That having been said, maybe theatre makers should look to filmmakers for a for-profit model in which a company is formed around a specific project, money raised for that project, and then return on investment may (or may not) take place after distribution

This is the commercial theater model for putting up a show (and is in variations used by MANY small nonprofits in NYC and other large theatre communities use to produce work of all kind). The model you describe as the for profit model is about the theatre owners and not the producers – both need to be taken into consideration.

There is a lot of opportunity for for profit models in theatre – especially since the lines between commercial and nonprofit theatre are eroding nationwide. But the conversation can only start with an understanding of what is out there and being used and what has been done before.

I have just posted my response at

http://harttechnique.wordpress.com/

Check it out.

Jim Hart

P.S. Happy New Year.

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

I was excited to see that you chose to join me in this important discussion. I will respond with greater detail in the next few days, as I am presently traveling on holiday.

This is, I believe, a very timely and important subject–one that deserves a considerable amount of focus, as it highlights some of the larger problems in 1. our general professional offerings of American theatre and 2. the narrow focus of how American arts educational institutions are structured.

In this post, you described elements of my viewpoint as “Utopian” (which I assume you derive from the couple sentences I wrote you recently) and I see yours, based on this post, as surprisingly conservative. Chances are, the “truth” exists somewhere in the middle. I hope and expect our dialog to be lively.

As someone who heads a program for entrepreneurial arts training, I know I do not need to remind you of the definition of entrepreneurship. But, for those who may stumble upon this site, one common definition is:

–a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with CONSIDERABLE initiative and RISK.

No doubt your students are aware of this too. Risk is a keystone element in the definition of entrepreneurship.

I find your opinions expressed in your post to contradict this definition.

We seem to have similar backgrounds, at least in way of our shared medium of theatre, which should, I assume, lead to an informed discussion on these topics.

I have begun drafting a response and will share it in the following days. However, as I am currently building a brand and my second school for entrepreneurial arts training (this second called Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, opening in September of 2010), I will continue this dialog at my blog, which is:

http://harttechnique.wordpress.com/

I invite you and all readers to join this timely and important conversation there.

Please feel free to subscribe, which will enable you to receive email notifications of new posts.

Until then, I wish you a happy New Year.

Thanks again and I wish you well.

Jim

Jim Hart
http://www.harttechnique.com
Founder of The Hart Technique,

Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts

and

The International Theatre Academy Norway