CHANGING TRENDS,
NEW STRATEGIES
by Steve Gelfand, Director TTB
It was my pleasure to attend The Twelfth Annual TMA Conference, held in East St.
Louis, Illinois on Monday August 13 and Tuesday August 14, 2007. The Conference
was well attended by delegates to the TMA as well as guest speakers from the AFM
and the St. Louis labor community. TMA President (and President of the Musicians
Association of St. Louis, Local 2-197) Vicki Smolik did a great job of
organizing the Conference.
Executive reports were given by Vice-President George Troia and Executive
Director from Chicago Tom Mendel, TMA member from Northern California Tom
Bertetta, Executive Director from Southern California Bob Sanders, and Executive
Director from St. Louis Aileen Friedel. Directors at Large Rich Tremarello and
Rich Genovese gave reports on the status of theater in their area of the
country.
Pat Glynn, former AFM Director of Touring Theatre and Booking addressed the
delegates of the TMA late Monday afternoon. Pat proceeded with an informative
presentation that outlined the status of all the touring shows presently touring
including their most up to date changes in orchestration. He also included in
his report an analysis demonstrating a shift in the trend over the last ten
years. Ten years ago the tendency was for audiences to wait until a Broadway
show traveled to them. In 1997, there were 22 shows that ran on the road and on
Broadway respectively. The number of show/weeks were about even. For the 2007
season, Broadway ran 28 shows with a total of 280 performances per week, while
the road supported only 13 shows with a total of 118 performances per week. This
analysis can help us understand yet another aspect of why we are experiencing
less work in the touring department and locally.
As the Conference began concurrently with my first day as AFM Director of
Touring Theater and Booking, the conference represented a wonderful opportunity
for me to meet with the contingency of players and many of the Local officers
with whom I will be working. I immediately found myself immersed in discussions
about the ongoing issues faced by local players and local officers. One bell
rang loud and clear. It is important for the locals and their musicians to know
in advance what shows are coming and when they are coming. I want to assure our
members that as soon as we receive new itineraries or updates about a show the
TTB department will make sure it gets posted on our website.
I look forward to seeing you at the next conference.