Saatchi & Saatchi NZ’s Post

Performing-arts organizations are facing arguably the toughest road to recovery after the pandemic. They suffered dearly — doors shuttered, revenue models broke, and a base of donors and patrons already declining and aging eroded even further. But now, movie nights and charcuterie boards, shared rehearsal space, and online performances are a few of the strategies some organizations are deploying as they build new business models. #performingarts #fundraisingevents

We all know that theater has the power to inspire, provoke, and entertain. This article from American Theatre magazine (a publication of Theatre Communications Group) highlights the need for courageous leadership to plan for recovery AND resiliency. TRG’s Jill S. Robinson, MBA: “It’s a long game. It’s expensive to create new customers for any business, and we have to create funders who are interested in helping make that happen.” Considering CTG’s decision to pause production at the Mark Taper Forum for a full season and raise money, she said, “I can’t even imagine how hard that is in this environment. To say, ‘Listen, we need to take a beat—we’re committed, but we’ve got to have the financial plans to be able to do this kind of work.’ I think that’s an inspiration, not a failure. This political environment is becoming more open to having the real conversation right now about, what is it going to take to keep the doors open? It takes courageous leaders who say, ‘We’ve got to have financial plans for the next five or 10 years, not for the next 60 days.’” https://hubs.li/Q01YQ_Np0

This is a much needed and provocative article because it calls into question the failed business model used by our nonprofit theaters, and most other types of our arts organizations, and importantly acknowledges that the audiences for these theaters were aged and in serious decline well before Covid came along. The continued struggle of downtown nonprofit theaters then should not be taken as a sign of weak downtown recoveries, but the continuation of a long existing pattern. The NEA and other arts industry leaders have been concerned about declining arts venue audiences for at least 15 years now. Electronic participation is capturing a good portion of the arts industry's audiences, while rising ticket prices continues to reduce the sizes of many arts venue addressable consumer markets. The hardest hit are the "high culture" arts venues, while those still growing and prospering provide more affordable and less socially tinged entertainments. My observations suggest that for profit arts venues are doing better than their non-profit cousins, with stronger attendance and revenues. #downtownarts #downtownartsrecovery #failedartsbusinessmodel #downtownnonprofittheaters

This, THIS is the question. So very well put, yet buried halfway down in the article. Who will get to make, participate in, and be the audience for theater? As an industry, what are we making? Who are we making it for? These have always been critical questions for any institution and any individual show, but now, in this vast cultural/societal turning point, they become not just guides on our path but considerations of an existential nature. "Figuring out what forms this shape-shifting practice will take next—and who will get to make and enjoy it—has always been the work of this magazine, and will continue to be as long as folks gather in person to entertain each other."

In a recent article about Steppenwolf's tactical economic decision to shrink operations in order to stay solvent, Executive Director Brooke Flannigan said the following, “As theaters approach the end of extraordinary federal funding, this should be a wake-up call to communities across the country, not just here in Chicago, to support the arts, support local and regional theaters,” Flanagan said. “No theater company is immune to failing. We encourage the community here to rediscover the joy of seeing live theater, that communal experience you can’t get at home. Buy a ticket to a show, make a contribution [to fundraising efforts].” This statement feels so - infuriatingly trite. I have three responses: 1. If you want people to support your regional or community theatre, ask them what they're interested in, then do the work that follows those lines. We do not get to cry about public disinterest, and then scratch our heads about why they're disinterested if we're not talking to them to find out. 2. If you want to keep doing work that YOU want to keep doing, look harder for patrons. We live in Capitalism, and if you're not going to do anything to contradict that, but continue playing the capital game of profit motive, then find people to fund you. Do not demand support from disinterested community that you are disinterested in working with. 3. This is not actually a wake up call for communities. This is a wake-up call for T H E A T R E S. Find better funding sources. Advocate for government intervention like those interventions of the past. Actually work with, in, and for your community in order to receive investment from that community. Do better. It's not on us, it's on you. https://lnkd.in/gKQJvZt6

🎦 National Cinema Day returns for its second annual event this Sunday, August 27th. All movies in all formats and showtimes will be $4 at participating theaters, which include leading chains AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas. The event takes place through The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). National Cinema Day is also a way for studios to sell audiences on their fall lineups by showing previews of anticipated releases. 🍿 In recognition of National Cinema Day, we have come up with a list of top movies that feature 📈 financial and stock market plotlines. Which one is your favorite or feel free to add a title in the comments! 🎬 Wall Street 🎬 Trading Places 🎬 The Wolf of Wall Street 🎬 Boiler Room 🎬 The Big Short 🎬 Working Girl 🎬 Barbarians at the Gate 🎬 Glengarry Glen Ross 🎬 Rogue Trader 🎬 Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room 🎬 Margin Call 🎬 Equity 🎬 Too Big to Fail 🎬 Inside Job #nationalcinemaday #movies #letsgotothemovies #cinema #moviefan #movienight #movietime #assetbasedlending #invoicefactoring #accountsreceivablefinancing #workingcapital #businessfunding

I ❤️ Broadway!!! Exploring the Free Rider Problem in Broadway Subsidies Strolling past the stage door with Playbill in hand after enjoying a captivating and intimate performance of Enemy of the People, featuring the talented Michael Imperioli, I am reminded of the recent NY Times article Does a Smash Hit Like 'Lion King' Deserve a $3 Million Tax Break? The article highlights the importance of effectively allocating public funds and calls to mind the "free rider" problem in public policy and public administration. The article's thrust is that Broadway 🎭 shows like Disney's The Lion King continue receiving substantial NY State subsidies for pandemic recovery while financially prosperous at the box office. This raises the question: Should these public subsidies be directed to support all of Broadway's productions or just to the headlining productions, allowing their corporate backers to benefit even more 🤷♂️? The essence of the free rider problem is evident here—successful productions get public funds without needing them. In contrast, smaller productions, often struggling but critically acclaimed shows and nonprofit theaters, are left out. It's a compelling example of misallocated public resources, prompting us to reconsider how we support our cultural industries. Sound interesting? Read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTj39Hf7   #BroadwaySubsidies #TheatreFunding #ArtsSupport #CulturalIndustries #PublicPolicy #MisallocatedFunds #ShowBusiness #ArtsRecovery #TaxBreakDebate #PandemicRecovery #Freerideproblem #I❤️Broadway #EnemyOfThePeoplePlay #MichaelImperioli #Playbill #nonprofittheaters

This is a bold suggestion for tackling the crisis in American #nonprofit #theater: fund #artists directly, make spaces more adaptable and available to creators, and convert nonprofit theater companies into granting agencies and public resources, much like libraries. What do you think? Is the current model (created in the 1960s) for regional theater worth saving? Or should we take advantage of this crisis and reinvent it for this century? #innovation #artsandculture #leadership https://lnkd.in/emxKsM73

Movie theaters have such a special place in the community. “Not all communities exist online. We know how to start to reach online communities but what about real communities of real people? A lot of influencing is done in the real world. Movie theaters are right there in the hearts of their communities. They can actually speak to real communities, offer promotions to local schools, or local senior centers, charities, and community groups.” “Human beings didn’t evolve to actually regulate and feel and process emotions alone. We look to others to validate our response,” Brenneman says. “We don’t know how to feel when we are alone. We don’t laugh all by ourselves. We need to read the room and learn how to feel. The human emotional experience is a shared experience not an individual experience. We didn’t evolve that way.” “Since almost all movies exist to allow you to have an emotional experience a movie theatre is the best place to experience that catharsis of emotional release,” asserts Brenneman. https://lnkd.in/eH66WY-z