 Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill T. Jones. Don't believe it. I'm not cool and smiling. I'm scared to death. But you know that. You're all performing people, so you work a lot of scared artists, don't you? But you make us brave, right? So, we start making and doing what? Making what? We have made an opus. It was going to be about my nephew, Lance Theodore Graves. Beautiful young dude. Now dealing with AIDS. Now dealing with big questions about what a life of pleasure has led him to. And it was going to be called, later to my nephew, it was going to be done in Paris. It was going to be done in Europe because the presenters said, we need something from you, Bill, to bring out the young folks. No, you don't talk that way, do you? We need something with not so much goddamn language, he said. So we worked on this thing. I was going to really, I was going to diss the French, you know? We're just seeing all those photos of the people coming from Syria. And I know that we Americans, we open our gates to everybody, right? But anyways, the piece was, let it to my nephew. Using the model of James Baldwin, a European, a European journey. And I was going to put my nephew's bed, like Frida Kahlo, in the middle of a stage. And imagine tear gas. This was my postcard. And I said, imagine people in tear gas in Syria, in Africa, in Ferguson. And it was going to be a rumination on the artist from afar. Well, we did it. And the 13th of November, walked outside. The performance was over. And I walked into hell. So we sent the dancers off to Leon, our next engagement. A music-driven program, no talking. And Bjorn and I got in our motor scooter and we were going to go see the sites in Paris. And everything was closed. The heart was heavy. Dora Amelon. Hello. Bye-bye. 95-year-old Jewish woman who discovered at age 19 there are two kinds of people. Those who need help and those who give help. Need help? Give help. Bye-bye. So we go to the only museum. And I'm standing looking at a betrine of ancient Chinese relics. And the first one is a guy that looks like this. And the second one is a guy that looks like this. And the third one is a person of indeterminate gesture and gender, sorry, who looks like this. And the fourth one looks like someone pulling on a raincoat. These are tiny little figures. This rain, I call it. And then my camera didn't work and I call this neutral. The next one is what we would call now a party boy. Is he holding a lantern once? And after the party boy comes a fierce moustache of God or guardian. Soldier. And I thought he was like my dad saying, mm-hmm, and the last one is holding a lantern. I'm imagining it to be a slave. And he's walking into a dark room. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Jesse Norman taught me that song. She said that when the slaves came from the fields and they could see the barn in the evening and they've been working since dawn. And they're singing, walk, walk, don't you get weary. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Bye-bye, bye. My angel said once, being very old is like having AIDS. There ain't no cure. Bye-bye. And my clock is ticking. I will dance a girl. Pleasure woman. Feed the Japanese. Believe the Koreans. Women for pleasure. The pleasure boy. I was a boy once, cause pleasure. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Go from Leon to a beautiful wine country of northern Italy. Have you ever walked down the street and the smell of truffles is so strong that you can literally follow it to an exclusive, expensive shop. And we had dinner with the very posh Italians. And a woman, one of the few English speakers said, Mr. Obama, he is weak. Mr. Obama is weak. We here in Europe don't respect him anymore. Just backstage is talking to Daniel and Kathy. And I was talking about how hard it is to live up to what she said in her speech this afternoon about the community. The community that we are part of and that we build. And I said I grew up in an African American home, God fearing. But that I had bought the modernist idea so that a good artist is an alienated, lonely artist. Are we a community? Walk, walk, don't you get weary. Are presenters alienated? She said no. I'll just say nothing. I will. Remember the guy who looked as if it was raining? Remember the pose that was neutral? I was so pissed off all these years. I felt that my black body could never be neutral. Was I wrong? I will. Hell yes! Seven o'clock is ticking. Old age is like having AIDS. There ain't no cure. Hell yes! Are we a community? Making those who need help. Those who give help. Our hearts are open. Our boundaries are open. No red, no blue in the art world, right? What color are we? I did this piece downtown for a version of it with white music. The writer in the time said, he's so loud in his news. Chicago, happy child. Ladies and gentlemen, your APEP NYC 2016 conference co-chairs, Rachel Cohen, Kathy Edwards, and Daniel Bernard-Rumain. Welcome everyone, good evening, dear friends, colleagues, and collaborators in the room and online to the opening session of the 59th Annual Conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. Yeah. We are again making a number of this year's conference sessions accessible over the internet courtesy of the HowlRound TV live streaming service. So please be sure to invite your friends, family, and colleagues to our many online offerings and streaming events. Kathy, Rachel, and I have worked hard to bring you a broad, diverse, and inspiring conference. We hope for your enthusiasm and we welcome your input on our conference. Remember, APEP is about all of us. It has been deeply meaningful for me as an artist to serve in the role of conference co-chair for the past two years, and especially this evening to launch this event with a special commissioned performance by my collaborator, brother, and our dear friend, our national treasure, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill T. Jones. This year's theme, making, is of course relevant to all of us who create art and engage directly with audiences on a regular basis. But I have come to realize that in this field we are all makers with a capital M. From artists to managers to agents to producers and presenters, all of us contribute to our field, our communities, and the enduring enrichment of our arts world. Rachel? Indeed, Daniel. Agents and managers make it possible for work to be presented to a wide range of audiences in communities across the U.S. and around the world. And I have been making my way to New York for every January for the past 25 years. I can't imagine being anywhere else but here to share the learning, the inspiration, the networking, and all-around camaraderie that is only possible through an event like APAP NYC. So much has been already written about our theme, but it's also important to remind everyone of the following. Number one, it's pretty difficult to make anything, including programming, for an event that attracts close to 4,000 people. Without information and inspiration drawn from others, and the three of us were thrilled to be working with individuals you see on the screen. A primary goal of the conference committee is to make certain that today and over the next four days there are many opportunities to share information and ideas that you can apply directly to your work. Number two, the more we learn and share collectively, will make for a stronger field in the future. We hope