Job Description. Part VI- Board of Directors

Who are your board of directors? For many dancers in many companies, it is hard to really get to know these people as they are rarely present on a day-to-day basis. But the role of a board is imperative for a non-profit organization. In fact the public/group governance is one of the requisites set up to become a 501(c)3. (That refers to the legal tax exempt status of a non-profit).

Personally I find it fascinating to know those on my board, they are a window into financial, medical, law and other professions. As the work of serving on a board is volunteer, I commend the work and responsibility that these individuals take on my behalf. They are also ambassadors for the art and as they go about their varied careers.

The boards' responsibilities are established upon the formation of each nonprofit organization and are as varied and unique as each organization. Typically a board sets a meeting schedule monthly or quarterly to oversee the running of the organization. Often there are committees and sub committees to address individual tasks, but again this is all specific to the organization and agenda of the time.

The Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations defines the Board and their responsibilities as follows:

Board of Directors

To do good work, board members or boards need to:
1 . Understand and be committed to the mission statement.
2. Broadly represent the community.
3. Participate in a working committee structure and have assigned responsibilities.
4. Understand and embrace stewardship and governance roles.
5. Understand their administrative role.
6. Have shared leadership responsibilities.
7. Manage change.
8. Develop annual and multi-year action plans. 9. Be self-critical and willing to engage in self-evaluation.
10. Possess the ability to evaluate, cultivate, train and replace leadership.
11. Financially support the organization and participate in the fund-raising process.

1. Understand and be committed to the mission statement. Since board members are the "sales force" of the arts organization, their full understanding and commitment to the mission of the organization is primary. Board members need to fully understand (and be able to communicate to others) the organization's mission. If they do not understand the mission, they will not be able to sell it to anyone else.

2. Broadly represent the community.
It is vital that an arts organization's board broadly represent the community's demographics, its arts groups and individual artists. Community leaders from education, business, industry, unions, the legal sector, local government, chambers of commerce and funders are excellent recruitment sources.

3. Participate in a working committee structure with assigned responsibilities.
Committees enable the board to work in depth in areas such as planning, finance, resource development, nominating, program and marketing. Board committees are established for many reasons: to assume part of the board's work-load; to develop a special expertise that will enable a board to act in a more informed and responsible manner on an issue; to save time; sustain a tradition; or handle a continuing organizational responsibility. Committee members are assigned responsibilities suited to their personal and professional strengths and interests. This insures success. Success, in turn, insures the board member's personal satisfaction and encourages their continued commitment. An effective committee is clear about its responsibilities and relationship to others and is flexible. To work well, a committee needs clear direction; an annual schedule; a specific statement of its charge; and clear and concise operating procedures.

4. Understand and embrace stewardship and governance roles.
The primary role of the board is to serve as the organization's governing body. The board is charged with establishing policy to be carried out through an administrative staff. Board members have a stewardship role: to speak on behalf of the organization; to promote its programs and services; to represent the organization in social and business and legislative meetings; to help support the organization financially, as well as in an advisory capacity; and to participate in the fund-raising efforts of the organization.

5. Understand their administrative role.
By-laws help clarify the role of the board. They outline the overall structure of the board and the organization. They define how an organization operates, and its parameters and they do this in relation to both the board and the administration. The line of responsibility separating the board (as the governing body) and the administration (as the body that implements policy) is clearly stated in the by-laws. The by-laws are the first area declaring this important division of responsibility. Personnel policies and manuals are the second area defining this division.

6. Have shared leadership responsibilities.
Shared leadership refers to a well-balanced assignment of roles and responsibilities. If the board has a strong committee structure, clearly defined job descriptions for chairs and committee members, as well as defined staff roles, the achievement of shared leadership should naturally follow. Problems can occur when, for example, the executive committee is taking action, where the full board should be taking responsibility, or when the board becomes too involved with the day-to-day activities of the organization and interferes with the jobs of staff members.

7. Manage change.
The capacity to manage change is critical to the health, success and growth of an arts service organization. If an organization is serving its constituency to the fullest extent, change is certain to occur. It is therefore important for the board of directors to recognize that change will inevitably occur within a healthy organization. A strong, flexible board will recognize the roads that lead to advancement and the achievement of the organization's mission and will lead the organization forward along these roads.

8. Develop annual and multi-year action plans.
With a clear and concise mission statement as a starting point, an arts organization is ready to develop both annual and multi-year plans to guide its activities. Input from the staff will provide the board with important criteria for making decisions, as will program evaluations, organizational assessments and audits. A well-written annual and long-range plan will incorporate both programmatic and financial outlooks. Annual and multi-year plans are only as valuable as the action they inspire. During the planning process, the board may take advantage of the expertise of the organization's staff and to provide information on the value and success of programs and services. The board may also wish to call on outside counsel to provide objective information that can help guide the actions of the organization and assist with evaluation processes.

