Come to Boost Camp and LET US HELP YOU get the lift you need.   25 students have already enrolled in Boost Camp;  including 8 students who are coming from Norway for a residency at The IAE this fall– The Ensemble Free Theater.  We also have 10 emerging Chicago far south side artists enrolled too.  Our Boost Camp Faculty is nothing but a bunch of seasoned arts entrepreneurs. Enroll now and and learn with, and from, an eclectic interesting ECLECTIC crowd. Let us help you plan the economic boost you need.

Fall 2010
Weekend I:
Friday, Sept 24th, ( 10am to 5pm) Saturday, Sept 25th, ( 10-5) Sunday, Sept 26th ( 12-5)

Weekend II:
Friday, Oct 22nd, ( 10am to 5pm), Saturday, October 23rd, (10-5) Sunday, October 24th (12-5)

Why Do YOU Need To Attend?

If you are passionate about the arts and have an idea for a business, or are already running a business you wish could become more successful, enroll in Boost Camp! We will help you shape and transform your idea into a viable business concept and give you the boost you need to thrive as an arts entrepreneur.

What is the Boost Camp anyway?

Boost Camp is an intensive  2 weekend intensive course designed to   (re)introduce you to the process of starting a business in the arts and/or the creative sector. We will teach you the fundamentals of creative business development and help you to understand the relationship between intelligent planning and ultimate success.

The course is designed for artists and creative professionals who aspire to launch and run a creative business of their own.

What will I learn?

At Boost Camp you will learn from these four essential subject areas:

WEEKEND I

Determining the Business Potential of a Creative Idea-

In this module, you will learn how to assess the viability of your entrepreneurial idea before committing vast amounts of time and/or money to such a new venture.

Marketing for a Creative Start Up-

In this module, you will discover the unique selling proposition of your creative enterprise. You will learn how to define your target market,  research your competition, perform industry analysis and develop a marketing strategy and communication plan for your unique enterprise.

WEEKEND II
Management and Operations-

You will learn about the various legal structures available to you and decide which is the most appropriate for your creative enterprise. You will learn how to effectively communicate about your organizations management and operations. You will create a description of key positions within your enterprise, how your enterprise is organized and an organizational flow chart.

Financing-

In this module, you will learn how to create a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, a start- up budget, and a cash flow statement. You will learn about potential funding sources for your start-up as well as how to communicate financial information to potential funding organizations in a professional way.

Boost Camp is practice-oriented. The knowledge you gain from each module will be applied and transferred to your individual creative enterprise.

What will I experience?

Participants will study and learn under the guidance of seasoned arts entrepreneurs as their  instructors. The intensive training will engage participants through group discussions and practical exercises. Methodical professional guidance and mentoring will be a part of this process. In addition, participants will have opportunity to visit arts enterprises in the city, interact with successful creative entrepreneurs, and “pitch” their ideas to a potential funding source.  Creative thinking, intelligent planning, and interaction with recognized experts are at the core of the entire Boost experience.

Weekend Program Faculty: Faculty members of The IAE teach our weekend programs. Click here to read faculty bio’s.

What will I get at the end of Boost Camp?

Participants will have:

A clear understanding of the specifics of an arts enterprise

The steps involved in the start-up process
A core business plan
Connections with industry professionals and potential funding sources

What do I need to apply?

Applicants should have:

An idea for a new arts-related or creative enterprise

An existing business that needs a boost
Experience in the arts and creative sector
Engagement and enthusiasm for culture and the arts
Motivation to work intensively for the duration of the course

So, one more time- When is Boost Camp?
Fall 2010
Weekend I:
Friday, Sept 24th, ( 10am to 5pm) Saturday, Sept 25th, ( 10-5) Sunday, Sept 26th ( 12-5)

Weekend II:
Friday, Oct 22nd, ( 10am to 5pm), Saturday, October 23rd, (10-5) Sunday, October 24th (12-5)

Location
Flourish Studios 3020 N Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL

Tuition

$600 tuition includes all study materials and certificate of completion.

WE HAVE TWO 1/2 Scholarships left! We have OVER 25 registered!!

How To Register

1) Online – Please fill out our online application form.

2) By Phone – Call 773-756- 2163 to register by phone.

3) By E-Mail – Send an e-mail with your application form attached to Lisa@TheIAE.com and we will reserve your spot.

Housing

While we do not offer housing through our program, please E-mail for information on nearby locations.

Our September RAWednesday will be a DIY Marketing Workshop with five local artists and business owners providing insight on how they effectively market their talents and companies located at 4043 North Ravenswood (follow the signs to the second floor.)

Our guest speaker and panel moderator will be Lisa Canning, founder of the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur The Arts.