you will take advantage of the breadth and depth of professional development sessions that comprise this year's program, and of course the dynamic keynote speakers that will be with us each day. Number three, make time to reach out to all new colleagues, especially those who are joining us from other countries, to build a better understanding of forces that are reshaping the world in which we live. Our co-chair, Kathy Edwards, is expanding her international network as the recently appointed Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts. Kathy? Thank you, Rachel. It's deeply meaningful for me to be here at this conference with so many of the people who advance our nation's creative landscape. The past year has made us all more aware of the need for arts workers to be informed and responsive to communities, to events, and to conflict, both internationally and domestically. Conflict affects the well-being of the artists and the audiences that we serve. Last year, we were struck by unimaginable tragedies from violence taking place in the concert hall at the Bataclan, a space that represents so much that is so beloved to all of us, to violence in the streets of our own communities, where we see that racism and injustice denies the rights and futures of so many of our fellow citizens. But we always hold truth. We always hold dear the truth that our field is uniquely positioned to advance a dialogue about progressive values, about the positive impact of connection, and about the strength of the human spirit. Earlier today, arts presenters hosted a number of pre-conference sessions that focused on many topics, including why and how we, in the presenting field, can and should make a difference. There are so many good examples of arts organizations and their partners in our field who have effectively brought people together in times of crisis, whether due to political, economic, social, or environmental issues causing setbacks. And over the next few days, we encourage each of you to reserve some time to learn how you can become even more effective in your involvement with communities in making decisions and making a difference through arts-led projects and activities. In addition to reserving time for professional development activities, we know you'll take advantage of the many opportunities to experience live performance, plan for future programming, and hopefully deepen your sense of value and belonging as a member of the arts presenters community. We know the next four days can seem daunting, especially for those of you who are here for the first time. So please don't hesitate to introduce yourself to us or any members of the conference committee, arts presenters, staff, or board members. Also, there is an info desk across from registration, and if you need specific information or are feeling lost or need encouragement of some kind, come, we will try to help. Daniel. We also want to acknowledge that this year, we are meeting during our country's annual commemoration of the great humanitarian orator, civil and human rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King said, life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others? My friends, let us not forget in the days ahead that at our best, we speak of invitations. We are guided by a mutual, sincere, loving respect. We welcome our responsibilities to those here and those we have lost and that no matter the roles and risks each of us has or where our work takes us, we all share the same vision to bring the transformative experience of live performance to all people of all ages across to the communities we serve that yes, the arts change and have always saved lives. Rachel. And finally it goes without saying that it would not be so easy for us to make this event happen so seamlessly every January without the year-round effort of the hard-working APAP team. Let's all give them a hand. They've been responsive to our interests and concerns and they themselves demonstrate the invaluable process of making, handling the logistics, content and management of this complicated event. We thank Mario, the staff and especially the 100-plus volunteers who will be with us in the days ahead. We're here to share some highlights of what to expect in the days ahead. It's my pleasure to introduce the man who makes the planning hours we spend together so worthwhile. Arts presenters, vice president of programs and resources, Scott Stoner. Thank you all. My sixth grade course director said I had a perfect pitch. What? I'm not going to sing. Well, from everyone, it's great to see you on behalf of the APAP team. To say it's truly been a pleasure working with this conference co-chair triumferant you just met. In addition to being makers, they are true givers. Each gave us a measurable level of thought, candor and inspiration to guide our conference programming over the past two years. So, here we are again. Five days, 80 professional development sessions, 370 expo hall booths, 1,000 plus showcase performances and special events, 100 hours and 6,000 minutes. Are you prepared for this year's amazing Makers Marathon? In addition to layered clothing, comfortable shoes, and perhaps some buffered aspirin, here are a few ideas to highlight on your APAP, or for the technology challenging your printed program. First of all, here in the ground ballroom in a short while, we anticipate a very provocative conversation about truly making the arts matter led by Anna Devere Smith. Tomorrow at noon, don't miss our annual plenary session with a very talented group of Makers presenting in the Peshaka shop where Matt, this year, moderated by Liz Lerman. Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Yes, you will get up Sunday morning. 11 a.m. brings together three marvelous Makers from our theatrical world moderated by Colleen Jennings-Rogensack. And on Monday at noon, the annual APAP Awards luncheon highlighted this year by opening remarks from Ben Vereen. Plus the winner of the five minutes to shine competition and the award of merit presentation to Baba Chuck Davis. Around the corner in the Triana Mallroom, first thing tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., we bring together colleagues who are working around the world to break through barriers and bring people together through the arts. Hadrian Girard from Create London will open the session, and also please to welcome Dr. Akhmad Sarmast, founder of the National Institute of Music in Afghanistan who miraculously survived a suicide bombing in Kabul just before he was to be with us last year. Also in the Triana on Tuesday morning you don't want to miss our closing session with the incomparable Rita Moreno. Please note that we have organized the rest of our professional development sessions over the next three days by the conference theme which is, make arts, make a difference, make decisions, and make money, good business practice. These are either 50 minute or 80 minute sessions with a common goal of sharing information and ideas between speakers and audience so there's a take away you can apply to your own work. In addition, we offer one and one on one and small group consultation salons and mini workshops around grant opportunities, legal issues and outreach. We invite you to highlight and participate in sessions that are raised interest to you between your time spent in the Expo Hall and attending the many showcase performances. Finally, I'll draw your