Beyond The Product
Doug McLennan over at ArtsJournal has a blog post up today taking arts organizations to task for not keeping up with other entertainment venues when it comes to customer comfort.
"Despite the fact that the average concert hall was many times more expensive to construct than the new-generation movie complexes, the customer amenities inside the halls constructed over the past 20 years - how can I put this kindly - kind of suck... There's an argument to be made for preserving formal rituals in going out to see a performance. But things change. I like some of the rituals, but I have to admit I often resent the degree to which it is imposed by rigid seats and cramped legroom. And why can't I bring my drink back in to the show?"
This is the kind of issue that those of us who make our living on stage forget to think about most of the time - after all, we don't sit in those cramped seats very often, and to be perfectly frank, if you think the audience spaces are uncomfortable, you should see the backstage areas we work in. (Just for example, if we have more than three soloists on a single concert, we don't have enough dressing rooms for them.) But we should, and this ties into a much larger issue. Doug's been talking a lot on his blog lately about the need for arts groups to realize that we're no longer just competing with other arts groups - we're competing with baseball teams, rock bands, TV programs, and the almighty Internet, and we might want to start acting like we're aware of this.
As it happens, of course, the Minnesota Orchestra recently announced that we're intending to spend $40 million to upgrade Orchestra Hall, and nearly all of that money will be spent on audience spaces like our severely undersized lobby. Now, unfortunately, $40m isn't enough to suddenly transform a 35-year-old concert hall into this, but it's certainly enough to make a tangible difference in the concertgoing experience.
So what are your priorities? What, specifically, do you think we should be spending our renovation budget on? And what popular upgrades do you think would be a huge waste of resources that we shouldn't even think about bothering with?
"Despite the fact that the average concert hall was many times more expensive to construct than the new-generation movie complexes, the customer amenities inside the halls constructed over the past 20 years - how can I put this kindly - kind of suck... There's an argument to be made for preserving formal rituals in going out to see a performance. But things change. I like some of the rituals, but I have to admit I often resent the degree to which it is imposed by rigid seats and cramped legroom. And why can't I bring my drink back in to the show?"
This is the kind of issue that those of us who make our living on stage forget to think about most of the time - after all, we don't sit in those cramped seats very often, and to be perfectly frank, if you think the audience spaces are uncomfortable, you should see the backstage areas we work in. (Just for example, if we have more than three soloists on a single concert, we don't have enough dressing rooms for them.) But we should, and this ties into a much larger issue. Doug's been talking a lot on his blog lately about the need for arts groups to realize that we're no longer just competing with other arts groups - we're competing with baseball teams, rock bands, TV programs, and the almighty Internet, and we might want to start acting like we're aware of this.
As it happens, of course, the Minnesota Orchestra recently announced that we're intending to spend $40 million to upgrade Orchestra Hall, and nearly all of that money will be spent on audience spaces like our severely undersized lobby. Now, unfortunately, $40m isn't enough to suddenly transform a 35-year-old concert hall into this, but it's certainly enough to make a tangible difference in the concertgoing experience.
So what are your priorities? What, specifically, do you think we should be spending our renovation budget on? And what popular upgrades do you think would be a huge waste of resources that we shouldn't even think about bothering with?
posted by Sam at
1:31 PM
7 Comments:
There is not a single concert venue that I know of that would not benefit from more women's restrooms.
1. More restrooms, more elevators, fewer stairs.
2. Better PA systems when comments or announcements are made.
3. Display of texts for choral/vocal music like is done for operas.
Bill in Dallas
All new seats. This has been my bugaboo for several years now. The seats in the auditorium are worn, have lost their cushioning in most of them, and feel like sitting in wood chairs. They remind of the seats in the Uptown Theater except not quite as old and without the sticky spilled pop.
The lobby doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother other people -- I don't spend a lot of time in it. But I would agree that it's more cramped than it used to be.
I love Peavey Plaza. I hope that's left alone. Thanks.
Personally, I don't think Orchestra Hall has an overwhelming amount to do. That said, 40 Million isn't going to go very far. Most of what sits high on my list falls into an aesthetic category. To do this in this economy is to keep this orchestra as one of the top-players on the world stage. The woefully depressing budget slashing that has occurred recently can really hurt an orchestra's image.