9. Be self-critical and willing to engage in self-evaluation.
The capacity to engage in self-evaluation and the ability to redirect energy and focus when required is essential. One of the primary roles of a planning committee is to provide the board with the opportunity to regularly examine the activities and actions of the organization. Evaluation is needed to determine what modification or change, if any, is necessary.

10. Possess the ability to evaluate, cultivate, train and replace leadership.
The board can provide itself and each trustee with opportunities for evaluation. Evaluation happens in different ways. Through orientations and retreats, for example, the board can evaluate its own operation, as well as provide trustees with self-evaluation tools. Boards should provide training opportunities, internally through regularly scheduled orientations, and externally, through programs, workshops, seminars, lectures, books, articles and newsletters. Boards benefit from having a nominating or board development committee. This important committee is charged with the responsibility for evaluating the performance of the board and determining the type of board expertise needed to carry forth the organization's mission.

11. Financially support the organization and participate in the fund-raising process.
This is one of the most critically important roles of the trustee. Part of the stewardship role is to promote the arts organization to others and offer them the opportunity to assist financially. While each board member should support the organization within their individual means, each trustee in recognition of the honor that service to the organization bestows should stretch within their limits to fulfill their financial obligation.

Job Description. Part II- PRODUCTION

Jobs part II. A production involves so many people aside from just those on stage. It's easy to forget about all who contribute to a show when we are engrossed in our individual responsibilities. Additionally with a little schooling, as dancers consider options beyond dancing, many of these jobs can tie together other interests while keeping one in the field.

The following is an incredible summary of positions in the theater contributed by Kevin Jones a great lighting designer/stage manager for the James Sewell Ballet. He also stage manages the O'Shaughnessy theater at the College of St Catherine in St Paul, MN. Kevin has devoted his life to serving the theater especially dance from the production side- if you take him out, you can get some great stories!

Production Manager

The PM is the head of the production department. It is a managerial bridge between the artistic and administrative side of an organization. Most of the time, this is a very high level of position in the organization just below or equivalent to the Artistic or Executive Director. This person has the job of overseeing the artistic vision of the organization from a production viewpoint. The PM oversees the budget and vision of the production department which would include all the stage managers, costumers, designers and the crews. It is often considered a more artistic administrative position as the PM must have an insight to the artistic side of the company to envision what and where the company’s production needs will be in the short and long term.

Production Stage Manager

The PSM is the person who oversees the day to day operations of the company’s needs from a production standpoint. They support the needs of the performing part of the company. They would work closely with the Company Manager with an oversight of the other Stage Managers (If any). They sometimes replace a Company Manager, but tend to have more of a production background than an artistic background. This is a production department parallel position to a Company Manger (who is usually an artistic department employee).

Here is a link for a handbook for stage managers....including a personal account of the fist show this manager called. Even production succumbs to stage fright at times!

Stage Manager

The SM is the person who is in charge of the shows the company puts on stage. Once the show is in the theater, the SM is in charge of making everything run smoothly. If there is no director or other artistic person overseeing the performance all the notes, staging, blocking, etc all are overseen by the SM. In theater the SM is different for each show. They stay with the play from preproduction meetings through auditions, casting, rehearsals techs, dress rehearsals and all performances. They are the conduit through which all information flows. After the director gets the show open on opening night the director and all the designers leave the play in the SM’s hands to oversee and care for. All notes, cues and staging documentation are kept by a SM for the production. In dance the SM is the person who is most familiar with the ballets in the rep. They would often be in rehearsal learning the ballet with the dancers (often running sound) and taking notes for the rest of the production and artistic staff. The dance SM has the same responsibility in the theater as a theater SM. They call all the cues, etc. once a show is in place and oversee the actual shows.

Lighting Designer

The LD is the designer who illuminates the particular dances in the repertory. Sometimes there are resident designers who design most or all of the repertory for a particular company, sometimes there may be many different designers.

An article by Jeffrey Salzburg listing effective collaboration for choreographers working with lighting designers.

Lighting Director

The Lighting Director is the person who ensures the Lighting Designers designs are recreated accurately after the design is completed. They will generally adapt the original design as needed for the current repertory plot or tour.

