Interview with James Haskins, Managing Director of The Wilma Theater

The Wilma Theater’s Managing Director, James Haskins and ArtsLine sat down to discuss the assessment and development of the Wilma and how the recession has offered generous ideas in ways they approach patron loyalty and their identity as a great theater company.

AL: What are the duties of a managing director?

JH: In a performing arts organization the Executive Director position is split between the roles of the Artistic Director who oversees everything artistic and the Managing Director who oversees the management of the organization.  In terms of looking at aspects of the organization that reports directly to me, we’re talking about the business office, marketing department, development, aspects of production and the Education Director. Overseeing all the aspects of the organization as well as managing and communicating with the board of directors. With this organization there are three of us in the roles of executive leadership, but I tend to take the primary role in board communications and board stewardship.

AL: What makes the Wilma Theater different from other theaters in the area?

JH:Sometimes I leave that to the people who attend to tell us how they perceive it as different. But I’ll tell you what I perceive to be the unique piece of the Wilma Theater.  Last night I went to see The Rabbit Hole at the Arden Theater and though it’s a wonderful play, but I could immediately identify that that type of play would never be produced at the Wilma Theater. It’s more of a domestic drama. At The Wilma Theater, we tend to do very texted based plays that have an international influence that deal with contemporary issues. But I would say, for me what seemed to be distinguishing about the Wilma before I came here, is that there is a real marriage of the written word between the performing art form and the visual art form.  I think the collaboration of that coming together to make an artistic whole is, with the text as the center of the work, makes us a bit unique. Also because, the Artistic Directors are from the former Czechoslovakia, there is a sense of European influence on the work although when they go back to Prague they are told they are very American.  But, the rehearsal process, the time devoted to technical rehearsal is very extensive and I think that’s part of what distinguishes the physical aspect of our productions.

AL: How important is it to establish an identity for your audience to relate to and recognize?

JH: It’s an interesting question because I think identity tends to relate to subscription models that people will subscribe to an organization because of the identity of the organization itself. Subscriptions are declining and people respond more to the individual productions, then they do to the identity of the organization. Right now we are challenged in that regard on whether people are responding to identity or whether people are responding to the plays we select.  Obviously the plays we select are influenced by our identity or vision, but more and more people are responding more to play selection than organizational identity. In addition to that though, as a non-profit organization when we rely on significant amounts of contributed income, I think identity plays a very signification role. I think we receive individual contributions, we receive grants from foundations and government agencies and corporations because of who we are and the identity of the organization. So I think that does become very important and plays a key role in particularly contributed revenue.

AL: Which theater is your biggest competitor?

JH: We actually have the most cross over audience with the Arden Theater, which is a surprise to some people.

AL: So, if an audience member has the option between the Arden and the Wilma Theater, what is the perception of the play selection at the Wilma?

JH: I think there is a perception of progressive or provocative or even cutting edge, some people have even used avant-garde, which I don’t think is the right description for the work that we do. But I do think that we do look at the theater not simply for its entertainment value, but for work that is intellectually stimulating and socially relevant. We are producing all four of our plays this year that have been written in the past three years although they are all very different, but certainly dealing with a lot of contemporary issues.

AL: How many subscribers does the Wilma currently have?

JH: We have 4600 subscribers, though we offer all sorts of different packages for people to purchase. Flexed, fixed, student, senior and we even did a co-subscription with Philadelphia Theater Company where you can pick two from them and two from here.

AL: How would you say Wilma creates patron loyalty?

JH: Well, I’ve been here for 3 ½ years and I think for quite some time, patron loyalty simply came because people were very interested in the work that the Wilma produced. We have two Artistic Directors who have this unique story of escaping Communist Czechoslovakia to come here and start a theater company that produced provocative work and that inspired people to attend and that created loyalty. The theater was over on Sansom Street which is now the Adrian Theater and moved here in 1996.

