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Happy New Year to you all!Hello everybody.
"And the beat goes on..................."
This year I intend to do a lot more in-depth, one-on-one interviews with leaders both in and out of the arts & culture sector on issues I hope will be of wide interest to the people in our field. I welcome suggestions for both topics and inteview candidates. I hope to convene the HESSENIUS Group once or twice on major topics that resonate with arts administrators and I have a couple of surprises in store. I very much appreciate your feedback and emails, as I endeavor to make this blog relevant, useful and interesting to you.
As most of you know, I have spent considerable time trying to understand and address the generational succession issue as it relates to the nonprofit arts spectrum - from how we will succeed at recruiting, training and keeping new leadership for our organizations, to how we can build younger audiences and cultivate new donors and supporters.
At one of the meetings that was an outgrowth last year of the Youth Involvement in the Arts Report done for the Hewlett Foundation, a young arts supporter - Ben Fisher - spoke knowledgably and eloquently about the issues of involving younger people. I asked him if he would let me interview him and he agreed.
Here is his bio, and that interview:
BEN FISHER BIO: Ben Fisher will graduate from Connecticut College in 2008 with a BA in theater and English, where he has actively pursued acting, directing, and playwriting. He has worked as an intern at Intersection for the Arts, the Magic Theater, TheatreWorks and the UCSB Summer Theater Lab, and has studied at the National Theater Institute of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. This year he received a student research grant to attend the Forum 2000 conference in Prague, and will direct Václav Havel's The Increased Difficulty of Concentration for the college's spring main stage production. Ben's poetry has won the college's Benjamin T. Marshall Prize and Charles B. Palmer Prize. His first play, Leviathan, was broadcast on WCNI Radio in New London, CT in 2007
BARRY: You've observed that every arts organization pays "lip service" to engaging young people in the arts. Do you think that's all most organizations do in this area – engage in lip service? Can you give me examples of what would be "lip service" vs. substantial and meaningful efforts to engage young people? Why do you think the response on the part of the arts to engaging young people has been so superficial?
BEN: Every arts organization in this area wants to attract a larger youth audience and increase youth involvement, but few organizations are realizing that they will need to substantively change the way they operate in order do to so. I feel that most arts organizations in this area are very set in their ways, and when confronted with the dilemma of how to engage young people in the arts, they try to find solutions that do not require deviation from the standard way of doing things. These sorts of solutions involve reducing ticket prices for young people, or creating peripheral, youth-oriented performances or workshops (I'm thinking here of the sort of half hour, semi-educational, variety performances that theaters will sometimes take on the road to local schools). This is what I mean by lip service. I do not think arts organizations intend for it to be superficial, but it is superficial in that it requires the smallest amount of change possible. Reduced ticket prices and youth oriented workshops are only the first steps in what needs to be a more comprehensive restructuring of how arts organizations interact with youth.
Arts organizations in this area are willing to take these first steps, but I worry that, when these first steps fail to completely solve the problem, arts organizations respond by resenting youth rather than going further. They ask "we've done art part by making this art available to you, why aren't you interested?" Whether this resentment is conscious or unconscious, it is unhealthy. It excuses them from trying harder, from getting to the root of the problem, which is more a problem of perception.
I hear theaters talk a lot about how they want to increase youth involvement, but when you look at their strategic plans, there is very little infrastructure in place to see that it happens. Instead, the emphasis is on increasing the involvement and patronage of their core audience, making ticket holders into subscribers and subscribers into donors. Development directors devote an inordinate amount of time pleasing major donors that could be spent elsewhere. Terrified by shrinking budgets, I feel that arts organizations have taken on a survival mentality, operating hand to mouth rather than stepping back and looking at how they need to adapt. The hand to mouth work is necessary to sustain an organization, but it only works for the short term. The emphasis needs to be on expansion, on targeting the younger demographic and involving them, whether as artists, administrators, donors, or audience members, in a meaningful way.
Things like reducing ticket prices or designing performance programs for school assemblies, while positive, do very little to expand an audience. Substantive change constitutes the sort of adaptations that will make a young audience – an audience that represents a very small minority in most organizations – into their new core. To achieve this, art organizations need to identify why youth are uninterested in their organizations, whether it is a problem of perception, content, or how the content is presented. For many organizations, more than one of these three problem areas may be applicable.
A problem of perception means that the arts organization is already creating work that would appeal to a youth audience, but the work is going unnoticed. This problem can be mitigated by more intelligent, comprehensive marketing. A problem of content means that the work being created is simply not engaging for a youth audience, and the solution lies in artistic change. A problem of presentation means that, while the content is good and has the potential to be engaging, the way in which it is shown is unappealing. The solution to this problem lies in restructuring the relationship between the audience and the art, making the environment more engaging for a younger audience. I think this problem is the one that provides the largest challenge for arts organizations, and is subsequently the most pressing to address. With all three, however, the solutions lie in revisiting the old method of doing things – administratively and artistically. They are much more fundamental changes.
BARRY: You suggest organizations need to go beyond just offering discounts to performances – that they need to look more closely at their marketing and content. Explain what you mean.
BEN: If I do not want to go and see a play, concert, or exhibit to begin with, I am probably still not likely to go even if I learn that the ticket is less expensive. Discounted ticket prices allow the organizations to tell youth "we want you to come," but what isn't stressed is why coming is important.
If arts organizations want youth to protect the future of the arts in this country, they need to demonstrate that their work is worth saving. This gets back to the three problem areas I mentioned in the previous question. It constitutes finding work resonates with a young audience, setting a much higher standard for performances, creating an engaging performance environment, and supporting it with informed, effective marketing.
I think that the reason my generation seems uninvolved or indifferent with regards to the arts is because we are skeptical that the work will be meaningful to us. We think, with the theater especially, that what is being performed is meant for someone older, for people who have the means and the social position to be "patrons of the arts." This is negative predisposition that cannot be fixed simply by reducing the cost of tickets. The solution lies in restructuring youth's attitude towards the arts, demonstrating for them its full expressive potential, that it is created for them as much as anyone else. When this happens, their involvement and support will increase.
I think most arts organizations recognize the predisposition youth have against many areas of the arts. I also think that most organizations are trying to find solutions. The problem is that these solutions are not as comprehensive as they need to be. Youth indifference has reached a crisis level. It requires a revolution in the way we think about arts to address. In every era, the arts stay relevant by adapting and responding to social and cultural changes. That does not mean we throw out the old work, but it means that we change the way it is presented. Shakespeare's plays have remained popular for hundreds of years, but because, in each decade, something about the approach to his work changes.
Breakthrough performances like Peter Brook's A Midsummer's Night's Dream or Trevor Nunn's Macbeth respect the dramatic tradition associated with Shakespeare's plays but don't try to "preserve" something about his work. Museums are for preservation. Arts are for exploration. I think the reason youth involvement is such a problem is because we have been sluggish to adapt, because (whether we admit it or not) we are replicating, not experimenting. Can you imagine how tedious it would be if every production of Shakespeare had to be done in Elizabethan costume with an all male cast?
Replication is easy, since the model is already there. It is also tested – if it worked before, it's probably going to work again to some degree. What it does not do is renew interest or engage people who are disinterested. Ultimately, it feeds the sort of "survivor mentality" I mentioned earlier – a way of reasoning that is inherently cautious and unadventurous whose goal is minimizing risk. When arts organizations hedge their bets like this, nobody wins. By relying on what they know, what they do well, and what pleases their core audience, these organizations are in danger of becoming out of touch. When their core audience disappears in ten years, they are screwed.
BARRY: You've noted that the mistakes that the theater community makes in trying to involve more young people include an over-reliance on an aging, shrinking demographic, and that some of the techniques employed are too "pushy". You observe that solicitation of donors by the arts among young people seems to be less about entertainment and more about hustling money, and that using guilt with younger people is the wrong impulse. What do you mean? Can you elaborate? How can the arts expand their demographic to include more young people?
BEN: This problem relates to the problem of perception and the problem of how content is presented. When I walk into a theater looking like I do, with shaggy hair and dingy clothing because I am a student, I do not want to be made to feel like I do not belong. Everyone my age I know enjoys going to see plays, even people who do not consider themselves 'theater people.' We also don't mind, generally, paying a little more than we would if we went to see a movie. However, when I see plays with my friends who do not go to the theater, they rarely comment afterwards whether they liked or didn't like what they saw. They obviously have an opinion, but they have convinced themselves that they are unqualified to judge. They defer to my opinion because I'm the one studying theater, because I am supposed to know what makes it good or bad. This is ridiculous. When we go to the movies, everyone has an opinion. We do not defer to the judgment of film students. Why is there a difference?