The Crew

When there are crew positions for an organization they break down into these departments:

Carpenter(s): The Carpenter is in charge of the hard and soft scenery for the production. They would get the scenery in and in position for the production and work for the SM during the rehearsals and performances. They would deal with anything like snow or rain onstage that is rigged overhead as well


Electrician(s): The Electrician is in charge of the lighting equipment and works with the Lighting Director to complete the plot. They would get the lighting in, hung focused and working before the rehearsals and performances. They would work for the SM during the run or tour. They would generally deal with all of the electrical special effects like fog, projections, strobes, etc.

Props: In dance the Props department is in charge of anything that is not scenery or a costume and is used on the stage. In dance the props person is in charge of the floors and the floor maintenance as well.

Costume Department

After the costumes are designed by the designer, they are built by the costume department. The costume department consists of three or four general types of positions in dance and theater. The department is overseen by costume department managers or department heads. The department heads work for the Production Manager and oversee the entire department. In the theatre there are also dressers who help with loading in and unpacking, steaming or pressing costumes, dressing and quick changes, and repacking and loading out.

Larger costume shops have this general breakdown of positions:

Cutters:

There are cutters who develop the patterns for and cut out the patterns for the costumes.

Stitchers:

There are stitchers who assemble the costumes and do the fittings of the costumes.

Shoes:

There are shoe people who deal with shoes (brand, color, inventory, distribution, etc.)

Other crafts:

And there are wig/hat people who deal with wigs, hats, hair pieces, etc. Often there are dyers and painters involved in the process as well.


As in my previous post about the job of dancers, most companies in current economic conditions do not employ a single person per job position. Usually positions are combined ie: company/stage manager, lighting/production manager, costume/wig/shoes...etc.

To reiterate I have also known of and participated in projects and dance companies where dancers have aided many of the production or costume duties for a show.

Figures hot off the press.

I received a publication today from Dance USA that was a compilation of dialogues at Jacobs's Pillow. While the material is primarily geared to presenting organizations, there is some very valuable information for the artists. Whether a creator or an interpretor of dance, knowing the audiences' and presenters' interests can be helpful.

And what does a presenting organization mean to a dancer? If you are a member of a small company, it can be the impetus for creating a new work or performing opportunity. For a larger company that already has an existing season, it can mean another week of work or another performance. Usually it involves traveling or touring.

Here are a couple of budget charts from the publication "Presenting Dance" by Mindy Levine.

Small company figures:

And of course larger company figures:


My husband- a retired dancer- has a great phrase about the economics of dance. He speaks about dance performance as being an experience "produced and consumed at the same moment." It is a wonderfully poetic image, but one that presents difficulty in raising funds to support the creation of dance.

And what does this mean to a dancer? To me, it is inspiration that every performance needs to be better because it truly only exists once. Additionally, knowing the economics (to some degree) creates that opportunity for me to be an ambassador of my art and for the company in which I dance. To speak knowledgeably to donors and audience members about the need for support keeps my job vital.

We are the face of dance.

Another interesting set of figures- although not hot off the press!

As of September 2006, there are 76 dance companies in America with operating budgets of $1 million or more.
- 58 of these are ballet companies.
- 18 of these are modern/contemporary companies.
- 35 of these are currently members of Dance/USA.

Here is my agenda for the Dancer Council meeting at the recent National Performing Arts Conference, June 11-14th in Denver, CO.

I served as chair of the council. Well, I led the discussion between the 4 of us...out of 3,000 attendees at the conference. It was a lively discussion I must admit. However the elephant in the room (or rather heard of elephants) lies in artist representation. There won't be art without the artist, so we must educate, evolve and be enthusiastic about our own empowerment.

2008 Dancer Council Agenda

You are here and this is fun, but how to get the most out of DANCE USA as a dancer.

* What does Dance USA offer dancers?
- Discount tickets
- Panel discussions
- Lobbying for dance
- Research
- News, auditions, postings
- Memberships to affiliate organizations which provide:
° Discount health
° Fiscal agency

* What other needs could it address?

* How do we increase dancer involvement?

*What can we do to make this council vital?

*How can we recruit more members? Getting the word out/ dancer campaign.

WE are the face of dance.

This is by no means a complete discussion. Let's continue...here, at the barre or at the bar!

Learning to Blog

The organization NJ Young Audiences just offered a seminar for artists and arts educators to learn the technological advances of today. The topics included power point presentations and also bolgging. It is a fabulous means to create materials to market oneslef as a dance business person. Amazingly many of the offerings are free of charge, including blogging on blogger!

It is becoming my mission to empower dancers, mainly through education and communication.

Stay tuned for my reflections on the recent National Performing Arts Conference in Denver, CO and my role as chair of the dancer council for Dance USA.