lively, lush and LOCAL (all for that one)

YOUR TURN! Write to us here!