What makes the experience unappealing or uncomfortable is not the performance, but the atmosphere that is sometimes created. In a movie theater, everyone feels equally welcome. It is a classless environment. In the theater, the seriousness, the formality, the constant rhetoric about how vulnerable the arts are and how they must be preserved for the betterment of all mankind, creates a sort of bizarre caste system. Those who attend regularly, who can afford to donate, who have excellent seats, are entitled to have opinions. When I see the donation card in my program and know the most I can give is twenty dollars, I feel insecure. When an usher glares at me for talking loudly with my friends in the lobby, I feel embarrassed. This sort of atmosphere oozes condescension. It says "you should be grateful that we are giving you this opportunity and must cherish it." Most of all, distracts needlessly from the performance, which is what's really important.
If arts organizations want youth to be meaningfully involved, they have to joyfully take us for who we are – poor, petulant, and disheveled. I believe if the atmosphere at the theater was a little more informal, it would greatly increase the appeal for young people. It would remove the negative, snobbish elements young people often associate with the arts. My fellow students enjoy seeing student productions or plays that visit the college because there is that informality there, because it is our territory. Outside at other theaters, however, we become self-conscious. We convince ourselves, however irrationally, that we are imposters, that we are being judged by everyone around us. When arts organizations work to mitigate the separation between young audiences and the older, richer, more refined donor crowd, young people will feel that they are sharing in the experience equally. They will be more open about their impressions of what they see and more willing to return.
There has been an interesting trend with some productions of creating a sort of gala event or party within a play. Intersection for the Arts production of Des Moines is a good example. I think there is something to be learned from these types of performances. It creates a atmosphere that young people can enjoy, an atmosphere where the arts become a classless social occasion where, even if the play is bad, going out to see it is still fun. Going to the theater, in my opinion, should not be something you need to plan weeks in advance and get dressed up for. It should be like going to a movie. It is simply something that comes to mind on the spur of the moment. I have a free afternoon, why not go see a play? If theaters can find a way to integrate themselves with youth night life, to find a place between dinner and bar hopping, to cultivate those associations, the work of involving youth will become a lot easier. It is not an easy task by any means, but it is a worthwhile one to pursue.
BARRY: Talk about risk. Theater doesn't seem willing, you say, to risk being unpopular with their base audience, and thus there is a disconnect with the younger audience. You argue that their seeming mistrust of the younger audience ("young people won't get this play"; young people don't yet have an eye for theater"; "young people will never be subscribers") is at the heart of unsuccessful attempts to involve more young people. Some arts organizations would argue that it isn't about trust, and that to abandon their core supporters and client base by marketing, programming and driving content that specifically addresses the tastes, needs and desires of the younger cohort would be suicidal for them. Is there a middle ground? Or is the solution really a whole new arts matrix wherein we develop niche arts -- one sector appeals to young people, another to middle age, another to older people etc?
BEN: I think this question touches on the idea of adaptation versus replication, about choosing what is easy versus what is necessary. Frankly, no arts organization is going to succeed in making youth interested if the performances are irrelevant to a younger generation. I have ideas about what changes can be made to engage youth, but I cannot put them into practice without risking something. There is a certain amount of trial and error involved, but if the risk taking is informed, guided, and intelligent, I think it is unlikely that it will end in total failure.
By and large, I believe the fear that some arts organizations have of losing their base is largely irrational. The older, artistic base of these theaters is not going to evaporate overnight if they do not like some of the material. If you see a bad Shakespeare play, you do not suddenly hate Shakespeare and disavow all future productions. It is conceivable that some patrons may feel slightly alienated, some subscribers will become disinterested, and some donors may give less, but it seems shortsighted to live in fear of this demographic, to pander to them exclusively for support and approval. I believe if theaters take their responsibility to engage young audiences seriously, if they work to create sophisticated, evocative art, if they invest in capable, emerging artists and support productions, these "riskier" productions will be among the most universally popular – not just with the younger generation, but with all theater goers. Even if alienating this demographic is unavoidable, it is necessary if the riskier material is brining in a new, younger audience. The base audience for every theater is shrinking with or without risk taking. A new audience needs to become a base audience.
I think it is a mistake to work to create niche arts for each age group since it may lead to the sort exclusiveness that makes young people feel like they do not belong in the theater. It's not wrong for a theater to specialize in a type of performance, in some respects, that is helpful in developing a reputation and finding a place in the community. There's a very fine line, however, between specializing and imposing limitations, resorting to the same bag of tricks for every performance. The theaters I enjoy going to the most have developed a reputation and following for a certain type of performances because I like that style or genre; I go to them because the work is varied, well-produced, and consistently interesting. The niche that theaters should focus on is the one that separates them from other art mediums, film especially.
There certainly is a middle ground. Theaters can balance their season with plays that take risks, which are more likely to appeal to a younger generation, with plays that are more likely to appeal to their base. In striking these balances, however, theaters need to be honest with themselves to ensure that the "riskier" work is actually taking risks. I see a lot of plays that try to pass themselves off as riskier or experimental, but it's just changing the icing on the cake. With the shows that are designed to appeal to the younger generation, I would also advocate that theaters make an effort to solicit younger writers and younger directors when possible. This probably sounds shamelessly self serving, but young artists possess the ability to speak to members of their generation in a way that older artists cannot. Even if younger artists are not "in the driver's seat", so to speak, including them meaningfully in the creative process benefits everyone. It hones their ability as artists and gives theaters access to another perspective.
BARRY: What are the basic mistakes the arts make in terms of marketing to younger people? Where is the current emphasis right, where is it wrong? Specifically, are the arts failing to appreciate what graphics appeal to young people? Are they failing to use the right approaches and venues in which to place their messages? Is their language dated? Are they not somehow "hip" enough? You've noted that the primary function of marketing to young people must be to capture their interest, not necessarily to transmit information – do you see the arts failing to do that? How could they succeed?
BEN: I think the problem with marketing gets back to the problem with the perception of the arts among my generation. Good marketing demonstrates why a performance is important, relevant, and engaging for young people. Young audiences will want to see live art because it is good, not because it is live. Marketing for the arts is falling short because it is not overcoming this barrier, not adapting. Think about how much the emphasis, language, and tone of movie advertising has changed in the last few decades. Film is not an inherently modern medium, but the advertising is modern, sophisticated, an attuned to the tastes of the potential audience.
Language and emphasis does need to change for arts advertising to reach the effectiveness of film advertising. As a whole, I feel my generation is more visual than previous generations, which is why good graphics are so important, perhaps more so that words. I see a lot of theater posters with detailed information about the entire season. This can be overwhelming. It is unlikely that I will stop to read all of this information as I am walking by, even if I notice it. If I see a poster with an arresting image and the basics – address, dates, website, play, etc. – my response is to get the information on the internet the second I get home. The poster should tantalize and intrigue, not inform. The theater's website can help with that (and, by the way, there is no excuse for not having an excellent website in this day and age). A lot of movie posters work in this way. Just look at movie posters from the 50s and movie posters from this decade. The emphasis on graphics over language is clear.
More significantly, however, my generation is desensitized to the barrage of advertisements and media in a way that other generations are not. Perhaps these qualities give the impression that we are unfocused, inpatient, or apathetic. I would argue that instead, it is a defense tactic. To overcome it, arts organizations need to be aggressive and they need to be persistent. Posters are all well and good, but theaters can also make more use of internet social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to start to develop a core of interested young people. This means utilizing event information sites like going.com or upcoming.yahoo.com. This means going to campuses and saturating the area with posters, getting in touch with students arts organizations, clubs, professors, and establishing a relationship. In the theaters I have worked with, people in marketing and development know the names and tastes of all major donors and regular subscribers. Getting youth involved means showing them the same level of respect and interest, even if we cannot back up our patronage with huge donations. Take the time to learn the names of students who are involved in running arts clubs, students who write for the campus newspaper, or really any young person that can help act as an ambassador to other young people. The president of the college Shakespeare society may not one day be a valuable patron or a committed theater maker, he or she has the power to influence other students, to help build lasting connections and a lasting interest among his or her peers. If the organization is understaffed, sick an intern on it, make databases, and keep following up. Given our resistance to advertising, taking the relationship approach might yield better results. Word of mouth is still the best way to advertise.