Anytime you move an organization to a larger space, people are going to have negative and positive feedback in regards to that move and programming and all of that. So, I think there was a shift of that point in time in patron loyalty factor. Even though now we believe that the work we produce on stage is a risk, the risk we take is a little bit more common place. That the fact that we take a risk and state that it is a risk, it no longer becomes a risk if that makes sense. So, I think that almost at times we are in a stagnant period. We are interested in rejuvenating and revitalizing the Wilma and looking at different models, because we tend to produce intellectual work and work that people may feel is a bit dense or inaccessible.

There has been more of a perception that there is a certain level of elitism to the Wilma, that without changing the programming, it’s a perception that I’ve worked very hard to counteract. Certainly a lot of that has to do with the customer service we provide in the box office and the other source of interaction that we engage in with our audience. We use a phrase that we use a lot when speaking about the Wilma; the conversation will linger long after the curtain falls. That is something we want to engender with our patrons where they will have an experience here that they will want to talk about. You may not like the play, but you’ll certainly talk about it. We often have talk backs to create that dialogue. Those are some of the ways. I’ve made an effort to create a different spirit to the point where I give almost all of the opening speeches so that I am a physical presence with our audience as opposed to having an intern that would change every show to give curtain speeches and welcome them to the show. Right now our patron loyalty is more focused on the experience they have around the production.

AL: What are some of the ways you would measure a patron’s loyalty?

JH: We measure by subscription renewals and contribution; both the amount and the number of contributions. Someone who gives a $10 contribution suggests that they have a level of loyalty that goes beyond just subscribing, even if it’s just a $10 contribution. We have people that give $10,000 contributions that probably attend less productions and that’s a different kind of loyalty and a different kind of measure. Looking at actual attendance numbers, we have a system that scans the tickets after each show so we know who used the tickets and who didn’t. So, if subscribers do not use their tickets, we’ll send them a message saying, hey we noticed you missed our show the other night, is there a reason, and would you like to pick another show. That is a measure of looking at the amount of people that come versus the number that do not come and how they respond to follow up.  Also, each night our house manager collects comments from a hand full of patrons to get reactions to the productions. I think also that seeing a collection of all those comments help us access and monitor loyalty.

AL: Have you changed prices on subscriptions/tickets in order to stay with the competition in the theater sector?

JH: Yes, we look at all of that. People have lots of opinions on what pricing should be. When you choose prices, you are also stating how you value the work that you produce. There is one aspect that because we are on the Avenue of the Arts, people are looking at us not just with the other theater companies but also the Kimmel Center, that serves the opera, ballet and orchestra.  The idea has been that we should set up pricing that corresponds with their pricing. But others feel as though that’s not our direct competition, but rather we should look at other theater companies. We’ve experimented with a lot of different pricing models, this year we went for a different approach with an easy pricing model so that people can exchange. There are upgrade fees involved with the exchanges so we minimized that because it becomes a big inconvenience, I think.  So, we changed the way we priced so that we are more consistent across the board, except for Saturday nights. But, yes, we do look not only at our peers here but we also have resources to look at pricing nationally with theaters of our size and then try to take economic circumstances into consideration, but it’s tough right now.

AL: The GPCA released a survey in October stating that while attendance remains strong, the lag effect of the economy takes its toll on other forms of government, foundation, and corporate support. Is the Wilma experiencing any form of decreased monetary support?

JH: We are. I would say in government funding. I actually feel very fortunate in how the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts decision played out. There was a time that they were talking about eliminating it all together. We actually saw a 15% decrease in last year’s grant which was pretty good considering what we were expecting. Our National Endowment for the Arts grant decreased from $30,000 last year to $20,000 this year. That was really an issue where we had a conversation with the NEA to find out why. There was a situation where there were more applications as opposed to us having a weak application. We did not receive a Stimulus grant that we had hoped to receive. Corporate support is up in the air. We still have a number of asks that are out and we do not know what to expect as a response. Foundation support is very strong right now, but they are on a three year rolling average, which means that probably when we are going to be hit is next year or the following year as opposed to this year.

