In Grand Rapids, Michigan (the home of GEM Theatrics) this week, an annual arts festival, Art Prize, has begun. Artists of all stripes, from painters and sculptors to photographers, graphic artists, filmmakers, live performance artists, musicians, and some that defy category meet to exhibit their creations and to have their works seen, and judged, by art critics and the general public. There are monetary prizes awarded to those deemed most worthy.

In this two-part blog entry, our intern, Max Granitz, ruminates about the meaning of patronage and support, both external and internal. Artists have needed patrons for as long as people have tried to make a living bringing art to human civilization. Art needs the support of those who enjoy it. While big donations are great (and we would love to have them!), you can support the arts by buying a ticket, or hiring a performance troupe, like GEM Theatrics, to bring a production to your organization or venue. Support the arts! You'll be glad you did!

In the second part, Max shares a personal experience about how tough it is to maintain a constant performing life. It's an experience he grew from, and we applaud him for sharing it!

Attendance vs. Patronage: How to Truly Support the Arts
By Max Granitz
 
As I have said before, I have had the pleasure of being in the audience for many incredible performances: from West Michigan all the way to London’s West End. Now, I may not have a guaranteed future working around the theater directly. However, I make it a point to always be a supporter of the arts.
 
It is one thing to simply attend a performance, with the sole intention of going for the show itself. But as someone who has been on both sides of the curtain, so to say, there is a difference between attending a performance, and being a patron of the arts. The definition of patron, however, is not necessarily someone who puts a lot of money towards a specific work. A patron is someone who, while attending a performance, considers all that went into making it happen.
 
There is a lot that goes into making a performance happen. Before the curtain rises, the cast spends a minimum of a month in rehearsal, the costume designers and set designers spend hours creating the world in which the actors live on-stage, and the directors and other creative team members work to make it all a success. And do not forget the playwright, and, in the case of a musical, the composer(s), lyricist(s), and musical director(s), who most likely put years into crafting the words the cast speak/sing.
 
The next time you are in the audience, whether at a university, at a local theater, or even in Chicago or New York, think about all this. Patronage can be a lot of things, depending who you ask. It can be just buying a ticket; it can be acting as sole financial backer of a large-scale production. However, true patronage, coming from someone who’s seen both sides, is appreciating, truly, the work of all who made the performance happen. If you can understand this, you are an arts patron, regardless of economic commitment to a performance.

When discussions come up concerning college programs in the performing arts within Michigan, they tend to revolve around the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor location, Western Michigan University, and Wayne State University.
 
These schools offer numerous performance spaces, intensive training, and frequent productions throughout the academic year. Their admission processes are competitive and many students do not make the cut. In West Michigan, the colleges offering fully-developed theater programs are Western, Aquinas College, Kalamazoo College, Hope College, and Grand Valley State University.
 
I cannot speak for the rigor of coursework and quality of productions at the three colleges, aside from a single performance in March at Aquinas. However, in the case of Western and Grand Valley, I can speak to the former through what I have heard from acquaintances and friends, and to the latter through personal experience.
 
Western offers, as mentioned, multiple productions in the same time frame (often performed simultaneously in different spaces), intensive training (BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) programs in Acting, Design and Technical Production, Stage Management and Musical Theater Performance), and the admission processes for all four specialties are incredibly competitive.
 
Western does not allow non-majors to perform in or work on all productions, unlike Grand Valley, where a student must rely on talent to successfully audition regardless of major/minor, and any student may work backstage.
 
Grand Valley does not currently offer a BFA in theater. Rather, a student may choose between a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. Students are expected to complete coursework not just in performance, but in stagecraft, production, directing, theater history, and costume design. Students receive a wide-reaching education that in truth prepares them for working in theater more adequately than a BFA program.
 
The performing arts are constantly adapting to societal changes, and those looking to work in any capacity in that sphere must be well-rounded in order to succeed. I have attended a handful of performances at Western, and while there are more dynamic spaces for performance and the students are undoubtedly talented, Grand Valley offers a different experience.
 
Grand Valley, on average, performs four to six shows a year. The addition of a new black box theater will most likely increase this number in the next few years. And each performance I have attended as a student, based off what I can see as well as my interactions with various theater students, is truly a team effort. Students I personally know have gone from being on-stage to backstage between productions, have acted and then assisted in the costume shop, or may have never even been on-stage.
 
But the opportunities are there not just for theater students, but the entire Grand Valley student population. And that collaborative dynamic, with the wide range of students who participate in departmental activities, is the very reason Grand Valley’s production quality, from what I have witnessed, is above a school such as Western where you typically can expect a similar experience each time.
 
If a student wanted the easy route to a job in theater, they would go for a BFA. But if they truly wanted to work hard and expand their skill set beyond what they already possess, a more liberal education-based program would really be the best route. And from what people who have worked in the world of professional theater have said to me, it’s not the training or experience that are the final determining factors when looking for jobs, though these definitely help. It is what you do in that moment before the casting table.
-- Max Granitz

In today's post, our intern, Max Granitz, explains how he got started in the theater and encourages anyone with an interest to 'take the chance.' We agree! And, more than that, we offer help to anyone willing to give the stage a try. Mary Beth and I both have experience teaching beginning actors how to use their innate gifts to improve their performance skills. Through private lessons, we can help with script analysis, characterization, physical movement, and vocal training. For the more experienced, we can help with monologue selection and polishing, as well as audition tips to give actors the best chance to get the roles they want. If you'd like to improve, get in touch with us!

‘Welcome to the Theater’: If You’re Scared to Begin
By Maxwell Granitz
 
The narrative of the Broadway actor/actress who has been performing essentially since birth and has found nothing but success since childhood is, in my experience, completely false. Many people I have met in the performing arts, at Grand Valley and beyond, have admitted to only beginning in the performing arts fairly recently.
 
I did not really act until I was sixteen, and in my third year of high school. I had tried (emphasis on tried) to get involved in the school musical the year before, but I will simply say the timing wasn’t right. So, at sixteen, I acted in a small role in that year’s straight play, Flowers for Algernon; began singing my school’s all-male choir; and, that spring, was a member of the ensemble in my school’s production of Hairspray. I did one more play in my senior year, You Can’t Take it With You, and spent another year in choir. Thus far, in college, I have only done one play: Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.
 
However, I have stuck around the arts, and been an advocate and voice for the public support of the arts.
 
I know many people who are intrigued by the idea of performing, but are frightened of the thought of getting on a stage before a crowd. Speaking from personal experience, it can be scary. You can rehearse and practice and warm up as much as you want, but every performance is unpredictable and different to a certain extent.
 
Start by going to see a local production, or a national tour of a Broadway production. Don’t sink the money into traveling to Chicago or New York, when it comes to your introduction to the theater. The first show I really can remember seeing is the first national tour of Wicked, at the age of ten.
 
If your high school, college, or community theater is having auditions for a show, reach out to the person in charge. Ask questions. “What are the requirements for auditions?” “How long is the rehearsal process, and how much time would I be committing?” In the case of college productions, ask if you must be a theater or music major to audition.
 
One can only prepare to a certain extent. You have to understand that you, in all likelihood, are not the only person auditioning who is just starting out. Everyone has to start somewhere, even the greats.
 
Take the leap of faith. Take the chance. In my experience, I am so glad I did.