2009年5月19日

藝術行政是Dream Job?

(耶?2007天作之合的照片,那程伯仁呢?哈哈,不好意思喔,蹲在下面被剪掉了,下次補你獨照!)

偶然在salary.com上面看到一篇文章,標題是 Dream Job: Artistic Administrator
平常非必要否則沒啥耐心讀英文的我,整個停不下來,因為該文實在講得太妙了
加上這幾天跟幾個在台灣的工作伙伴,聊到一些最近他們工作上遇到的問題,讓我頗有感觸
一方面思考著
其實劇場工作真的非常地迷人,但是幹行政工作存活下來的真的不多
問題到底是什麼?什麼樣的人才能存活下來?什麼樣叫做幹得好?
另一方面擔心著
我到底會不會就這麼跟小胖一直住在國外,沒辦法再台灣奮鬥
或者以後生了小孩,發現兩邊都顧不全?!

現在真的沒有答案。

不過,另一個想法浮現!
話說已經整整在劇場幹了十年,說厲害也真的沒有,就是累積了些實戰經驗
很多眉眉角角,總是從錯誤中學到不少珍貴的教訓,我超級想說給想聽的人聽!

對於台灣的劇場界,我有一種大愛的情操
吵過架,我認為是角度不同;討厭或不爽,我認為是個性不同
這些過程我都忘得很快,重點是,順利的完成,最重要
任何對整個劇場環境有幫助,就有意義,我願意做。

我總是願意分享我所有的經驗、不機密的文件與各種天馬行空的想法
也不怕後起之秀幹掉我,各憑本事與機運!
真有人能幹掉我,那劇場界也就多了個執行製作的人才,絕無損失。

劇場就是需要前人種樹後人乘涼
前人樹已經種了,現在不持續澆水施肥,樹就沒有長大的一天!

唉,真是人在海外,心在台灣劇場;離開不是一種背叛或遺棄,這想法太狹隘了
誰知道我在美國沈潛一段日子之後,會開竅變成大劇作家也說不定!(好啦,笑小聲一點可以嗎)

好,廢話太多,本篇的重點是要分享開頭說的那篇報導!
看人家資深的藝術行政怎麼描述他夢想中的工作
有興趣的繼續詳看全文,Let's READ it!

Dream Job: Artistic Administrator(出處在此

Making artists and audiences happy is tough work. "My job is to figure out what could go wrong and make sure it doesn't," said Fabbioli. "It's a great marriage of music and business. When people think everything was effortless, that's when I know it's been done right."
找出問題是什麼,而且確定問題不會發生!
當大家都覺得每件事很舒服沒負擔,那就是做得不錯。

No Broccoli
Internationally known musical artists call Joe Fabbioli by his first name, while entire orchestras go silent at his bidding. Concerts and parties fill his summer evenings, a welcome change from the contract negotiations that take up his days. And when a diva needs just the right iron to smooth her spectacular performance gown, she runs to him.
講到這阿,基本上還要演員抱怨戲服很皺,那服管就該被K了
邀請藝術家來演出,後台準備好一些必要用品
(熨斗、飲用水、衛生紙、貼心一點再準備點小甜點或果汁、泡麵、名產更好)

但是除非壓力大到MC臨時衝出來,那沒辦法
否則那種明知MC差不多快來,還不懂自備衛生棉
大家各自忙得要死,還得特地找排助或服管出門買衛生棉的,擾民!再大牌我都打x。

"One artist had a rider in her contract stipulating there would be no broccoli anywhere backstage. Another wanted blueberry Gatorade," said Fabbioli. As artistic administrator for the Ravinia Festival, the popular outdoor festival in a Chicago suburb, he has duties ranging from the financial and musical details of concert planning to the practical arrangements for performers. In 1999, more than 500,000 people attended 138 summertime concerts showcasing artists including violinist Midori and humorist Victor Borge.
哇!一年裡138場觀眾50萬人.....市場規模差真多!

Making artists and audiences happy is tough work. "My job is to figure out what could go wrong and make sure it doesn't," said Fabbioli. "It's a great marriage of music and business. When people think everything was effortless, that's when I know it's been done right."
做得不爽比賺不到錢更糟糕
做得很爽,或許拿不到錢,還不會太幹..........(是很幹!因為還是得生活下去吧!)

好吧,希望大家都可以做得很爽也賺很多錢!(作夢!)

Fabbioli has had 15 years to cultivate his steely nerves. He managed the Harvard University Glee Club as an undergraduate and held a postgraduate fellowship in orchestra management. In 1989, he landed at the Chicago Symphony Chorus as their manager.
花十五年琢磨成鋼鐵般的膽量!

At that time, the 160-singer chorus was preparing for its very first international tour. When Fabbioli wasn't balancing the $300,000 budget, fundraising, or handling payroll, he was making sure each singer was prepared to do his or her best. "And that's everything from making sure they know when and how to get to rehearsal to getting language coaching. You have to make sure the artists are singing the particular Latin that Beethoven had in his mind," said Fabbioli.
哈哈,這句話我確定Fabbioli肯定很有幽默感。

還沒帶過160人的團耶!很想挑戰
不過合唱團肯定是比舞團跟劇團容易多,人到臉打亮就可以開始演出了
那種舞台服裝道具還在船上或海關的事情,最令人焦慮!

