September 12, 2024 • 28 mins
Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent veto of over $30 million in arts and culture funding is more than just a financial blow to Florida arts organizations—it undermines the social and economic contributions our industry provides. How can we clearly communicate the vital role our organizations play to stakeholders and policymakers?
In this episode, CI’s VP, Managing Director Christopher Williams speaks with Chris Brown, Executive Director of Orlando Family Stage, about how advocates can make a stronger case for arts funding by highlighting the industry’s vital role in boosting local economies, fostering community well-being, and enriching society.
LINKS:
NPR | Hundreds of Florida arts groups scramble for funding after DeSantis vetoes grants
Orlando Sentinel | Budget Cuts Spotlight The Vital Role of Arts in Florida
Orlando Family Stage | Press Release: Budget cuts spotlight the vital role of arts in Florida
New York Times | A Bargain at the Opera: Philadelphia Offers All Seats for as Low as $11
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
As a musician, you wouldn't practice oneconcerto alone in your bedroom forever.
You'd develop your skills, explore newtechniques, and join fellow musicians,
shoulder to shoulder in the orchestra,
moving classical music forwardwith every stroke of the bow.
It's the same with artsmarketing and leadership.
We don't grow by staying in abubble. We grow by learning together.
(00:22):
That's what Boot Camp 2024 is all about.
This one-of-a-kind conference brings artsprofessionals together to share fresh
ideas, hone their skills, andfuel the future of our industry.
A ticket to Boot Camp unlocks twofull days of expert led sessions and
peer-driven insights,
all 100% tailored to the artsand all 100% actionable when you
(00:44):
return to your desk on Monday.
It's happening at the Times Center inNew York City, October 24th and 25th,
and it won't be the same without you.
Don't miss this chance to level upyour organization and join the creative
community shaping the future of the arts.
Save your seat at CapacityInteractive Boot Camp dot com.
(01:13):
Hi everyone, it's ChristopherWilliams. Well, it's that time of year.
Many of us are busy launching newseasons and strategizing for upcoming
programs.
It's always a period filled withso much excitement and possibility,
but for our friends inFlorida arts organizations,
that excitement this year isdampened by the state's substantial
(01:37):
cuts to arts and culturefunding. In case you missed it,
Florida Governor RonDeSantis vetoed more than
$30 million in state grants thatfund arts and culture organizations.
That decision left hundredsof institutions scrambling to find funding and
fill holes left in their budgets.The impact is significant.
(01:59):
For smaller organizations, stategrants aren't just supplementary.
They're essential for keepingthe doors open and the lights on.
And for larger organizations,
state funding allows for ambitiousprojects that would otherwise be
unattainable. By reducingfinancial support,
the state is undermining the socialand economic contributions our industry
(02:21):
provides. Arts andculture are not luxuries.
They are vital components of ahealthy society. In today's episode,
I talk with Chris Brown,
the executive director of OrlandoFamily Stage and a vocal advocate for
restoring state funding.
We'll discuss the impact of these budgetcuts on the state's cultural landscape,
(02:43):
what you can do to make a difference,
and how we can all better communicatethe social and economic benefits of the
arts to our constituents.Let's take a listen.
Chris Brown, welcome to CI to Eye.
(03:04):
Thank you so much for having me.
So for context for all of our listeners,
before we jump into the meat and potatoesof why we're having a conversation
today, tell us about OrlandoFamily Stage as a starting point.
Absolutely.
I feel incredibly blessed to be
(03:24):
leading Orlando Family Stage.I've been here for 15 years.
It's Florida's only professionaltheater for young audiences,
or T-Y-A.
And that means thateverything under our umbrella,
one hundred percent ofthe time, all year long,
is geared towards kids and families.
And we organize our workinto three lines of business.
(03:47):
We have our professional theater foryoung audiences where we're producing
shows.
We have our youth academy where thekids get to perform and take camps and
classes and produce shows. And thenwe have our arts-based learning,
which is all of our work in thecommunity and in the schools.
So for everyone listening,
Orlando Family Stage isactually a client of ours.
(04:09):
And so the reason why we'retalking about this today is because
the consultant who works on theiraccount dropped this news item
into our Slack.
And I in particular just-I was outraged
when I read this news item, andmy initial reaction was like,
(04:30):
we've got to have Chris on the podcast.
So can you take us back andtell us about what happened?
I don't want to relive that, but
yeah. So we submitted ourkind of annual state funding
grants. [It's] a reallyrigorous grant process that
(04:54):
we apply for about this time every year.
Those applications are thenscored on a rubric by a panel.
If you meet above the threshold,
you are recommended for full funding.
In my category of our size
organization, that's $150,000.
(05:16):
And so the legislature thencomes back into session
and the legislature is taskedwith creating the budget
for the upcoming fiscal yearfor the state of Florida.
And so through this process each year,
it really ebbs and flows, right?In my time at this organization,
(05:39):
there are some years when we getfull funded and we get $150,000.
