Tom Carto looks at the Overture Center’s 2008-2009 season
Overture and its community
Overture and its community
groups like the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Ballet and Madison Opera, that caused many to view it, rightly or wrongly, as an elitist institution that only
the well-heeled could partake of. And so, it has become Carto’s mission to dispel that image and broaden the support for Overture while watching the center’s
bottom line.
One way in which Overture has sought to broaden its appeal is through a revamping the structure of its subscription ticketing. “You can now get a five-show,
seven-show and a nine-show package in our subscriptions,” Carto said. “It used to be a minimum of seven. So we really relaxed that and made it more appealing
to those who wanted to buy a subscription package. And we encourage them — it’s like a menu — to pick 2-3 things they know they will like and then add 1-2 that
they might not be sure of, but they might want to experiment with. We’re seeing more people dabble in that and do that. And we have suggestions for people on
how to package that, things that are family friendly or cutting edge or world music or something like that they might enjoy. I think we’re seeing more response to
the flexibility that we’ve offered out there in the subscription package.”
Carto also changed the pricing-structure for the shows in Overture Hall and the Capitol Theater. “We introduced a new, low-cost price category for
everything that we do,” Carto said. “If you go into Overture Hall, I don’t think there is a bad seat in that house. It’s an incredible venue, 2,250 seats and every seat
feels like you are right there. It’s incredible the way that Pelli built that. Even when you are in the balcony, the stage is right in front of you. You aren’t way in the
back. It’s an incredible thing the way it was built. So we introduced a fourth price category. There used to be three. The fourth category is going to make just
about everything we do affordable.”
Overture has also created some change-of-pace with some of its venues to create some new looks and ambiences. “This Dixie’s Tupperware Party that we
are doing in Promenade Hall is one of the bigger picks because it is so unusual and interesting,” Carto said. “We very rarely present things in Promenade Hall,
which is one of the black box venues that we have. It’s a cabaret style seating. It’s a very interesting show. It’s very funny and edgy. That’s turning out to be a very
popular pick. Another one is we’re doing a cabaret-style event on the stage of the Capitol Theater where we have a catered dinner and cabaret show right on the
stage. You’re sitting on the stage so you can see out into the house that beautiful, historic Capitol Theater and enjoy an evening from a stage view rather than an
audience view. The production is actually out in front of the stage on an extension on the stage facing back in to the stage. So you are looking out into the
house and you’re seeing the cabaret act in front of you. It has a catered dinner and a cash bar. People can relax and enjoy a casual evening in a historic
theater.”
In order to get broader community participation in Overture, Carto and his staff have taken lesser known acts out into the community to create a community
buzz about the production before the actual scheduled performance in Overture. “We have some really great acts that we’re doing artist residencies and weekly
residency events with,” Carto said about the 2008-2009 season. “Luna Negra is an example of that. We had great success last year with Sones de México. We did
7-8 events that week out in the schools and out in the community and culminated in the performance here, which sold out. It was a great week of outreach and
community engagement. We’re going to do the same thing with Luna Negra this year. We have Kodo, a wonderful Japanese percussion group. We have the
Assad Brothers who are great guitarists. We’re doing some outreach with them. We found that when we bring in some of these artists that people haven’t heard of
and we know how effective they are as artists and how they can engage not only underserved audiences, but the community, we set up residency activities and
events leading up to the performance so people know what it is and what they are getting rather than just sending someone out and saying ‘Here’s a show we are
doing. Have faith in us. You’re going to like it.’ It’s much more effective to get them out into the community and getting a buzz going about it. Get kids talking
about it and they tell their parents and it ends up that they come and see them. Sometimes we’ll get a late push on something like that once the buzz gets out
there. And a lot of these performances that we do, the ultimate result for us is not necessarily the ticket sales and making a profit. The result is making an impact
on the community so people understand we are fulfilling our mission of community engagement.”