In 1994, Fabbioli joined Ravinia as artistic administrator and began dealing more with the financial repercussions of music. Working with the festival's music director, Fabbioli makes sure the concerts are a "good dietary offering" for the public and showcase different genres, eras, and types of music. Performers also have a say, as one of Fabbioli's goals is to ensure the program is interesting for them too. But in the end, the concerts have to sell.
節目企畫得再好,票賣不出去也沒用!

我一直窩在製作這塊領域,其實也是蠻烏龜的,畢竟製作部門是內控成本,是花錢單位
花錢比較容易阿!多花跟少花的控制問題而已
賺錢比較難,都還沒看到成品就先把觀眾騙進劇場,這真的困難多了
我由衷敬佩做企畫與宣傳的伙伴們。

Making sure the program makes musical and financial sense, and everybody is excited about it, takes a number of skills in addition to musical knowledge. "You need an extraordinary amount of tact and attention to detail to succeed in this business," said Fabbioli, who will often discuss ideas directly with the artist or the artist's manager. "You have to know the right questions and whom to ask them of. It's OK not to know the Bach E minor Flute Sonata, but if you're proposing a concert series with all of Beethoven's piano sonatas, it's important to know that there are 32 of them!"
Fabbioli真的很有幽默感!
這在告訴我們藝術行政,你不用什麼都知道,但是該知道的不能不懂即可。

The job has periodic stresses, with weeks of 14-hour days during peak concert season. Such a schedule would tire anybody, but it's more of an issue for Fabbioli who has multiple sclerosis, a condition exacerbated by fatigue and summer's heat.
阿伯說得沒錯,壓力很大,忙的時候一天工作超過14小時、持續好幾個禮拜,很正常!
而且累到毛病會很多,需要經常去整脊跟按摩.....

During the season, a normal day finds him in the office at 10:00 in the morning, having gotten home at 1:00 the night before. He checks in with other staff and then makes sure all aspects of the production are in order, from the artist's pickup at the airport to the rehearsal arrangements. Artists of this caliber are rarely nervous, Fabbioli said, but they want things the way they want them. If an orchestra is playing, he makes sure the dress rehearsal is in order, and he might introduce the conductor to the orchestra, smoothing the way with jokes while reviewing rehearsal guidelines. For the rest of the day he "juggles 12 balls at once and tries to stay calm. You cannot solve problems if you're twitching."
每個人都會希望用自己熟悉的方式,尤其是藝術家,安全感影響著他們的演出品質
但是當台上有超過一種方式,那就需要事先協調!
協調,需要經驗與智慧(.....這說來話長了!喔對,還有剛才阿伯的幽默感)

我必須承認,我這個人做起事來一板一眼,好說話的人ok,龜毛的會引發我的雞巴性格
沒什麼幽默感,這真的應該要改進!

一次把玩十二顆球,我肯定沒辦法,但這個阿伯的話,是一定要聽的。

At the concert that night, Fabbioli might sit with his wife, who attends upwards of 40 events a season, but all the time he's making mental notes. During intermission he circulates in the audience. Are people happy with what they're hearing? After the concert ends, he debriefs with the artist and orchestra and then goes to a reception or party.
演出前,我會很焦慮演出能否順利;但演出後,最令人關心的應該是,觀眾反應如何
誰不想做那種觀眾愛得要死的戲呢!?
但為什麼爛戲還是很多?哈哈,這是個好問題。

Dealing with artists is one of best parts of the job. "For every successful one, there are 15 who didn't make it. These people are not just extraordinary talents; they are great risk takers." Some have demands and personalities to match, but it's Fabbioli's job to make sure music, not professional tension, is the only thing that ever reaches the audience's ears.
確實在協調或相處的過程中,好的結果非常令人愉快
一個成功中,有十五個是失敗的!這個比例還蠻嚇人的。

The compensation for such diplomatic and organizational wizardry is modest, salaries being typical of what a senior not-for-profit administrator would earn. But Fabbioli says with some emotion that he'd be miserable if he were in any other business: "I believe that music is from the soul, that it is a central part of the voice, if you will, inside people. To find that voice in oneself or to find it in others is just extraordinarily rewarding. I really believe our work improves people's lives."
NOT-FOR-PROFIT 的 REWARDING是什麼?
也就是說,目的不是為了賺錢,那是為了什麼?

夢想。

哈哈,這兩個字不知道讓多少人花費青春與金錢在追求
最好知道自己的夢想是什麼,不然可是會空虛得要死,將來很後悔。

大大奉勸把藝術行政當作Dream job的人,先想清楚囉。

- 本文採訪者 Ruth Morss, Salary.com Contributor

在此感謝本文作者
我得出門跑步運動了。

2 則留言:

碰碰 提到...

左邊側欄還有一堆其他的dream job更有意思!種聖誕樹的農夫、雲霄飛車設計師、搖滾巨星...哈哈哈哈!!

amica 提到...

很有趣的文章..很有趣的照片
弟弟被喀掉
哈哈哈