A Blueprint for a Healthy Arts Organization

In the comments section of the Theatre Loop blog, Marion McClinton asks a profound question . . . how come Chicago doesn't have any African American theatres that are part of the League of Regional Theatres (LORT). 

It's a question that merits a response and I want to do it in two ways. 

First, I want to share a plan I started writing in 2007.  It was updated about 14 months ago.  When I have some time this summer I'll probably tweak it again. 

It speaks directly on how I believe a strong, healthy theatre that focuses on African-American work could be built in Chicago.  I've shared this idea with a few people over the years but have never shared it with the general public. 

That changes now.  Here it is.  Download The Core_A Blueprint for Theatre  It's about 14 pages long and gives a case (and a timeline) for building a theatre in a new way.

I've tried to use the plan to build an African-American theatre in Chicago and, to be honest, I wasn't able to generate much momentum or useful interest.

Maybe it's just a function of bad timing. 

Maybe I just haven't been able to sell the idea to the right people. 

Maybe I haven't even met the right people yet.

But I have been thinking a lot about the specific question asked by Marion, so it couldn't hurt to share the plan with the world.  Thus you now have my proposed solution to the relative lack of healthy, stable, African American theatres in Chicago.

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Now let's get a bit more general . . .

Some of the key elements of my proposal are applicable to anyone looking to build a strong arts organization from the ground up.  Here are three keys to getting there:

1.  Understanding the environment.  Just to use an example, there are 8-10 theatres in Chicago that have acquired either LORT status or have a budget around 3 million dollars.  Of that list the youngest of them was founded in 1988 . . . well over 20 years ago.

So you need a team that is prepared to figure out how to build an arts organization in the here and now.  The world that exists in 2010 is incredibly different from the one that spawned the nonprofit arts movement.  You need to understand the unique arts environment of your town and your industry. 

You need a team prepared to embrace the challenges and opportunities.  That takes me to my second point

2.  You need a team.  In the arts we still are in love with the "Great Man" theory of institution building.  We have kept alive the narrative of a visionary, passionate, Artistic leader that builds something through a sheer force of will.  Even if that was true then (and it probably wasn't) the world we live in is way too complex for all that. 

In the report I wrote I proposed starting an arts organization with many of the key personnel in place on Day 1.  This includes Executive Leadership, Artistic Leadership and vital Board Members.  Once this team is in place they would try to come up with viable answers to the question proposed in Key #1, namely how do you build a strong organization in the here and now.

We have plenty of artists and adminstrators, particularly people of color, that are trained and ready to build the next thing but they need to able to come together on Day 1 (or as soon as possible).

3.  Go outside the "usual suspects" for funding.  I firmly believe that one of the reasons the arts have such a difficult time fundraising and building a Board is that we have "burned out" the sources of funding we have relied on for years.  We need the patience and the strategy to cultivate the next generation of funding and Board Governance.  This will be a challenge, but again, you need a team willing to face it.

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I'm an optimist.  I believe that we can build great arts organization.  The money is there.  The people are there and I think the audience is waiting to be engaged. The key is a willingness to understand the challenges and attack them as a collective.

 

 

 

Comments

[Tony Adams]

In the blueprint it calls for 750K for the first year, is that where useful interest wanes? or is it even before that step?

I could be wrong (it predates us by a bit) but board etc first model seems very reminiscent of how orgs like the Lyric began, with civic leaders driving the bus at the beginning. Is that correct from what you've read?

[Adam]

I did most of the legwork on the proposal in 2007, meaning before the economy blew up, so I don't think it was the money. I just think the entire idea was a bit more then people could handle at that point. Plus, back then, I didn't have the credibility to pull off that big an ask. I probably have it now.

You're right that the Lyric got started in that way. You could also add on the Guthrie in Minneapolis and even the much more recent Chicago Children's Theatre.

[Tony Adams]

So I guess the tricky question is how do you build enough demand to generate that kind of interest, without leading with the work?

As you say the world is incredibly different than the world that spawned most of those institutions.

[Adam]

My argument is that we have to start investing in teams, not product. We have a surplus of hungry talent that could be build something great, we just need to give them the opportunity to do it. We have to start trusting that if you empower strong teams they will create good outcomes over the long term.

[Tony Adams]

Hmm. I don't disagree with that at all, but it begs the question: does investing in teams require a new organization?

[Adam]

Nope, but it does require a new mindset and sometimes that's easier to accomplish with a new (or at least newer) organization.

[Tony Adams]

I hear that. Though, I'm always amazed what new leadership can do for a worn out organization. (as opposed to just a new person in charge of the same old org.)

Revitalized Blackhawks fan base is a perfect example.