Theatre director named to national symposium

Tom Webster, director of UM’s University Theatre, will be in elite company this April when he participates in a symposium in New York City organized by Duncan Webb, a national leader in theater management.

The event — “The Performing Arts Center of 2032” — will bring together between 30 and 50 experts in theater facilities and other theater experts from across the country for a two-day discussion about the future of performing arts centers. It is sponsored by Webb Management Services and Americans for the Arts.

Webb, who recently completed a feasibility study for a performing arts center in Missoula, is the author of “Running Theaters: Best Practices for Leaders and Managers.”

His New York City-based consulting firm, Webb Management Services, assists decision-makers in creating and sustaining arts and entertainment ventures. Last summer the firm won a contract with Gehry Partners to map out structural foundations needed for theaters planned near the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero in Manhattan.

Symposium participants will discuss the wide range of issues associated with performing arts centers, including: where the money will come from to build and sustain them; if planned buildings are the right buildings for the future; how buildings can remain relevant in their communities; and what changes will be likely in audience attendance.

Webster looks forward to the discussion. He said technology also is a huge factor when planning for a performing arts center. Technology at future centers likely will be much different from today’s venues, he said. For example, simultaneous digital feeds from a performing arts center could be streamed to cell phones, YouTube or directly to an audience member’s home.

“This industry is so fluid,” he said. “It’s changing on a daily basis. For instance, you’re going to be able to get tickets on your cell phone, go to the concert and the bar code will be read from your cell phone to get in. Then, at the end of the concert, you’ll be called on your phone and asked if you want a download of the concert you just attended.”

The growing cost of building arts centers also is a main concern, Webster said. The current $60 million projected cost for a new performing arts center in Missoula could be $100 million in 10 years.
“Whatever information I get there, I can bring back to help with long-term planning here (at UM),” Webster said, “and if Missoula does get funding for a center, I can add some expertise there.”

Webster joined UM as an events coordinator in 1994 and became director of the University Theatre in 1996. He teaches an event management course in UM’s School of Business Administration and is listed as one of several facility managers from across the country who contributed to the research of Webb’s book.