There's other years thatare a little tighter,
maybe a little differentpriorities in the state.
And the arts budgets getknocked down a little bit,
but this year the legislature cut the
(06:00):
$150 in half.
And so at the end ofthe budgeting process,
the budget that the legislature took tothe governor's desk supported the arts
in, and I'm getting thenumbers wrong, I'm sure,
but about $32 million in the state budget.
So that gets to the governor's desk,
(06:22):
and the governor vetoed thearts and culture lines right
out of the budget.
And he basically said the fringe
festivals are sexual festivals out there,
and I can't understand spendingtaxpayer dollars on that sort of
(06:44):
thing. So two weeks, three weeksbefore our fiscal year started,
that funding was wiped away.
And I don't know if you've beenpaying attention in our sector lately,
but $70,000 going away...
it really hurts.
Especially because of the statementsabout the fringe festivals and
(07:06):
the gross misunderstandingthere. By definition,
there are fringe artists andacts and things that really
push the boundaries, but notto be categorized like that.
That is just not reality.
And you got some specificattention paid to you because of a
(07:28):
response that you made in Ibelieve the Sentinel. Yes?
Yes, the Orlando Sentinel.I was feeling spicy.
When things like that happen,
it is really easy to sort offeel like you can't do anything.
It's just out of your control.
And I felt the need to at least
(07:52):
voice another perspectiveout into the world. And
I did not expect the Orlando Sentinelto print the op-ed, but they did.
They pushed it out and it got reallya bigger response than I could have
ever thought it would get.
It was a beautiful piece. It was verydata-driven and incredibly compelling.
(08:15):
I felt like it saweverything from every angle.
So talk to us a little bit about,
you made such good salientpoints about this in your letter.
Talk to us about theeconomic impact of the arts
generally, specificallyin the state of Florida.
Certainly a lot of people who listento this particular podcast work in the
(08:39):
industry, but there arealways shadow listeners.
There are spouses in the car or friendsin the car who are also hearing it.
Not everyone actually understandsthe role that we play.
And I thought you did such a great jobof using data to make those points.
Yeah, thank you.
Many people just think what we dois just providing entertainment,
(08:59):
but entertainment is unique.
We're not only generating economicactivity by ourselves just with
our own business functionsof producing shows. I hire,
I have about almost 200 peopleon the payroll every year,
like seasonal employees that come and go.
(09:20):
We are providing a ton of jobs and
a ton of economic activity by ourselves.
And when you couplethat with the audience,
them coming to the theaterand paying for tickets,
but also buying concessions,buying merchandise,
going out to lunch afterwards.
(09:42):
Maybe they're in townfor a couple of days,
they're going to stay at thehotel and come and see a show.
They're going to stay here for aweek while their kids are in camps.
It's really prettyremarkable when you start
really adding it up,
if you pay attentionlong enough to add it up.
(10:06):
So many people that I interact with,
they just sort of think ofwhat we do as something extra.
It's a fun thing to do on theweekend and that's where it lives.
But I think if you peelback the onion a little bit,
the arts and culture communityis like three and change percent
of the total GDP of Florida.That's a massive number.
(10:30):
And if you send that all aroundthe nation, it's incredible.
It's right up there withtransportation or housing or
any of these other sort of morefamiliar things in the business and
finance world. Yes, it's a theateror yes, it's an art museum or yes,
it's a fringe festival,
(10:51):
but these are all small businesses.
And if you take what we doand you put it more in the
context of what the rest of theworld considers a small business,
then you find many morecommonalities in the language and
in other people's ability tounderstand what you're talking about.
(11:13):
Yeah, because the type of businesseswe are are arts and culture businesses.
We are nonprofits, and thatis simply a tax status.
That's it.
Interestingly enough,
the state of Florida alone says thatarts and culture organizations generate
nearly 6 billion a yearin economic activity.
(11:34):
And almost 300,000 jobs.
These are no longer small numberswhen you put them all together.
And if I'm generating hotel room nightsand economic development out of my
organization and taxes backto the local government,
we're doing everything we'resupposed to be doing-and then some,
because the state also says there'sa nine to one return on that
(11:58):
investment.
So the economic activity that we'regenerating is moving the needle.
That sentiment is fewand far between, right?
Most of the time our organizationssort of get painted as
a boy who cried wolf or the whinyarts organization always looking for a
handout. And it's like, no, no, no.
(12:21):
Any small business that got$75,000 removed out of their
budget weeks before they needed it,they're going to be in the same place.
So stop trying to paint it likewe don't know what we're doing,
and start acknowledging theinsane headwinds that we
continue to face as a sector. Andyou see it all over the country.
(12:43):
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
And you play an importantrole for other arts
organizations in your market. For example,
you are essentially introducing the arts
to children and giving themthat first opportunity maybe to
decide that this is something that theywill participate in in life so that then
(13:06):
your neighbor down the street,the Dr. Phillips Center,
can benefit from theirattendance as adults.