The panel includes:
Kevin Swallow, a self-taught artist and volunteer for FOTA and manager of FOTA’s newsletter

Lea Tobin, co-owner of Astonrep Theatre Company and a graphic designer

Mimi Clayton, founder and director of Mimi’s Organic Exchange

Fernando Mastrioianni, owner of Black Bird Gallery and Framing

Q&A session will follow, so bring your questions!
Refreshments will be served. A $5.00 donation is suggested to cover our expenses.
Please register to attend this event at http://rawendesdaysept2010.eventbrite.com/

RAWednesdays are FREE and open to the public to develop a network for artists and businesses located in the Ravenswood Corridor. Our goal is to bring people together to foster dialogs, exchange information, and to create a greater sense of community.

If you would like to become involved in planning and/or hosting RAWednesdays in 2011, please contact Bill Moran at moranstudios@hotmail.com.

But I can think of one group that takes much bigger gambles.  Epic risks, the proportions of which are so enormous, no entrepreneur would touch them with a 20-foot bassoon.  That group: non-entrepreneurial artists.  Let me explain…

Entrepreneurs absolutely take risks.  They invest enormous time, energy, and finances when launching new ventures, in the hopes of creating meaningful and profitable opportunity.  Their efforts could absolutely fail.  Things might not work out. Because they’re trying something new, there’s no guarantee.

But the chances they take are not crazy!  Savvy, entrepreneurial artists do their homework.  They study the market, look for gaps, use creative problem solving, and differentiate work.  They obsess over ways to offer true valuable to cherished customers.  Marketing becomes a way of life.  Yes, risks are taken. However, when something doesn’t work out, these determined artists morph obstacles into opportunities.  Or walk away with lessons learned to apply to the next endeavor.  Because entrepreneurs are determined to thrive no matter what life throws at them, they never give up.

Now contrast that with non-entrepreneurial artists. Most can imagine a maximum of 2-3 potential job options for themselves—some only one.  They pay top dollar to attend famous schools, spending years (even a decade plus) in pursuit of multiple degrees.  Hoping to be just like the competition—only better—everything banks on the proposition that if they get good enough, their career will somehow work out. And it might… 

But if you understand anything about supply and demand in most arts industries, you know there are far more qualified applicants than traditional positions available.  Even those among the best take a huge gamble.  I personally know astounding artists who chose this route, and are now working at Starbucks or scrounging to piecemeal a living at sub-poverty levels doing work they despise.  

However, for artists not quite up to that level, chances of landing a great traditional gig in this oversaturated market are essentially zero.  Nil.  Winning the lottery is a more likely proposition.  (Unfortunately, they can’t afford lottery tickets.)

Non-entrepreneurial artists may claim they’re risk averse.  But don’t be fooled.  This group banks their entire life on single, remotely-possible-but-highly-unlikely premise.  Placing all eggs in one basket, there is no Plan B.  There is little realism. Well, at least not until denial wears off, they’re 35 years old, drowning in debt, and chronically depressed. 

This group takes grand prize.  Even the most foolhardy entrepreneur observes in awe.  These artists adore risk and prove their devotion to this principle every day.  That’s true devotion.  I wish them well.

My mom and dad at their foundry, Alpha-Cast, Thur July 8, 1976

What does experiential immersion really teach you about entrepreneurship? Well, welcome to the story of my mom and dad and the lessons I learned from watching my father and mother resuscitate a failing business, turn it into a wild success and then knowingly try and out run their foreign competition and go bankrupt again.

When I was growing up, I watched my father invest in a variety of small businesses. He was making so much money as a criminal attorney and needed somewhere to invest it. He was also very unhappy with his work and was trying to find an exit strategy.

As a result, my father frequently talked about the businesses he was investing in and what their challenges were at the family dining room table. Our dinner table was the place my family talked about business and politics when I was growing up. It became a tradition to learn over dinner. We rarely talked about our day, or routine subjects that might occupy a child’s mind like playing with friends, or some fun I had. Instead my father turned our meals together, especially those when my mother was passed out drunk at the dinner table, but also those where she was not, into an entrepreneurial-living-family-lesson-plan night after night.

But one subject matter that was strictly off limits was my fathers career as a criminal attorney. He would simply never discuss it.  I am sure he represented mobsters, murders and vicious criminals and successfully got them off the hook for their crimes. My dad simply, eventually, couldn’t take their “blood money” any longer and was seeking refuge by investing in other businesses in hopes one of them would draw him in.  This much I knew from his few sparce comments and the jokes he made about his profession. My parents always told me, albeit in a joking manner, that one of the reason my dad had to get out of criminal law was because we didn’t have any more room in our house for any more artwork; our house was filled to the gills with artwork that was sometimes offered, in part, as repayment for my fathers legal services.

My father was in search of something he truly loved to do where he could help people and feel good about it. The investments he made into machines shops, and a fastener business (nuts, bolts, screws) helped him learn that the opportunity at the foundry he named Alpha- Cast was the one where he could really make a difference. Isn’t that what we are all seeking as artists and entrepreneurs- to make a difference? It took my Harvard trained father several investments in different businesses to figure out where he best belonged.