attention to a few special events that again carry forward this year's theme. First is our five minutes to shine competition on Monday morning, fast-paced series of presentations about audience development strategies that have worked for presenters and artists and practices for building arts audiences as researched by our partners at the Wallace Foundation. New this year is the opportunity to meet and converse with members of APAP's Stellar Artists Committee during an artist's salon following the awards luncheon, moderated by Ella Baff who recently left Jacob's Pillow to take on a leadership role with the Mellon Foundation. And finally, cap off your 2016 APAP Curated Showcase event, the annual Young Nationals Career Advancement Yipka concert which will take place at Merckin Concert Hall on Monday. So take your vitamins, make the utmost of your time over the next four days and my dear colleagues make the force be with you. And now I'm going to welcome our maker and chief Mario Garcia Durham. I have to vehemently disagree with Scott. Don't wear comfortable shoes wear fashionable shoes. So thank you, Scott. Hello everyone, happy New Year to you all. Thank you, Scott, for that terrific introduction and congratulations on the terrific program you and the conference committee have made. We appreciate these generous and dedicated members who together with our hardworking staff make this annual convening possible. There is another special group of individuals whose support is critically important. Please join me in expressing our sincere gratitude to the many sponsors who provide the critical resources we need to make an event this size so successful. So please join me in thanking our sponsors after I take a brief moment to acknowledge each of them. First, thanks to the generous programming support from our colleagues in the foundation world. These include the Doris Duke charitable foundation, the American Express Foundation, the British Council USA, Ford Foundation, the Wallace Foundation, and also we receive annual conference support from the National Endowment for the Arts. We are pleased to welcome a new Diamond level sponsor this year and the sponsor of this opening event and our opening reception Thank You, PBS. Also, yes, you can applaud, thank you. Thank you, PBS. Also, thanks to our goal level sponsors including Alan Harris Productions, IMG Artist, Opus 3 Artist, and Starbox Booking. Our silver level applause for that category, thank you. Our silver level sponsors are the accidental Pervert, Cammy, Canadian Council for the Arts, David Belanzan, Management, ICM Partners, KMP, and at the bronze level a new sponsor coming in. The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. And also for our participating sponsors Gig Salad, Causton Talent, Sage Artist, Patron Manager, Pomegranate Artist. We all know how important sponsors are so please, please, please, they're all here. Give them a very, very rousing applause. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. I am, I'm truly heartened to welcome you here and thank you for making this annual pilgrimage to APAP each year. I know it's a choice that you make. There is someone else here though who represents a large team of dedicated staff who also appreciate the annual gathering of the APAP community and they are here to serve you. So I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to the general manager of the Hilton, York Hilton Midtown Hotel, Mr. Laurent Zeivren. Laurent? Good evening everybody. I just want to have the opportunity to thank you for being here. We're extremely proud of having you back again this year. It's a huge event for us. It's fun. We enjoy it. The bigger and funnier it gets, the better we do so it's good to have you with us. We have 1,300 team members. You can call them team members but you could easily call them team members. If it doesn't happen for you over the next four days, you either talk to the guy with the weird accent that would be me or you see any of our 1,300 team members. Thank you very much. Have a great time. At this moment, this is exciting, I'd like to welcome the newcomers who are joining us for the first time. So first timers, please stand up. Please. Let's give them a warm round of applause. Welcome. I'm going to give a special welcome to the staff of every member you're surrounded by. Feel free to reach out to any of us if you need support, assistance, advice, et cetera. We're very happy you're here. So we gather here each year at APAP NYC to do hopefully a lot of business, see and book amazing artists, learn something and share knowledge that may help each of us in our work and life. And to experience this myriad of amazing artists and singers. As Daniel indicated earlier this weekend, it is also important that we remember the inspiring work and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And I can't let this moment pass without stating what many of you also recognize that black lives matter. Through his own words and through context and content, many of our sessions and events in the following we will remember him as a champion for equity, inclusivity and the victory of the human spirit. With this in mind I encourage you, more than ever in these troubling times, to make the most of this important opportunity to make new friends and reunite with long term friends that are part of our APAP community. So again, thank you, each and every one of you for your good work and thank you again for making the effort and spending your very hard earned resources to join your APAP family here in New York. And now I have the great pleasure of introducing someone who makes a difference every day through her leadership at the nation's largest non-commercial media organization with more than 350 member stations. Since her arrival in 2006 Paula Kerger has made particularly strong commitments to education, the arts, news and public affairs, and the use of new technology to reach all Americans. She is also the president of the PBS Foundation, an independent organization that raises private sector funding for PBS and has become a significant source of revenue for new projects at PBS. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Baltimore and serves on the Merrick School of Business Dean's Advisory Council. She is also a director of the National Museum of Natural History and a member of the Board of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. And also the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation. PBS, as we all know, brings national and international attention to the performing arts in America. And here is a brief reminder before Paula joins us of the breadth of work PBS brings to the American public. Thank you. I know it's wonderful to be with you this afternoon, but I have to admit sitting backstage and listening to gosh, I hope you've been resting five days. Wow. Anyway, it sounds like it's going to be an extraordinary meeting and I'm so very privileged and honored to be asked to help kick off such an important gathering for the arts. As you can imagine, as the president of PBS, we have more than 350 member stations. We've been all over the country and I talk to groups everywhere I go and no matter who I'm speaking to, I always make a point to talk about the importance of the arts for our communities and for our country. I emphasize how important the arts are to our economy, generating over 135 billion dollars in economic activity and supporting over 4 million full-time jobs. And I also talk about how important the arts and creativity are to the future of our country ensuring that we remain on the cutting edge of innovation. But I don't think those numbers come close to expressing the true value of the arts or why it's so important that we come together as an artistic community to advocate for more support of the arts. In each of the communities I've visited I've seen greater art and I see the bigger impact it has on community. I know I've experienced how enriching the arts can be. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a concert or a play preoccupied with some issue at work or at home only to come away with a new perspective. But it's not just me. The arts are what make us human. They feed our soul. They inspire us. They stretch our sense of what's possible. They break down barriers between people and cultures and they chance to see the world from many different perspectives. In this time of so many divisions when people seem intent on isolating themselves from each other or being afraid of seeing how much similarities we have this is the opportunity the arts offer. I can think of nothing more important than building bridges between different communities and different people and our common humanity. As President Obama recently said creativity in the arts have always played a central role in the life of our nation. It is our artists who hold up a mirror to our society reminding us of our common purpose and our collective obligations. Our art, he said is an honest reflection of who we really are a reflection of our successes and our shortcomings our imagination our restlessness our stubborn insistence on blending the old with the new tradition with experimentation. It is this power to bring people together to break down barriers and language, geography, culture and yes even ideology that I think is so important today. Beyond showing us the world through others eyes participation in the arts communities and promotes civic engagement. This is not just an empty claim a study conducted by the performing arts research committee looked at the value of the performing arts in ten representative communities nationwide. Within 70% of the respondents strongly agreed that exposure to the performing arts helped them better understand other cultures and also agreed that seeing the performing arts live encouraged them to be more creative. The study also showed that people who attend arts events are much more likely to volunteer in their communities. This gets to the core of our work at PBS. In public broadcasting our job like yours is to enrich people's lives. Our 350 local stations have a long history of serving and engaging with their local communities. Then we're working early childhood education to their local programming which reflects the spirit of their communities. And we think there's a special opportunity to build and serve our communities through the arts. That's why I'm here today. I want to help us develop ways that we can come together and do more. Research from the NEA shows that people who engage with the arts on air or online are three times more likely to attend a live event than non-media users. Television is a powerful medium but public media is uniquely positioned to translate this power into real impact in our communities because of our local national model. Unlike commercial stations, our local stations are owned by the people they serve. We are committed to building relationships at the local level with you to broadcast your work and help you reach a wider audience. Since I became president of PBS I've placed a strong emphasis on the importance of the arts and I'm especially interested in how we can help promote access to the arts and communities all across this country. In public media our goal is to use the power of media to make the arts available to all, everyone. Regardless of their income or where they live should have access to the best music, theater and dance that are the legacy of this country. At a time when funding for music and arts within our schools is strained PBS and our member stations are helping to keep the arts alive and for generations to come. By removing economic and geographic barriers millions of people can experience the worlds of music, dance, theater and performance including opportunities that might otherwise be available to them except through public broadcasting. During the 2014-2015 season we offered nearly 600 hours of arts and cultural programming seen by over 110 million people. Let's argue about the fact that there is a great audience for the arts in this country. We like to think that we're able to give people a front row seat and a backstage pass to both the world's greatest cultural experiences but also an invitation to meet intriguing new artists. Of course we're not going to do this alone. We need you. The artists and presenters to help us shine a spotlight on the great art that's happening right now. We need to strengthen our partnerships so that we can work together to bring more music and drama and performance to the people because it's clear that people are hungry for great art and the work that artists produce. While some may look at the state of the arts in the United States and especially arts funding and see reason for disappointment I also see reason for hope. The National Endowment for the Arts tracks participation in the arts and while some benchmarks in activities like attendance and opera jazz has fallen slightly I do see signs of a renaissance in the arts slightly over half of all American adults attended a live visual performing arts activity in 2012 according to the latest data from the NEA. And even more importantly 71% of people of Americans used electronic media to watch or to listen to art and 44% this is the most exciting thing which ties into the theme of your meeting created, practiced performed, edited or remixed art 44% new technologies and new platforms are giving us new ways to reach audiences and giving audiences new tools to create art and people are using these technologies to engage in creative endeavors this is important because the arts will be our legacy civilizations are remembered by the art they've created the wonderful Beverly Sills called the arts the signature of civilizations but if this is to be a golden age for the arts then we have some work to do we have to help build new bridges between diverse communities and offer new windows of opportunity to see the world through someone else's eyes we must open people up to the beauty of the world around them and the possibilities that are at each of our fingertips as presenters and arts presenters and artists this is our collective task but as part of this larger artistic community we don't have to do this alone let's join together as partners so that we can expand access to the arts let's work together to celebrate the great art being created across this country and let us build new partnerships between arts organizations so that we can both promote and sustain the arts stakes are far too high for us to fight this battle alone on behalf of all of us in public media we look forward to working with you to use the power of our platforms to leave a bold signature on the walls of history so that those will say that this is in fact the golden age for art and artistic expression thank you very much thank you Paula we're so grateful to have your