And so this is about a lifelongjourney for a large constituency of
people.
A hundred thousand percent.
And you've talked about the rolethis plays on the mental health of
children,
which I thought was a really strongand compelling point of view as well.
(13:30):
Our young people arereally in a crisis and
the rates of loneliness, anxiety,
and depression are all exploding.
And we know from otherresearch that the theater
creates belonging and connection.
And so we work really hard to make surethat everybody that walks through our
(13:53):
doors feels like they belong there.
We want a warm and welcoming environmentso that you feel comfortable,
so that you can open up your mindand learn new things, be inspired,
learn creativity, and ultimatelyat the end of the day,
build stronger connectionswith those around you.
(14:16):
Children learning about courageand empathy is so important.
I think back on how the artsshaped me as a young person,
and I feel like so many kids can tellthe story that I'm about to tell,
which is I was lucky enough to havea really amazing band director.
I had this band director from sixthgrade until I graduated from high school,
(14:38):
and he was an incredibly compellingman, and I was a band geek,
so that was my particularway into the arts initially.
And the thing that's so interesting tome now, as a 50-something-year-old man,
to look back on is:
I actually learned the fundamentalsof leadership that I employ
today from him then through art.
(15:03):
And I just know so many peoplewho can tell stories like that.
Someone just told me a story the otherday that they really learned to be a
resilient person through learning howto be in their high school theater
program. It's just like these areamazing opportunities for children.
But think about what thatprocess is to create a
(15:25):
show. You have to collaborate together.
You have to communicate to designersand creatives and technicians and people
building it.
And all of this stuff has to cometogether and then work at the
same time.
Listen, stage managerscould run the world.
They could run the world.
They could run the world. Shoutout to all the SMs out there.
(15:47):
It's real. It's real.
It really is. It really is. If I may,
I'd love to see if I canget you to sort of represent
the feelings and interestsof the larger community in
Florida.
I'm sure people were affectedby this funding cut in a lot of
(16:09):
different ways. I'm just sort of curious,
how is the community across thestate generally feeling on the other
side of a harsh decision like this,
and what is the communitydoing to try to overcome it?
I think the community as awhole is just disappointed.
(16:33):
The smaller groups around town
might fall closer to just devastated,
I think. Man, we're just tired.
We're just exhausted.
It's very jarring to see every other week
(16:54):
an article in the Times or in the WallStreet Journal or something where a
theater's closing or atheater's pushing out
a fundraising campaign to save us becausewe have a million dollar deficit and
all of this. And man,
that is so frustrating because at the end
(17:15):
of the day,
I just think it's amisunderstanding of how important
the work is.
We scratch and claw for every single
dollar that we have to beg for,
and that's disappointing.
(17:35):
Listen,
I am coming to you from a very bluebubble kind of state that would
never make this kind of choice.
And that to me actually is why itwas important to do this episode,
because not everyone is operatingan arts organization in a climate
that is a little bit morefriendly to us. But I'm curious,
(17:55):
because this happened, howthe media coverage has been.
Do you feel like they gave youattention? Was it fair? And by you,
I mean all of you. Wasit fair and ultimately,
did you feel like the publicunderstood the impact that this would
have on everyone?
That's so interesting because on one hand,
(18:19):
absolutely.
I think after I wrote that op-ed,
I think four out of the sixnews stations in town were in
my office and wanting to dointerviews and talking about it.
But there's kind of asecond layer where I want to
say it's not great response.
(18:41):
I'm certainly not inundated with checksfrom people that care and want to
help us.
It's almost like it's just this story
that fits the narrative that we all know:
the struggling arts organization,it needs more money.
(19:05):
It's helping that narrative.
And it's one of the driversof my article, right,
to say, hold on, this isnot a fricking narrative.
Pay attention and look at the thingsthat we're having to deal with.
Do we need to lose all these artsinstitutions before we pay attention?
(19:26):
Or are we going to acknowledgethat these places are amazing and
doing a beautiful thing in ourworld and we should be making sure
they're thriving, not surviving?
The state's surplus this year is like
a $17 billion surplus or something.
(19:48):
There was no reason to cut
$30 million out becausein the state's budget,
that is scraps.
We're not talking about the artsorganizations all rolling in
gold. Nobody-that doesn't exist.
I'm tired of the scraps.That's so insulting.
(20:12):
I don't want to work hard for the scraps.
I want to flip the table over and
get people to see it a different way.
Yes!
It's important.
Yeah.
That point in your letter where you talkabout that $17 billion-billion with a
B-billion dollar surplus inthe context of this cut is
(20:35):
particularly difficult to traverse.
So our arts organizationsacross the country,
I think that we largely are some the
loudest voices in promotingdiversity and inclusion,
certainly amongst children.
And I think to then suffer a cut like this
(20:58):
across so many organizationsin Florida specifically
is particularly alarming for me becauseyou're the organizations that are
largely doing the Lord'swork to support all of these
underrepresented artists andcommunities and children.