What drove my father was his belief in the power of helping people. Through law he thought he could help others to help themselves but he was wrong. All he did was postpone their wake-up call and allow them to continue to hurt others. His experiences dabbling in entrepreneurial investments taught him where he truly belonged. His work building Alpha-Cast and supporting over 200 families doing it was the best work I ever got to see him do.

And yet while building Alpha-Cast was my parents biggest joy, and the source of my mothers money spicket for clothes and the spoils of riches, it also just about financially destroyed my family when it later went under. ( But more on that for another post in the experiential-immersion- lesson lane.)

Just a couple footnotes about this article. First, my parents were living in a deluxe high rise over looking Lincoln Park in Chicago when they were also ” living in a motel” to jump start Alpha-Cast. Seems, as journalists often do, some of the facts are not quite right. And lastly, my parents did eventually build a chapel in the foundry and a big party room. Babies were baptized and couples were married there. It was the coolest thing to see my fathers dreams for Alpha-Cast come true. And as my father’s daughter, I guess it should be no surprise, that the lessons I learned from my parents have inspired me to want to help others make their dreams come true too.

Regardless of the differences in our backgrounds, entrepreneurs and artists are visionaries. We all want to make a difference, create and be innovative. Isn’t it cool to try and prove that creating the “impossible” isn’t that hard to do? But in these turbulent times I certainly feel I  can’t do it alone! What about you?

We all need to get out of our own little worlds and find some new fresh resources  to help us get further, faster, down the road…

We’re back Thur, August 19th and then off until October. (It might even be cold weather by then!)

So COME to our Create.Innovate.Repeat. networking night!

WHEN: Thursday August 19th from 7-9 pm

WHERE: ING DIRECT Cafe Chicago @ 21 East Chestnut in Chicago.

WHY? Connect yourself with other local artists and entrepreneurs who might be of service in helping you realize your next big idea.  And did we mention free food and drink?

WHAT: Throughout the night, we’ll be encouraging a small group of local artists and business owners to get up and share their creativity in a format inspired by the popular PechaKucha networking nights.  You’ll have ten slides and five minutes (there WILL be a gong this time, so be warned) to share your art, your business, or just a cool idea for the community that you think is worth putting out into the world.  It’s a great way to find out what’s going on in the local world around you and how you might get involved as quickly as possible!

Grab up to 4 RSVP’s for you and your friends! The more the merrier!

Create.Innovate.Repeat. is presented by the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, a school designed to help you turn your creativity into a living.  Find out more about the IAE at www.TheIAE.com.

This post appeared on the 2AMt blog. It’s an interesting post, but

written by Jacob Coakley

WTF Is an Entrepreneur?

“I think that artists are, in fact, small businessmen. They’re entrepreneurs.” Rocco Landesman in an interview with Bryan Reesman in Stage Directions August 2010 issue.

I’m serious about the title of the piece. Look, I trained as an actor and a poet. (Yes. Honestly.) When I was in school I was learning all I could about analyzing text—whether that was to make sense of a T.S. Eliot poem or a Chekhov play so I could act it. Either way—that’s what I focused on.

Which is not to say I’m fiscally ignorant—I also took the requisite econ courses, I know how to balance a budget. I have a prudent cash reserve. I know how to forecast earnings, save for expenses, etc., etc.

But I still don’t think I think like an entrepreneur. MORE distressing to me—I’m not even sure what that means. How DOES one think like an entrepreneur? What are the qualities of an entrepreneur? Do I already possess them, and simply don’t know how to act on them? Do I not view my circumstances in an entrepreneurial way? How can I change that?

That’s the big thing for me. How can I change that? How can I begin to think entrepreneurially? (Or even recognize when I am?) And this isn’t just because Rocco is harassing every artist out there to be an entrepreneur—because he’s not harassing us to become something, he’s saying we ALREADY ARE. So what about my current behavior is entrepreneurial? Because if I want to succeed as an artist (and I do), then theoretically I need to learn better, more successful tactics of behaving entrepreneurially.

So I did the first thing I always do when confronted with something like this. In my finest analyze-the-text tradition, I went to the library. I checked out a bunch of books about starting a business and becoming an entrepreneur. Most of these books had a section that listed the “qualities” of an entrepreneur. (One of which was “impatience”—if I disliked waiting in line, I might be an entrepreneur. Maybe, but that’s also the character trait of a petulant child. How does that translate into running a successful business?)