AL: Have you done any of the following examples in response to the economy change?

• Reduce staff/hours: I have reduced staff. Mostly mid-level staff, the managers.
• Decrease programming: Not to speak of. We’ve altered our studio school which is a component of the education department.
• Producing programs with lower budget: We have done some budget cutting. It’s something that we are exploring right now. The two biggest expense items are the size of the cast and the expense of the set. We have a very wide and deep theater space. Sometimes it can be very difficult to do a minimal set, because it just looks very odd. So that’s a challenge and we are looking right now as we plan for next season the cast and size. That, if we have a large casted show that we think is going to make us a lot of money would that net be the same as a smaller cast show like Coming Home that would net a modest amount. So we are weighing right now to determine the decisions for the future.
• Reducing marketing budgets: That’s hard. We have reduced some. Whenever you reduce your marketing budget, you’re reducing your ability to generate income. Although the other side of marketing is that it only takes you so far. After the show opens, reviews and word of mouth is what really sells tickets. Marketing really pushes the pre-sale before the actual opening. Then it’s word of mouth. Particularity now because everyone is texting and tweeting someone about their show experiences.  It’s a juggling act with marketing, but if you cut marketing budget too much, you’re compromising your ability to sell tickets and that goes hand and hand with the income you generate.

AL: What are some of the goals the Wilma Theater would like to put into action over the next five years?

JH: We are looking at a couple things. One is in addition to a year to year season planning, we are thinking about doing projects that need more than one year to plan and produce. We are also looking to do more collaborative work with theaters around the country and other disciplines, so that we can incorporate more original music or incorporate dance or find unique ways to collaborate with other artistic disciplines. We are probably going to embark on a two year long research project and look at patron loyalty and programming and see if we need to shift how it is that we produce work. Right now we produce four plays that each run for 5 weeks. Two are directed by Artistic Director Jiri Zizka and the other two, by Artistic Director Blanka Zizka and that’s what we do. It may be time that we shake up that model and realize that this is a world premiere and something we believe in artistically that we need to produce that because its unfamiliar should we reduce the run of the show because people may not come and see it.

AL: As far as board development, how reflective is your board against the community that you serve and programming?

JH: No, I wouldn’t say so. We have board members that have been with the organization for 10-20 years. Also, some new comers, but what tends to happen is that people on the board will bring other like minded people that serve on other boards with them. Right now we have a per ponderous of board members from the Chestnut Hill area. We lack diversity in terms of race, age and its gets hard when you talk about economic status because they are expected to make a contribution, so members are expected to have a certain economic status. But I think it does limit in terms of the other aspects that are brought to the board. It’s an ongoing challenge that we face in board development than other organizations do. The nominating committee is aware of it and always attempts to seek out new members that would bring different influences to the board, but it is an ongoing challenge.

AL: Do you feel as though the board and the organization are open to broadening the perception of the theater?

JH: Yes, but it’s a challenge. We are very actively engaged in the program that we are calling Building the Audiences of Tomorrow.  It’s towards college level students and inner city high schools. The impact of that has been pretty profound in that Coming Home was a very successful show in terms of getting students involved. We bring theater to their classrooms and get them prepared by giving them study and teaching guides before they come to the Wilma. What we want to see eventually is that they come back on their own and experience theater, because they want to, not because they are told to.  We’ve discovered that students feel more comfortable with what they know. So that has a lot to do with the loyalty towards the Wilma and that’s the approach we are taking. Unfortunately this specific population is not ready to step up and be board members.  So, there is a gap of people in their 20s that are interested in theater, but when they reach their 30s and 40s, there tends to be a dip in their participation and then they come back once their children are older. But, overall we are becoming more and more successful in diversifying our audience base, but I don’t think the board is reflective of that audience base.

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