 |
| Moonlight and Magnolias, like all of the Springer’s mainstage productions, featured lots of backstage work by Springer Theatre Academy students. Jef Holbrook (Ben Hecht), left, is a graduate of the Springer Theatre Academy and a longtime Academy teacher. Jens Rasmussen (David O. Selznick) is a professional actor from New York, with more than 20 years’ experience, who has been teaching at the Academy for several years. |
Study Finds Quality Children’s Education Program
is Key to Attracting New Audiences to the Theatre
'The presence of children on the INSIDE will rearrange the molecules of your organization.’
-Paul Pierce, Producing Artistic Director, Springer Opera House
Ask Ron Anderson how the Springer Opera House in Columbus, GA, increased its attendance by double digits over the past three years, and you’ll get a quick rejoinder.
“What have we done to grow our audiences? Well, it sort of starts with a disclaimer. ‘Cause we didn’t set out to do this.
We didn’t set out to build an audience. We set out to build an education program. That’s why Paul [Pierce] brought me to Columbus,” says Anderson, who came from Milwaukee in 1996 to start the Springer Theatre Academy.
“The idea that . . . 12 years later we would wake up and say, ‘Wow! Our audience is growing, and it has a direct relation to our Theatre Academy’ – that never occurred to us. It was a natural and organic byproduct of what we were doing.”
The humility and service-through-art philosophy exemplified in his remarks are key characteristics of the leadership of Springer Opera House. But regardless of the original intentions of the Springer Theatre Academy, this fact remains: The Springer Opera House is growing its audience, and the Springer Theatre Academy is the major impetus for that growth.
2008-09 BUDGET:
$2.2 Million
AUDIENCE GROWTH:
07-08 Season 108,000
06-07 Season 106,300
05-06 Season 96,500
08-09 PRODUCTION SEASON
Mainstage:
Menopause, the Musical
Father of the Bride
Peter Pan
Hamlet
Big River
Red, White and Tuna
Studio Series:
Why Baby Why: The Music of George Jones and Tammy Wynette
A Tuna Christmas
Charm School
Charm School
Children’s Series:
If You Give a Pig a Party
Winnie the Pooh
The Big Friendly Giant
National Tour:
Tours nationally as Springer Theatricals, performing in about 60 American cities each year.
‘TUNA’ PARTNERSHIP
The Springer has developed a partnership with the creators of the “Tuna” plays (Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard) in which A Tuna Christmas was performed in the Studio Series by the producing artistic director Paul Pierce and associate artistic director Ron Anderson. Furthermore, the Springer is the first theatre in America to be given rights to Red, White and Tuna, which until now had only been performed by the original cast/creators. In addition, the Springer has mounted separate
productions of A Tuna Christmas and the original play, Greater Tuna, and included those productions in its national
touring schedule. All four productions will be directed by creator Ed Howard, who lives in Atlanta. Over the years, the Springer has premiered several of Howard’s other works, including The Tempest Tossed and Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man.
HISTORY
The Springer Opera House, which is the State Theatre of Georgia, opened February 21, 1871, and soon gained a reputation as the finest theatre between Washington, DC, and New Orleans. The Springer was saved from the wrecking ball in 1964 and underwent a major restoration in the 1990s that increased its size from 35,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet.
GHOSTLY TRIVIA
The Springer Opera House is well-known for its ghost sightings. Several years ago, The Travel Channel named it one of “The World’s Top Ten Ghostly Destinations.”
That’s the key finding from a study of the Springer Theatre Academy that was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The study was conducted by Lisa Mount, director of the Georgia-based Artistic Logistics, a cooperative of independent arts consultants that provides services across the U.S. Titled Learning Everywhere: The Impact of the Springer Theatre Academy on the Springer Opera House, the study was completed March 20, 2008.
For the study, Artistic Logistics surveyed 50 Theatre Academy families and interviewed parents, students, Springer staff, teachers and guest artists. The findings: This professional theatre seems to be doing what most theatres dream of doing – bringing more and more people of all ages, including young families, to see its productions even as the economy lags and belts are tightening everywhere.
“Audiences in American theatre are graying at an alarming rate,” Mount states in her executive summary. “Subscriber bases are collapsing and single-ticket attendance is slipping nationwide. Despite this trend, the Springer Opera House – a 137-year-old professional theatre in Columbus, Georgia - has experienced astonishing audience growth in the past several years. A 17% increase last year, 13% the year before, 9% the previous year.”
