Linda Essig
Director, School of Theatre and Film: Arizona State
University
Posted 3.31.2007
Arizona State University (ASU) has just received a sizable
grant from the Kauffman Foundation to facilitate a
campus-wide entrepreneurship effort. How will this support
impact the School of Theatre & Film?
The Kauffman Foundation’s grant to ASU is designed to
foster cross-campus entrepreneurship education at every
level. A small but very significant part of the grant is
coming to the School of Theatre and Film to further our
efforts in arts entrepreneurship education and
entrepreneurial activities. We have taken an
entrepreneurial approach to performing and media arts
education for some time, but the grant has provided the
incentive for us to organize those efforts more coherently
under one umbrella, which we are calling p.a.v.e: The
Performing Arts Venture Experience.
Could you describe p.a.v.e?
As our website states, p.a.v.e paves the way to the future
of the theatre and film arts by investing in student
innovation and creativity, supporting arts entrepreneurship
education, and undertaking entrepreneurial activities.
Essentially, p.a.v.e has four components, the largest and
probably most impactful of which is direct investment in
student entrepreneurial activity. Modeled on an existing
ASU student entrepreneurship “incubator” called Edson
Student Ventures, p.a.v.e will provide both financial and
in-kind support for student generated arts ventures.
Although we are still a few weeks away from our deadline, I
believe we’ll see proposals for an alternative theatre
festival, several film production companies, and a media
education initiative.
We’ll also be able to enhance our arts entrepreneurship
curriculum and open it to a cross-campus audience through a
series of visiting artists/speakers/entrepreneurs.
Additionally, we’ll assist in supporting faculty
re-training in arts entrepreneurship (which is leading to
our first cross-campus course in arts entrepreneurship next
fall).
Finally, through p.a.v.e, we will be able to establish a
business infrastructure for student film production and
other off-campus performing arts projects.
What where the School of Theatre & Film efforts
in arts entrepreneurship education previous to
p.a.v.e?
We have had a curricular philosophy that focuses on the
artist as an integral member of society and on training the
student artist to develop and support their creative
opportunities. This approach is seen in our film producing
curriculum and theatre courses such as Theatre Organization
and Management and Theatre for Social Change. We’ve had a
class for several years called Student Production Board,
which is designed to provide guidance to a completely
student-organized and run production company.
Could you describe some of your student's
entrepreneurial projects?
Well, the deadline for the first round of p.a.v.e
submissions is not until April 2, 2007 but projects that
preceded the grant deadline included the establishment of a
theatre company for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
teens (QSpeak Theatre) and a self-supporting film festival.
Is the p.a.v.e project a part of larger effort by
the Herberger College of the Arts to offer or integrate
entrepreneurship education to Fine Arts students beyond
Theatre & Film?
The College does not have an entrepreneurship program per
se, but the p.a.v.e program is geared to ALL performing
arts entrepreneurs, not only those in the School of Theatre
and Film. There are some incentives built in to encourage
cross-departmental and trans-disciplinary projects.
How is the rest of the campus supporting the
p.a.v.e project?
We’ve been working closely with Julia Rosen, Assistant VP
for Research and Economic Development, as well as Kimberly
Loui who leads the University as Entrepreneur program, to
link with existing programs like Edson Student Ventures.
Also, and quite importantly, we’re connected with Skysong,
ASU’s Entrepreneurship Center. Skysong is a new mixed-use
development in south Scottsdale that will be the physical
location of many of ASU’s entrepreneurial endeavors,
including, at least in part, p.a.v.e. It isn’t scheduled to
open until 2008, however, so right now its run out of my
desk drawer, so to speak.
What role does creativity and innovation play in
p.a.v.e? How will it be taught and evaluated?
I know that “creativity studies” is a hot topic right now,
but in the arts, we teach creativity in everything we do.
Creativity is not a separate discipline. Similarly,
"innovation" can’t be taught, but it can be supported and
nurtured. While we have no intention of seeding projects
that are “just another student film,” the p.a.v.e steering
committee established the following criteria for projects:
• Advance innovative forms of creative expression through
filmmaking or live performance
• Combine existing disciplinary knowledge in unique and
original ways
• Make innovative use of existing technologies to support
the creation of filmed or live performance projects
• Develop new technology for the creation, delivery or
dissemination of filmed or live performance
• Initiate the creation of new business models to advance
and support the theatre and film arts
• Create and develop innovative arts education concepts and
programs, either within ASU or in the broader community
Because the p.a.v.e committee consists of a
cross-disciplinary group of professionally active faculty,
we will be able to assess the “newness” of venture ideas as
well as feasibility.
What are your student's and faculty's thoughts
about p.a.v.e? How involved were Theatre & Film faculty
in the planning process?
Most faculty members are enthusiastic; a few are
indifferent; none are opposed. Whether they are film
producers or theatre specialists, all of our faculty
artists have been and continue to be in the position of
creating their own opportunities. So, they are excited
about having a platform in place to pass that knowledge on
to their students. There is a group of five faculty who
make the p.a.v.e. steering committee. We’ll review student
and faculty proposals, program guest speakers and –
eventually – symposia.
Some student groups (Student Production Board, ASU
Filmmakers Association) have been fully briefed on the
project and are looking forward to diversifying their
entrepreneurship education (as well as tapping into some
additional funds!). I’ve started in a more general sense to
work p.a.v.e. and arts entrepreneurship into the large
Orientation to Theatre and Film class I teach. Students are
intrigued.
Could you describe the desired student outcome for
the p.a.v.e project?
The School of Theatre and Film mission statement calls for
the education of imaginative, knowledgeable skilled and
responsible artists, scholars, teachers, audience members
and advocates for the future of the theatre and film arts.
If we can help students develop an innovative project in a
financially and artistically responsible way, we will have
done our job.
You can respond directly to Linda Essig.
