Here’s a breakdown of the Performing Arts and Concert Series for 2014-2015.
The Performing Arts and Concert Series’ annual $94,000 budget is allocated entirely to cover expenses year-round, but less than half of it was used during Fall Semester, said Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center.
Spring Semester included more events than the fall, but with fewer ticket sales.
Spring events provided more opportunities to take the artists into the classrooms, he said.
“There are two ways to look at it,” Holzaepfel said. “Are there any shows that did well through a revenue standpoint? And are there any that were impactful?”
Spring Semester included 11 performances in the series, such as country singer Joe Nichols, a performance of It Gets Better Project and string trio Simply Three. There were also 36 additional events as part of the series, including master classes, which are critiques by professionals for students in the College of Fine Arts.
A viewing of Actress, a documentary starring OU alumna Brandy Burre, provided the opportunity for students to talk with Burre and the director.
Ryan Holihan, a third-year graduate director in Professional Director Training Program, said the documentary made him consider the aspects of reality TV and what is truly reality.
“It’s always great to have the artist there and to ask them about their work,” he said. “I always like stuff like that anyways.”
Larger concerts and comedy shows are projected not to impact the budget, Holzaepfel said. Shows, such as Fall Semester’s country singer Scotty McCreery, are expected to “break even” and hopefully have more income than expenses.
While these shows do not affect the budget, the overall attendance would increase if more popular events were added to the series, Holzaepfel said.
The performances that draw a large crowd ideally help fund shows that supplement the educational events such as Dayton Contemporary Dance, a performance the School of Dance asked to incorporate into the series, he said.
Part of the series tries to contribute to Ohio University’s mission statement to “serve the ongoing educational needs of the region.”
The cast of the It Gets Better Project spent a week in Athens, which meant additional expenses such as hotels and transportation.
The cast convened on campus and at the Athens High School to address, among other topics, “name calling” among students.
“It’s an opportunity for us to find a way to address those issues but then also to give them hope that they’re not alone in this struggle,” said Delfin Bautista, director of the LGBT Center. “It’s a mutual learning.”
Holzaepfel said he tries to schedule shows for Spring Semester by late January or early February.
“This was the first year we were dealing with both the Number Fest and the Juicy J (at Independent Fest),” Holzaepfel said. “We were a little conservative as to not over program the month of April … so we didn't end up adding another concert because of those two festivals.”
When planning shows, the series tries to avoid over-saturating students with performances, but planning events early in the semester makes it more difficult to find a replacement when an act cancels, Holzaepfel said.
Saturday Night Live comedians were scheduled to come to campus in February, but unexpectedly cancelled.
Artists are also booked depending on the venues available.
Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium is not always available or appropriate for some shows, Holzaepfel said.
The university, for example, doesn’t have a space for artists who might only attract 300 to 600 people, Holzaepfel said.
The university’s solution to this is a “Backstage Series” at MemAud, during which the seats will be placed on stage and the performer will act on the side of the stage, Holzaepfel said.
“We’d love to be a part of that artist development as they make their transition up to different venues, particularly if we can do some cool different genres that our students are looking for that we’re not currently doing,” Holzaepfel said.
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