One thing that did stand out to me in all the lists of entrepreneurial traits was the idea that entrepreneurs A: Always think they’re right and B: Have a need to be in charge. And that got me thinking about all the small theatre companies that have popped up everywhere. How many of them were formed because of dissatisfaction with current offerings in their community? How many times have I been tempted to start a theatre company to show people how it’s really done? Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to get over the hurdle of expenses in operating a small theatre company. I don’t want to risk that much of my money in what is, essentially, a losing venture. (Not that this is unique to theatres—how many small businesses fail within the first five years?)

Which brings me to another trait of entrepreneurs: Risk-taking. There are actually a couple different schools of thought about this. Some people say that entrepreneurs have a stronger stomach for risks. So, at first glance, my inability to risk starting a theatre company precludes me from being an entrepreneur. But other people take issue with the idea of risk-taking. They say entrepreneurs aren’t any more likely to take risks than anyone else—but that entrepreneurs HAVE carefully weighed the risks, and developed a solid-plan for success based on research and observation of past failures and successes. In other words, they take very calculated, very measured risks—risks that have a high chance for reward. So what makes a successful entrepreneur is not their gung-ho, damn-the-consquences attitude to risk taking, but actually their preference for risk aversion. What makes a successful entrepreneur is someone who actually hates risk, and will do everything to minimize it. Penn Jillette (of the famed magician duo Penn & Teller) originally didn’t want to be a magician. He actually wanted to be a rock musician. But when he surveyed the field he saw that the number of people applying to be a rock star was HUGE (duh) and that it was filled with absolutely incredibly amazingly gifted talented people, which he could never compete with. Then he looked at the field of magicians. And saw two or three people. He decided that field had a high ratio of reward to risk, and took it.

One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that passion plays a huge part in successful entrepreneurs. If you don’t have a passion for the field of business you’re entering into, you’ll never survive. And that doesn’t take any translating into the theatre side of things.

So what about you? What traits are typically entrepreneurial in your view? How can they be applied to theatre? Tell me how can I sharpen my entrepreneurial thinking!

Program Coordinator –  Artists-in-Residence

Urban Gateways is seeking to fill the position of Program Coordinator – Artists-in-Residence.  In partnership with the Program Manager, the Program Coordinator – Artists-in-Residence will manage all aspects of the Artists-In-Residence Program with particular emphasis on programming during the school day.  The position is heavily defined by coordinating and scheduling tasks aimed at orchestrating artists’ residencies in schools and communities.  The optimal candidate will possess a deep curiosity and interest in the unique roles that artists play in these settings.  Potential candidates should have interest in and familiarity with the fields of teaching artistry and contemporary art, visiting artist residency models, arts partnerships, teacher/artist collaborations, and navigating the cultures of schools and communities.  He/She will be familiar with the basic principles of artistic process and must show a willingness to serve as a detail-oriented liason willing to take the lead on nurturing strong relationships between Urban Gateways, artists, and our schools and community partners.

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Develop, coordinate, and realize all aspects of Artists-In-Residence program.  This includes working with artists and potential partners to develop individualized residencies, coordinating artists’ schedules, creating budgets, executing service agreements and preparing contracts.
• Market and promote Urban Gateways and the Artists-In-Residence program in partnership with other members of the UG staff by maintaining an active role in the local arts, arts education, education, and youth development communities.
• Assist in the assessment of the success of individual residencies and the Artists-In-Residence program by executing program and residency evaluations.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated professional experience with the coordination of arts educational programming
• Bachelors degree in the arts or related field of study
• Strong administrative, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Ability to prioritize and multi-task
• Sensitivity toward and ability to collaborate and work with diverse populations

Competitive salary with excellent benefits. Regular evening hours; occasional extended hours. Position requires some local travel; car preferred. 

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should send cover letter and resume to Jill LeCesne Potter, Director of Education, at hr@urbangateways.org. No phone calls please.

Flourish Studios and the Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship™ welcome PR Chicago owner Toni Antonetti as the next installment in the Flourish Artisan Program Speaker Series.  Toni will be pulling from her more than 20 years of experience in marketing and public relations to share with visual artists strategies on How to Promote Yourself On A Shoestring Budget.  This event takes place on Thursday, Aug. 12 at 7 pm.  Registration is $10 for general public or free for participants in the Flourish Artisan Program.

Knowing how to market yourself is a skill that can make or break your business, whether you’re in the early stages of developing your creative concept or you’ve been running a company for 20 years.  With the marketplace constantly shifting and new technologies changing the playing field every day, Toni has honed in on some basic, timeless tools and concepts that can get your name and your work in front of the right people without breaking the bank.

Toni Antonetti started PR Chicago back in 1987 after stints at some major Midwest PR and ad agencies and a trade magazine. Her work in consumer and B2B PR includes projects and campaigns for hundreds of top U.S. corporations, including 7-Eleven. Among other things, she’s done case history interviews at construction sites, the behind-the-scenes media relations work for a now-historic product crisis and PR for the Chicago Marathon. Toni is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association, and a director of the PRConsultants Group.