creative and inspiring message to launch this year's annual conference and to compliment our theme makers and now we have another special treat and store for you a rare opportunity to hear from four creative thinkers and doers who are making a difference engaging audiences in thoughtful and meaningful ways we know that conversations like this are most effective when there is a dynamic and insightful moderator so we naturally turn to an award winning actor and recipient of the prestigious MacArthur fellow award in addition to the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize two Tony nominations and two obis she is also the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue dedicated to supporting artists who work to address social issues and engender civic engagement she creates theatre works in which she plays many characters representing multiple points of view David Richard wrote in the New York Times that she is the ultimate impressionist she does people's souls ladies and gentlemen please welcome our moderator for this evening's conversation the actor playwright and professor Anna Devere Smith thank you so much welcome to New York those of you who are not of our town and welcome to makers and to making the arts matter I want to immediately introduce our panel who will come out one by one would you please welcome Carla Derlakov Canellis Bill T. Jones and Paula Kerger where is Paula Kerger I was supposed to bring my water out to block your vision this thing I guess I won't have it so Scott I guess that doesn't work I'm just going to put it okay I was warned that it might not but anyway so look our president the president of the United States ended the state of the union address as follows that's the America I know clear-eyed big-hearted undaunted by challenge optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word that's what makes me so hopeful about our future I believe in change because I believe in you the American people doesn't that sound like a call out to the arts in this country and have we ever heard a president talk about unconditional love you can Google it because I'd like to know if anybody else did and I do think that he was speaking in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King you know we saw once again the incredible Bill T. Jones and Paula thank you for giving us a frame and also giving people who lead things lots of great things they can repeat in their speeches but we haven't heard anything yet from our mezzo-soprano Carla D'Urlecof Canellis and I born of a Mexican mother and a Bulgarian father in her own words born into a world of cultural confusion I thought that you might start us off by talking about your duende initiative because I think the idea of duende is so essential to everything that we've been talking about and I know you understand this Bill your mother growing up talking about why things hurt so much this is something we understand talk about duende and what you're trying to do you can have mine if it's I could always sing in my opera voice I'll spare you it's an honor to be here just walking into the room I want to share a story I first came to APAP when I was 17 years old as an intern and with my mentor, Ken Fisher and if someone had told me then that I would be back here years many years later to be able to share my thoughts to the people that I consider the leaders in my industry I never would have believed that so today is a real affirmation that dreams can come true on a personal level and I just share that with all of you first-time comers and all of the interns here keep your dreams big how many of you have ever heard of duende? that's great I had not my opera career really was focused very much and continues to be on the role of Carmen and I was once in rehearsal with a Spanish stage director and he said Necesita mas duende and I'm thinking to myself what is this you know go home and I google it and I realized it wasn't something I was going to be able to do for the next rehearsal today is a concept that was really originated by Federico Garcia Lorca Spanish playwright, poet, author, composer and he defines it as the mysterious power that we all feel but no philosopher can explain he describes it as something intrinsic to an artistic experience it's not about technique it's not about the perfect performance for him it was really about something primal visceral authentic he also says it's the bitter root of human existence so in English I think the word that comes to my mind is soul and as I started to really think about this concept I wanted to follow this his search for duende and I now consider myself on a search for duende because I think it's something that we all can identify whether it's in a conversation an artistic experience or intimacy and it's that truth and so how can we really isolate that what is the formula and Lorca really gives us some wonderful examples of his own search and what he comes to conclude but it's about having the courage to face your fears to face death as a fear that we all have in common and really take a look at what's important so this is the work that I am now continuing on my own search which has really led me from my journey as let's say an interpreter as an opera singer to the path I hope will lead me to being an artist because I think the artists are the ones that are sort of given that responsibility of the mysterious and the big questions we have an obligation to ask the questions that we're faced with and I think that mysterious is a word that keeps coming up whether it's through Lorca through readings as your book states referring to the mysterious but also just to finish a quote that really comes to my mind very often when I see an artistic performance is something Albert Einstein said which is the most beautiful experiences that we can have are the mysterious Thank you so much and of course when we think about the mysterious and we think about the whole idea of making the arts matter you know there's this question I think about what can we really do if we at any rate often come from this particular place of ambiguity searching and questioning in a world that sometimes would like to have answers Paula when I looked at that fabulous clip just now I noticed that so many of the figures were leaping what are they leaping for and how does that leap anybody can answer this how does that leap help us in the world we're in now Kathy Edwards started us with a very sobering reminder of what's in the world right now what are we leaping for in the arts how does that help do you mind if I jump in here no pun intended but you know Michael Kaiser was advising dance companies who want to play big houses and they want to up their numbers now I don't know if he with Michael's around if he still says this but a couple of things on your poster have a man and a man in the air now that's a very dramatic way of marketing people respond to those two things now there's a beautiful dancer was she doing Keetree or something yes that's beautiful as well but something about the culture you want to sell tickets to the Ted Kennedy Center as a dance company get a young guy in the air leaping now many of us are saddened by that right Paula so I'm not sure that's why they're leaping now you might have a good marketing person so the real that we shared with you is our programming for just this season and every time I look at that I see when I look at that video I think of