Customer Reviews

Running Theaters: Best Practices for Leaders and Managers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I plan on having every employee in my building read this book. I have found no other book that is actually insightful and informative about my sometimes lonely & always hard-fought profession - running a non-profit performing arts center. It was truly wonderful to hear other voices on the subject, especially those who are established leaders in the field. The author has provided invaluable information on doing just about everything my staff and I do on a day-to-day basis; we all think we're doing our best, but this book helped me see other ways of doing my job that might make time spent at work more efficient and (maybe, just maybe) less stressful. I highly recommend this book to anybody involved in operating a theater.

As books about performing arts administration go, this one wasn't bad. Webb consolidates a lot of good research regarding theater management. However, what was missing was synthesis of the many, many, anecdotes offered by theater managers across the country. Webb's "let them speak for themselves" sometimes left me hanging for a larger point.

There are several chapters, however, which provide a decent overview and would be good inclusions in a course reader. The "Facility Development" and "Audience Development"chapters are particularly good for this purpose.

I bought this book a while back but did not read it until recently. It was surprisingly jam-packed full of very useful information that most of us don't learn in school or on the job. I liked hearing from people in the industry about specific things that have worked (or not) in real life. This is not a bunch of theory and management speak but real practical and pragmatic suggestions that you can use tomorrow at work. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works in the performing arts.