Well, so get this one.
(21:18):
So this morning I got an email from a
school. We've done a bunch of Junie B.
Jones plays at OrlandoFamily Stage. Junie B.
Jones is a huge children's book character.
There's probably 30books of Junie B. Jones.
And we got a messagethis morning that says,
(21:42):
I was writing to let you know that ourschool will not be able to attend the
showing of Junie B. Jones on October 31st.
One of the books in theseries is on the banned list,
and our admin has not okayed usto go. We're sorry to miss it.
So...
that shit's real.And I have
(22:02):
a letter, a handwritten letter,
that's framed over hereon my desk that is from
apparently a donor.
I cannot confirm that this isa donor because it's anonymous,
but they were furious thatwe put a Black Lives Matter
banner up on our building outside,
(22:24):
and they wrote me hate mail and said,
we will never support your theateragain. We will not send you any money.
Like, shame on you.
That's absurd that welive in a world like that.
And I see every day the kids showing up on
buses, the parents whosekids are impacted...
(22:47):
I know we do a good thing.
And we want to use our means,
whatever that might be, totry and make this better.
That is scary. I was actually not atall prepared to hear a story like that,
but I am so glad that yousaid it because I think
(23:07):
it is important for all of us to knowthat there are organizations like yours
with arts admins inside of it whohave to do the work that we all
do in environments like that,and to fight against that,
to create the space thateveryone needs. Yeah,
that's hard to hear, Chris. Your passionfor what you do is quite contagious.
(23:31):
Thank you.
And you're quite inspiring doing thisin the environment that you're doing it
in. So I'll just say that very plainly.
If people are listening to this and theyalso feel inspired and they want to do
something to support you guys,where should we send them?
Oh, I mean,
I am so humbled by generosity in people.
(23:54):
I'm so grateful for anyonewho wants to contribute
time, energy, talent. And so theeasiest way, if you're local?
Come see a show. Come seeone of our great shows.
We have an amazing season thisyear. And then if you're not local,
check us out online. Subscribeto our social media accounts,
(24:17):
get involved in that way andhelp spread our good message,
right? We're trying to make the worlda better place. Check out our website,
find different things.
There's tons of different optionsfor contributing financially,
philanthropically. Youcan do sponsorships,
(24:37):
you can bring field trips to a show.You can give and support in that way.
Absolutely every bit of it helpsmove the needle. It really does.
Whether it's $2 or $200, itall goes to a great place.
There was something in therethat everyone could afford to do,
so that was a great answer. Okay,
we have reached the endof our time together.
(24:59):
It means we've also reached your CIto Eye moment, as we like to call it.
So my final question for you, Chris,
is if you could broadcast onemessage to executive directors,
leadership teams, staff, and boardsof a thousand arts organizations,
what would it be?
(25:19):
Keep going.
Find peers to connect withbecause those connections
can give you perspective.
And don't back down. Let's fix this.
This is not a problemwith Central Florida.
It's exacerbated in Central Florida,
(25:40):
but it is around the nation,
and I don't like seeingtheaters close all over
the place. We need toreally understand the value
and what these skillsand these experiences can
truly do for our future.
(26:02):
More empathy is needed in the world.We teach kids... So the mission is:
we empower kids to bebrave and empathetic.
We need empathy in the world right now.We need to be caring for our neighbor,
and we need to be braveenough and confident enough to speak up when we know we
need to. So keep chuggingout there, executives.
(26:25):
I'm with you and I'm rooting for you.
And if you need to get away from yoursnow, just come on down to Orlando.
Well said. So Chris Brown, executivedirector of Orlando at Family Stage,
I thank you for your time.
Thank you so much,Christopher! It was a pleasure.
(26:49):
Hi everyone. Dan here. So before youskip to the next podcast in your queue,
stick with us for a quickround of CI-lebrity Sightings.
Here are some news stories about artsand culture that we found inspiring
recently.
Opera Philadelphia made a splash byannouncing a pay-what-you-can model for
their 2024-2025 season-the first ofits kind by a major opera company.
(27:10):
You can read all about their efforts toattract new audiences in the New York
Times article, "A Bargain At The Opera:
Philadelphia Offers All SeatsFor As Low As $11." And the
Apollo announced their firstever full-scale renovation,
which includes an expanded lobby, newseating, upgraded backstage areas,
and more.
You can geek out over the details andrenderings in The Architect's Newspaper.
(27:33):
Snaps to these two organizations forcontinuing to innovate and serve more
community members than ever before.Got a story that deserves a shout out?
Tag us on social and let us know.
(27:53):
Thank you for listening to CI to Eye.
This episode was edited and produced byKaren McConarty and co-written by Karen
McConarty and myself, Dan Titmuss.
Stephanie Medina and Jess Berube are CIto Eye's designers and video editors,
and all work together tocreate CI's digital content.
Our music is by whoisuzo. Ifyou enjoyed today's episode,
(28:14):
please take a moment torate us or leave a review.