The Flourish Artisan Program is a joint effort between Flourish Studios and the Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship™ and offers Chicago-based visual artists a brick and mortar home and training to help expand their creative brand.  The Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship™ offers a host of monthly programs and workshops for artistic entrepreneurs of all disciplines and experience levels.  To find out more about the variety of classes and how to apply for the Flourish Artisan Program, visit www.TheIAE.com.

Flourish Studios is located at 3020 N Lincoln Ave., Chicago. To register for this event online, visit www.ICanFlourish.com or register by phone at 773.281.8140.

In his introduction to a series of project profiles in the April 2010 issue of American Theatre, Mark Blankenship writes of a kind of performance utopia:

Consider yourself lucky: You’ve just seen a piece of theatre that sprang from your own community – a show that had to be created here, where you live, because it says something authentic and essential about the place

The show you saw was especially powerful because it reframed the setting of your everyday life – it turned our neighbors, your neighborhood, and (you begin to feel) even aspects of you into art, opening your eyes to new possibilities, new connections.

Blankenship describes a performance ideal that is profoundly relevant to its audience, a performance that matters.  Are we teaching our students to create work that matters?  Are we teaching them to “create” at all, or merely passing on the techniques that we ourselves learned as graduate students? And, if our students are learning to create work that matters, are we teaching them the skills they need to sustain their work and their artistic life over time?

So my elephant is this: Its not so much an elephant as a hole or a crater in many curricula:  appreciation for and skills in creating new work and especially new work that speaks to the community and skills to maintain a personal infrastructure that enables the young theatre artist to take the risks necessary to create new work.

How can we do this:

1. First, create an environment in which real creativity is supported (see “Its not about the Money” parts 1 and 2)
2. Provide experiential learning opportunities
3. Teach students to enter the ACTUAL marketplace, not the commercial and nonprofit theatre marketplace of the 1980s
4. Teach students to diversify their skill set to respond quickly to opportunity
5. Teach students to diversify their skill set to include opportunity creation
6. Teach students to support their personal infrastructure

Later in the session, in response to an audience comment about producing plays being a bad business model, Carolyn made a rather brilliant statement, which I can only paraphrase here so won’t capture her clarity or poeticism. She said basically that we have to stop thinking of what we do solely as producing plays. Rather, we should think about “putting on plays” as only part of the portfolio of what a theatre artist does. We then ran with that together to provide examples of how theatre’s ability to make meaning can reach new and different audiences that in turn can earn money that enables one to produce plays – because that’s still important too.

I was a bit skeptical going into the session, but left feeling energized and ready to tackle tomorrow’s plenary panel, “Elephants in the Curriculum: A Frank Discussion about Theatre in a Changing Academic Landscape.” But that room seems awfully big…..

Speaking of conferences, the schedule for the second bi-annual p.a.v.e. symposium on entrepreneurship and the arts is shaping up nicely. We’ve added John Cimino to the schedule of the April 1-2 event. He’ll be leading a workshop on “Self-knowledge and Directions of Growth: Building Your Personal and Creative Infrastructure.”

But here’s a bit that’s overlooked, and which is absolutely essential in cultivating creativity: deferral of judgment. Without this, creative thinking cannot take hold. E. Paul Torrance, the creator of the Torrance Test for Creative Thinking, knew this to be true. Deferring judgment is one of the ground rules for effective divergent thinking; it helps keep us open to the ideas that are truly novel and useful.

In the Newsweek article, authors Bronson and Merryman allude to deferral of judgment obliquely. They refer to “a populace…receptive to the ideas of others,” and to teachers who are “tolerant of unconventional answers,” but they don’t call it out by name. Which is a shame, because premature judgment and pre-judgment are insidious, ever-present challenges to the flourishing of creativity.

Think your idea’s bad before you’ve even really started? Afraid to make the big mistakes that can lead to big breakthroughs? Need to have the innovative response yesterday? Then the chances are your judgement is flying high.

Obviously, we do need to make judgments, we do need to make decisions about the quality, novelty and appropriateness of what we’ve created. But please, defer them! Don’t try to diverge (generate ideas) and converge (evaluate and select them) at the same time. As Alex Osborn, another giant in the field of creativity, famously observed, this is akin to driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. You won’t get far.

In its best sense, what the Newsweek article suggests is not a contest, but an invitation to discover (and rediscover) your own creativity — best engaged in when the judging mind is made to wait, at least for a little while.

Today I was meeting with the owner’s of The Greenhouse Theater in Chicago.  A number of weeks ago, I was approached by the general manager of the theater to establish a collaborative relationship with them. We have been working together, ever since, to establish what our relationship could look like and how it might unfold and grow.