BARRY: Is there not enough emphasis on quality? On artistic merit? How relevant is that to young audiences?
BEN: I think there can never be enough emphasis on quality. Artistic merit is as valuable to young audience as it is to any audience. You might even that it is more important since my generation, the younger generation, can be more inspired by what we see onstage because we have had less exposure, because we are still forming our opinions of the world.
It is dangerous when theaters try to mask artistic shortcomings with more superficial elements. Things like elaborate sets and special effects can sometimes make productions engaging, but nobody will care if the writing, acting, or directing is bad. I see this a lot, and I think it is a misguided attempt to connect with a younger audience, to make the theater "exciting" and "modern". My generation is so used to stunning visual effects in the films, we're going to be very difficult to impress in the theater. The money can be spent elsewhere. Theater should not compete with film, it should seek to find areas where it is distinct. Theater (indeed, all live art) has the ability to speak to a local audience, to touch local issues through art with a specificity and intimacy that film cannot.
This is why choice is so important. There are hundreds of excellent plays; what is difficult is choosing which plays need to be produced, which plays are going to resonate strongly with the community. Most bad productions I see are the result of poor choices. Poor choices happen when theaters are disconnected, when they mistakenly link quality with elitism. They happen when theaters have a sort of secret self-loathing because they are in the Bay Area and not on Broadway. They happen because of an eagerness on the part of writers and directors to please other artists above the rest of the community. It has very little to do with the talent or ability of the people involved in the creative process. It is a matter of focus and intention.
BARRY: Talk about content. How do you address the problem of presenting the creation of art being done by younger people vs. presentation of the "classics"? You argue that theater's over-emphasis and reliance on outdated plays with plots, characters and situations that young people don't / can't relate to makes it difficult to recruit those young people as audiences. Is it just a problem of credibility and contemporary relevance? You say that modern dress doesn't make a Shakespeare play relevant, but aren't there universal themes in classic drama that are relevant to all age groups? Shouldn't the classics be preserved and shouldn't young people be exposed to them? Wouldn't an over-emphasis on "relevance" be a form of pandering and thus not really ring true?
BEN: I think I may have been a little too harsh in my language here. You're right that universal themes in classic dramas are relevant to all age groups. It would be idiotic to ignore the amazing legacy of drama by arguing that a new audience needs only new plays. I love the classics and I would never advocate doing away with them. They are worth preserving, but as living things, not as static artifacts. I love Shakespeare's plays not because I have a particular affinity with the Renaissance, I love them because I believe that every era and every society can find something about his work that profoundly resonates. His plays are worlds, capable of countless, equally valid interpretations. We should be performing his plays, but we should not be performing his plays the same way over and over and over again. I believe that good productions of Shakespeare respect his dramatic legacy, respect his verse and how it should be delivered, but are not afraid to take risks. If we never took risks with Shakespeare, we would still be performing his plays with all male casts in Elizabethan costumes. Can Shakespeare productions with all male casts in Elizabethan costumes still matter today? Of course. I've seen Shakespeare produced in this way and it is equally moving. The gender of the actors and the costumes, however, are not the things that make these performances good.
When I talk about theaters producing outdated plays, I am really talking about theaters producing the same sort of productions year in and year out, looking at only a small slice of the incredible potential out there and relying on the same bag of tricks to make it happen. I'm talking about replication, about lack of creativity, about doing what is easy, about refusing to adapt and take risks. When I say that modern dress does not make Shakespeare modern, I mean that merely changing the costumes is not going to make his plays "hip" or "exciting" if they are performed badly. In many respects, looking at the classics helps us deconstruct what separates good art from mediocre art. I mentioned earlier that a lot of productions invest heavily in superficial elements and the expense of good writing, acting, and directing. This is, and will always be, the most important element in a production's success.
I would say, however, that the plays for my generation have not been written. We have not found our Eugene O'Neill, our Tennessee Williams, our Arthur Miller, our Edward Albee. These three writers all still speak to us because they write about universal human truths, but there is still a sense of separation. Older generations have a sense of ownership for writers that we do not have yet, and it is important to understand how essential having that sort of ownership is. There are very few plays being produced that deal with the concept of choice in a pluralistic society, which I feel is the fundamental dilemma for people my age. These plays will undoubtedly be engaging for a youth audience, and if presented correctly will help renew youth involvement. These plays will also need to be written, acted and directed by young people, and not necessarily young people that graduate from places like Yale or Julliard. In some ways, I think these organizations discourage true exploration. My generation's voice is just forming, but it is important that arts organizations recognize it, respect it, and help us to produce it.
BARRY: Given that the arts must compete in the modern era with movies, games, the internet, sports and other ways young people can, and do, spend their leisure time, is (or should it be) the primary purpose of the arts (say theater) first and foremost, to entertain, or is the purpose more complex than that? Should, as some critics have suggested, the marketplace determine what survives and what thrives? Should the arts "dumb" down their art to appeal to the broadest possible audience? Where is the middle ground?
BEN: I do think the primary purpose of art is to entertain, but it does not have to be the only purpose. The plays that we recognize as truly brilliant are very entertaining, but do more than just amuse us. They provoke us, they cause us to examine ourselves, and they illuminate some truth about the human condition. These plays are always more satisfying to see, so why limit oneself to just being entertaining?
I think dumbing things down is a mistake. We have to have some scruples, even if it is going to hurt financially. If everything is dumbed down to appeal to a larger audience, then the arts are simply not worth saving. I'm skeptical of letting the market place to all the determination, since I'm not sure if Shakespeare would survive as well against Phantom of the Opera. Non-profits arts organizations are non-profit for a reason, after all.
I do recognize, however, that not everyone is going to want to see a Brecht play every week, and that there is something to be said for leisure entertainment. I think there is a difference, however, between good leisure entertainment and bad leisure entertainment. I worked on a play by Jessica Hagedorn this summer called Fe in the Desert. The play deals with a lot of interesting issues involving race and identity, but first and foremost it was a fun play. It was funny, energetic, and very entertaining. When we had youth audiences especially, it was terrifically raucous. What made the play such a fun experience was the fact that, despite its ideological intelligence, it did not take itself too seriously. We wanted the audience to have a good time, and when they did, they understood all the other stuff that the play was about. If a play is not entertaining, after all, all the loftier philosophical and social aspects will be lost.
This gets back to the desire to incorporate theatergoing (or gallery going or concert going or whatever) into youth night life. There is room in the artistic world for good leisure entertainment, serious drama, and the avant garde. There is also a need for each element. If movie theaters only played summer blockbusters, it would be horrific.
The middle ground, again, comes with balance and intelligent choices, juxtaposing good, intelligent leisure entertainment with pieces that may not have such a universal appeal. It's also necessary for arts organizations to realize that even less widely accessible pieces have the potential to be very engaging, and to recognize that the responsibility is always to entertain first. I've seen productions of Waiting for Godot that were mesmerizing because the creative team found the humor and slapstick as well as the existential debate. I'm in a production of Girish Kanard's play Naga Mandala right now that is terrifically popular among the students. The play is very unusual, very experimental, and draws on Indian dramatic traditions that run in opposition to our Western understanding, but it is well acted, well directed, and the story is well told. If we set a higher standard for ourselves as creators and performers, we can make work that is "inaccessible" relevant. Shakespeare is arguably the most internationally renown playwright, but his work is still difficult to produce. Does anyone consider abandoning him because of this? Of course not, we rise to the occasion. We should have a similar attitude towards other challenging material.
BARRY: In talking about marketing to Google Youth, you've observed that they are children of the internet, and that they "travel in packs". How do arts organizations take those variables into consideration when arriving at marketing strategies?
BEN: Google Youth is a term that I have coined for young people in the Bay Area working in the technology industry who have understimulating jobs and a lot of disposable income for people their age. This is the demographic arts organizations in our area should be going after, since it is the future of the Bay Area and will eventually be the future core audience. I think, with this contingent, many of the marketing strategies I outlined earlier will be effective in increasing their involvement, specifically online component (since they are so wired in) and visual component.
When I say that they travel in packs, I mean that once you get a few to start coming regularly, more will follow. Most young people that come to the Bay Area to work in the technology industry go straight from undergraduate work and are drawn from all over the country. As newcomers, they tend to gravitate towards a select (but growing) number of social functions, bars, restaurants, and hang outs that become regular meeting points. There are online forums within many companies like Google or Yahoo that give information on social outings, or that will set a date and time for employees to meet at a bar or restaurant and connect. I've seen it when it happens, the numbers are staggering. If arts organizations reach out to this group, they can get their name of the list of regular meeting points. They can become a social nexus where Google Youth can go not only to be entertained, but to socialize. Again, this relates back to integrating art with night life, creating positive associations between art and socializing.
