Audience Development – Creative Minds Out Loud

Episode 82: The ART of Taking Risks

The American Repertory Theater’s Diane Paulus and Diane Borger share how they think about risk, and what it means to have “high tolerance for disequilibrium” that permeates the entire culture of an organization. By experimenting with doing things differently, they say artists and arts organizations actually develop muscle and an ability to stay afloat in “risky water.”

Photos of A.R.T. Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus (r) and A.R.T. Executive Producer Diane Borger (l). Paulus' image by Susan Lapides. Diane Paulus is the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. A.R.T. directing credits include ExtraOrdinary, Jagged Little Pill (beginning on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre in November 2019), The White Card, In the Body of the World, Waitress (currently on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, on US national tour, and in London’s West End), Crossing, Finding Neverland, Witness Uganda, Pippin (Tony Award, Best Revival and Best Director; opening June 2019 in Tokyo, Japan), The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Tony Award, Best Revival; NAACP Award, Best Direction), Prometheus Bound, Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera, Best of Both Worlds, and The Donkey Show. Continue reading “Episode 82: The ART of Taking Risks”

Episode 62: When Growing Audiences, Going Too Fast is as Dangerous as Too Slow

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Graham Wright, Founder of Opus Affair, discusses the perennial question of how do organizations take care of their established audience while leaving room to create emerging audiences.

Graham Wright is an arts management consultant, classical singer, and founder of Opus Affair—an organization focused on connecting individuals with arts and culture events in their communities. Opus Affair, called a “social behemoth” by the Boston Globe, has over 7,000 individual members in the Boston area and has partnered with arts and culture organizations in Boston and beyond, including Boston Philharmonic, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Baroque, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Athenaeum, Boston Children’s Museum, Museum of Science Boston, Boston Early Music Festival, Celebrity Series of Boston, Odyssey Opera, Michigan Science Center, Portland Bach Experience, and White Snake Projects.
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Episode 10: The ART Leads the Audience

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The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is serious about audience development. A.R.T. Executive Director Diane Quinn says everything they do is with an eye to what audiences will see once they pass the theater doors. She discusses their mandate to expand the boundaries of theater – both physically and through the content itself.

Diane Quinn is the Executive Director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) A veteran of the arts, her many positions have included Founding Producer of Soulpepper Theatre Company and Festival of Classics, Coordinator of the Arts Administration Program at the University of Toronto, and Executive Director of Toronto Women in Film and Television. Most recently she served as Senior VP of Creative and Artistic Operations at Cirque du Soleil and was responsible for managing the artistic quality of all shows globally.
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