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A Broadway company usually travels with four to six 54-foot semi trailers and about 60-80 cast and crew. The good news, is once an artist commits to coming here, they want to make it happen no matter what.īroadway dates are even trickier. He has a single date with us, but a larger tour overseas has come up that will be much more lucrative. I am currently dealing with just such an issue with one of the artists we booked for the 12-13 season. Sometimes this isn’t possible, and I’m put in the position of either paying a higher fee or not getting the artist.Įven after all this gets ironed out, there is still the potential that an artist might get a larger tour in another part of the world. I then talk to presenters of performing arts in all parts of the state trying to find additional venues. I get a lot of, “Isn’t the weather tricky that time of year?”Īdditionally, because of the distance and time it takes to get to Alaska, most artists want to have more than just one gig in Anchorage. Others don’t want to come to Alaska in the winter, which is when ACA is doing its work. Oddly enough, some artists are afraid to fly and only do dates to which they can drive. For every artist or group who does want to come here, there are two or three others who do not. I would say the biggest misconception about getting artists to come to Alaska is that EVERYONE wants to come to Alaska. Then you have to find those artists who are willing to travel to Alaska. For instance, if Alaska Dance Theatre is going to have a performance on one weekend, we try not to put an ACA dance concert on a weekend in close proximity. We like to try to balance what we do against what other local groups are doing. You have to balance who and what is currently touring and available against open dates at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. Season programming is the ultimate balancing act. Since the season has launched, I’ve had questions about why this and why that.Īll these comments boil down to the most common question I get about programming a season. I’m not sure, but I think the 2012-2013 season is our 62nd or so. Here it is May, the sun is shining, and the Anchorage Concert Association has finally gotten another season out the door. – ACA Education & Outreach Director, Erynn Smith For us, Rock of Ages is ACA’s mix tape for you, and we hope you enjoy it. If someone made you a mix tape, you knew they had put countless hours of work and thought into it. Mix tapes are just like iPod mixes, but a lot more time consuming to create. And just like my 6th grade dance, I will be anxiously awaiting each song. I have no doubt that I will be smiling the entire time during this show. I remember where I was, what I was doing and how I felt. When I hear songs like “Anyway You Want It” and ”Sister Christian” I am transported back in time. Set in 1987, it has some of the best rock songs of the 80’s – songs by Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Styx and more. To me, Rock of Ages is like an 80’s mix tape. I mostly remember anxiously awaiting each song and watching my classmates reactions, hoping they liked my mix tape. I don’t remember much about the dance other than where the boom-box was located. After a good amount of Aqua Net hairspray, I was super-stylish and ready to go. I topped it off with a turquoise belt that formed a “v” around my waist. When the night of the dance arrived I dressed in a long, jean skirt, a button down blouse with squiggly, multi-colored squares (borrowed from my mom’s closet), and pastel colored sneakers. I am fairly positive that the tapes included songs by Madonna, Janet Jackson, Genesis, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, George Michael and Cyndi Lauper. I spent countless hours going back to the original tapes, finding the songs, and recording them in the proper order for my mix tapes. Once I had my list of songs, I had to carefully choose the song order for my mix tape. When I got home I sat with pen and paper and wrote down the songs I wanted to use, approximately where they were on the tape, and if they were on side A or side B. Each day I turned the radio to my favorite channel, popped in a blank cassette tape and caught the bus to school. Plus, I had a boom box with two tape decks, so I could make an awesome mix tape. It was a natural fit since I loved to listen to music while dancing around in front of my mirror. I volunteered to be in charge of music for our 6th grade dance. Sure, the big hair and fluorescent fashion, but mostly the music. When I think of the 80’s, I think of the music.