Mark Alcala, Producing Director of the Rose Marine Theater

Mark talks about how he contracts with various artists, and how as a culturally specific venue they work as a presenter and a producer.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• arts
• administration
• drexel
• tcu

[lindsayfletcher88]

Thank you, Mark. Can you talk about the methodology behind balancing your administrative and artistic priorities?

[jpyandoli]

Thanks, Mark. I am curious...do you ever find yourself in the position where you need to choose between to different prospective rentals--one which is more in line with your mission and one which brings in more money. As a small organization it seems you would want to choose the one that is financially better for you, but choosing something that works with the organization could be the beginning of a relationship and mean big things in the future. Have you ever had this happen?

[DaLiion]

Hi Mark, thank you for the wonderful presentation! As a Producing Director, what challenges do you face in balancing the artistic and executive side of the organization? Do you find it difficult to make artistic and executive decisions while in the dual role? Thanks again! -Roger Lee

[meoxberry]

Hi Mark--How does your organization decide the budget for a season? Is the budget decided before, after, or during the booking process? If there is an artist you really want who costs more than what you thought, and you can't negotiate or secure other funds like you mentioned, will you consider taking something else out of the budget or substituting something for a cheaper option in order to afford that artist you want? Thanks for your time!

[pch2]

Mark, thanks for your time.

With the Rose Marine Theater having such a specific mission, do ever run into issues with funding? What about booking performances to book? Do you ever book shows that might not fall in line specifically with your mission for the purpose of increasing revenue stream?

[rdueno1982]

How does your artistic director balance the blocking of the calendar? Is there a method to the madness? Based on your description, it seems like the "types" of events are decided first prior to the actual acts being selected, which seems like a smart way of balancing out the season. How much does the expected attendance/popularity for specific events factor into that outlining process?

[clareconroyhughes]

Thanks for sharing with us! You mentioned that you will sometimes try to negotiate heavier marketing in exchange for getting a fee that's within you budget for a less-known artist. I'm curious how artists that are not well known wield that kind of power in negotiations; or do they usually negotiate with you?

[TheAz325]

Thank you for your time!

I was wondering how important is the group's mission when you give discounted rates? Is the decision to discount highly discussed among the administration to figure this out? Or is it solely based on recurring renting?

[ndragga]

Who comprises your gallery and production committees? Is it staff, the board, community members, all of the above?

[sugarpaw]

Thank you for the interview, Mark. It looks from your website like you have an exciting season coming up. Why A View From The Bridge, though? Wonderful play (I saw the recent revival on Bway), but how does it fit into your mission? Just curious.