Leadership Tomorrow Workshop #6

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The first panelist to speak was Paula Tomei from the South Coast Repertory Theater.She explained that SCR was a resident theater which means that they serve as a host for various productions rather than producing original ones. After a brief history of the the theater company, Ms.Tomei made it clear that The Segerstrom Family of Orange County were instrumental in the development of what SCR is today. She also identified a number of issues that will impact SCR significantly in the future Those were; the aging audience, politics, single-ticket buyers and diversity. Of those, the one that "hit closest to home was the aging of the audience, although not for the reasons you might expect. Many of the arts programs within the schools have fallen victim to budget cuts. If children are not exposed to the arts, they may never gain an appreciation for them as adults. Without support, from future generations, we may lose the arts altogether.

The second panelist was Karin Schnell a member of the Board of Directors for the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. The OCCCA is an organization for emerging artists to display their work. Essentially it is an artist-run community gallery. It has grown in recent years to encompass not only an art exhibition space, but also to an art education outreach program aimed at local schools in Santa Ana and surrounding communities. Ms. Tomei brought up the issue of the aging audience, and the OCCCA is helping to provide the solution. OCCCA has presented the work of over 300 guest artists and sponsored juried exhibits that have showcased over 500 participants.There exhibitions, shows and panel discussions tend to focus on cultural, environmental and political themes. Ms. Schnell pointed out that as many not-for-profit organizations, their biggest concern for the future is the financial support that comes from art patrons in the County. There are two levels of memberships. The Supporter Category and the Affiliate Artist Membership. She also mentioned that OCCCA is expanding their Board of Directors and that they were searching for candidates now. I will be joing as a Supporter and at some time in the future may asked to be considered for a Board position should one become available.

Next to speak was Michele Roberge from the Irvine Barclay Theater. The Barclay is considered a "midsize theater and is celebrating its 10th anniversary next year. It hosts a performance of some kind 210 days out of the year. Many of these performances are ethnic in nature. Ms. Roberge explained that the Barclay is really a tripartite between the community, the University of California, Irvine and the operating company itself. The community brings the symphonies, the ballet and contemporary dance. The university brings the lectures and the operating company brings the productions. Federal monies stemming from redevelopment funds eased the financial strain on the community to get the theater built. Also these monies helped garner political support as well. The Barclay covers 70 % of its operating budget with earned income leaving 30 % to be raised. This is remarkable according to Ms. Roberge, since many theaters operate with about 50 % earned income or less. Interestingly enough, the success of the Barclay has also led to its identity problem according to Ms. Roberge. The diversity of events has inhibited any consensus on just what the theater is to the community and the rest of Orange County.

The next panelist to speak was Michael Mudd, the Cultural and Events Services Manager for the City of Hunting Beach. He was the only panelist that was a city official so he provided a more of a political perspective for our group.  Mr. Mudd pointed out that there is no real master plan for the arts in Orange County. So, in 1993, he developed one for the city of Huntington Beach. The Huntington Beach Art Center opened in 1994. Mr. Mudd pointed out that when the storms destroyed the Huntington Beach Pier in 1987, the arts in his city were dramatically affected. There was far more public interest in the reconstruction of the pier than promoting and supporting the building of the Arts Center. That led to the establishment of a non-profit organization in order to get the center built. When asked what factors exist now that will effect his organization in the future, Mr. Mudd's answered was that it has been, and continues to be, quite difficult to resolve issues between the donors and the operators...a similar problem shared by the Barclay.

The last to speak was Greg Atkins a theater professional based in Orange County. He regularly produces, directs and stars in theatrical productions for South Coast Repertory Theater. The one thing that struck me about Greg was his wit. He has a great sense of humor and was very "quick"... a skill I wish that I had. Wit adds a dimension to public speaking that can be important in capturing an audience. Well it turns out that Greg teaches an Improvisation Class at South Coast Rep. He mentioned that he had a model in his current class that might be the most beautiful human being he has ever seen. Apparently this person wants to do more than just look good, he wanted to land some parts in commercials. Greg said that as beautiful as he was...he just couldn't speak. He also mentioned that he has several CEOs and other professionals enroll in his class. I plan to enroll in his improvisation class in the spring.