The Google Youth are a difficult demographic to go after, however, since most probably do not consider themselves "art people" or "theater people" or whatever. In this sense, the marketing strategies need to be particularly aggressive. It might also be advisable for arts organizations to start partnerships with local restaurants, bars, etc. as a way of merging the social and art component.
Finally, attracting this audience will undoubtedly require some restructuring with content. I believe that the Google Youth will respond most favorably to new plays in our generational voice, plays about the concept of choice in a pluralistic society, about managing oneself in the flood of information. Whenever someone recognizes something of themselves on stage, or recognizes a social situation that they deal with, the work becomes suddenly much more vivid and appealing. In time, the Google Youth will be able to cultivate and appreciation for the broader spectrum of art, but this seems like a logical entry point.
BARRY: What are the three most important things arts organizations should do if they want to increase the involvement of young people in their organizations – first as audiences, second as supporters and volunteers, and third as defenders and patrons? And if you had a million dollars to spend to increase the involvement of young people in the arts, how would you spend it?
BEN: I think the three most important things fall into the three problem categories I mentioned in my answer to the first question – looking at perception, content, and the way content is being presented:
1. Revamp marketing strategies. Make posters more visually engaging. Start using online social networking sites and event forums to their full capacity. Increase presence on college campuses. Reach out to local businesses, bars, and restaurants for support. Invest in getting to know specific youth that have the potential to be advocates for your organizations (and maybe give them benefits, like free tickets).
2. Reexamine content. Ask why a specific piece needs to be performed now, what about it is specifically relevant. Seek out young artists, not from prestigious arts programs, but young artists who seem connected to their generational voice, and involve them as meaningful participants in the creative process. Set a higher standard for production, focusing on the fundamentals of artistic merit rather than window dressing like special effects. Identify what niche your particular art form provides, and focus on creating work that will be first and foremost entertaining while also having a socially relevant component.
3. Reexamine the relationship between art and audience. Search for ways to create a performance environment that will appeal to a younger audience. Explore the potential for gala, party, social events intertwined with performance. Make the atmosphere more inclusive.
If I had a million dollars to spend to increase youth involvement, I would create a series of performances specifically designed for youth with the goal of breaking down negative preconceptions about theater. These events, while not existing as a formalized part of the theaters season, would help to increase exposure and generate interest in the theater among youth audiences.
I would kick it off with an established play presented in the content of a massive social event - Macbeth on Halloween in an abandoned warehouse, for example, and then throw a party afterwards. Such an event is unlikely to produce any revenue, but the cost could be offset by partnering with alcohol distributors and organizations that manage parties at a large scale. I would advertise this event extensively using the methods I have outlined earlier. The cover would be relatively cheap, and people attending this event would be offered discounts for other plays in the theater's season. If this performance was successful or generated a significant level of interest in my organization, I would perhaps stage similar events later in the year.
Secondly, I would do small, low-tech performances of new one act or ten minute plays in different bars on a bi-weekly basis. I would be extremely discriminating in choosing these plays, make them comedic, festive, and entertaining, and ensure that the subject matter would be relevant for a youth audience. Like the massive social events, these smaller projects would help promote what was being produced in the theater's regular season. Again, the longevity of this program would be determined by their relative level of success.
Tacking the problem from both directions and from outside the theater, I would approach an audience that is otherwise not theatrically inclined and hopefully remove negative, elitist associations they have with theater. As these peripheral programs gain traction and the perception is changed, I would deemphasize them and create an advocacy program with the theater that would reward patrons who brought new audience members to come and see performances. I know this sounds like an awfully long way to stretch a million dollars, but I have seen theaters work successfully with even tighter resources. I feel the trick really comes down to breaking through the barrier that causes youth to be uninterested in the first place. These blow out events can open the door, and once the door is open the focus can shift a little to sustainability. Once youth interest is there, arts organizations will not need to push as hard, youth involvement programs will become increasingly self sustaining.
BARRY: Thank you very much Ben. Your insights provide a much deeper look into your generation and how the sector will need to alter some of its thinking if we want to ratchet up our efforts to make sure we attract as many of the best & brightest of the next generations as we can. I really appreciate your particiaption here and your involvement in the arts.
An in-depth look at Americans for the Arts Political Action Committee - the Arts Action Fund - and how the arts sector is moving to becoming more political. Also some thoughts on how the sector is already impacting politics and candidate stands on issues important to us in the context of this exciting and fascinating political year of change. Interview with Bob Lynch and Nina Ozlu.
Have a great week.
Don't Quit.


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When it comes to working relationships Sam Kingsfield and Ken Hern have one of the best in the business. Kingsfield is the operations manager for Premier Paving, a large Denver, Colo., heavy highway construction company that lays about 750,000 tons of asphalt a year. Hern works for the local Cat® dealer, Wagner Equipment Co., as a sales representative, ensuring Premier has the service and support it needs to complete projects from start to finish. "With over 100 pieces of Cat equipment, the demand for parts is incredible," said Kingsfield. "Our dealer works real close with us … and they do a great job. We couldn't do it without them."
Hern's relationship with Premier started 15 years ago, one year shy of when the business opened in 1997. During that time he's helped Kingsfield out of more than one tough spot. "We had lost a shaft on our slack conveyor at the asphalt plant and we called Kenny to ask if he could help us locate the part," recalled Kingsfield. Without hesitation, Hern drove from his house to the Cat Wagner yard at 10 p.m. that night to help Kingsfield find the proper shaft. "We try to tailor the need to the customer," said Hern. "They have to make sure that part is there and they can get the repair done they need."
Because Kingsfield and Hern are in constant contact it's no surprise their relationship has grown beyond an eight-hour workday. The pair discovered they have more in common than construction. "On my 40th birthday, Kenny took me out to Montana to go fly fishing. And that's the kind of relationship I think is special," said Kingsfield. "To be able to go out, spend personal time with your salesman and have that comfortable feeling to be able to know that's he's just not your salesman, he's a friend."
Hear more about Premier Paving by watching the video above.

subset: commoncrawl


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Fun on tap for Gypsum Oktoberfest
VAIL CO, Colorado
Gypsum's Oktoberfest on Saturday is dedicated to simple, authentic fun.
"The whole idea is to drink beer and dance ‹ simple," said Rosie Bürki, a Swiss immigrant and longtime Eagle valley resident who is helping with the event. She helped organize an Oktoberfest at the Eagle Fairgrounds in 1993 and remembers it as a successful good time. She anticipates Gypsum's will be comparable.
"Vail's Oktoberfest has a commercialized feel and it's nice to have something more traditional and down to earth," Bürki said. "Gypsum Oktoberfest will all be under one tent with music and it will all be about enjoying good food, beer and dancing."
Gypsum Oktoberfest is at Lundgren Theater Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. this year. Admission is free. Beer is $5 a cup and food is $8 a plate, which includes a bratwurst, bun, sauerkraut and German potato salad. Glass beer stein mugs will also be available along with last years mugs, which will be sold at a discounted rate.
A 5K fun run/walk that starts at 10 a.m. Registration is $39. Like last year, the entry fee includes a T-shirt and a beer. Registration can be made at the Gypsum Recreation Center or at the event.
There will also be games and contests throughout the day, with prizes awarded for such categories as "best dressed" (in dirndls and lederhosen), stein holding, yodeling, beer drinking, alpenhorn and more.
"There won't be any kids activities," said Oktoberfest Coordinator Anna Englehart. "Though children are welcome, it is an adult event."
Eagle's Bonfire Brewing is providing its specially made Gyptoberfest beer again this year.
The Swiss Austrian Connection Band will provide music from noon to 6 p.m. The band includes Bürki and her husband and features several talented musicians from the area who have Bavarian roots.
"There's no set schedule for breaks in the music," Englehart said. "If people are into it and dancing, the band will play longer. We'll do games during lulls in the music."
Bürki said the band members have real European blood and bring a variety of traditional music styles to the stage.
"It'll be a real oompah-pah-pah band," she said. "There will be polkas and cha-chas and all that."
