Newswise — The School of Design and Production at the North Carolina School of the Arts will add a graduate program in performing arts management to its repertory this coming fall.
"Our new performing arts management program is designed to train the future executive leadership of America's performing arts organizations," said Joseph Tilford, dean of the School of Design and Production at NCSA. "Given the advanced practical training in production available at NCSA, and the ever-growing need for well-trained leadership in the arts, this new program is a natural fit. It will help fill what many in the profession consider a void in the arts and entertainment industry."
The School of the Arts has hired Robert Wildman, former managing director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, as the founding director of its performing arts management program. "Our purpose is to combine practical arts management experience with the perspective and passion of the artist," Wildman said, "creating a manager who becomes part of the production process, rather than one who remains distant from it."
Wildman continued: "The nationally renowned conservatory setting of the North Carolina School of the Arts offers training in all the performing arts: dance, drama and music, as well as the visual arts and film. These artists will work in institutions that must be run by dedicated, creative and thoughtful managers.
"Hands-on, practical experience is the key to this program," Wildman added, "because our students will be expected to understand the needs of artists, in addition to learning the organizational and business skills normally associated with management training."
The curriculum will include courses such as marketing, public policy and advocacy, law and the arts, development, business systems and computer applications, and labor relations.
Students will spend two years in residence at NCSA and a third year in a professional internship. The program will culminate in a Master of Fine Arts. Graduates of the program will be qualified to pursue a career in either a nonprofit or commercial organization in the theatre, dance or music fields.
Six students have enrolled for the inaugural fall term, which begins in September. Students who are interested in enrolling in the next class should contact: Admissions, North Carolina School of the Arts, 1533 S. Main St., Winston-Salem, NC 27127-2188; e-mail [email protected]; visit http://www.ncarts.edu; or call 336-770-3290. The ideal applicant would have an undergraduate degree and a few years of experience in his or her field, though qualified candidates at an earlier point in their careers will be considered. The performing arts management program was established at the North Carolina School of the Arts after a three-year study by a national steering committee composed of NCSA faculty, staff, alumni and friends, as well as faculty members from comparable programs. The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts funded the study.
Robert Wildman, who joined NCSA last fall, came to the School of the Arts from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., where he served as interim manager during a leadership transition and managed four summer conferences. From 1995-2002, he was managing director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the performance arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut. During his tenure there, the theatre moved to a year-round Equity contract for its seven annual mainstage productions, saw significant growth in both audiences and support, and created a Playwrights Lab to workshop and develop new plays.
Previously, Wildman enjoyed a nine-year career in arts marketing and development at Yale Repertory Theatre/Yale School of Drama (1986-92) and Long Wharf Theatre (1992-95). He has also worked at the Mark Taper Forum and American Conservatory Theatre in his native California.
Wildman has taught in the theatre administration program at the Yale School of Drama, and the distance-learning graduate program in arts administration at Goucher College. He has served on the board of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and on grant-making panels for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and Theatre Communications Group.
He received a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.F.A. from the theatre administration program at the Yale School of Drama.
The NCSA School of Design and Production offers a comprehensive program of instruction and practice in 12 different concentrations in theatrical design, production and management. More than 20 full-time faculty members teach the 150 courses offered each year. Students design and execute the sets, properties, costumes, lighting, sound, and wigs and makeup, as well as manage all production aspects for more than 20 shows annually. The school awards the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the College Arts Diploma, and the Master of Fine Arts. The employment rate for the school's graduates approaches 100 percent.
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