These unusually successful numbers are what drew the attention of the Knight Foundation, which wanted to understand the reason for this arts enigma. The Foundation maintains relationships with theatres throughout the country – theatres that are experiencing a collapse of their audiences and are looking for solutions to the audience lag conundrum and developing new models to build audiences for the arts.
A few years ago, the Knight Foundation commissioned a study from Wolf-Brown, Inc., in Cambridge, MA, to find out where symphony orchestra audiences come from. The results were enlightening. The study reported that more than 70 percent of symphony orchestra audience members had played a musical instrument as a child or had sung in a choir. Hence, the possibility of an educational program having a direct effect on audience growth already sounded plausible to Foundation leaders. The potential to quantify these facts to help other organizations helped lead to the Springer study.
So, can it be that a historic theatre in a moderate-sized city in the southwest portion of Georgia, a city known mainly for its history in the textile industry and its Army base, Fort Benning, is increasing theatre audiences and making a significant cultural impact on its community? And because Columbus has one of the fastest growing metro areas in Georgia, is it positioned to become a leader in the performing arts for the state? How and why is this happening at the Springer Opera House?
The answer to these questions lies with an unexpected population in Columbus – young people. This is not to say that the increase of audience is only among youth. The Springer has not transformed itself into a place where only children belong. But it is to say this: A substantial portion of young people, ages 5-18, in Columbus, GA, are passionate about live theatre. They are taking that passion home to their entire families and then totin’ Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles and babysitters with them to watch vibrant live theatre at the Springer Opera House.
One academy student quoted in the study speaks of the draw of the Springer.
“The building inspires me,”” the student says. “I have a sense of owing this place so much, I love going back to it.”
However, it isn’t the venerable building alone that draws people. Because the students have created a large community unto themselves, when they get to the theatre, they see their teachers (professional theatrical workers) onstage, and their peers working backstage, onstage or in the house as ushers. The youth of the Columbus community are leading the way to the Springer. Period.
Lisa Mounts says, in the Executive Summary of the report: “The findings are astonishing: For the past 11 years the Springer Theatre Academy, the Springer’s mammoth education program, has been doing innovative work with young people that has had a profound impact on individual children and their families. This, in turn, has resulted in these students and their families eventually emerging as subscribers, single-ticket buyers, donors and board members. The Springer audience is getting bigger and YOUNGER - a reverse of the national trend.
“This study recognizes these trends for what they are: The Springer is beginning to reap the benefits of its long-term commitment to developing audiences from the ground up. The Knight Foundation sees this as a potential ‘sustainability’ model that might be exported to theatres all over the U.S.”
Beverly Blake of the Knight Foundation encourages theatres across America to take note of the study findings.
“These results are extremely important for the entire theatre community,” she says. “[This study] shows that if you get young people involved in every aspect, they are not only your future audience – they will develop future audiences.”
“Really?” one might think, “Well, that’s a no-brainer. Let’s get our organization to teach some more classes. We’ll beef up our education program and start reaping the benefits!”
Actually, the Springer Theatre Academy is not just any education program.
“[Springer Academy] is a very different model than [the educational programs at] other theatres – this model works to build audiences,” says Blake.
Springer Theatre Academy is a carefully, uniquely pre-planned, rigorously organized venture, with an ambitious, creative and committed leader whose focus is on the learning of each individual child. In fact, according to the study, this leadership weighs heavily in importance, as do the teachers that Ron Anderson assembles (or essentially casts) to instruct at the Academy each year. When asked to rate elements of the Springer Theatre Academy in terms of what is important to them, 90 percent of those surveyed said that Anderson was “extremely important” and 82 percent said that the teachers were “extremely important.”
Evidence of the success of the Springer Theatre Academy is seen in the growth of fresh and committed audiences, new theatre-goers who, according to the Knight Foundation study, would not have come to the theatre except for the exceptional educational programming that their children participated in at the Springer Theatre Academy. According to those surveyed, 98 percent rate the overall experience of going to the Springer Theatre Academy as “excellent” and 87.8 percent say that they saw more plays since becoming involved in the Theatre Academy.
As one academy parent quoted in the study stated, “It makes our family’s life stronger, richer and closer. We’ve seen nothing like it, anywhere.”
But back to the point, how is the Springer achieving these fantastic results? Artistic Logistics notes that it arrived at some answers to that question through a series of interviews with students, parents, teachers, Springer staff, Columbus area leaders and education directors at comparable companies around the country. Following are some of the key strategies used at the Springer.