The final step of forming our collaboration, was to meet the owners of the theater. The meeting was mostly a formality; in the sense the decisions about our work together had already been made but we had never met and needed to in order to seal the deal. However, during my meeting with the owners I made the mistake of telling the story about how we were recently cold cold by a global business services organization and offered a lead role in an international arts entrepreneurship project.  ( Yes, I realize I just offered you a nugget of sizzle but until it becomes official I cannot say anything more. And for those of you who have read my posts about my mom, the magic at Ground Zero has, to my own astonishment, continued.)

Anyway,  the purpose of my sharing this information was to explain to them the scope of The IAE’s vision and mission. But the owner of the theater raised concern that it was not relevant to our collaboration and therefore didn’t need to be discussed or shared. We then proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes discussing why this was not true. I was sure both owners of The Greenhouse Theater were enjoying the debate, as long before in our meeting they had expressed how  happy they both were about the potential of our partnership. And yet,  it was through our discussion I was reminded of the lesson all artists with vision must learn:  Don’t bring up too many “dreams or big ideas” when you are focused on serving one specific mission with an individual or organization sitting right in front of you. Focus deeply on your joint efforts. Period. Especially until they know you well.

Sharing your vision or opportunities that arise outside of your relationship can cause others concern, overwhelm them, or make them feel your spreading yourself too thin and won’t focus enough on them; until they know the quality of your work and you are proven.  After all, not everyone can handle big ideas. And not everyone can multi-task and deliver an excellent product while they do. So, if your a visionary– keep your ideas to yourself. Share only the parts with those who need to know.  Trust me.

I was reminded of a valuable lesson today. Especially now, with this owner, I will keep my ideas confined to our mutual benefit until encouraged to share more because of the trust developed and results produced.

Norway Free Theater Group Collaborates with The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship to Offer 12-Week Program in Chicago

The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship welcomes the Norway-based Ensemble Free Theater (EFT) to Chicago for a 12-week residency that will feature courses in directing, playwriting, movement and composition. Artistic director Brendan McCall in collaboration with the IAE and its founder, Lisa Canning, will lead the program, which starts this fall. Students from Norway also will be creating and developing original works to premiere on the Chicago stage at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln, Chicago and Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee, Chicago.

“We’re thrilled to be able to accept the invitation of an organization on the forefront of arts education like the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship.” McCall said. “The opportunity to bring our students to the U.S. to experience Chicago’s culture will be immensely helpful to their creative development and we’re looking forward to bringing our own experiences to the community, as well.”

McCall is an actor, director and choreographer whose work has been presented internationally. He has taught at the Yale School of Drama, New York University, New School for Drama and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, among others.

The Ensemble Free Theater company is a new program that emphasizes the importance of true collaboration among theater artists. While the curriculum is primarily focused on theatrical works, the EFT encourages interdisciplinary projects that include film, dance, photography and music.

“Collaborating with the EFT was a no-brainer,” Canning said. “Brendan McCall’s work is so relevant to the mission of the IAE. Like the EFT, we encourage provocative new works and creative career paths with a focus on an interdisciplinary curriculum.”

EFT classes will be conducted primarily at the Greenhouse Theatre Center and will be held Monday through Friday during the day for approximately 25 hours a week. The total tuition cost for the 12-week program is $4,500. Courses will be taught by McCall in conjunction with guest artist workshops conducted by IAE founder and musician Lisa Canning, musician, composer and author David Cutler; actress Amanda Leigh Cobb; actor and playwright Aaron Landsman and filmmaker and playwright Laura Lynn MacDonald.

“The IAE has offered us a great opportunity to encourage artists on the rise by premiering the new works of the Ensemble Free Theater program,” says Jenifer Kincaid, General Manager of the Greenhouse Theater Center. “We truly believe in the development of artists and the effect they can have in the community.”

For more information on this residency and all of the workshops and programs offered by the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, visit www.theiae.com. For more information about the applying for the Ensemble Free Theater program, contact lisa@theiae.com or call 773-756-2163.

###

For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it.

I think that’s a question we don’t really consider often enough as we’re assembling our marketing plans.  As a creator, I’m a proponent of momentum…if I’m going to the trouble of building up a hubub about my current project, it seems foolish not to try and stay connected to my audience after they leave the theatre and parlay the buzz and their obvious initiative to buy tickets into my next show.  But how do you do that?  Is that a social networking thing, is it building an e-mail list, is it block booking shows?  Honestly, it could be any number of things depending on your project, and we’re going to be asking all those questions and more in the workshop.

The other thing I’ve noticed a lot in the Chicago independent theatre community is a certain expectation that you don’t need to find an audience because they’ll find you.  If anything, we have an even more uphill battle in this community because of the glut of comedy and small theatrical productions all vying for a few regular theatre-going audience members.  In this workshop, we’re going to look into targeting your show to a particular audience…maybe one that doesn’t even know they WANT to go out and see theatre.  Performing for your friends and family is great, but the real satisfaction of creating is in sharing your brilliance with people who don’t already know you’re brilliant.  I’m assuming everyone reading this is brilliant.  That’s correct, isn’t it?