A nice comment goes a long way in helpingother people discover CI to Eye and
hear from experts in the arts and beyond.If you didn't enjoy today's episode,
pass it on to all of your enemies.Don't forget to follow us on Facebook,
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and TikTok for regular contentto help you market smarter.
(28:35):
You can also sign up for our newsletterat capacity interactive dot com so you
never miss an update. Andif you haven't already,
please click the subscribe buttonwherever you get your podcasts.
Until next time, stay nerdy.
As a musician, you wouldn't practice oneconcerto alone in your bedroom forever.
You'd develop your skills, explore newtechniques, and join fellow musicians,
shoulder to shoulder in the orchestra,
moving classical music forwardwith every stroke of the bow.
It's the same with artsmarketing and leadership.
We don't grow by staying in abubble. We grow by learning together.
(00:22):
That's what Boot Camp 2024 is all about.
This one-of-a-kind conference brings artsprofessionals together to share fresh
ideas, hone their skills, andfuel the future of our industry.
A ticket to Boot Camp unlocks twofull days of expert led sessions and
peer-driven insights,
all 100% tailored to the artsand all 100% actionable when you
(00:44):
return to your desk on Monday.
It's happening at the Times Center inNew York City, October 24th and 25th,
and it won't be the same without you.
Don't miss this chance to level upyour organization and join the creative
community shaping the future of the arts.
Save your seat at CapacityInteractive Boot Camp dot com.
(01:13):
Hi everyone, it's ChristopherWilliams. Well, it's that time of year.
Many of us are busy launching newseasons and strategizing for upcoming
programs.
It's always a period filled withso much excitement and possibility,
but for our friends inFlorida arts organizations,
that excitement this year isdampened by the state's substantial
(01:37):
cuts to arts and culturefunding. In case you missed it,
Florida Governor RonDeSantis vetoed more than
$30 million in state grants thatfund arts and culture organizations.
That decision left hundredsof institutions scrambling to find funding and
fill holes left in their budgets.The impact is significant.
(01:59):
For smaller organizations, stategrants aren't just supplementary.
They're essential for keepingthe doors open and the lights on.
And for larger organizations,
state funding allows for ambitiousprojects that would otherwise be
unattainable. By reducingfinancial support,
the state is undermining the socialand economic contributions our industry
(02:21):
provides. Arts andculture are not luxuries.
They are vital components of ahealthy society. In today's episode,
I talk with Chris Brown,
the executive director of OrlandoFamily Stage and a vocal advocate for
restoring state funding.
We'll discuss the impact of these budgetcuts on the state's cultural landscape,
(02:43):
what you can do to make a difference,
and how we can all better communicatethe social and economic benefits of the
arts to our constituents.Let's take a listen.
Chris Brown, welcome to CI to Eye.
(03:04):
Thank you so much for having me.
So for context for all of our listeners,
before we jump into the meat and potatoesof why we're having a conversation
today, tell us about OrlandoFamily Stage as a starting point.
Absolutely.
I feel incredibly blessed to be
(03:24):
leading Orlando Family Stage.I've been here for 15 years.
It's Florida's only professionaltheater for young audiences,
or T-Y-A.
And that means thateverything under our umbrella,
one hundred percent ofthe time, all year long,
is geared towards kids and families.
And we organize our workinto three lines of business.
(03:47):
We have our professional theater foryoung audiences where we're producing
shows.
We have our youth academy where thekids get to perform and take camps and
classes and produce shows. And thenwe have our arts-based learning,
which is all of our work in thecommunity and in the schools.
So for everyone listening,
Orlando Family Stage isactually a client of ours.
(04:09):
And so the reason why we'retalking about this today is because
the consultant who works on theiraccount dropped this news item
into our Slack.
And I in particular just-I was outraged
when I read this news item, andmy initial reaction was like,
(04:30):
we've got to have Chris on the podcast.
So can you take us back andtell us about what happened?
I don't want to relive that, but
yeah. So we submitted ourkind of annual state funding
grants. [It's] a reallyrigorous grant process that
(04:54):
we apply for about this time every year.
Those applications are thenscored on a rubric by a panel.
If you meet above the threshold,
you are recommended for full funding.
In my category of our size
organization, that's $150,000.
(05:16):
And so the legislature thencomes back into session
and the legislature is taskedwith creating the budget
for the upcoming fiscal yearfor the state of Florida.
And so through this process each year,
it really ebbs and flows, right?In my time at this organization,
(05:39):
there are some years when we getfull funded and we get $150,000.
There's other years thatare a little tighter,
maybe a little differentpriorities in the state.
And the arts budgets getknocked down a little bit,
but this year the legislature cut the
(06:00):
$150 in half.
And so at the end ofthe budgeting process,
the budget that the legislature took tothe governor's desk supported the arts
in, and I'm getting thenumbers wrong, I'm sure,
but about $32 million in the state budget.
So that gets to the governor's desk,
(06:22):
and the governor vetoed thearts and culture lines right
out of the budget.