Currently we have an outstanding, and I do mean, OUTSTANDING Music Director in Osmo Vänskä. The orchestra also has wonderful players, who play with an edge-of-their-seat intensity on many nights. I for one, very much appreciate this sort of thing. I have always believed that you will never find a great orchestra playing in a bad hall. So the hall is one peg on the wheel to this wonderful organization.
The MN Orchestra has an outstanding home, certainly acoustically - yeah, it's a bit bright, but overall I really like it. However, it's really not much to look at visually.
#1: Lobby - I believe what would really look nice would be to have bright glass windows for the entire lobby structure. It would be a clean but modern look. The lobby is cramped. I don't believe it is so much due to lack of space, although it is indeed small, but rather how the space is utilized. Get rid of the stairs in the main lobby as it should be flat. Stairs take away usable space. and slow people down. I spend virtually no time in the lobby because it is set up so poorly and you can't move around.
#2 - seating & floor coverings in the hall itself. Personally, I think the seating has held up quite well all these years, and I find the seats actually fairly comfortable. If you make them too nice, too plush, and cushy people will just ruin them. They have to be durable, and you do have to take some comfort away in order to make them durable. I don't believe the seating could make it until the next round of renovations, whenever that may be, so you'll have to replace them now. I believe a new color scheme is in order - dark red looks very professional and wears well. Don't sacrifice the leg room. Leg room is ample in this hall, and the amount of seats on the main floor is the perfect number - no need to make things tighter when you replace the seats.
#3: Stage: I really don't think I would do anything with this, other than some general maintenance, i.e. replace the wood surface. No need for a choir loft or any of that as it wouldn't get used on a vast majority of nights. I realize that's already been ruled out of the plan, but just to reiterate, it isn't needed.
Cont...
#4: Peavey plaza. It's great, but it's looking a bit ragged. Yes, I realize the City of Minneapolis owns that part, so I don't know how/what changes will be made to that. Personally, I'm of the belief that Peavey should be on one level...with a little bit more greenery. Having things sunk like it is now keeps you from seeing what's going on. Usually when the day of music is in action, I have no idea who is actually on stand at any given moment.
#5: A restaurant/wine bar - with seating. Very often I come to the shows straight from work. I'm usually somewhat hungry. It would be nice to have a place on site that served appetizers and drinks. Sort of like the clubhouse at the golf course. It wouldn't have to be very big...seating for gosh, 20-30 people maybe? (this is where an extension into Peavey could be beneficial, if possible). I can 100% guarantee you that I would spend ample time in there, and I think lots of other people would too.
So to recap, for the renovation, you need to get the lobby figured out. Make the hall look like a modern hall that people would want to come to visit and that people around the country will recognize and talk about. Perform some routine maintenance inside the auditorium in the form of new carpet and seats, and I believe Orchestra Hall will really take a step forward.
How does the orchestra plan on getting the money to do this is my question? First and foremost, I would prefer the orchestra stabilize the budget so that event slashing can cease. Once that is accomplished the focus can be put back on the renovation.
So there's time to work on this, but I wouldn't be lackadaisical about it either. There's been talk of renovation now for a full two years. So if this means manning the phones for long hours, let's get on it. I'm great on the phones Give me a phone and I'll get some people to chip in a few bucks for this thing, and we'll make this happen.
Long post...my apologies as usual.
I think the stage should actually be one of the highest, if not the highest priority, since it's the musician's home and there's been talk for as long as I can remember that it could use a lot of improvement so they can hear each other better. I had a tour backstage this summer and that needs some major help, too.
From an audience standpoint, the lobby is just horrendous, I actually base my seat locations on how quickly I can get out of there for intermission so I don't have to deal with it!
"And why can't I bring my drink back in to the show?"
1) Patrons like to swirl the ice in their empty cups, but probably not in time to the music. Annoying to say the least.
2) One spilled drink from Tier 1 onto a Main Floor patron would put an end to the policy, in any case, so why institute it in the first place?
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