people that are trying to soar from earth and there's something that's very aspirational about that and really trying to stretch the boundaries of what's possible by casting yourself into the air to me it is exuberance it is joy it is everything that we you know see that to me is what I see when I see that I didn't know about Michael Kaiser's man dancing thing but I but you can understand it I could understand it but I think that what we want to capture in what that is which is a promotional video to get people interested about a range of things that we're doing that there is there is passion there is joy there is energy and they need to be a part of it and you know what I think we have no fight here I just want to go back even to the president to what to the president and I want to touch very Sunday and unless I seem like a curmudgeon and and crusty I confess to you I'm conflicted right now but what the president is saying sounded to me like I love him I really love him but it was a speech that was designed to brand an administration it was a speech that was designed to flatter your public does he really think we're big hearted I don't think so we're fine he might well he's a smart man I do think that he is I mean that's he took a chance and sang amazing grace how many presidents he personally I think his heart is on his sleeve I do him crying that's what I love about him but in his position you've got to put a mirror to the people and then what was this I'm always quoting as actors you would be you know so you flatter people that you're the greatest this is the greatest you know I think we have to hear that I see public relations flatter or inspire but does it matter in a way does it matter whether it's public relations if somebody again is it matter if it's marketing does it matter if it's public relations if it does inspire I want to hear among here among us let's get real I think well I think some people here how many of you were inspired by the notion that we could reach for unconditional love applaud if you were but let's take something Bill I want to cast a question and I'm going to start again with Carla that comes from the piece you just gave us are we a community are we a community I want each one of you to answer that by the way we only have nine more minutes and then we're going to open to the but I want each of you from your point of view are we a community yes in what way as human beings now I feel very strongly about this as someone who is Mexican and Bulgarian and born here I've had to struggle with three cultures three identities I still can't make sense of it and I've asked myself what's my tribe where do I belong what box do I check am I an other how does all this work I've been asking myself these questions for a long time and I've also had the chance to travel quite a bit internationally as an opera singer and I come back to this every single time it's what we all have in common and frankly would like to stop the conversation about the others and start the conversation about the all because we are all one and you look at the statistics this is a conversation we are going to have to have there's a census poll last year 2014 children under the age of 5 that were minorities were actually 50.2% by the year so Paula what's important when you think about community and this is a reality what's important about the word public in PBS are we a community are we a public yes and I think that's the most important word in our name in that it really helps to capture the fact that we exist for the communities that we serve and by community coming back to yours it means physical communities in place but it means communities of common interest and I think the artistic community in particular is a tremendously important community that we feel that we want to support and do whatever we can to come together around a sense of common purpose because I think that so often times when we talk about public when we talk about community we're always focused on those things that make us all different and separate we're not like you this is this kind of community that kind of community and I think the more that we can come together around public about that that unites us about that common vision what can people in this group who have buildings some of them have this idea of public of community of coming together how could the arts be a part of that you've been all the way across the country from my perspective what could this group do I think the biggest thing that this group can do is that we need to bring people in we need to make sure that people recognize that this is why the public piece is so important that the arts and these buildings and the marketing and whatever it is we're building is for all I sincerely believe what I said in my opening remarks I believe that the arts are what the finest is human beings that desire to express our creativity and I think that as organizations the more that we can tap into that and develop that into the communities that we serve I believe we build the communities in which we want to live and I think at the very center of that are the arts and that's what role every person in this room including public stations play so Bill you've broken form you've worked in every single genre you're asking the question are we a community are we one and as a leader in the arts once we get the community inside what do we want them to do I'm not going that far I don't think that we're set up to have the discussion I read every day coming in with my friend driving we're reading Uless's Uless's that book was not made for a community that book and this is something I am conflicted the man that stood on the stage and said he was scared is actually trusting you but I don't know if it's hard it's not that easy to get community it is not so easy to get community and we can maybe someday get it but I think the level of speaking that we're going through right now is too easy because you know how difficult it is to get people to get into a room who are different color who have different I have nieces and nephews who don't care about the evening news they know exactly what they want and we're more fragmented now is that reason to quell and cry it's a reality and I thought that this is a room full of very realistic people building community as hard as hell so let's not congratulate ourselves yes and what have you learned so far I'm sorry what have you learned so far about it you've been doing the work lead with your heart what have you learned so far about community especially growing up coming into a world of cultural confusion what do you know about community sitting in a house with a Mexican mother and a Bulgarian father I think it's about listening it's about creating trust so as much as it's leading with heart and vulnerability from my side it's also about hearing the other person getting to understand their side of the story and once that trust is built it's about advocating for their story to me so much of what we do is really about honesty and storytelling and I think that listening is a big part of that alright so this world right now that Kathy Edwards outlined in a very real way let's get real do the arts matter given what we have in front of us what can we do how can we leap beyond real fear anybody take that absolutely the arts matter you know to me there are two primitive functions to the arts one is the self reflection I was reading Aristotle