Overture has also reached out beyond its 11 residence companies to forge partnerships with other organizations and events that will possible bring new
patrons into the center. “The Wisconsin Book Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival, Jazz at Five, with all of these things that people know and love, Overture is
becoming more connected with and partnering with,” Carto said. “So we attach ourselves and partner with them. It helps them and it helps us. And it sends a
signal to the community that we want to be a community partner. And we want to be a part of that community conversation and people feel comfortable when
they come in here.”
And then, there is a greater diversity of programming that Overture has introduced for the 2008-2009 season in response to market demand for more diverse
programming. Shows from Bill Cosby to the Mayhem Poets, a spoken word group, to the Song & Dance Ensemble to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will be
performing at Overture.
The impression that the Overture Center is elitist may still remain for many. “Some think Overture is unapproachable,” Carto reflected. “It’s a little bit
intimidating. ‘What do I wear? When do I clap?’ We think we can make big strides in breaking those barriers down through a number of things, not only through
our programming and fulfilling our mission, but also in finding ways to make Overture more inviting to the community.” Carto and his staff have gone a long ways
to dispelling that image with its line-up for the 2008-2009 season.
the well-heeled could partake of. And so, it has become Carto’s mission to dispel that image and broaden the support for Overture while watching the center’s
bottom line.
One way in which Overture has sought to broaden its appeal is through a revamping the structure of its subscription ticketing. “You can now get a five-show,
seven-show and a nine-show package in our subscriptions,” Carto said. “It used to be a minimum of seven. So we really relaxed that and made it more appealing
to those who wanted to buy a subscription package. And we encourage them — it’s like a menu — to pick 2-3 things they know they will like and then add 1-2 that
they might not be sure of, but they might want to experiment with. We’re seeing more people dabble in that and do that. And we have suggestions for people on
how to package that, things that are family friendly or cutting edge or world music or something like that they might enjoy. I think we’re seeing more response to
the flexibility that we’ve offered out there in the subscription package.”
Carto also changed the pricing-structure for the shows in Overture Hall and the Capitol Theater. “We introduced a new, low-cost price category for
everything that we do,” Carto said. “If you go into Overture Hall, I don’t think there is a bad seat in that house. It’s an incredible venue, 2,250 seats and every seat
feels like you are right there. It’s incredible the way that Pelli built that. Even when you are in the balcony, the stage is right in front of you. You aren’t way in the
back. It’s an incredible thing the way it was built. So we introduced a fourth price category. There used to be three. The fourth category is going to make just
about everything we do affordable.”
Overture has also created some change-of-pace with some of its venues to create some new looks and ambiences. “This Dixie’s Tupperware Party that we
are doing in Promenade Hall is one of the bigger picks because it is so unusual and interesting,” Carto said. “We very rarely present things in Promenade Hall,
which is one of the black box venues that we have. It’s a cabaret style seating. It’s a very interesting show. It’s very funny and edgy. That’s turning out to be a very
popular pick. Another one is we’re doing a cabaret-style event on the stage of the Capitol Theater where we have a catered dinner and cabaret show right on the
stage. You’re sitting on the stage so you can see out into the house that beautiful, historic Capitol Theater and enjoy an evening from a stage view rather than an
audience view. The production is actually out in front of the stage on an extension on the stage facing back in to the stage. So you are looking out into the
house and you’re seeing the cabaret act in front of you. It has a catered dinner and a cash bar. People can relax and enjoy a casual evening in a historic
theater.”