Providing food at Gypsum's event is O.W.'s Heritage Sausage company. The Gypsum business recently opened a storefront as Strecker's Market and Cafe on 925 Green Way. The business uses German sausage recipes that were passed down from the owner's grandfather. They don't make veal brats, however, so those will be special ordered from Continental Sausage in Denver. European pastries, strudels, pretzels and more will also be provided by Swiss-born valley resident Erika Ammann and the Alpenrose in Vail.
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AT&T has announced a $100 discount on any of the tablet computers it sells with a two-year service contract. The move is intended to spur holiday tablet sales and activations on the carrier's 3G and LTE networks.
BLACK FRIDAY: Could be big for Android device buyers
It applies to AT&T's full listing of tablets, including the Apple iPad and the iPad mini when it goes on sale later this month. The other tablets currently on the AT&T website are Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Samsung ATIV smart PC, and Pantech Element, both new and refurbished.
Dubbed a "promotional discount," the savings are being interpreted -- wrongly -- by some as an iPad subsidy, similar to the payments AT&T and other carriers make to Apple to reduce the money paid by subscribers for iPhones bought with a two-year contract.
From now until the promotion ends, AT&T customers will receive $100 off any tablet bought with a two-year data plan at AT&T's retail stores or online at www.att.com or at "selected agents or retailers," according to a statement from the company. AT&T iPad models with LTE cellular currently are $480, $580 and $680, depending on storage. The Samsung Tab model is currently $400.
The iPad mini with LTE is due to be released this month, and will start at $459 for the 16GB model; the 32GB and 64GB models successively add $100 to the price tag.
It's a common practice to offer promotional discounts during the holiday season. A discount, according to the Business Dictionary, is a "deduction from the face amount of an invoice, made in advance of its payment." The effect for the buyer is a lower price.
But at AppleInsider, Mikey Campbell describes the offer as the first effort to "subsidize the price of Apple's iPad ... bringing the tablet's sales structure more in line with the iPhone."
Though the end result is the same -- a buyer is paying less for some product or service -- the subsidy mechanism is very different from a discount. "The basic characteristic of all subsidies is to reduce the market price of an item below its cost of production," according to the Business Dictionary. In the case of Apple and the carriers that offer the iPhone, the carriers pay Apple a substantial portion of the full price of each iPhone that is sold with a two-year contract, and then in turn sell the iPhone to subscribers for the difference.
AT&T lists the "regular price" of the new 16GB iPhone 5 as $650. But it offers "instant savings with contract" of $450. The price paid by a subscriber: $200.
One AT&T data plan is Mobile Share, which offers one bucket of data, ranging from 1GB to 20GB, which can be shared by multiple devices. A tablet can be added to a Mobile Share account for $10 per month. AT&T's DataConnect plans start at $15 per month for 250MB, $30 for 3GB and $50 for 5GB.
John Cox covers wireless networking and mobile computing for Network World. Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnwcoxnwwEmail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Read more about anti-malware in Network World's Anti-malware section.


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In Japan, there are numerous "street snap" sites. They take photos of hipsters who hang out in cool urban areas to show what stylish and outrageous trends are taking Japan by storm. Well, now there's a fashion snap site for survival games.
The Japanese street snap fashion trend was pioneered in the late 1990s when photographer Shoichi Aoki launched Fruits magazine. For those unfamiliar with street snap fashion pics, here are photos taken in Osaka by Freak Snap:
Instead of trendy hipsters on the street, website Survival Game Fashion Snap features photos of chic, young airsoft game enthusiasts decked out in camo, accented with standards like Gore-tex, North Face and Merrell.
Survival Game Fashion Snap's motto is "Make Yourself Look Neat Even When You Are In The [SIC] Combat." So stylish!
Survival Game Fashion Snap [Official Site]
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.


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Here's a side project that I'm happy can finally be unveiled.
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition has been formed to educate, inspire and mobilise young Australians to solve the climate crisis.
I was recently invited to build an interactive map for the AYCC homepage, to help people understand who else was active nearby, and to motivate people to join their local group.
Check it out below. You can see how many members are active nearby, or better still, join:


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Battle in the real world
Join the alliance
Get ready for some fun on the run as the hunt for Invizimals goes anywhere and everywhere. Tiny and mysterious, these creatures live all around us but only your PS Vita can see them. Track Invizimals through your garden, on the bus or in the playground, capturing your favourites to build a collection of 140 classic and new creatures.
Link up with players of Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom on PS3 via the Cross-Play feature, stage frenzied four-player battles and trade even more Invizimals.


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Dave's debut: Disasters stymie Matthews' move into movies
Charlottesville's most famous singer has suffered a strange setback to his fledgling film career. For over two years, footage of his first feature film has been stuck in film cans, and a tug-of-war may soon erupt over the movie's ownership.
Filming of Where the Red Fern Grows, a remake of the kids' classic, was about 75 percent complete by the time the unpaid actors walked off the set. However, several key scenes remained unshot, and the maturing face of the film's teenage star, Joseph Ashton, threatened to make all the old footage useless. Meanwhile, claims from unpaid companies at the main filming location, a tiny town in Oklahoma's Ozark Mountains, were piling up.
How did Dave's debut derail?
Red Ink-ville
It started out so idyllically. The tiny town of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, an hour southeast of Tulsa– population 14,458– had its last brush with fame about a decade ago when David Letterman called it his "home office." Local merchants expected another financial boost when a film crew arrived in October 1999. What actually arrived, however, was an out-of-cash and eventually bankrupt film company.
"They owe everybody in Tahlequah," says Foix Stauss, whose company, X-Press Rental and Sales, got stuck with a bill of about $3,300 for renting generators, forklifts, and airless paint-sprayers.
"I probably never had anyone rent as many rooms," says Vechil Eller, owner of the Tahlequah Motor Lodge. While Dave Matthews stayed at the Holiday Inn Express (which claims a debt of $16,000), Eller's Lodge housed most of the crew, which allegedly ran up a tab of $120,000. While the debtor disputes the amount, it may be a moot point because unsecured creditors– the ones who don't hold any collateral– rarely see a penny in bankruptcy cases.
"You can get a judgment," says Hugh Dotson, whose Dotson-Roberts Lumber company got stiffed for about $4,000, "but that don't pay our bills, does it?"
"This is not a rich county," says Murv Jacob, a sign painter who was never paid.
Meanwhile, back at the Lodge, Eller says he's "getting used to it." The massive debt hasn't erased the excitement from having members of his family– as well as two of his own vintage cars– playing roles in the film. And Eller's 30-inch television and ability to tune in the Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield fight on pay-per-view lured Matthews and other cast members to Eller's house on November 13, 1999.
"I happen to be the only one with satellite TV," Eller explains.
Dayton's passion
Red Fern director Lyman Dayton says he was working with a budget under $5 million, a small sum by Hollywood standards. But then Lyman Dayton isn't working from Hollywood; he's based in St. George, Utah.
A 60-year-old veteran producer, Dayton has made 15 films– including the original 1974 version of Red Fern. Also shot in Tahlequah, it earned a spot on noted critic Jeffrey Lyons' "Top 100" list, and Dayton says the video continues to rent and sell well.
Red Fern is the story of a poor boy and his two redbone hounds who chase some raccoons into a giant sycamore tree. Besides pacing the Depression-era story for modern audiences, Dayton says he wanted to make the hunting sequences come alive.
"This time," says Dayton, "we really show some hunting. You'll see it; you'll feel it."
Joseph Ashton and Dave Matthews take direction.
Dayton also wanted to show more of the local topography and local Cherokee culture. Tahlequah, after all, is headquarters of the Cherokee Nation. In the new film, the boy is supposed to be part Cherokee. "In the old film," says Dayton, "the family's kind of Nordic."
As for Matthews, Dayton lauds the Albemarle-based actor as "incredibly natural." He says Matthews' decision to launch his feature film career with such a quiet role as the boy's father was "wise" and "parallel to the way he's built his musical career."
Dayton learned a bit about grassroots growth by tracking the continued success of the book, written by the late Wilson Rawls. Where the Red Fern Grows was published in 1961. Since then, so many teachers have made the tale part of their curriculum that Publishers Weekly ranks it #5 on the all-time list of best-selling kids paperback books. Its impressive 6.8 million copies sold drubs such well-known titles as Little House on the Prairie, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Little Prince.
Because Dayton controlled the right to remake the film, he says, "We kept getting called by the studios. They had done their homework, obviously, and saw the business possibilities."