And he basically said the fringe
festivals are sexual festivals out there,
and I can't understand spendingtaxpayer dollars on that sort of
(06:44):
thing. So two weeks, three weeksbefore our fiscal year started,
that funding was wiped away.
And I don't know if you've beenpaying attention in our sector lately,
but $70,000 going away...
it really hurts.
Especially because of the statementsabout the fringe festivals and
(07:06):
the gross misunderstandingthere. By definition,
there are fringe artists andacts and things that really
push the boundaries, but notto be categorized like that.
That is just not reality.
And you got some specificattention paid to you because of a
(07:28):
response that you made in Ibelieve the Sentinel. Yes?
Yes, the Orlando Sentinel.I was feeling spicy.
When things like that happen,
it is really easy to sort offeel like you can't do anything.
It's just out of your control.
And I felt the need to at least
(07:52):
voice another perspectiveout into the world. And
I did not expect the Orlando Sentinelto print the op-ed, but they did.
They pushed it out and it got reallya bigger response than I could have
ever thought it would get.
It was a beautiful piece. It was verydata-driven and incredibly compelling.
(08:15):
I felt like it saweverything from every angle.
So talk to us a little bit about,
you made such good salientpoints about this in your letter.
Talk to us about theeconomic impact of the arts
generally, specificallyin the state of Florida.
Certainly a lot of people who listento this particular podcast work in the
(08:39):
industry, but there arealways shadow listeners.
There are spouses in the car or friendsin the car who are also hearing it.
Not everyone actually understandsthe role that we play.
And I thought you did such a great jobof using data to make those points.
Yeah, thank you.
Many people just think what we dois just providing entertainment,
(08:59):
but entertainment is unique.
We're not only generating economicactivity by ourselves just with
our own business functionsof producing shows. I hire,
I have about almost 200 peopleon the payroll every year,
like seasonal employees that come and go.
(09:20):
We are providing a ton of jobs and
a ton of economic activity by ourselves.
And when you couplethat with the audience,
them coming to the theaterand paying for tickets,
but also buying concessions,buying merchandise,
going out to lunch afterwards.
(09:42):
Maybe they're in townfor a couple of days,
they're going to stay at thehotel and come and see a show.
They're going to stay here for aweek while their kids are in camps.
It's really prettyremarkable when you start
really adding it up,
if you pay attentionlong enough to add it up.
(10:06):
So many people that I interact with,
they just sort of think ofwhat we do as something extra.
It's a fun thing to do on theweekend and that's where it lives.
But I think if you peelback the onion a little bit,
the arts and culture communityis like three and change percent
of the total GDP of Florida.That's a massive number.
(10:30):
And if you send that all aroundthe nation, it's incredible.
It's right up there withtransportation or housing or
any of these other sort of morefamiliar things in the business and
finance world. Yes, it's a theateror yes, it's an art museum or yes,
it's a fringe festival,
(10:51):
but these are all small businesses.
And if you take what we doand you put it more in the
context of what the rest of theworld considers a small business,
then you find many morecommonalities in the language and
in other people's ability tounderstand what you're talking about.
(11:13):
Yeah, because the type of businesseswe are are arts and culture businesses.
We are nonprofits, and thatis simply a tax status.
That's it.
Interestingly enough,
the state of Florida alone says thatarts and culture organizations generate
nearly 6 billion a yearin economic activity.
(11:34):
And almost 300,000 jobs.
These are no longer small numberswhen you put them all together.
And if I'm generating hotel room nightsand economic development out of my
organization and taxes backto the local government,
we're doing everything we'resupposed to be doing-and then some,
because the state also says there'sa nine to one return on that
(11:58):
investment.
So the economic activity that we'regenerating is moving the needle.
That sentiment is fewand far between, right?
Most of the time our organizationssort of get painted as
a boy who cried wolf or the whinyarts organization always looking for a
handout. And it's like, no, no, no.
(12:21):
Any small business that got$75,000 removed out of their
budget weeks before they needed it,they're going to be in the same place.
So stop trying to paint it likewe don't know what we're doing,
and start acknowledging theinsane headwinds that we
continue to face as a sector. Andyou see it all over the country.
(12:43):
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
And you play an importantrole for other arts
organizations in your market. For example,
you are essentially introducing the arts
to children and giving themthat first opportunity maybe to
decide that this is something that theywill participate in in life so that then
(13:06):
your neighbor down the street,the Dr. Phillips Center,
can benefit from theirattendance as adults.
And so this is about a lifelongjourney for a large constituency of
people.
A hundred thousand percent.
And you've talked about the rolethis plays on the mental health of
children,
which I thought was a really strongand compelling point of view as well.
(13:30):
Our young people arereally in a crisis and
the rates of loneliness, anxiety,
and depression are all exploding.
And we know from otherresearch that the theater
creates belonging and connection.
And so we work really hard to make surethat everybody that walks through our
(13:53):
doors feels like they belong there.