this morning on my way over and came across a quote and I'm going to butcher it but it was something like the most important test in life is to know oneself in order to become efficient so I think that's really important because the more we reflect on ourself the more we hold that mirror to ourselves and think about who we are the better we can contribute to society the more we can create empathy and compassion and so forth but it's also about creating community so as much as it's about the personal journey it's about the other as well in terms of the greater good and when I talk about community in that sense I really mean humanity it's about a reminder of what we have in common why life is important but how do we deal in a world where the exact opposite is very real on the news have any of you performed in a war-torn country I'm the non-performer on this stage I'm terrified and I didn't read Ulysses or Aristotle this morning but I do believe I do believe to my very soul that the arts matter now more than ever because I do believe through art that we can bring people together and the people from very different but how do we deal with say for example financial stuff like the fact of what's the price of Hamilton right now or even what's the price to come to see you what about that or the kids who are quite far from any of this stuff we're talking about what do we do about that how do we get them in there maybe the way to answer that is that we must have a kind of faith do we dare use that word in this room F-A-I-T-H and the idea that art I think first and foremost before we get to the kumbaya art has to educate people to the fact that we as human beings hold multiple realities at one time things are and they are not that is really difficult for most people that things are and they're not and we all meet each other at different points in history I mean we bring different histories now those are very, it's easy to say but very hard for people to cope with if you want a fundamental take on what the meaning of life is an artist saying there ain't none can you deal with that now your job is to actually package and sell complex conflicted work well complex conflicted work nonetheless rendered simply I mean it's extraordinary it's extraordinary simplicity what you did right before I go to the audience Paula Kerger who studied pre-med give us a quick remembrance of a piece of art that healed you I actually have experiences all the time that as I've wrestled through a very painful part of my life with the loss of someone and I can't even speak about it and I was actually in a music performance and I don't know whether I was listening to the performance and I don't know what it was but something felt different inside of me and I know that's not very elegantly described but I have had powerful experiences in the theater I have had powerful experiences at the opera but there was something almost primal about how something came back together inside of me sitting in that in that performance space and I think as I think back about it so thank you for triggering all of this Anna I believe that could have happened to me sitting in my home listening to the music but I don't think so there was something about being in a space with other people who were all experiencing it at the same time and the power of it and the power of it was so profound that even to this day I'm a little bit thinking about it I think that's what when art really does touch us it is there's an intellectual side there is an emotional side but there's something even deeper that I think we can't even begin to imagine and well that's the mystery let's hear from you a couple of questions our time is short but if we had more time we would be brief come to the mics ask us a question or say something you are the community yes there's mics in the extreme miles here's somebody coming tell us your name and where you're from and what you do as a maker son so I'm a presenter I'm from Amherst College Amherst Amherst I think we're going to be seeing you soon and I moonlight I work on climate change I'm so worried I can't sleep about it it keeps me up all night and I do all kinds of things that are not the arts and as I grind through this and think about it and find community around it the thing that I came right up against was we need art we need art about this change we need art to explain how we feel we need art to give us a vision of where we could go Vijay Iyer came and spoke with us about his veteran's dream project and the idea that we and you makers we create a space where we can leap a space where we can imagine like I think what the president kept saying we can jump we can hop over something and the amazing thing about human beings is that they're capable of so much more than they're grinding on and the arts can show you that in a heartbeat because people come to a performance with a very open heart they come to education with a very open heart they bring you their best selves and those are the people we get to talk with but not always sometimes they come crumbling it wasn't their idea sure but again also as as the president said in his speech you know there's going to be not everyone's going to agree but I believe and this is why I do what I do is we got to reach people because this is how we're going to jump this is how we're going to solve things this is how we're going to celebrate this is how we're going to move forward so thank you I saw someone head yes I think yes I think you first I saw you stumbling through the aisle and then you sir tell us who you are my name is Rod Angelova I I'm from Bulgaria actually and wonderful I had to give you a shout out because I've been coming to APAP since 2007 and I never ever meet anybody from Bulgaria and so this is wonderful thank you for being here I am a booking agent and we had the honor as a company to represent FALA on tour that's with Columbia Artists Theatricals and that was I think my first experience with work by Bill T. Jones I'm very I'm so emotional right now because I'm also a songwriter and I have to thank you Bill for shaking us up so hard because I know how hard it is to ask these questions that you're asking us are we a community and say I'm so conflicted about what I'm saying right now I'm so conflicted about how I feel right now and I understand it because this is where the makers are this is where how the creators the artists are feeling when they're sitting by themselves in their small little room and are trying to understand you know and are trying to find the courage to say all these things to the world and they just don't know if people would get them and that's a scary thing and thank you for just asking these questions and shaking us up and asking us are we a community because when I started coming here I was asking myself you know oh my god I feel so lonely and everybody has been wonderful I'm still here sounds like something you wrote thank you thank you thank you so much yes tell us who you are where you're from Hi my name is Paul and from San Francisco and I work for a company called Vendini but I'm also a songwriter and producer in my spare time as I'm sure we all are my questions about obviously we're at an arts conference but my questions about community I like the statistic Paula that you gave about 44% of people having done something with art related and you know that was a really powerful statistic I watched an interview recently with