Next was a tour of the Performing Arts Center where Opera Pacific presents there productions along with several other Orange County arts groups such as the Pacific Symphony. The tour was conducted by Docent Holly and Eileen who were very knowledgeable about the history and architecture of this marvelous building. Having appeared in several operas as a supernumerary for the Opera pacific, I am very familiar with this building. During the tour I was constantly "biting my tongue" not to say "hey 'guys' you know what actually goes on right here?" I was pretty good....I resisted all the temptations.

Following the tour of the Performing Arts Center, a professional photographer met us out front of the Center to take our class photo. Then it was off to lunch at Antonello's Italian Ristorante in South Coast Village located in Costa Mesa. We were served an outstanding meal that was underwritten by a former LT graduate Greg Rohl. Greg is owner operator of Rohl Corporation. At lunch we were all kind of taken back at the bgive-away of tickets to various performing arts shows around the county in the next few months. The "hot" ones were Of Mice and Men at South Coast Repertory, LT classmate Jill and I split a pair of tickets on that one March 2nd...so I even have a date!. The other popular ticket was for Momix at the Barclay in May. Lunch was followed by a LT class project update from committee chairs.

After lunch it was back on the bus and off to the Santa Ana Artist's Village. The first stop in the Village was the Grand Central Arts Center. This a joint effort between the City and Cal State University, Fullerton. It is a place that graduate students attending the university can live as well has maintain small studios for their art projects. The building is being completely refurbished and is near completion. Located with in this center is the Alternative Repertory Theater. This is a very small theater (only 80 seats). Often these kinds of theaters are referred to as "black box" theaters. We were met at the door by a very odd looking fellow with a bongo drum. We weren't sure if he wasn't just in off the streets until we all sat down in the theater and he went into a whole rendition from the production currently being staged called "Barrio Every Man" by Roy Conboy.

We were then greeted by Patricia Terry the Artistic Director of ART. Ms. Terry spoke about the nature of the alternative theater and its appeal. Certainly one is the proximity in which the audience is to the stage. I was in the front row and my feet were resting on the stage floor. She said this takes a little getting used to both for the performer and the audience, but that both usually like it once they get used to it. Another appeal of the alternative theater according to Ms. Terry is the kind of production that an arts patron can expect to see there. Often these are productions written by obscure playwrights. They will often have political, cultural or ethnic themes and are performed by young enthusiastic actors working their way up in repertory theater.

There are also some problems associated with this type of theater. Those are primarily publicity, and selling seats. With a very limited number of seats available, it is critical that as many tickets be sold as possible for each performance. The word "alternative" is quite important here because, theaters like ART are not trying to compete with theaters like South Coast Repertory. They have cut out a niche for themselves in the arts, it is well defined and adhered to within the artistic community. I was aware of alternative theater companies an have attended a couple productions here in Southern California. I was not, however, aware of this one and I will begin watching for productions that I might be interested in seeing.

We then walked down to the Santora Arts Building down the street. While I was walking I kept looking around and saying to myself..."This is downtown Santa Ana, 20 minutes from my home, and I had no idea this area existed." Jim Gilliam, City of Santa Ana Arts Administrator met us in the lobby of the Santora Building and gave us a brief history of the building before taking us around.

The building, as most in the Village, is completely dedicated to the arts. Space in the building is leased to artists as studios to create and display their work. There were a few empty spaces but not many. At each floor we were left on our own to explore the spaces. We had the opportunity to talk with artists residing there and to look at finished work as well as work in progress. In many ways it reminded me of the Art Festival held in Laguna Beach each summer which is known throughout the world.

What I found most interesting about what Mr. Gilliam shared with our group was his attempt to change the image that he felt we had of downtown Santa Ana. I must admit, that I have had reservations about going to the area at night. Mr. Gilliam explained that the crime in Santa Ana has decreased dramatically over the past few years. Community-Based Policing has had a very positive effect in Santa Ana. Mr. Gilliam, himself lives in Santa Ana, which I felt, gave credence to what he was trying to say. "Come down and enjoy the Artist's Village in Santa Ana it is a comfortable and safe place to satisfy your craving for the arts."

After our time in the Santora Building we boarded the bus back to Coast ROP. There was an opportunity given for any of us to express an opportunity that we had last month to exercise some of our leadership skills. Then we were asked to fill out the evaluation sheets and to look forward to next month when our workshop takes place on the Colorado River and will go over the course of three days. There is a preview of that workshop on Water Issues available at this site now.