Dayton, however, decided to raise the money himself. That turned out to be a big problem.
Fun on the set
With the help of Katy Wallin casting, Dayton was able to land two of the most veteran character actors around, Dabney Coleman and Ned Beatty, plus one of the biggest musical stars of seventies, Mac "I Believe in Music" Davis– and one of the biggest music stars of today, Dave Matthews.
The actors arrived in Tahlequah in October 1999, for filming at locations by the Illinois River and in the hills around the town.
Dayton says Matthews and Davis entertained the set by occasionally grabbing guitars and singing. During a break from filming, however, Matthews' strumming was dealt a setback when he broke a finger while horseback riding.
Although unpaid, Tahlequah artist Murv Jacob thinks the world of Dave Matthews. "I'm Cherokee, and everyone in town's at least part Cherokee. I was starting to think Matthews was too– the way he fit in."
Teenage star Joseph Ashton says he had no idea of the South African-born singer's fame until Matthews took him to the local Red Lobster for his 13th birthday and strangers started perking up. "I really didn't know who he was," says Ashton. "He never came off as a big rock star."
Dave Matthews as "Pa" Colman.
All Ashton knew was that Matthews was a fledgling actor sporting denim overalls and a wide-brimmed hat– he plays a character called "Pa," after all. So Ashton, who has been acting since the age of one (a McDonald's commercial), offered some on-set advice.
"I'd give him clues or hints that I've learned over the years," says Ashton, "like not looking at the camera." ("Everyone was giving me tips," says Matthews. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing.")
A few days later, when Ashton opened a magazine and saw Matthews' face, it dawned on him: "He was this big-time star."
The good times in Tallequah were not to last.
While many local businesses were willing to indulge tardy bill-paying, the powerful Screen Actors Guild, the actors' union back in Los Angeles, would not.
In late November 1999, the SAG fired off a letter ordering all talent to withhold their services. Although just a few more days of location filming remained, the actors walked away, and the production unceremoniously ground to a halt.
The flaming wig
What do the stars think of the project? The first words out of Dave Matthews' mouth: "Dabney Coleman is a badass."
But not everyone saw things so jovially. When this reporter first began looking into the story two years ago, the actors hadn't been paid. How did Red Fern sound back then?
"You mention the word," said Dabney Coleman's manager, Michael Black, "and my wig goes on fire."
Black said Coleman considered Red Fern such a "damn good story" that he trimmed his usual fees. "It's not like he's owed $4 million," continued Black, "but I would like to see my client get the rest of the money that's owed him."
Even then Black noted that Red Fern wasn't all drudgery.
"He loved working on the film," says Black. "He loved the town, and he thinks the world of Dave. He told me, 'If the picture never comes out, at least I have a new friend named Dave Matthews.'"
Dave the actor
The acting career of Dave Matthews goes back as far– perhaps farther– than his musical career. In early 1990, the young Matthews first caught Charlottesville media attention simply for hamming it up behind the bar at Miller's restaurant. In October of that year, this reporter watched him turn the hackneyed role of a used-car salesman into something fresh, likable, and blisteringly cheesy in Offstage Productions' short play called Just Say No.
Shortly thereafter, he starred in one of the late great "Coffeehouse" shows at Live Arts. "We all sat there," remembers longtime Live Arts director Fran Smith, "and knew that minute that this guy wouldn't stay in town long."
Michael Black, Dabney Coleman's manager, says he has seen some of Red Fern's "dailies," the raw footage. "Dave Matthews," says Black, "can absolutely act."
Dave Matthews used to act at Live Arts, site of this 1995 acoustic performance.
"Business is very good for Dave Matthews," says Gary Bongiovanni, the editor of Pollstar, a concert industry magazine. In a telephone interview earlier this week, Bongiovanni says that despite one of the lowest average ticket prices, Dave Matthews Band is #1 in North American concert grosses for the last three months.
Life magazine lists the Dave Matthews Band as one of the "Top 100 Rock and Rollers of All Time." Clearly, Dave Matthews does not need acting to make money or history.
Although Matthews chipped in over $150,000 to keep the Red Fern alive, it wasn't enough. By the time the actors quit, about $700,000 in bills were still outstanding. Dayton said that an investor failed to come through with the cash. Amounts owed to unsecured creditors include $523,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor, $157,000 in payroll, and $17,000 to FedEx. (Matthews' loan was secured.)
At the time production abruptly ceased, media accounts pegged Legacy Entertainment, run by Morgan Skinner, as the investor who didn't come through. Today, Utah-based Skinner declines to discuss Red Fern in any detail. "We're not involved," he says. But he lost money in the project, right? "To put it mildly," answers Skinner.
What about talk that the film could be released? "You hear a lot of things," says Skinner, referring a reporter to an attorney.
Dayton's dilemma
Things would only get worse for Dayton. While lawsuits over the unpaid bills began filling court dockets in Cherokee County, Dayton put together a videotape to show some of the completed footage to prospective investors and vowed to restart the production.
He kept in touch with Matthews' manager, Coran Capshaw, to find a slot in the busy musician's schedule for filming the remaining scenes. But the claims against the film company kept piling up. In October 2000, Dayton's Red Fern Productions Inc. declared bankruptcy. A year later, he and his wife had declared personal bankruptcy as well.
The SAG began investigating Dayton and filed a separate claim alleging that he hasn't been paying proper residuals on some of the films he's made. Dayton's attorney, calling the move a "surprise," denies the allegation.
Meanwhile, creditors continued to hold out hope for recompense from the production company.
On March 28, 2002, the Utah bankruptcy court oversaw an auction of the assets– primarily the film negative and the rights to make the picture. The buyers, who paid $975,000, were a consortium made up of Crusader Entertainment, Persik Partners, and a new company called Where the Red Fern Grows LLC.
The auction freed up enough money to pay actors Coleman, Matthews, and other "secured" creditors– but nothing for the small businesses in Tahlequah. "We never got a penny," says Foix Stauss of X-Press Rental.
As of last week, the Dabney Coleman camp, previously known for its burning wig, was smiling, and Coleman has been contacted by the production's new owners to perform some post-production voice work, typically one of the final stages toward a completed film, says Mark Stoelting in the veteran actor's office. "When that call comes in," says Stoelting, "it means they're close to home base."
But charges of "collusion" and "conspiracy" could soon throw everything into question.
Puberty's threat
Question: Who is Paul Sullivan?
He's the original "Wally" on Leave it to Beaver. The better-known "Wally," Tony Dow, revealed in a 2000 interview that Sullivan had been thrown off the show's original cast. His crime?
"He had grown a foot since the shooting of the pilot," said Dow, "and literally outgrew the part."
Red Fern is in a similar fix. With 75 percent of the scenes filmed, script rewrites and clever editing could help production survive without Dave "Pa" Matthews. But key sequences for Joseph "Billy" Ashton remained. One source close to young Ashton warned this reporter back in 2000 that if the final days of shooting didn't soon materialize, the whole film would have to be re-shot.
Joseph Ashton, circa 1999.
A boyish-looking eighth-grader when shooting commenced in the summer of 1999, Ashton says he has grown "about five inches and 30 pounds" since those early days in Tallequah. He was contacted by Katy Wallin to finish up filming at a Disney lot in California this summer. Ashton insists that "Hollywood magic" in the form of good makeup and a large coonskin cap "down-sized" him.
Born in 1986, Joseph Ashton Valencia (he uses his middle name for his acting career) has Native American ancestors on both sides of his family tree, according to his mother. In his previous starring role, the 1997 film The Education of Little Tree, he earned a hearty thumbs up from Roger Ebert for playing the title role of a half-Cherokee orphan. Ebert called Ashton "fresh and natural." The Boston Phoenix lauded him as "adorable and energetic."
The career span for child actors is short, and the long list of adorable cherubs who became unemployable adolescents includes Shirley Temple, Gary Coleman, and Macaulay Culkin.
Fortunately for Ashton, although his once-round face morphed into manhood while Red Fern footage collected dust, he is still able to achieve fame from voice work, including the lead of Otto on the Nickelodeon series, Rocket Powered. Ashton says his next big dream is film school to learn "behind-the-camera" work.
"I'm just having fun," says Ashton. "I take it seriously, but I'm not Hollywood. School's always first. I'm pretty much a regular kid."
Indeed, a phone call from a reporter one August afternoon found Ashton over at a nearby friend's house. The 11th grader's biggest concern? He recently broke his leg, so he can't play football this fall at his public high school.