STRATEGY 1: EDUCATION PROGRAM IS CENTER STAGE
“The Springer has made the Academy integral to its programming and artistic vision, rather than treating it as a revenue generator that is ancillary to main stage programming.” - Learning Everywhere
There is a widely held perspective in theatre organizations that education programs are secondary or even tertiary to other artistic programming. In addition, many organizations utilize their training programs as a way to stabilize their cash flow concerns. While the study states that “the Academy does have a positive impact on the bottom line,” it also has a fundamental effect on “artistic decisions” and is viewed as “a resource of talent and ability for the organization.” Season scripts are chosen with the intent of utilizing students whenever possible, and students work in every aspect of production – backstage, administrative and, yes, onstage.
The Springer Board of Directors is also aware of the importance of the Academy and the key role it has played in the overall success of the theatre. In 2006, the Board changed its bylaws to include a student on the board of directors. This board member is not a figurehead, but an actual board member with a vote and lively involvement in board discussions.
The Academy also goes out of its way to include parents and to encourage parental involvement on all fronts. For instance, parents are invited to observe any and all classes at the academy. This builds parents’ trust and support of the program and connects them to the big picture of what is so special to their children. According to the study, an average of 750 students attend the Academy each year and parents of academy students (past and present) hold 11 percent of the season ticket accounts and a remarkable 42 percent of single-ticket accounts. Those statistics alone are jaw- dropping.
STRATEGY 2: THEATRE’S ROLE IN LIFE IS EMPHASIZED
“The philosophical basis of the Theatre Academy – “life skills through stage skills” – creates an entry point for students regardless of their ambitions for a life in the theatre.” – Learning Everywhere
It is this philosophy that Academy Director Ron Anderson coined and developed, focusing on creating strong young people, emphasizing skills of commitment, discipline and teamwork – “an ongoing commitment to invest in an education program that builds good citizens who are now arts consumers,” says Anderson. This commitment to young people from the very beginning centered on his key principle of youth performing arts training: “Life Skills through Stage Skills.”
As one parent noted in the study, “It seems to me that the Academy and Ron and the staff make an incredible impact on a significant number of children and youth in this area – and it seems to me that that impact is positive, nurturing and growth enhancing and will carry forward into [the rest of] these young people’s lives.”
It should also be noted that Anderson’s commitment to building life skills through theatre did not begin in the Theatre Academy classrooms. The Springer Opera House risked an entire year of salary by sending Anderson to classrooms all over the city of Columbus, orienting the community to this concept and giving a taste of what would be offered in the coming years at the Springer – providing help to theatre teachers and making contact with area schools and principals. It was a risk that both Pierce and Anderson say has been profitable in ways they never dreamed, forging connections with their community that have only gotten stronger over the years.
Anderson adds that this philosophy also begins interviews for the positions of teacher and assistant teacher for the Theatre Academy: “We hire pro’s in the classroom – teacher/performers…. Whenever I interview potential faculty, I assume their stage skills… [from their resumes], and I ask them: What do you think of this phrase, ‘life skills through stage skills’? And if that tends to launch a whole new conversation, a real eager kind of give and take, then I know this is a person that I want to really, seriously consider hiring.”
So, despite Anderson’s denial of planning to grow an audience, it was a cleverly hatched strategy that brought the Springer to this point, even if it wasn’t a plan to develop bigger audiences. Anderson’s strategy was to change the face and culture of a community – one young person at a time – growing better citizens, creating thoughtful and confident young people. By doing so, the Springer may have stumbled on an audience development model that could benefit any performing arts organization.
STRATEGY 3: LEADERS ARE COMMITTED AND CARING
“The excellence of the program has built strong bonds between Academy families – students and their parents – and the Springer Opera House. The characteristics of this excellence include caring and committed leadership, teachers who share the philosophy and a highly organized administration. All of these add up to consistently fun engagements for students.” –Learning Everywhere
The excellence of the “caring and committed leadership” referenced above occurs in two ways. First, the producing artistic director (Pierce) and the associate artistic director/Academy director (Anderson), have a working relationship that sets the standard for all other interactions in the company. Pierce is quoted in Learning Everywhere, saying, “Ron Anderson is the conscience of this company. I ask myself, ‘What’s Ron going to say about this?’”
