Commentary

When It Comes To Internships, Have Reasonable Expectations

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For whatever reason, Internships seem to be popping up on the topic radar quite a bit this season. Last week, we examined toxic internship environments and the damage they can do to participants and earlier this week, a colleague sent me a copy of an internship that had jaw-droppingly unrealistic expectations. Nutshell: this organization has a marketing/communications internship that expects the participant to take photo and video footage of live performances …

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Wait, Interns Aren’t Here For Us?

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I always love it when Joe Patti doesn’t hold back on a topic and he really opened up on one near and dear to me: predatory arts org internships. He examines an internship environment that was so caustic, it caught the attention of the L.A. Times and he brought everything together in the best possible way: As business journals try to analyze the motivations behind the current Great Resignation, it would behoove the theater world to note …

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When It Comes To Our Audience, Are We Curious Or Judgmental?

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There’s a great article by Whit Honea in the 9/23/21 edition of The Washington Post that examines the value of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. It’s a fabulously reflective post about an equally wonderful show but the part that jumped out was toward the end when the author highlights one of the show’s underlying points: “Be curious, not judgmental” (emphasis added). “Be curious, not judgmental.” In a pivotal moment, Ted faces Rebecca’s ex-husband, …

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It’s Going To End In Tears

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No, this isn’t photoshop, it really is a gargantuan violin designed to function as a floating stage. Bonus points for can-do attitude and you can read the New York Times article to learn more but really, is there any way this doesn’t end in tears…or lawsuits…or insurance claims?

Will Call And Other Things That Should Go Away Post-Pandemic

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Nearly a decade ago, I published an article asking why the field still relied on using “will call” as the preferred name tracking prepaid tickets. Since then, not much has changed but that doesn’t make it any less of a barrier for ticket buyers. For anyone used to buying event tickets on their smartphone, the entire notion of waiting in a line to pick up printed tickets seems bothersome and archaic …

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