"Behind our backs"
Katy Wallin, originally just the film's casting director, appears to have taken the lead as producer in finishing the film. Unfortunately, an intern in her office says, she is too busy to return calls and emails for this story.
Russell S. Walker, attorney for Lyman Dayton, is not happy about the auction, which terminated his client's rights to the film. Walker says that some of the potential investors Dayton was negotiating with to finish the film simply waited for the auction and joined forces to keep the price low.
"A number of these people went behind our backs and colluded to limit the bidding," says Walker, who also used the word "conspiracy" when talking about the auction.
However, William J. Immerman, chief operating officer of Crusader Entertainment, one of the three buyers, claims that Dayton is simply resorting to the "court of public opinion" after legal maneuvers have failed.
"All the facts were laid out before the bankruptcy judge," says Immerman, "and the judge thought that there was nothing improper."
Immerman says that the three companies have already spent in excess of $3 million to finish filming, to commission a musical score, and to work on post-production.
"The courts," says Immerman, who is an attorney, "typically don't favor somebody who sits back in the woods until someone else has spent substantial time and money to complete the project.
"The plan," he adds, "is to finish the film and then show it to a distributor."
Lawyer's vow
"It isn't over yet," says Walker. "We think we've got a deal that will greatly benefit the creditors." Is Walker preparing a lawsuit? He declines to tip his hand. "We haven't played all our cards," is all he'll say.
With Dayton's lawyer vowing to fight to win back the rights, and no word on a distributor, the film's future could be in jeopardy if Dayton sues. While film companies sometimes shy away from grabbing movies embroiled in litigation, Immerman says the book's popularity will make distributors eager for Red Fern.
"Personally, I think the movie's real outdated," says stiffed Tahlequah sign-painter Murv Jacob. "Coon-hunting was a pretty big sport... 30 years ago. I call it 'Where the Red Ink Flows.'"
If the film ever comes out, another small skirmish revolves over whether Lyman Dayton will get sole credit, or whether the director of the California shooting, Sam Pillsbury, can share the credit– and the residuals. The Directors Guild will have to sort that one out.
Standing on the Downtown Mall last week, after wrapping up his summer concert tour, Dave Matthews says he doesn't know when he'll ever see his film debut. While he didn't participate in any of the final shooting over the summer, Matthews expects to be called out for some voice-over dubbing.
"I'll do what they ask of me," he says.
And Matthews seems resigned to wait a while longer for the Red Fern release.
"It's a long ways away," says Matthews. "All I know is it's a long ways away."


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14k gold one-of-a-kind free form Australian Blue Opal Ring from the Queen collection with a sprinkled diamond halo totaling .07 carat weight.
Please note that this ring is a one-of-a-kind piece. We honor the natural shape of the stone, thus slight variances in design may occur.
Please allow up to 15-20 business days for production.
The opal is said to be many things, including the most powerful of healing stones, the stone of hope, the stone of great achievement and even the "stone of the Gods".
Ancient Romans associated opal with hope and good luck. Like lightning in a rainbow, it flashes its brilliance with even the slightest movement and claims notice by all who witness its phenomenal "fire." This is a stone so dedicated to the eye, so pleasing to the sight, it inspires love and hope, innocence and purity, luck and happiness.
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Elliott came down with a high fever last night. He must have caught some kind of bug at school. He crawled into bed with me burning up. I held him most of the night. I usually don't give the boys a fever reducer as long as they act normal, just listless. The high body temperature is nature's way of killing the bugs that created the sickness. His fever broke this morning. I didn't get much sleep as I kept stroking his hair to comfort him and kept checking on his temperature throughout the night as he tossed and turned. He was really hot. You always know everything is going to be okay with 99.99 percent of your being. But it is amazing when you love someone so intensely. What the .o1 percent uncertainty can do to your mind and heart...
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Posted by Ka`iana at 2:05 PM
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Cornwall, Vermont
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Cornwall is a town in Addison county, Vermont. It was formed in 1761 in N.H. from Rutland county. The probate and court district for Cornwall is Addison. For more information, contact the town at 2629 Rt. 30, Middlebury 05753. On the attached map, Cornwall is shown as 15 in Addison county.
For information about the state of Vermont see Vermont Family History Research.


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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
This is it. What it's all been leading up to. At least that's what the tagline on the movie poster says. Yes folks, twilight has fallen on "Twilight." And with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 finally reaching mutliplexes, the saga of a girl, a vampire, and their dog -- oops, I mean werewolf -- will finally end.
Teenage girls everywhere will be crying in their Team Jacob snuggies as their Bella Swan eyeliner drips down their face. For them, it's that much of an event.
For the rest of us, it's the close on the final chapter of a franchise that, love it or hate it, began the YA novel craze and spawned the likes of "The Hunger Games" (and, sadly and inevitably, "Fifty Shades of Grey"; for without awkward clumsy Bella, where would her oversexed alter ego be?) So is the finale worth it? Will we get a satisfying conclusion to one of the weirdest book/film series ever made?
In true saga fashion, the action picks up exactly where the last film left off -- here, the bellissima Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) having given birth to vampire hybrid after it damn near kills her during labor. Lucky hubby Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) was around to rip open her uterus with his chompers to save the kid. Yes, I just wrote that.
Since this is a story about the undead you always knew what would happen to Bella. So as "Breaking Dawn: Pt. 1" ends, Bella opens her bloody red irises as a true-blood vampire. And since this is a romance, there has to be a third, here Jacob, the werewolf with the pecs of steel and washboard abs, now smitten with baby Renesmee (Rihanna was already taken, I guess).
In fact, he's "imprinted" on her something that basically means he will love and protect her until the end of time -- you know, like a cell phone contract.
Luckily, Renesmee is destined to grow rapidly and, like everyone else here, will stop aging when she reaches good modeling years. And if you think a werewolf lusting after an infant is creepy, well, you're right.
For Bella, being undead raises all sorts of exciting possibilities, none of which occur to Jacob, who had tried in vain to persuade her that being a vampire was not cool.
Since Jacob is played by super-gorgeous hunk Taylor Lautner, you know he won't be written out of the script. Eventually, they all settle down to "The New Normal" if Ann Rice had been the show runner and Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley the executive producers.
She also has to tell her dad what happened, but he's a trooper and proves once again, that a dad will love his daughter no matter whom she marries. A bigger problem is a group (led by a deliciously scene-chewing Michael Sheen) dead set on destroying her spawn because they don't realize that Renesmee is half-vampire and half-human. So while her vampire half wastes entire villages, her human half will join Habitat for Humanity and rebuild them.
All of this harks back to the hoariest conventions of the classic film horror movies of the '30s and at times seems about as dated. (Where's Igor?) Although this slows the film down considerably, it's still fun the different vamps use their special powers, even if they can be so goofy looking that you might be in a constant state of giggles. My personal favorite was Tyra Banks' Amazon.
In true saga fashion, there must be a war. This one brings together the vampires and werewolves, who, alas, do not sing a parody version of "The Farmer and the Rancher Should Be Friends" from "Oklahoma!" But we know that this is the finale because the snowy landscape is grim and cold and, well, foreboding.
So, is "Breaking Dawn Pt. 2" is a bowl of emotional mush only fit for consumption by girls who can only see their burgeoning-but-still-frightening sexual lives on screen when sublimated into the supernatural? Maybe, but it's also a wholly entertaining film that breathes much-needed life into a franchise that has come dangerously close to self-parody.
Stories like this need a little distance, irony if you will, a wink-wink at times or they risk taking themselves way too seriously. What we didn't need to see was more of Bella and Edward scowling their love at each other and bemoaning their hopeless situation.
Stewart has become the subject of much Internet bitching for her twitchy portrayal of Bella, who always looked like she was on the brink of nausea even when she wasn't expecting. But -- surprise! -- Stewart seems liberated by her vampire persona. Allowing her to bring out her inner bad-ass was just what was needed to give her character something to, well, sink her teeth into.
Her transition into the ways of vampire-hood were fun, just like the rest of "Part 2." After four dour chapters, "Part 2" is funny, entertaining, and has some awesome action scenes, even with the cheesy CGI. Seeing the entirely CGI baby Renesmee reminds us yet again of how wise Roman Polanski was not to let us see the title infant terrible of "Rosemary's Baby."
I mean, you've made it this far, why care about some technical hoo-ha? You care about the Cullens, the Blacks, and The Swans.
