The Ethics of Pursuing your Dream Job

In these "tough economic times" (boy am I getting tired of that) many arts admins I know (including myself) have taken positions that, in a rich employment environment, they would not have even applied for. It has led some of us down a path we didn't expect to enjoy, and some us down a path that we can't wait to get off.

So when you accept a position that is less than ideal, uproot yourself, get trained, get busy and get on board, what happens when your dream job comes up? Do you apply? Do you interview? Do you accept?

Personally I think life is too short to spend time somewhere simply because you might feel guilty. Thinking long term instead of short term is better for everyone. But we live in a small world, and if you hop jobs you may get blacklisted and your reputation may suffer.

So where do you draw the line between personal fulfillment and company loyalty? How do you gracefully bow out of a position that isn't right, even if you've just begun?

I'm not sure I know the answer, and I think it's different for everyone. But I do believe that you have to do what is right for you, whatever that answer may be, and accept the consequences of your decision.

Sweeping Generalizations

Admit it, you make generalizations once in a while (or more often). It's nothing to be ashamed of, everybody does it. Everybody. Whether it's from experience, ignorance or prejudice everybody does it (and how's that for a sweeping generalization *wink*). Regardless, it's good to step back from these ingrained ideas now and again and reconsider your ideas about groups of people.

One I hear come up in arts marketing meetings again and again is the issue of whether or not to advertise to sports fans (in whatever method you want). I don't really understand why so many performing arts marketers dismiss the idea of promoting their shows to sports fans. When you think about it, a game is a like attending an improv performance. You've got your stage (playing field), your lead actors and big names (quarterbacks), your supporting cast (linebackers), your stage manager (coach) and you've got PLOT. Everyone in the audience knows the rules of the play/game, but what happens between the beginning and the end is a surprise. Everyone holds their breath at the crucial turning point. Everyone cheers when the hero wins. Why wouldn't sports fans be interested in theater?

Let's take this a step further. Studies show that there are more male purchasers of sports tickets, and more female purchasers of performing arts tickets. That's fine, we skew our marketing efforts to women, but is that the right choice? I'm willing to bet a lot of those guys at the games are in relationships with the gaggle of women attending the theatre. Let's make it easy on them to support each others interests. See if you can get the local sports team to do a cross promotion with you. If you've got a play that will appeal to men, make the marketing copy say that! Don't fall into the traps we create for ourselves by making generalizations about groups of people who may or may not attend our performances.

Now, you may say "Rachel, you just made a whole bunch of assumptions in this post?!" Well to that I say, sure, remember what I said at the beginning? Everybody does it. And I just want to raise the idea of removing the old blinders for a moment and looking at audiences through new eyes. Plus, do as I say, not as I do *wink*

Rachel Mann
March 28, 2011

TV and Theater

I watch a lot of TV, and as such watch a lot of pilot episodes. Pilots are hard television to make. You have to introduce the characters, make us like or hate them. Introduce the general premise, and have us buy into it. If it's a drama, have a sufficiently compelling drama but nothing overly complicated to interrupt all the other information we're absorbing. And if it's a comedy, you have to be funny. In TV you have 22 to 46 minutes to convey this information and sell an audience well enough to convince them to watch your show again a full seven days from the end of that hour. Tough job, it's why so few pilots make it to air and why so few shows make it past the first half of their first season. Some really good shows never grab their audience, and some bad shows seem to keep them coming back for more.

Is this that different from theater? We sell an audience on a premise and a cast with a blurb and maybe a video clip. They buy in, making an appointment with us to see what we have to offer. The first part of the play we have to introduce characters, introduce plot and get the audience to buy in. We give them a long commercial break instead of several shorter ones. We ask them to come back after that break and see and the stunning conclusion of our show. A good portion of this is up to the writing, and the actors to correctly convey all of these things. But that's not all, the set, the costumes, the lighting and sound are all a huge part of our viewing experience. We don't have camera angles but we do have staging and scene changes. It's all important, in every single moment you can potentially lose an audience member. Forever.

Theaters don't usually ask patrons to see the same show week after week, but we do ask them to return to our shows, to be a part of the viewing experience. Are you doing everything in your power to ensure that your audience enjoys the "pilot" experience enough to return? Are the subsequent "episodes" compelling, diverse and equally good as the first experience?

We live in a world where first impressions are often the last impressions, and every impression is important. TV and their flashy new episodes may seem a world apart from the often less shiny theater world, but we share more than we can imagine. One of those things is our desire to grab an audiences attention and keep it, let's take a lesson from a different medium and make sure we aren't falling into a rut. And no "reality theater Jersey Shore" please.

2/3/11
Rachel Mann