With the festival only two weeks away, the marketing department is determined to get the word out. My job is to keep track of all the restaurants, shops, stores, and visitor centers that agreed to post our marketing material and those that simply could not. In addition to the "yes's" and "no's" I track the exact marketing material being handed out, (for instance which poster is posted, is it the festival 2013, Kafig, or L.E.V.)
After a very successful street teaming last weekend, my supervisor contacted me about planning another day. She asked me to explore the city Hudson, New York - roughly an hour away from Berkshire County. In past seasons, street teams have not ventured out to New York but after research we decided it would be an experiment. We chose to reach Hudson due to its booming area - many artsy people who work in NYC or used to work/live in NYC have resided in this city. I gathered information of art venus, shops, and local stores that would hopefully agree or be willing to post our marketing material, while also learning about "The Pillow" or "Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival." In addition to focusing on our new city, I called all the visitor centers near by to set up an appointment to bring marketing material.
Later that day the Marketing Department held our weekly team meeting outside at a picnic table - very relaxing I must say. Mariclare, director of marketing and communications gave upcoming announcements and informed us of projects we will begin to work on. We then went around the picnic table sharing our "most" important project we were working on, how it was progressing and then what we are most surprised about. All of the supervisors and staff expressed how surprised they were of our dedication, passion, and work ethic.
We began our second day of street teaming, and luckily this time there was nothing but sunshine. Our main focus was on Berkshire Visiting Centers (Chambers of Commerce,) as well as local mom and pop shops in the area. Almost every center expressed how delighted they were to see us, and how excited they were for the upcoming festival!
I had scheduled an appointment at the Lenox Chamber of Commerce with a gentleman named Ralph. Ralph was not shy at all and jumped right into conversation. He shared his memories of the theater business - working and choreographing in Disney and the overall joy he felt from performing. When he moved to Lenox, he retired from his performing career to focus on his family but still kept the arts as part of his life. Twenty years later he decided to relive his theater days and went to an audition at a small community theater. The director was delighted to see Ralph - Ralph had given this man his first 'break' when he was still in college and trying to gain experience. This story goes to show how important networking in the arts field is - and karma will definitely come around, good or bad.
Ralph loves the arts and wants to set up a grant program with AARP - called 'Grand Arts' where grandparents can support their grandchildren in the arts - a brilliant idea.
It gives me chills knowing there are people out there who are as passionate and willing to help provide arts in education as I am.
Later that day the Marketing Department held our weekly team meeting outside at a picnic table - very relaxing I must say. Mariclare, director of marketing and communications gave upcoming announcements and informed us of projects we will begin to work on. We then went around the picnic table sharing our "most" important project we were working on, how it was progressing and then what we are most surprised about. All of the supervisors and staff expressed how surprised they were of our dedication, passion, and work ethic.
We began our second day of street teaming, and luckily this time there was nothing but sunshine. Our main focus was on Berkshire Visiting Centers (Chambers of Commerce,) as well as local mom and pop shops in the area. Almost every center expressed how delighted they were to see us, and how excited they were for the upcoming festival!
I had scheduled an appointment at the Lenox Chamber of Commerce with a gentleman named Ralph. Ralph was not shy at all and jumped right into conversation. He shared his memories of the theater business - working and choreographing in Disney and the overall joy he felt from performing. When he moved to Lenox, he retired from his performing career to focus on his family but still kept the arts as part of his life. Twenty years later he decided to relive his theater days and went to an audition at a small community theater. The director was delighted to see Ralph - Ralph had given this man his first 'break' when he was still in college and trying to gain experience. This story goes to show how important networking in the arts field is - and karma will definitely come around, good or bad.
Ralph loves the arts and wants to set up a grant program with AARP - called 'Grand Arts' where grandparents can support their grandchildren in the arts - a brilliant idea.
It gives me chills knowing there are people out there who are as passionate and willing to help provide arts in education as I am.