We’re going to have a packed 3 hours on August 7th, and I hope to see many of you there.  Because of our relationship with the Gorilla Tango Theatre and their amazing relationship with independent producers in the community, the workshop is free for select Gorilla Tango producers who are currently working on shows or have shows coming up.  If you are a producer putting on a show at the theatre, inquire with Gorilla Tango if you’re eligible to come to this workshop for free.  General registration is $50 and you can enroll online at produceyourself.eventbrite.com or by calling the IAE at 773-756-2163.

If you have any questions about the workshop or aren’t sure if it’s right for you, feel free to e-mail me directly at Shawn@TheIAE.com and we can chat.  Asking questions is a good thing!

1. Focus
2. Self-motivation
3. Collaboration
4. Communication
5. Creativity

In support of Pertl’s message, Craig Cortello provided a link to an excerpt from his book Everything We Needed to Know about Business We Learned Playing Music.  It identifies “9 common lessons of music education that translate into success”:

1. Confidence and Self-Esteem (Stepping Up to the Mic)
2. Collaboration and Teamwork (I’m in the Band)
3. Leadership (Conducting Your Symphony of Employees)
4. Salesmanship and Branding (Give the Fans What They Want)
5. Creativity & Innovation (Improvising From the Charts)
6. Risk Acceptance (Let’s Just “Jam”)
7. Discipline and Fundamentals (Learning the “Scales” of Your Profession)
8. Individuality (Make Your Own Kind of Music)
9. Passion (Play it With Feeling)

Wow.  These two statements remind us just how many powerful transferrable skills music can foster.  But do we really value and cultivate these characteristics in conservatory settings?  If so, that should allay the fears of many uneasy parents, worried that music degrees won’t translate into a sustainable careers for their children.

I have no doubt that Pertl’s training helped prepare him to excel in the business world.  The same can be said of business leaders referenced in Cortello’s writing.   But much more common are tales of conservatory graduates who are ill-equipped to manage their own music business (i.e. career), let alone thrive within outside sectors.  So which is it? 

To argue that conservatory prepares musicians for business success, we should be able to answer the following questions in the affirmative.

 1)      Do traditional conservatories truly emphasize these things?

Trained musicians undoubtedly tend to possess some of the traits noted above.  Focus, self-motivation, discipline, and passion come to mind.  But what about the others?  Let’s consider how traditional conservatory training impacts a few of these points:

• Creativity.  Most classically trained musicians are terrified to improvise one note, let alone make creative decisions on more consequential matters.  Traditional curricula have little if any room for creativity.  (For more thoughts, click here.)
• Risk acceptance.  Many musicians come to believe that mistakes and failure are the enemy, rather than badges of honor.  Almost 100% of curricular requirements are tasks where students who work hard can find success every time.  True risk is not part of the equation. (For more thoughts, click here.)
• Individuality.  In school, budding musicians are traditionally encouraged to be exactly like everyone else, only better.  They play the same old music in the same old halls wearing the same old outfits with the same old conventions.  (For more thoughts, click here.)
• Communication.  Most students are not required to communicate verbally with the audience during recitals. In ensembles, conductors or coaches often make important musical decisions, rather than allowing participants to communicate, listen, consider, debate, and compromise.
• Salesmanship & branding. ???  Not at all a part of the typical conservatory experience.

For conservatories to develop the full array of transferable skill sets that music study can absolutely offer, they must emphasize these aspects within curriculum.  (Click here and here for suggestions.)  But the “intrinsic” argument is not sufficient. Music is a powerful tool. But the ways in which it is approached affect the kinds of graduates we build.

2)      Do traditional conservatories genuinely celebrate these things?

View the webpage of any music school.  Somewhere, a passage will describe great professional accomplishments of recent graduates: top grad music school study, orchestra employment, college teaching, lead opera roles. Even when these claims only represent a small minority, they are used as clear evidence of excellence. 

If a desirable outcome of conservatory training is success in non-music fields, this fact should be proudly advertised as well.  “Some of our alumni have become world class business leaders!!!”  A conservatory that markets this fact is one that values it. The opposite is probably true as well.  

More important than Internet statements are attitudes expressed within institutions. The majority of music students are still groomed for “traditional” careers.  When someone opts to pursue non-music options, how do teachers and colleagues view that decision?   If conservatories are indeed powerful breeding grounds for doctors, lawyers, politicians, business people, and other community leaders (in addition to musicians), they should celebrate and encourage a variety of paths, framing music study as a means to a variety of wonderful ends.

3)      Do traditional conservatories actually advocate these things?

Let’s assume for a moment that conservatories are doing everything in their power to prepare students for professional success across discipline.  What then?

