Victory

Last season, my day job had the highest grossing show in the history of it's Hyde Park home.

This season, we opened our season with a show that set a record for group sales revenue and also had an incredibly successful run in terms of single tickets sales.

That's not to say every show I market is a financial success.

But this post isn't about failure.

It's about victory.

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One of the hardest lesson I had to learn in this field is that ultimately you are judged by your results.

Not your words.

Not your intentions.

Your results.

This is particularly true if you want to call yourself a leader.

A leader of your artistic team.

A leader of your Board.

A leader of your funding community.

Leadership requires results.

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I'm bringing this up now because it feels like the arts blogosphere is like cable news, a lot of people shouting and criticizing other people's choices.

But let's be honest, anybody can do that.

At some point, if you want your words to have any real impact you need to be able to answer this question:

What have you done?

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I know that if I want this arts marketing blog to have any impact, then I need some demonstrated arts marketing successes.

It's no different for you.

If you are going to spend your time, in the virtual world or the real one, talking about what other people should (or shouldn't) then be prepared for your own decisions to be put under the harsh light you shine on others.

Remember, anybody can talk.

Anybody can criticize.

But not everybody can win.

 

 

Comments

[Don Hall]

First, congrats. Things are looking up for our intrepid poker player. Sweet!

Second, I think we're starting to create our own common understandings - I get that you aren't mixing "arts marketing successes" with "artistic successes" and I dig. Figuring out what constitutes a "win," however, seems to be a pretty complicated issue for you and I.

Third, someone recently commented that the only reason people don't beat me to death for my blunt critique is that I tend to succeed artistically and that if I were a hack, no one would listen. Bad artists make poor advocates for art.

On the other hand, inexperience, in and of itself, doesn't mean you're wrong. I've been producing theater in Chicago for twenty years and I'm still known to be completely off base at least three out of every ten times. I have to assume that those three times mean that someone with little experience trumped me.

And given the vast variety of inexperienced artists in our "community" (yes - the quotes equal my disbelief that there is any such thing) I'd rather listen to the ones willing to throw it down, to be boldly wrong, to get all up my face, than the ones who are trying so desperately to get ahead in the "industry."

True story: A new Angry Young Man hit the scene a few years ago and decided to take me to task on my angry blog. Argued with me with passion and guts. Thought I probably hated him. Until, I met him in person and in invited him to assistant direct one of the WNEP DADA soirees.

As important as "What have you done?" is "Do you walk your own talk?"

[Adam]

Yeah, if I could play poker the way I sell tickets . . . then I wouldn't need to sell tickets.

And for the record, I only consider things a win when everything works:

- The show achieves it's artistic vision.
- The art organization's mission is advanced through the work
- The designers/actors/other artistic associated with the work enjoyed their experience
- The show achieved it's financial benchmarks (assuming, of course, that those benchmarks were reasonable in the first place)

So by my standard wins are pretty hard to come by. :)

"Bad artists make poor advocates for art." That's a good one. I'm stealing that one.

[Tony Adams]

I think we win by standing on other's shoulders. Sometimes we have to pick them up to do that.

[Kylie]

Great post, Adam. Thanks for the insights and honesty. :}