Parents also note the strong leadership. As one parent states in the study, “I truly cannot imagine the program being as phenomenal without Ron Anderson. The kids adore and respect his wise, firm, but gentle guidance. I cannot name a finer role model.”
As co-administrators and artists, Pierce and Anderson are a formidable force of creativity. Their solidarity of purpose leads to both season selections and day-to-day choices that benefit the entire organization, maintaining a connection between the Academy and all Springer productions. The level of pride and care that employees put into their jobs at the Springer Opera House also is unusual. There is a sense that every staff person, Academy instructor or guest artist working at the Springer has an awareness of being part of something bigger than himself or herself.
The Knight Foundation study asserts that Ron Anderson’s introduction to the Academy’s curriculum “encapsulates the philosophy and attitude of the program,” but it also seems to capture the spirit of the Springer Opera House itself. The introduction, as quoted in Learning Everywhere, states: “We want our students to have fun and make friends, learn something about theatre and learn something about themselves. We want our students to learn the value of discipline, commitment, integrity and teamwork. We want our students to be competent in the craft [of theatre] and confident in themselves, fearless on stage and joyously supportive of each other.”
STRATEGY 4: SPRINGER CREATES SENSE OF COMMUNITY
“The Springer has capitalized on its location, history, standing in the community and strong administration in creating and implementing the Academy.” - Learning Everywhere
One of the ways it has done so is by nurturing a relationship between community theatre artists, professional theatre artists and students. The rewards for this are many – but the crux of the reason that this works so thoroughly is this: In theatre, all types of persons are brought into the rehearsal room to do one thing – create a story that they hope will live on in the audience’s memory. The theatre at large is one of the “great social equalizers.” Differences are left outside the door, and all hands are on deck to create something beautiful to give to an audience. This is one of the most satisfying aspects of the Springer Opera House organization, in action. It is not unusual to have 10 silent and efficient stage-hands from the Academy assisting as community actors and professional actors work onstage, while designers and staff and front-of-house volunteers perform their roles – all with the hope and intention of creating something wonderful together.
As Scooter MacMillan, Springer marketing director, notes in Learning Everywhere, “We want to have a theatre that the Academy can be proud of.”
How does the Springer achieve this atmosphere? A mystical and lucky happenstance? Perhaps at least a portion of the answer can be found with the chief executive officer.
Strong companies have steady leadership, and although Paul Pierce routinely redirects praise to other members of his team, his comment on audience building is a telling one.
“One of these days, when we lay our heads down in our graves, if the audience is not bigger than it was when we began our careers, we will have failed the American theatre, “ Pierce states emphatically. “It is our responsibility to increase audiences and leave a larger audience for the next generation.”
Pierce has a leadership style that encourages growth, and he surrounds himself with the right people to help him achieve his goal of benefiting theatre at large. He also has and encourages a hands-on style of work. As one student notes in the study, “They’re always teaching by example. Paul fixes the sets if he sees they need fixing.”
TAKE-AWAY ADVICE FROM THE SPRINGER’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
As Pierce digests the study results and what they mean for the Springer, he also is eager to share the results with other theatres.
He notes the following:
“Every organization is different and has different strengths. What I do know is that attracting audiences is like the country preacher saving souls – you save them one at the time, not in bunches. “Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the audience crisis in American theatre but this is what I have learned: The community wants IN. Young people want IN and, for the most part we have not created ways for them to get IN. By IN, I mean access to every aspect of our operations, policies and decision-making. When the great ‘oaks’ of the American regional theatre movement emerged in the 1950s and ‘60s, cultural history was made and a new identity for indigenous American theatre was created.
“However, I feel strongly that we left something important behind. We were too quick to discard the high-involvement model of the ‘little theatre’ movement in our pursuit of excellence. Abruptly, communities that were accustomed to being on the inside found themselves on the outside. We told them, essentially, that the only way for them to participate was to either buy a ticket or donate money.”
“When the Springer began to let young people IN, they looked for ways to participate – volunteering in our marketing department, working load-ins, answering phones, sweeping up, running errands. We found that these kids were far more capable of being useful than we thought they might be. Very quickly, we got to know their parents, and soon the parents were asking for things they could do at the theatre. These were personal connections, and those connections turned into donations, ticket sales and true friendships. [This] also invigorated our theatre from top to bottom.
“Two years ago, we asked the board of directors to revise the bylaws to provide a student slot on the board. Now, the voice of youth is represented at board meetings and these teenagers participate in every discussion from budgets to policy matters. We’ve got to look for ways to get the community IN – because unless we are an integral part of the community we serve, we don’t really have a theatre, do we?”