There are in fact companies that actively seek to employ creative musicians.  I once heard a Google executive explain “we look to hire musicians. We’d rather employ someone with vast creativity and teach them technical skills than the other way around.  It’s a much easier proposition.” 

But most companies are not so enlightened.  Instead, the majority of business employers immediately discard resumes of musicians.  Without a business degree, they simply aren’t considered.  Which is a shame IF conservatory training truly embodies coveted and necessary skills.

When music students are groomed to succeed in an array of areas, conservatories should become outspoken advocates of this benefit.  Music administrators and faculty members have an opportunity to deliver that message, with clarity and pride, to corporations and other business communities.   

 Conclusion

Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, claims that the MFA is the new MBA.  Pertl and Cortello argue that music study cultivates essential traits that help musicians succeed in the business sector.  I desperately want to believe them.   But to tap into the full potential of music study, conservatories must modify both traditional curriculum and their message to students and the world. 

There is some good news.  Many music schools are making exciting changes to their model.  Brian Pertl, for example, is working to modify the approach at the Lawrence Conservatory (where he serves as dean) to better emphasize entrepreneurial success.  Similar trends are occurring elsewhere.  Perhaps there will be a time when conservatories prioritize professional success for their students—whether in or outside music—as much as artistic excellence.  When that happens, both students and society will be better served. 

If you know about a music school or faculty member who is challenging conventions along these lines, please let me know about it: cutler@savvymusician.com.  I’d like to feature these visionaries in articles here.

Private Teachers

Looking for independent music teachers with:

• Good business models
• Income streams other than private teaching
• Interesting marketing strategies
• Independently run classes or camps
• Media (recording, video, etc) integrated into their teaching
• Yearly income of $80,000-100,000+

College Professors

Looking for college music professors such as:

• Applied teachers who integrate innovative strategies that help students develop practical and entrepreneurial skills (in addition to great playing technique)
• Ensemble directors who employ a model that goes beyond the typical conductor driven format to cultivate creativity and savviness
• Classroom teachers (i.e. theory or history) who use their interactions as an opportunity to foster working musicians

 If you or someone you know fits these descriptions, please email me at cutler@savvymusician.com. 

 Thank you for your assistance!

 

When you create and display visual aids during an oral presentation, there are a few general principles that you should follow.

Keep it simple

Use color, but not too much
Color accelerates learning and recall by 55% or more and comprehension by 70% (Dodd, 1997). But too much color can be distracting.

Break complex ideas into simpler visual parts
If you plan to show a complex idea visually, break the image into smaller, less complicated parts. An overlay is a possible option.

Show = Discuss
Do not show anything that you don’t plan to discuss. Explain what’s in each graphic.

Do not talk at your visual aid
Direct your presentation toward the audience and refer to your images with a pointer or pen.

Steady hands
If you’re hands are shaky, a pointer, pen, or pencil will help steady you.

You can use the following options, but beware of the problems associated with each:

Overheads are simple and clear, and you don’t have to depend on a computer. They can, however, get out of order, have poor print quality, and cause other problems if the transition between each one is not smooth. If you are able, have someone else be responsible for turning your overheads during your presentation, so you can concentrate on speaking and directing the overall presentation.

PowerPoint or similar slide-show software programs can produce professional-looking presentations. You can store your presentation on a disk and carry it with you, and it’s also easy to make changes to your presentation.

However, using such software does force dependence on computer technology, and if the computer crashes, or if there are other technology problems, you won’t have your slide-show. Therefore, when you use such software, always have available alternative visuals such as overheads or paper handouts.

Slides give you clear images of photographs and also allow for easy change in the order of your presentation. However, they can be expensive, and you can’t change the images once they’re created.

Whiteboards and paper are convenient if you feel comfortable writing your points in front of the audience. They also let you be spontaneous and incorporate feedback from the audience. However, they don’t look as professional as other media, and they force you to spend a lot of time writing when you should be talking (often with your back to the audience).

Handouts are an excellent accompaniment to any of the options listed above, but they can also pose their own problems. If you distribute them at the beginning of your presentation, you risk losing your audience’s attention; their attention may turn to the handout rather than following what you are saying.

Nevertheless, having the audience follow along with the handout can be a successful strategy. You can also pass out a summary of your speech that the audience can take away with them. A final option is to pass out handouts to support the information you bring up as you talk. However, this can also deflect attention away from you, and cause the audience to miss pertinent points. Be sparing with handouts, but understand that they can be instrumental in helping the audience remember your speech.

In conclusion, the above information is for those who are really attached to using aids.  I prefer imagination and interaction.  The fewer aids the more connected the audience is to me and the less distracted they are by some aid.  I am, however, aware that people have different ways of remembering information, visually, oral, etc.  So keeping all this in mind, remember that your natural, authentic, connected voice is the best advertisement you have for your interest in the audience.  It’s then that they are willing to listen – when they know you care about them.