And care you do. When the finale hits, it starts to veer away from the novel, and the lives of characters we've grown to like are at stake. Actually caring about what happens to these beautiful creatures might come as a surprise, but you'll become so fully invested in that final apocalyptic battle that even those who have been scoffing at the ridiculousness of the franchise will be taking it at least as seriously anything J.R. Tolkein gave us.
Aside from some cheap visual effects, tech credits are good with beautiful lensing by Guillermo Navarro and some top-notch editing by Virgina Katz. Music has always been an important ingredient in the "Twilight" films, and Alexandra Patsavas manages to use the score to comment and further the action without distracting us from it. Carter Burwell's score is effective and appropriately haunting at times.
Full credit, however, must go to director Bill Condon. The man who successfully translated "Dreamgirls" from stage to screen elevated a tween franchise book series into something worthy. Condon's achievement is all the more remarkable considering how plodding and bizarre Stephanie Meyer's books are. He also deserves special props for adding a pretty dazzling battle that had the audience cheering.
If you never joined the "Twilight" bandwagon, there is no need to start now. But if you've been following this un-merry band through the '00s, you'll be satisfied. Boyfriends dragged by their girlfriends (or boyfriends) will find enough to enjoy between the moony romantic elements. This is a fitting end to a behemoth franchise that has finally come to a "bloody good" end.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
InfoRuntime :: 115 mins
Release Date :: Nov 16, 2012
Language :: English
Country :: United States


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I also think they should have added in more about why snape refered to himself as the halfblood prince.DudeRocksTheTwilight wrote:That's EXACTLY what I think!!!debussygirl wrote:My post is riddled with spoilers, so if you don't want to know, don't read further.
Burrow+burning=LAME. Should have cut that out for the epic battle at hogwarts instead. Sad about Bill and Fleur not being mentioned, I loved the part in the book when Fleur says she still wants to marry Bill. The ending was anticlimatic. No Dobby again. I also missed Dumbledore's funeral, although the way they did it in the movie was nice, too, with everyone lighting their wands to make the dark mark go away. I actually really liked that part, but still missed the funeral and the spiderman speech with Ginny. Those were the only things that I think they cut they should have kept in (Dobby they should always keep in because he's awesome like that). I get why they had to get rid of stuff, but those are just the things I think they really should have kept in for the book's sake.
I loved how this one was dark, but not too dark (like the 3rd one, UGH too dark too soon) and I loved the relationships. Wish there had been a tad more Harry/Ginny, since in the book they were official, not just a one kiss.
I cannot wait until DH!!!!! It will be awesome since there'll be 2. I wonder what they'll be called?
They said they cut out the battle at Hogwarts because there was one there in DH. But still, they should have put it. The scene I really liked, that almost made me cry, was the scene where Dumbledore died. And everyone raised their wands.
Nothing happened until the very end when snape was like
"yes potter, I am the half blood prince"
I was like...leave some hints in the film please! That's what I liked about the book..there were hints and stuff but the film nothing happened until the last 3 minutes!


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Pity the poor netbook. It used to be cool, but every month there's yet more talk of the new kid on the block, the tablet, stealing its marketshare. And it's not just that consumers are deciding between a netbook and a tablet, and picking the latter over the former—the ongoing economic slump also factors into the steady trickle of reports, anecdotes, and industry executive comments on the phenomenon.
The latest data point supporting the tablet/netbook cannibalization trend comes from IDC, which attributes some of the softness in PC sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to tablet sales both real and planned. From the group's most recent report:
"Mini notebooks had started to slow down in 1H10, but increasing noise and announcements around Media Tablets have contributed to accelerating the trend, and also impacted notebook renewal intentions from a share of wallet standpoint. Some users already purchased an iPad, and many others adopted a wait and see position as more products develop towards Christmas."
The so-called EMEA market did manage to grow a bit, with PC sales up a modest 10.5 percent, but that was less growth than the previous year. Again, the 25 percent drop in sales of netbooks dragged down the numbers for the entire PC category.
Overall, though, the outlook for PC sales is increasingly cloudy. A new report from iSuppli indicates that Chinese OEMs overestimated the back-to-school season, and haven't shipped nearly as many PCs as they thought they would. The report claims that Chinese exports have fallen a few percentage points year-over-year, because cash-strapped consumers are reluctant to upgrade.
The one region of the world where demand isn't depressed is in emerging markets. The aforementioned IDC report claims that if you replace the "E" in EMEA with Central and Eastern Europe, the CEMEA region altogether posted an incredible 30 percent jump in shipments year-over-year. This tracks with what Intel claimed in its most recent quarterly earnings reports—weak demand in Europe and America, but emerging markets and Asia were on fire.
Globally though, demand seems to be petering out, and when you combine that with China's oversupply, it's no wonder that iSuppli is reducing its overall semiconductor market revenue forecast by about 3 percent.
"Among other developments, the second half has seen a significant slowdown in consumer demand for some electronic devices, including PCs," the company says the report. "Meanwhile, inventories have been building throughout the semiconductor supply chain. Together, these factors will conspire to cause a small sequential decline in semiconductor revenue in the fourth quarter."


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Peugeot considers two hot 308s
* Peugeot may offer two hot versions of its 308 * Likely to be called 308 GTi and 308 R * Would compete with Megane Renaultsport and Cup...
Peugeot is considering making two hot versions of its 308 hatchback in an effort to win over all types of hot hatch buyer.
Christophe Valet, the Peugeot engineer responsible for the 308's ride and handling, told What Car? that it's not possible to make a hot hatch that's both easy to live with every day and brilliant on a track without it becoming too expensive.
Valet suggested that Peugeot may follow the example of Renault with its Renaultsport and Cup models.
If Peugeot were to go down this route, it could offer both a hardcore 308 R, complete with a traction-enhancing limited-slip differential, and a slightly softer and better-equipped GTi model. The 308 R has already been previewed by the 308 R Concept that was shown at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show.
The 308 R Concept featured the 270bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine from the RCZ R. Few performance figures were revealed, but Peugeot did say that it would be capable of emitting just 145g/km of CO2.
Before any hot 308 is introduced, Peugeot plans to upgrade the interior of the regular 308. The hard plastic used on the centre console has come in for a lot of criticism, but Peugeot says it will replace this with a soft-touch finish as soon as possible; it won't wait for the 308's mid-life face-lift.
Read the full Peugeot 308 review.


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Every couple dreams of arriving in style on their wedding day. For some, this might mean rolling up in a Ferrari while for others it means arriving Fairy Tale style in horse-drawn carriage. To find your perfect wedding transportation, shortlist wedding car companies based on their customer reviews and gallery, and book an in-person viewing.Cars Sydney
Wedding Cars Insights
There are 38 Sydney Wedding Car suppliers from which to choose. Overall, they have an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. Couples usually enquire with 5 vendors in this category and book 11 months out from their wedding date, typically after a Marriage Celebrant and before a Videographer. Wedding Car suppliers charge between $600 and $2,000, averaging at $1,325. Across Australia, the average cost is $865. Given Australian weddings typically cost $30,735, this means Australian couples spend 3% of their wedding budget on Wedding Car.
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Asia and Oceania are the perfect destinations for yoga retreats. Dare to learn yoga as it was originally practiced, on a yoga holiday in Himalayas. Fun yet still spiritually rich yoga holidays, book a trip to Thailand or Bali. If that doesn't suit your taste, you may choose yoga retreats in Oceania. What's more beautiful than yoga sessions overlooking the Pacific Ocean? Whichever your choice, prepare for amazing yoga retreats in Asia and Oceania!
Nepal is a beautiful Himalayan Kingdom blessed with an incredible territory and a rich spiritual culture. It is the origin place of the Vedic Sanatan Dharma (root of all the religions), birthplace of Veda Vyasa (author of the 4 Vedas), source of holy river Ganga, the land of Devas, saints and sages.
Known as the gateway to one of the world's most important heritage sites - Angkor Wat, Cambodia is not only a destination brimming with wonders but also an ideal destination for self-discovery, healing and transformation.
Thailand and Bali are undoubtedly two of the top destinations for a yoga retreat. Both locations are a paradise for yogis with plenty of beach and jungle retreats and a variety of styles. So, which destination should you choose for your next (and possibly first) yoga holiday?
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In college, I started getting serious with weight training and I remember going down into the weight room and watching these guys throwing up 70 lb dumbbells on the incline bench and thinking to myself, "One day I'll be able…