VARIATIONS on Putting It Together Part Two

Executive Director Adam Adolfo continues his discussion on the Art of Making Art...

Art isn't easy
Every minor detail is a major decision
Have to keep things in scale,
Have to hold to your vision.

What's a little cocktail conversation
If it gets the funds for your foundation.
Every time I start to feel defensive --
I remember art is expensive!

Artes de la Rosa, like all arts organizations continues to fight for its very existence in a society that believes the arts are not relevant. It is a well known fact that the average life of a small theatre is 5 years. 5 years and then the company ‘fails’. The question that then comes is “Did the company fail its audience?” or “Did its audience fail the theatre?” Generally speaking it’s a little of both. What can you do? TELL A FRIEND ABOUT ARTES DE LA ROSA. Become an advocate for us! Encourage people to buy season tickets and bring friends to the theatre. We only live as an arts institution with you in the audience. I’m reminded of a song that says, “I’d rather be nine peoples favorite thing then a 100 people’s ninth favorite thing…and if those nine people tell nine people we’ll have 18 people loving our shows and 18 people could grow into 525,600 people all loving our shows!” Our biggest marketing tool is not the paper, not the radio, it is you!

Dot by dot, building up the image.
Shot by shot, keeping at a distance doesn't pay.
Still if you remember your objective,
Not give all your privacy away.
A little bit of hype can be effective,
As long as you can keep it in perspective.
Even when you get some recognition
Everything you do you still audition.

Ah yes…the audition. So you have vision, you have an audience…what you don’t have is a product yet. So you start building up the image that shows the world your vision. You sit with the director and you start finding the fantastic talent that will become your Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, your next Big Daddy, your next Spiderwoman. This is simultaneously an exciting and terrifying process. With each performer’s audition you hope against hope, and whisper a silent prayer that “THIS” audition will be THE ONE that ends the search. Auditions can be a long, difficult, and always exhausting process. It’s all about trials and tribulations and in the end hopefully a crazy success with a cast of talented actors… Well performers. I was once told that my auditions are very friendly. Some auditions can be cold and distant. I don’t understand those kinds of auditions. WE WANT TO SEE YOU SUCCEED! If you succeed in the audition, we are finished! We can ‘go home’ and start putting together the rest of the image.

Art isn't easy,
Overnight you're a trend; you're the right combination,
Then the trend's at an end,
You're suddenly last year's sensation!

All they ever want is repetition,
All they really like is what they know.
You gotta keep a link with your tradition
Got to learn to trust your intuition,
While you reestablish your position
So that your work can be on exhibition!!! BE NEW!

“BE NEW!” That’s what we do! We’re constantly trying to be a point of innovation and ingenuity at Artes de la Rosa. New is only good if it is breaking new ground artistically. There is no point in being ‘new’ for the sake of ‘being new’. Whether reinterpretations of Pulitzer Prize Classics to daring re-imaginations of rarely produced musical gems, our idea is to celebrate the story.

Be new.
They tell you till they're blue.
You're new, or else you're through,
And even if it's true,
You do what you can do!

Stay tuned for Part Three of Adam's Post on The Art of Putting It Together.

Q & A

Q&A; Ask us any question about the upcoming production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Artes de la Rosa and we'll pass them on to the cast and crew and try to get them answered.

Artes de la Rosa announces First Latino Cast of Tennessee Williams Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Artes de la Rosa at the Rose Marine Theater is proud to announce the casting of the first all Latino production of Tennessee Williams Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. This explosive new Cuban inspired production features a dynamic young cast of Latinos, brimming with the playwright's trademark emotional intensity and insightful wit. Evoking the heat, passion and desire like only Williams and Havana can, this daring new staging set on a sugar cane plantation in South Florida paints a rich and timeless portrait of a family in crisis. This marks the first in what is a bold multi year American Classic’s Initiative to reinvent the best of American Theatre at Artes de la Rosa.



Joey Folsom as Brick Pollitt
Stephanie Cleghorn Bluth as Maggie The Cat
Rob Bosquez as Big Daddy
Danielle Reboli as Big Mama
Adrian Godinez as Brother Man
(Not Pictured)
Georgia Phillips as Sister Woman
Eddie Zertuche as Doc Baugh
Abel Flores Jr. as Father Tooker
Antonio Romero Jr. as Sookey

Director - Adam Adolfo
Assistant Director – Katreeva Phillips
Scenic Designers – Adam Adolfo & Paul Arebalo Jr.
Costume Design – Justin Kailer
Lighting Design – Paul Arebalo Jr.
Sound Design – Adam Adolfo

The show previews Thursday, September 9th and officially opens Friday September 10th and will run through Saturday September 18th @ 7:30 pm. There is a single matinee Sunday, September 12th @ 2:30 pm. Performances at the Rose Marine Theater, 1440 North Main Street, Fort Worth Texas 76164. $15 General. $10 Students & Seniors. For tickets online go to www.rosemarinetheater.com

Variations on PUTTING IT TOGETHER or What Does an Executive Director Do?

