September 2014 – Page 2 – Adaptistration

Negotiations Don’t Cancel Concerts, People Cancel Concerts

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 by Drew McManus

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) has officially cancelled the next 47 days of concert events, through 11/8/2014. The official ASO statement asserts the cancellations are “due to negotiations between ASO management and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association (ASOPA) over a new collective bargaining agreement.” Unfortunately, that’s not terribly accurate since the mere act of negotiating is incapable of rising to the level of canceling scheduled event activity. In effect, this …

South Willimasport Director Dismissed In Wake Of Spamalot Controversy

Monday, September 22nd, 2014 by Drew McManus

According to a 9/19/2014 article by Howard Sherman, the drama director at South Williamsport Area Junior/Senior High School in Pennsylvania, Dawn Burch, was fired from her position. If you’re just coming into this controversy, South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Junior/Senior High School administrators canceled an upcoming production of Monty Python’s Spamalot that Burch was set to direct due to what the school’s principal, Jesse Smith, described as “homosexual themes ” (details). Sherman’s article …

Just In Case You Forgot How Deep Of A Public Perception Hole We’re In

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018Friday, September 19th, 2014 by Drew McManus

If anyone ever wondered whether or not the orchestra field has a history of projecting an elitist image where the self-ordained curators of “greatest art” are comprised of a bunch of pompous asses, might I direct your attention to an article by Mariella Moon in the 9/17/2014 edition of endgadget.com that examines a brand new social network called Netropolitan that is designed expressly for the one percent crowd. What makes this …

Hey, Some Good News Without Any Prerequisite Drama

Wednesday, October 18th, 2017Thursday, September 18th, 2014 by Drew McManus

The 9/15/2014 edition of The Seattle Times published an article by Nicole Brodeur that reports the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (SSO) not only raised $600,000 at its recent gala but also garnered a $10 million gift from Rebecca Benaroya. Yes, the Minnesota Orchestra recently announced a $10 million gift too but Seattle managed to snag theirs without having to first thrust the organization into chaos. Even though the organization came rather close …

Isn’t It About Time For an Arts Admin Version of Lifehacker?

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014 by Drew McManus

Ah, where would we be without Lifehacker.com, the site dedicated to providing “tips, ticks, and downloads for getting things done.” Since 2005, the site has been a mainstay for practical advice and discussion; granted, it’s become a bit of a navigation quagmire in recent months, but the content is still entirely useful. So why doesn’t something like this exist for arts managers? Sure there are outlets like listservs maintained by the various …