When asked what he learned from the Knight Foundation study that might transfer well to other theatres, Pierce stated:
“After many years in this business, there are still new tricks to learn. A revolution is still possible if you’re willing to allow change to erupt and allow for the unexpected. The presence of children on the INSIDE will rearrange the molecules of your organization. Running a theatre takes a lot out of you mentally, physically and spiritually. That’s why most artistic directors last about 10 years in one place, max.
“The exceptions to that [are] founding directors. If there was one basic idea that I think could transfer to other theatres it’s this: Run your theatre as if you are the founding director. Don’t let the theatre’s past weigh you down.
“The advent of the Springer Theatre Academy has put another 100,000 miles on my career and reinvigorated this theatre – this community, in fact. “This is the fourth theatre I’ve run in my career, and I’m in my 21st season at the Springer. Even though this theatre is 138 years old, I feel like the founding director and I’m good for at least another 10 years. I think of all the years I spent trying to force my will on boards and citizens. I’m a strongwilled person, so I won many battles. But once I started opening doors and windows and allowing other people’s ideas, challenges, opinions, desires and dreams to blow through the theatre, it became a much happier and more creative place to work. And that free flow of youth and vitality began to define the identity of the theatre in ways that my hard head could not. And I’m guessing that identity will last long after I am gone.”
The Knight Foundation’s Learning Everywhere study pertains directly to the Springer Opera House and the Springer Theatre Academy, but the findings are far-reaching – and may provide the signposts other theatres need to guide them on a similar path to audience growth.
Article by: Lisa Cesnik, producing artistic director and a founding member of Rose of Athens Theatre, a professional theatre in Athens, GA. She has worked at the Springer Opera House as an actor and a director and has taught in the Springer Theatre Academy. Original article appeared in Southern Theatre Magazine
For the study, Artistic Logistics surveyed 50 Theatre Academy families and interviewed parents, students, Springer staff, teachers and guest artists. The findings: This professional theatre seems to be doing what most theatres dream of doing – bringing more and more people of all ages, including young families, to see its productions even as the economy lags and belts are tightening everywhere.
“Audiences in American theatre are graying at an alarming rate,” Mount states in her executive summary. “Subscriber bases are collapsing and single-ticket attendance is slipping nationwide. Despite this trend, the Springer Opera House – a 137-year-old professional theatre in Columbus, Georgia - has experienced astonishing audience growth in the past several years. A 17% increase last year, 13% the year before, 9% the previous year.”
These unusually successful numbers are what drew the attention of the Knight Foundation, which wanted to understand the reason for this arts enigma. The Foundation maintains relationships with theatres throughout the country – theatres that are experiencing a collapse of their audiences and are looking for solutions to the audience lag conundrum and developing new models to build audiences for the arts.
A few years ago, the Knight Foundation commissioned a study from Wolf-Brown, Inc., in Cambridge, MA, to find out where symphony orchestra audiences come from. The results were enlightening. The study reported that more than 70 percent of symphony orchestra audience members had played a musical instrument as a child or had sung in a choir. Hence, the possibility of an educational program having a direct effect on audience growth already sounded plausible to Foundation leaders. The potential to quantify these facts to help other organizations helped lead to the Springer study.
So, can it be that a historic theatre in a moderate-sized city in the southwest portion of Georgia, a city known mainly for its history in the textile industry and its Army base, Fort Benning, is increasing theatre audiences and making a significant cultural impact on its community? And because Columbus has one of the fastest growing metro areas in Georgia, is it positioned to become a leader in the performing arts for the state? How and why is this happening at the Springer Opera House?
The answer to these questions lies with an unexpected population in Columbus – young people. This is not to say that the increase of audience is only among youth. The Springer has not transformed itself into a place where only children belong. But it is to say this: A substantial portion of young people, ages 5-18, in Columbus, GA, are passionate about live theatre. They are taking that passion home to their entire families and then totin’ Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles and babysitters with them to watch vibrant live theatre at the Springer Opera House.
One academy student quoted in the study speaks of the draw of the Springer.
“The building inspires me,”” the student says. “I have a sense of owing this place so much, I love going back to it.”
However, it isn’t the venerable building alone that draws people. Because the students have created a large community unto themselves, when they get to the theatre, they see their teachers (professional theatrical workers) onstage, and their peers working backstage, onstage or in the house as ushers. The youth of the Columbus community are leading the way to the Springer. Period.
