Amy Ward
Reflection #4
Arts Management
Tamara Hubbard, Dana Davis, Rob Lebrecque, Tim Morrissey
3-25-03
(3 pages)
The dynamic between these four guests
was fascinating to watch. It was
especially neat
to find two women and two men to bounce the ball of conversation
amongst them.
They were all very good guest speakers, although I think that having
them together improved
the night exponentially. The only problem that keeps surfacing
when people come to speak to
the class is that they think we’re all artists, they don’t
realize it’s a required
course. Undoubtedly many of us do art – as evidenced by our
portfolios and projects,
but we’re not taking the class because it’s art related. I was
really shocked the first night
when it was said that the Art majors were basically insulted
that they had to
take the class. I think that what we learned this night was evidence
that
everyone can benefit
from the class. I was interested in it because I work in marketing
and also because
I wonder about the feasibility of selling my own work, etc.
It was great to hear from Dana who works
to get professional artists in schools
for K-12th grade for hands on
communication with the community. I’m currently enrolled
in the K-6 Education
Licensure program at UNCA and so made sure to make notes on
how this works.
It was also great to have Tim there who was working for a not for profit
organization, as
I work for the YMCA and it is something we struggle with to keep going.
We still have a
board, however, but they do seem to give us a good bit of freedom.
Or
perhaps the freedom
is actually lack of effort on their part, leaving us to make it work.
It was really great to get the perspective
of Rob to mirror that of Tim. They
could work off what
the other said about theatre vs. film. I really liked what they said
about traveling
a lot - I love seeing the world. Though I don’t really see myself getting
into film or theatre. Then what
Dana said about taking a course in accounting and becoming
educated in the finance area
of business really made sense to me – even if you’re not naturally
good at it, it’s
something you need to know. The business of art. When I went
to UNCW
the theatre and
film business was very prevalent and I used to cringe when I heard “Dawson’s
Creek” was filming on campus.
I’d find out where they were filming then make sure to avoid
that area the rest
of the day. The girls would swoon and say, “I saw Dawson!” Gag.
Come
on people, get a
grip.
Even though I have a slight distaste
for all the hype that goes along with it, I think it
would be neat to
have Asheville become the next Wilmington. It would be nice if the
insecurities that
Rob talked about in the film industry could be minimized as much as
possible.
I hate it when we have a summer with nothing but “volcano” movies or “alien”
movies. And
Romania? Come on… What’s better than shooting a movie in the very place
it’s set?
If that’s possible. I suppose that the very reason why people bring
in their support
staff is the same
reason why a film community is easier to start up than a theatre community,
they’re already
a community who relies on each other for support and jobs.
I think it’s very important that those
in theatre continue to produce the classic plays
for new generations.
The theatre brings in a totally different aspect of imagination to a story
than does film.
It makes the story and characters more personal. I would think, also,
that
the actors themselves
would enjoy doing a familiar play over again, revisiting some of their
favorite characters.
They say that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. I
suppose this would
be that those who repeat plays are destined to remember them. I could
live with that.
It was funny that when asked what their
most gratifying experiences have been,
Rob mentioned that
he liked to tell stories so that he could name drop, but then I didn’t
recognize any of
the names he dropped. I must be horribly out of the loop. But
something
that he said made
me wonder if perceived glamour is still real glamour since glamour is all
perception; “beauty
is in the eye of the beholder”. Dana pointed out that the artist
is always
connected to the
play, to the audience, etc and Tim was quick to tell us that an artist’s
ego
can be both good
and bad, and Rob added that actors have to get along in a not for profit
organization because
they don’t have to be working there. He said that NP is “more real”
and they have a
high standard because they have a responsibility to the board and to the
audience.
And that’s what Dana loves doing, helping the artists find a way to be fed
and
reap the fruits
of their labor. That’s very gratifying to her, as it is to us all,
to see something
grown and be prosperous
– even if it’s other people. Just finding that justification for what
you’re doing and
the recognition that you’ve worked hard, as Tamara said to us.
I think that the most important thing
in all of this is the human element. That thing
which is the focus
of all art. The striving for perfection, of building up, of pushing
through.
It’s a hard road,
but if you’re committed to it, there will always be good travels. There
will
always be stories to be told
and lessons to teach and learn. But along that road you must
be educated in all
ways of travel. Ignorance is no valid excuse.