We want a warm and welcoming environmentso that you feel comfortable,
so that you can open up your mindand learn new things, be inspired,
learn creativity, and ultimatelyat the end of the day,
build stronger connectionswith those around you.
(14:16):
Children learning about courageand empathy is so important.
I think back on how the artsshaped me as a young person,
and I feel like so many kids can tellthe story that I'm about to tell,
which is I was lucky enough to havea really amazing band director.
I had this band director from sixthgrade until I graduated from high school,
(14:38):
and he was an incredibly compellingman, and I was a band geek,
so that was my particularway into the arts initially.
And the thing that's so interesting tome now, as a 50-something-year-old man,
to look back on is:
I actually learned the fundamentalsof leadership that I employ
today from him then through art.
(15:03):
And I just know so many peoplewho can tell stories like that.
Someone just told me a story the otherday that they really learned to be a
resilient person through learning howto be in their high school theater
program. It's just like these areamazing opportunities for children.
But think about what thatprocess is to create a
(15:25):
show. You have to collaborate together.
You have to communicate to designersand creatives and technicians and people
building it.
And all of this stuff has to cometogether and then work at the
same time.
Listen, stage managerscould run the world.
They could run the world.
They could run the world. Shoutout to all the SMs out there.
(15:47):
It's real. It's real.
It really is. It really is. If I may,
I'd love to see if I canget you to sort of represent
the feelings and interestsof the larger community in
Florida.
I'm sure people were affectedby this funding cut in a lot of
(16:09):
different ways. I'm just sort of curious,
how is the community across thestate generally feeling on the other
side of a harsh decision like this,
and what is the communitydoing to try to overcome it?
I think the community as awhole is just disappointed.
(16:33):
The smaller groups around town
might fall closer to just devastated,
I think. Man, we're just tired.
We're just exhausted.
It's very jarring to see every other week
(16:54):
an article in the Times or in the WallStreet Journal or something where a
theater's closing or atheater's pushing out
a fundraising campaign to save us becausewe have a million dollar deficit and
all of this. And man,
that is so frustrating because at the end
(17:15):
of the day,
I just think it's amisunderstanding of how important
the work is.
We scratch and claw for every single
dollar that we have to beg for,
and that's disappointing.
(17:35):
Listen,
I am coming to you from a very bluebubble kind of state that would
never make this kind of choice.
And that to me actually is why itwas important to do this episode,
because not everyone is operatingan arts organization in a climate
that is a little bit morefriendly to us. But I'm curious,
(17:55):
because this happened, howthe media coverage has been.
Do you feel like they gave youattention? Was it fair? And by you,
I mean all of you. Wasit fair and ultimately,
did you feel like the publicunderstood the impact that this would
have on everyone?
That's so interesting because on one hand,
(18:19):
absolutely.
I think after I wrote that op-ed,
I think four out of the sixnews stations in town were in
my office and wanting to dointerviews and talking about it.
But there's kind of asecond layer where I want to
say it's not great response.
(18:41):
I'm certainly not inundated with checksfrom people that care and want to
help us.
It's almost like it's just this story
that fits the narrative that we all know:
the struggling arts organization,it needs more money.
(19:05):
It's helping that narrative.
And it's one of the driversof my article, right,
to say, hold on, this isnot a fricking narrative.
Pay attention and look at the thingsthat we're having to deal with.
Do we need to lose all these artsinstitutions before we pay attention?
(19:26):
Or are we going to acknowledgethat these places are amazing and
doing a beautiful thing in ourworld and we should be making sure
they're thriving, not surviving?
The state's surplus this year is like
a $17 billion surplus or something.
(19:48):
There was no reason to cut
$30 million out becausein the state's budget,
that is scraps.
We're not talking about the artsorganizations all rolling in
gold. Nobody-that doesn't exist.
I'm tired of the scraps.That's so insulting.
(20:12):
I don't want to work hard for the scraps.
I want to flip the table over and
get people to see it a different way.
Yes!
It's important.
Yeah.
That point in your letter where you talkabout that $17 billion-billion with a
B-billion dollar surplus inthe context of this cut is
(20:35):
particularly difficult to traverse.
So our arts organizationsacross the country,
I think that we largely are some the
loudest voices in promotingdiversity and inclusion,
certainly amongst children.
And I think to then suffer a cut like this
(20:58):
across so many organizationsin Florida specifically
is particularly alarming for me becauseyou're the organizations that are
largely doing the Lord'swork to support all of these
underrepresented artists andcommunities and children.
Well, so get this one.
(21:18):
So this morning I got an email from a
school. We've done a bunch of Junie B.
Jones plays at OrlandoFamily Stage. Junie B.
Jones is a huge children's book character.
There's probably 30books of Junie B. Jones.
And we got a messagethis morning that says,
(21:42):
I was writing to let you know that ourschool will not be able to attend the
showing of Junie B. Jones on October 31st.
One of the books in theseries is on the banned list,
and our admin has not okayed usto go. We're sorry to miss it.