Lisa Mounts says, in the Executive Summary of the report: “The findings are astonishing: For the past 11 years the Springer Theatre Academy, the Springer’s mammoth education program, has been doing innovative work with young people that has had a profound impact on individual children and their families. This, in turn, has resulted in these students and their families eventually emerging as subscribers, single-ticket buyers, donors and board members. The Springer audience is getting bigger and YOUNGER - a reverse of the national trend.
“This study recognizes these trends for what they are: The Springer is beginning to reap the benefits of its long-term commitment to developing audiences from the ground up. The Knight Foundation sees this as a potential ‘sustainability’ model that might be exported to theatres all over the U.S.”
Beverly Blake of the Knight Foundation encourages theatres across America to take note of the study findings.
“These results are extremely important for the entire theatre community,” she says. “[This study] shows that if you get young people involved in every aspect, they are not only your future audience – they will develop future audiences.”
“Really?” one might think, “Well, that’s a no-brainer. Let’s get our organization to teach some more classes. We’ll beef up our education program and start reaping the benefits!”
Actually, the Springer Theatre Academy is not just any education program.
“[Springer Academy] is a very different model than [the educational programs at] other theatres – this model works to build audiences,” says Blake.
Springer Theatre Academy is a carefully, uniquely pre-planned, rigorously organized venture, with an ambitious, creative and committed leader whose focus is on the learning of each individual child. In fact, according to the study, this leadership weighs heavily in importance, as do the teachers that Ron Anderson assembles (or essentially casts) to instruct at the Academy each year. When asked to rate elements of the Springer Theatre Academy in terms of what is important to them, 90 percent of those surveyed said that Anderson was “extremely important” and 82 percent said that the teachers were “extremely important.”
Evidence of the success of the Springer Theatre Academy is seen in the growth of fresh and committed audiences, new theatre-goers who, according to the Knight Foundation study, would not have come to the theatre except for the exceptional educational programming that their children participated in at the Springer Theatre Academy. According to those surveyed, 98 percent rate the overall experience of going to the Springer Theatre Academy as “excellent” and 87.8 percent say that they saw more plays since becoming involved in the Theatre Academy.
As one academy parent quoted in the study stated, “It makes our family’s life stronger, richer and closer. We’ve seen nothing like it, anywhere.”
But back to the point, how is the Springer achieving these fantastic results? Artistic Logistics notes that it arrived at some answers to that question through a series of interviews with students, parents, teachers, Springer staff, Columbus area leaders and education directors at comparable companies around the country. Following are some of the key strategies used at the Springer.
STRATEGY 1: EDUCATION PROGRAM IS CENTER STAGE
“The Springer has made the Academy integral to its programming and artistic vision, rather than treating it as a revenue generator that is ancillary to main stage programming.” - Learning Everywhere
There is a widely held perspective in theatre organizations that education programs are secondary or even tertiary to other artistic programming. In addition, many organizations utilize their training programs as a way to stabilize their cash flow concerns. While the study states that “the Academy does have a positive impact on the bottom line,” it also has a fundamental effect on “artistic decisions” and is viewed as “a resource of talent and ability for the organization.” Season scripts are chosen with the intent of utilizing students whenever possible, and students work in every aspect of production – backstage, administrative and, yes, onstage.
The Springer Board of Directors is also aware of the importance of the Academy and the key role it has played in the overall success of the theatre. In 2006, the Board changed its bylaws to include a student on the board of directors. This board member is not a figurehead, but an actual board member with a vote and lively involvement in board discussions.
The Academy also goes out of its way to include parents and to encourage parental involvement on all fronts. For instance, parents are invited to observe any and all classes at the academy. This builds parents’ trust and support of the program and connects them to the big picture of what is so special to their children. According to the study, an average of 750 students attend the Academy each year and parents of academy students (past and present) hold 11 percent of the season ticket accounts and a remarkable 42 percent of single-ticket accounts. Those statistics alone are jaw- dropping.
STRATEGY 2: THEATRE’S ROLE IN LIFE IS EMPHASIZED
“The philosophical basis of the Theatre Academy – “life skills through stage skills” – creates an entry point for students regardless of their ambitions for a life in the theatre.” – Learning Everywhere
It is this philosophy that Academy Director Ron Anderson coined and developed, focusing on creating strong young people, emphasizing skills of commitment, discipline and teamwork – “an ongoing commitment to invest in an education program that builds good citizens who are now arts consumers,” says Anderson. This commitment to young people from the very beginning centered on his key principle of youth performing arts training: “Life Skills through Stage Skills.”