In order to get broader community participation in Overture, Carto and his staff have taken lesser known acts out into the community to create a community
buzz about the production before the actual scheduled performance in Overture. “We have some really great acts that we’re doing artist residencies and weekly
residency events with,” Carto said about the 2008-2009 season. “Luna Negra is an example of that. We had great success last year with Sones de México. We did
7-8 events that week out in the schools and out in the community and culminated in the performance here, which sold out. It was a great week of outreach and
community engagement. We’re going to do the same thing with Luna Negra this year. We have Kodo, a wonderful Japanese percussion group. We have the
Assad Brothers who are great guitarists. We’re doing some outreach with them. We found that when we bring in some of these artists that people haven’t heard of
and we know how effective they are as artists and how they can engage not only underserved audiences, but the community, we set up residency activities and
events leading up to the performance so people know what it is and what they are getting rather than just sending someone out and saying ‘Here’s a show we are
doing. Have faith in us. You’re going to like it.’ It’s much more effective to get them out into the community and getting a buzz going about it. Get kids talking
about it and they tell their parents and it ends up that they come and see them. Sometimes we’ll get a late push on something like that once the buzz gets out
there. And a lot of these performances that we do, the ultimate result for us is not necessarily the ticket sales and making a profit. The result is making an impact
on the community so people understand we are fulfilling our mission of community engagement.”
Overture has also reached out beyond its 11 residence companies to forge partnerships with other organizations and events that will possible bring new
patrons into the center. “The Wisconsin Book Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival, Jazz at Five, with all of these things that people know and love, Overture is
becoming more connected with and partnering with,” Carto said. “So we attach ourselves and partner with them. It helps them and it helps us. And it sends a
signal to the community that we want to be a community partner. And we want to be a part of that community conversation and people feel comfortable when
they come in here.”
And then, there is a greater diversity of programming that Overture has introduced for the 2008-2009 season in response to market demand for more diverse
programming. Shows from Bill Cosby to the Mayhem Poets, a spoken word group, to the Song & Dance Ensemble to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will be
performing at Overture.
The impression that the Overture Center is elitist may still remain for many. “Some think Overture is unapproachable,” Carto reflected. “It’s a little bit
intimidating. ‘What do I wear? When do I clap?’ We think we can make big strides in breaking those barriers down through a number of things, not only through
our programming and fulfilling our mission, but also in finding ways to make Overture more inviting to the community.” Carto and his staff have gone a long ways
to dispelling that image with its line-up for the 2008-2009 season.
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
When Jerry Frautshi donated $205 million — $105 million in a direct donation and $100 million to an
endowment invested in the stock market to pay construction debt and future maintenance — to build the
Overture Center for the Arts, it was both a boon and a hindrance to the building of a sustainable world-class
performing arts facility in Madison. It was a boon in that in a relatively short period of time, the Overture Center
was built. It was a hindrance in that it didn’t build a broad enough base of financial and community support to
sustain Overture over the long term.
“Overture came about in a very unusual way, through the extraordinary generosity of an individual giver,”
Carto said during an interview in his office overlooking State Street. “That hasn’t happened in this country.
Usually it works out from a big capital campaign where you spend five years cultivating the community and you
do a campaign and you have big donors and medium donors and small donors all the way down to the brick
and the sidewalk with your name on it. And by the time the doors open, you’ve accumulated this great
ownership into the building. Fundraising is friendraising. And that’s not the way Overture came about.”
And perhaps it is the way it came about and the emphasis placed on it being the home to 11 residence arts
Part 2 of 2
When Jerry Frautshi donated $205 million — $105 million in a direct donation and $100 million to an
endowment invested in the stock market to pay construction debt and future maintenance — to build the
Overture Center for the Arts, it was both a boon and a hindrance to the building of a sustainable world-class
performing arts facility in Madison. It was a boon in that in a relatively short period of time, the Overture Center
was built. It was a hindrance in that it didn’t build a broad enough base of financial and community support to
sustain Overture over the long term.
“Overture came about in a very unusual way, through the extraordinary generosity of an individual giver,”
Carto said during an interview in his office overlooking State Street. “That hasn’t happened in this country.
Usually it works out from a big capital campaign where you spend five years cultivating the community and you
do a campaign and you have big donors and medium donors and small donors all the way down to the brick
and the sidewalk with your name on it. And by the time the doors open, you’ve accumulated this great
ownership into the building. Fundraising is friendraising. And that’s not the way Overture came about.”
And perhaps it is the way it came about and the emphasis placed on it being the home to 11 residence arts
Tom Carto has been the president/CEO of the
Overture Center since early 2007
Overture Center since early 2007