David Bowie who in 1999 said that the renaissance that will be created by the internet will mean that artists will be forced to work with their community and to listen to their audiences how do you think that's transformed art music and the way that we I guess I guess to I don't know the way that we saw in arts well it's probably that it is happening because there's a lot out there about civic engagement right and so it's probably an experiment that everyone in this room is a part of right now that may have started as how do we deal with the graying of the audience but as we see from this group right here even it's something more substantive than that but Paula but I think it's, I mean this is such an amazing time I mean from my business and my colleague Ira Rubinstein is going to be in a panel tomorrow talking about digital you know tools are available to give people an opportunity to express themselves in very different ways and you know it used to be in film that there was a much smaller group that could play around with this material but now you know kids have the opportunity to to tell stories in ways that really express something quite deep I think and I think and for from my perspective I think that being able to create something so of course there's the larger makers movement of course and our offices are in Crystal City which I know sounds like Oz but actually it's across from the Reagan Airport in Washington and there's a maker studio there and the number of young people that you know that have access to tools and material and are building things and just the creativity is so extraordinarily important and so I think that part of it is just this yearning and desire you know when I went to school kids wanted to write the great American novel now they want to make the great American film and the great American piece that they can post that they can share their feelings but here's the great part and that people can comment back so it really creates something that becomes a conversation and that to me is really powerful and exciting and so as you look at the work that these kids are building and as we in public media look for ways that we can support them and showcase their work and try to connect and do what we can around the edges they don't really need us because they can do it on their own but if we can be part of that and if arts organizations can be part of that as well I think that's enormous I think Bowie was tremendously pressing on so many ways but I think the comment that you made about you know just the ability of the internet to create a platform where people can share their creative expression and to encourage people that may not think of themselves as artists to create is extraordinarily powerful let's take I think we'll have time for one more from the audience for now yes sir tell us who you are yes my name is Donald Sutton I'm a personal manager I represent a number of African-American playwrights among whom is Entozaki Shange the author of The Colored Girls I am not interested in putting anyone on the spot but I wanted to remark and hear the panel speak in a little bit greater depth about Bill's point and I'm referring to the shock that I feel from having heard this item that the way to promote a season of dance at least in New York was to put a man on the poster in the air this is exactly the word that I was told by my boss Alvin Ailey over 30 years ago as we prepared what was then my first and his 20th city center season it's a question that I think Entozaki has addressed continuously for 40 years I mean Kaiser worked for Ailey of course why is the truth spoken by a man truer than the truth spoken by a woman and we have a woman running for president anybody who wants to take this on why is the truth spoken by a man truer than the truth sir I don't know if you've seen let's talk about the Ailey people they're very very successful and they're very talented but they have women that on those posters leaping with the verve and expressivity that used to be seen only in male dancers so I think maybe let's get rid of the gender part and Michael please forgive me I brought this up it's about this very simple primal energy people go to dance and this is a problem for my world because people don't do big jetties all the time but people go to dance to actually see something often times the popular audience do something I cannot do Martha Graham called them acrobats of God now in my world we've been fighting against that but then again my world has a real crisis of conscience are we really trying to be popular are we really trying to get people at every economic level to buy a ticket or is it for a crowd of people who are in the know these are questions that we're asking at New York live arts so please let's take the gender out of it but what is there the public wants to see acrobats of God whereas I said to Jesse once a sweaty epiphany sweaty epiphany a sweaty epiphany people pay for a sweaty epiphany well I think they want to go back to the extraordinary gift you gave us earlier you know they want to know don't you get weary which is interesting don't you get weary now don't you get weary don't you get weary I don't think those people going home at the end of the day's work were asking that question yeah we are really weary but no they were encouraging each other walk walk don't you get weary trial don't you get weary don't you get weary that's something existential in modern 20 21st century about the question don't you get weary yeah life is tiring but what are you going to do collapse in the road no you got to move your ass excuse me you got to move on wait wait wait let's stick on this for just a second because we're coming into our last lap of talking you should put the timer on because I'm going to lose track is it time now to quit okay so then the last given don't you get weary I mean I would love the two of you could you have a show where we could have the two of them talk about the negro spiritual and duende yeah yeah okay but I I've got I've got the cut sign and so I just want to end because of don't you get weary and the notion of we always we think in art we give hope we make that leap just one sentence starting with you bill and ending with you our our opera singer what inspires you what inspired you today when I see someone when I see something that is made of pain and pleasure and something that is fearless I'm inspired when I see someone's eyes open to something that had never occurred to them before I'm inspired by courage especially with children recently spent a lot of time with kids that face such huge questions they're worried every day that their mom who's here illegally is going to be deported they're worried about major adult problems and they go to school and they deal with that and English is not their first language and yet they have hope and they have courage and I see what they deal with and that gives me a lot of strength thank you and you inspire me because of all you do to get the work that we make thank you for spending five days thank you all very much for such a candid provocative conversation it was a great way to launch our conference please another round of applause before you leave for this fantastic panel please, please, please now it's time to make our way next door to the opening reception thanks again to PBS and their staff they've been great to work with thank all of you please have a fantastic conference