As one parent noted in the study, “It seems to me that the Academy and Ron and the staff make an incredible impact on a significant number of children and youth in this area – and it seems to me that that impact is positive, nurturing and growth enhancing and will carry forward into [the rest of] these young people’s lives.”
It should also be noted that Anderson’s commitment to building life skills through theatre did not begin in the Theatre Academy classrooms. The Springer Opera House risked an entire year of salary by sending Anderson to classrooms all over the city of Columbus, orienting the community to this concept and giving a taste of what would be offered in the coming years at the Springer – providing help to theatre teachers and making contact with area schools and principals. It was a risk that both Pierce and Anderson say has been profitable in ways they never dreamed, forging connections with their community that have only gotten stronger over the years.
Anderson adds that this philosophy also begins interviews for the positions of teacher and assistant teacher for the Theatre Academy: “We hire pro’s in the classroom – teacher/performers…. Whenever I interview potential faculty, I assume their stage skills… [from their resumes], and I ask them: What do you think of this phrase, ‘life skills through stage skills’? And if that tends to launch a whole new conversation, a real eager kind of give and take, then I know this is a person that I want to really, seriously consider hiring.”
So, despite Anderson’s denial of planning to grow an audience, it was a cleverly hatched strategy that brought the Springer to this point, even if it wasn’t a plan to develop bigger audiences. Anderson’s strategy was to change the face and culture of a community – one young person at a time – growing better citizens, creating thoughtful and confident young people. By doing so, the Springer may have stumbled on an audience development model that could benefit any performing arts organization.
STRATEGY 3: LEADERS ARE COMMITTED AND CARING
“The excellence of the program has built strong bonds between Academy families – students and their parents – and the Springer Opera House. The characteristics of this excellence include caring and committed leadership, teachers who share the philosophy and a highly organized administration. All of these add up to consistently fun engagements for students.” –Learning Everywhere
The excellence of the “caring and committed leadership” referenced above occurs in two ways. First, the producing artistic director (Pierce) and the associate artistic director/Academy director (Anderson), have a working relationship that sets the standard for all other interactions in the company. Pierce is quoted in Learning Everywhere, saying, “Ron Anderson is the conscience of this company. I ask myself, ‘What’s Ron going to say about this?’”
Parents also note the strong leadership. As one parent states in the study, “I truly cannot imagine the program being as phenomenal without Ron Anderson. The kids adore and respect his wise, firm, but gentle guidance. I cannot name a finer role model.”
As co-administrators and artists, Pierce and Anderson are a formidable force of creativity. Their solidarity of purpose leads to both season selections and day-to-day choices that benefit the entire organization, maintaining a connection between the Academy and all Springer productions. The level of pride and care that employees put into their jobs at the Springer Opera House also is unusual. There is a sense that every staff person, Academy instructor or guest artist working at the Springer has an awareness of being part of something bigger than himself or herself.
The Knight Foundation study asserts that Ron Anderson’s introduction to the Academy’s curriculum “encapsulates the philosophy and attitude of the program,” but it also seems to capture the spirit of the Springer Opera House itself. The introduction, as quoted in Learning Everywhere, states: “We want our students to have fun and make friends, learn something about theatre and learn something about themselves. We want our students to learn the value of discipline, commitment, integrity and teamwork. We want our students to be competent in the craft [of theatre] and confident in themselves, fearless on stage and joyously supportive of each other.”
STRATEGY 4: SPRINGER CREATES SENSE OF COMMUNITY
“The Springer has capitalized on its location, history, standing in the community and strong administration in creating and implementing the Academy.” - Learning Everywhere
One of the ways it has done so is by nurturing a relationship between community theatre artists, professional theatre artists and students. The rewards for this are many – but the crux of the reason that this works so thoroughly is this: In theatre, all types of persons are brought into the rehearsal room to do one thing – create a story that they hope will live on in the audience’s memory. The theatre at large is one of the “great social equalizers.” Differences are left outside the door, and all hands are on deck to create something beautiful to give to an audience. This is one of the most satisfying aspects of the Springer Opera House organization, in action. It is not unusual to have 10 silent and efficient stage-hands from the Academy assisting as community actors and professional actors work onstage, while designers and staff and front-of-house volunteers perform their roles – all with the hope and intention of creating something wonderful together.