In this first of three blog posts, Executive Director Adam Adolfo talks about the Art of Making Art...

I’m often asked, what is it you do exactly? To be honest, there is no exact about it. As Executive Director for Artes de la Rosa I look out for both the fiscal and artistic future of the company. That’s a very broad and sweeping generalization, but it is also the most concise I can offer. I direct you to a song, Putting It Together, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It gives you the idea of what I do on any given day…

Art isn’t easy…
Even when you’re hot
Advancing Art is easy
Financing it is not!

A vision's just a vision if it's only in your head!
If no one gets to see it, it's as good as dead!
It has to come to life!

Artes de la Rosa is all about that… art coming to life. More specifically Latino art! Artes de la Rosa gives us a chance to experience worlds and cultures that lie deep in our imagination. It also gives a deeper glimpse into our own world. The arts are a uniquely human experience…and that humanity through artistry is what defines us. It is the artist who finds the soul of humanity and allows others to experience their own self discovery…their own humanity. That is not a right of our culture…it is a privilege. A privilege you get to be a part of when you take your seat at the Rose Marine Theater. ONLY at Artes de la Rosa can you be transported from the heated nights of Havana with a cat clawing on the tin roof, to the dark dangerous world of a Latin American prison where dictators rule. Only at Artes de la Rosa can you experience a piece of Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela without needing a passport.

Bit by bit, Putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution,
Every little detail plays a part.
Having just a vision's no solution,..
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together, that's what counts!

Vision. Vision is almost the easy part… almost. Before you can achieve vision you must construct the frame work upon which vision will hang. You construct a season, you construct a design team, you construct a production staff, and if you’re lucky you’re working with the best; you start with this team and you set off to ‘create a vision’. I have been extremely lucky! From our directors Yvonne Duque and Tammy Gomez to our administrative staff Maria Solano and Mark Alcala – and everyone in between – we have been fortunate enough to work with the best. But that’s just the start…all of it is just vision… getting the vision on stage is a whole other set of issues!

Ounce by ounce, putting it together
Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art.
First of all you need a good foundation,
Otherwise it's risky from the start.
Takes a little cocktail conversation,
But without the proper preparation,
Having just a vision's no solution,
Everything depends on execution...

The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit.

Execution. Execution sounds wrong – and scary in the right context. This is both the fun and hard part of arts administration. The ‘cocktail conversation’ as a stepping stone for ‘funds for your foundation’. It is imperative for you to be out in the public making connections not only with artists and art administrators but more importantly art enthusiast, philanthropists, and benefactors. The sheer macrocosm of the number of people I meet at a single event is astounding and trying to keep names, positions, and relationships straight in the mind – let alone trying to cultivate them into fruitful long lasting partnerships – is an almost unnavigateable strait. But these individuals, INCLUDING YOU, are the most vital part of Artes de la Rosa. Did you know individual donor contributions make up a crucial part of Artes de la Rosa revenue? Ticket prices do not begin to cover the costs of venue, artists, designers and musicians. Individual donations are the foundation of what allows us to keep prices on our tickets so low. Low ticket prices are the key to our accessibility. That is an unwavering commitment that we are not willing to negotiate. Keep the prices low so that we can see new faces and create new fans while celebrating our old ones!

Link by link, making the connections
Drink by drink, taking every comment as it comes.
Learning how to play the politician
Like you play piano, bass and drums.
Otherwise you'll find your composition
Isn't gonna get much exhibition.


Part Two of Adam's post to come next week! Also be on the look out for a Casting Announcement for our Cuban inspired production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.

OUR FIRST POST

Greetings from your friends and family at Artes de la Rosa! We're so glad you chose to stop by and read our Blog! In the future you can hope to read blogs from directors on our stage, painters in our galleries, actors in our plays, and even our staff!

We'll be updating at least twice a week and giving you the opportunity to really find out what happens behind the scenes at ADLR! Later this week you'll see a blog from our Executive Director Adam Adolfo on what he does as the head of the organization, giving it a clear voice and direction for the future!

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