So...
that shit's real.And I have
(22:02):
a letter, a handwritten letter,
that's framed over hereon my desk that is from
apparently a donor.
I cannot confirm that this isa donor because it's anonymous,
but they were furious thatwe put a Black Lives Matter
banner up on our building outside,
(22:24):
and they wrote me hate mail and said,
we will never support your theateragain. We will not send you any money.
Like, shame on you.
That's absurd that welive in a world like that.
And I see every day the kids showing up on
buses, the parents whosekids are impacted...
(22:47):
I know we do a good thing.
And we want to use our means,
whatever that might be, totry and make this better.
That is scary. I was actually not atall prepared to hear a story like that,
but I am so glad that yousaid it because I think
(23:07):
it is important for all of us to knowthat there are organizations like yours
with arts admins inside of it whohave to do the work that we all
do in environments like that,and to fight against that,
to create the space thateveryone needs. Yeah,
that's hard to hear, Chris. Your passionfor what you do is quite contagious.
(23:31):
Thank you.
And you're quite inspiring doing thisin the environment that you're doing it
in. So I'll just say that very plainly.
If people are listening to this and theyalso feel inspired and they want to do
something to support you guys,where should we send them?
Oh, I mean,
I am so humbled by generosity in people.
(23:54):
I'm so grateful for anyonewho wants to contribute
time, energy, talent. And so theeasiest way, if you're local?
Come see a show. Come seeone of our great shows.
We have an amazing season thisyear. And then if you're not local,
check us out online. Subscribeto our social media accounts,
(24:17):
get involved in that way andhelp spread our good message,
right? We're trying to make the worlda better place. Check out our website,
find different things.
There's tons of different optionsfor contributing financially,
philanthropically. Youcan do sponsorships,
(24:37):
you can bring field trips to a show.You can give and support in that way.
Absolutely every bit of it helpsmove the needle. It really does.
Whether it's $2 or $200, itall goes to a great place.
There was something in therethat everyone could afford to do,
so that was a great answer. Okay,
we have reached the endof our time together.
(24:59):
It means we've also reached your CIto Eye moment, as we like to call it.
So my final question for you, Chris,
is if you could broadcast onemessage to executive directors,
leadership teams, staff, and boardsof a thousand arts organizations,
what would it be?
(25:19):
Keep going.
Find peers to connect withbecause those connections
can give you perspective.
And don't back down. Let's fix this.
This is not a problemwith Central Florida.
It's exacerbated in Central Florida,
(25:40):
but it is around the nation,
and I don't like seeingtheaters close all over
the place. We need toreally understand the value
and what these skillsand these experiences can
truly do for our future.
(26:02):
More empathy is needed in the world.We teach kids... So the mission is:
we empower kids to bebrave and empathetic.
We need empathy in the world right now.We need to be caring for our neighbor,
and we need to be braveenough and confident enough to speak up when we know we
need to. So keep chuggingout there, executives.
(26:25):
I'm with you and I'm rooting for you.
And if you need to get away from yoursnow, just come on down to Orlando.
Well said. So Chris Brown, executivedirector of Orlando at Family Stage,
I thank you for your time.
Thank you so much,Christopher! It was a pleasure.
(26:49):
Hi everyone. Dan here. So before youskip to the next podcast in your queue,
stick with us for a quickround of CI-lebrity Sightings.
Here are some news stories about artsand culture that we found inspiring
recently.
Opera Philadelphia made a splash byannouncing a pay-what-you-can model for
their 2024-2025 season-the first ofits kind by a major opera company.
(27:10):
You can read all about their efforts toattract new audiences in the New York
Times article, "A Bargain At The Opera:
Philadelphia Offers All SeatsFor As Low As $11." And the
Apollo announced their firstever full-scale renovation,
which includes an expanded lobby, newseating, upgraded backstage areas,
and more.
You can geek out over the details andrenderings in The Architect's Newspaper.
(27:33):
Snaps to these two organizations forcontinuing to innovate and serve more
community members than ever before.Got a story that deserves a shout out?
Tag us on social and let us know.
(27:53):
Thank you for listening to CI to Eye.
This episode was edited and produced byKaren McConarty and co-written by Karen
McConarty and myself, Dan Titmuss.
Stephanie Medina and Jess Berube are CIto Eye's designers and video editors,
and all work together tocreate CI's digital content.
Our music is by whoisuzo. Ifyou enjoyed today's episode,
(28:14):
please take a moment torate us or leave a review.
A nice comment goes a long way in helpingother people discover CI to Eye and
hear from experts in the arts and beyond.If you didn't enjoy today's episode,
pass it on to all of your enemies.Don't forget to follow us on Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube,
and TikTok for regular contentto help you market smarter.
(28:35):
You can also sign up for our newsletterat capacity interactive dot com so you
never miss an update. Andif you haven't already,
please click the subscribe buttonwherever you get your podcasts.
Until next time, stay nerdy.
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