As Scooter MacMillan, Springer marketing director, notes in Learning Everywhere, “We want to have a theatre that the Academy can be proud of.”
How does the Springer achieve this atmosphere? A mystical and lucky happenstance? Perhaps at least a portion of the answer can be found with the chief executive officer.
Strong companies have steady leadership, and although Paul Pierce routinely redirects praise to other members of his team, his comment on audience building is a telling one.
“One of these days, when we lay our heads down in our graves, if the audience is not bigger than it was when we began our careers, we will have failed the American theatre, “ Pierce states emphatically. “It is our responsibility to increase audiences and leave a larger audience for the next generation.”
Pierce has a leadership style that encourages growth, and he surrounds himself with the right people to help him achieve his goal of benefiting theatre at large. He also has and encourages a hands-on style of work. As one student notes in the study, “They’re always teaching by example. Paul fixes the sets if he sees they need fixing.”
TAKE-AWAY ADVICE FROM THE SPRINGER’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
As Pierce digests the study results and what they mean for the Springer, he also is eager to share the results with other theatres.
He notes the following:
“Every organization is different and has different strengths. What I do know is that attracting audiences is like the country preacher saving souls – you save them one at the time, not in bunches. “Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the audience crisis in American theatre but this is what I have learned: The community wants IN. Young people want IN and, for the most part we have not created ways for them to get IN. By IN, I mean access to every aspect of our operations, policies and decision-making. When the great ‘oaks’ of the American regional theatre movement emerged in the 1950s and ‘60s, cultural history was made and a new identity for indigenous American theatre was created.
“However, I feel strongly that we left something important behind. We were too quick to discard the high-involvement model of the ‘little theatre’ movement in our pursuit of excellence. Abruptly, communities that were accustomed to being on the inside found themselves on the outside. We told them, essentially, that the only way for them to participate was to either buy a ticket or donate money.”
“When the Springer began to let young people IN, they looked for ways to participate – volunteering in our marketing department, working load-ins, answering phones, sweeping up, running errands. We found that these kids were far more capable of being useful than we thought they might be. Very quickly, we got to know their parents, and soon the parents were asking for things they could do at the theatre. These were personal connections, and those connections turned into donations, ticket sales and true friendships. [This] also invigorated our theatre from top to bottom.
“Two years ago, we asked the board of directors to revise the bylaws to provide a student slot on the board. Now, the voice of youth is represented at board meetings and these teenagers participate in every discussion from budgets to policy matters. We’ve got to look for ways to get the community IN – because unless we are an integral part of the community we serve, we don’t really have a theatre, do we?”
When asked what he learned from the Knight Foundation study that might transfer well to other theatres, Pierce stated:
“After many years in this business, there are still new tricks to learn. A revolution is still possible if you’re willing to allow change to erupt and allow for the unexpected. The presence of children on the INSIDE will rearrange the molecules of your organization. Running a theatre takes a lot out of you mentally, physically and spiritually. That’s why most artistic directors last about 10 years in one place, max.
“The exceptions to that [are] founding directors. If there was one basic idea that I think could transfer to other theatres it’s this: Run your theatre as if you are the founding director. Don’t let the theatre’s past weigh you down.
“The advent of the Springer Theatre Academy has put another 100,000 miles on my career and reinvigorated this theatre – this community, in fact. “This is the fourth theatre I’ve run in my career, and I’m in my 21st season at the Springer. Even though this theatre is 138 years old, I feel like the founding director and I’m good for at least another 10 years. I think of all the years I spent trying to force my will on boards and citizens. I’m a strongwilled person, so I won many battles. But once I started opening doors and windows and allowing other people’s ideas, challenges, opinions, desires and dreams to blow through the theatre, it became a much happier and more creative place to work. And that free flow of youth and vitality began to define the identity of the theatre in ways that my hard head could not. And I’m guessing that identity will last long after I am gone.”
The Knight Foundation’s Learning Everywhere study pertains directly to the Springer Opera House and the Springer Theatre Academy, but the findings are far-reaching – and may provide the signposts other theatres need to guide them on a similar path to audience growth.
Article by: Lisa Cesnik, producing artistic director and a founding member of Rose of Athens Theatre, a professional theatre in Athens, GA. She has worked at the Springer Opera House as an actor and a director and has taught in the Springer Theatre Academy. Original article appeared in Southern Theatre Magazine
