Nederlander to manage UA Presents programs

Nederlander, which operates Broadway in Tucson, will manage the operations of the University of Arizona arts presenting program, which has been plagued with turnovers and low ticket sales.

“In the long term, this is a much stronger approach for UA Presents,” said Jory Hancock, who as dean of the University of Arizona’s College of Fine Arts oversees the program.

Lendre Kearns, general manager of Broadway in Tucson, and its marketing director, Mario Di Vetta, will provide management and marketing services for UA Presents.

The UA will pay $145,000 a year to Nederlander, plus provide office space worth about $10,000 annually. In addition, Nederlander will get a portion of ticket sales.

“We are hoping the efficiencies gained in having this experienced management company will really give us the freedom to design a slightly different, more interesting season,” said Hancock. “The beneficiary of all this is the public.”

Kearns and Di Vetta will continue as employees of Nederlander and will program and present the Broadway in Tucson musical theater series.

UA Presents will have a minimum of three employees in the office, all on the UA payroll. They will be responsible for fundraising, marketing and programming the season for UA Presents.

“Those are positions we want as dedicated functions that solely have UA’s interest in mind,” said Hancock, who would not say if the two marketing and programming employees currently on the office payroll will remain. Centennial Hall staff — a staff Kearns has gushed about since Nederlander made the switch from the Tucson Music Hall to Centennial three years ago — is not expected to change.

The switch in management does not mean Nederlander will program UA Presents’ seasons, insisted Kearns and Hancock.

Nederlander will, however, help the programmer negotiate artists’ fees — another advantage for UA Presents, given Nederlander’s national presence with Broadway theaters and around the country.

Turnover has been excessive in the UA Presents management staff, which has been without an executive director this season and recently lost its marketing director and the assistant to Itzik Becher, who is director of programming and development. Finance director Sharon Young, an assistant dean in the College of Fine Arts, oversees the day-to-day operations.

Kearns thinks if morale is an issue, her experience will help dissipate it.

“My responsibility isn’t to make people happy,” she said. “It’s my job to create the environment in which people can do their best work and feel supported in doing it. Hopefully, doing their best work will make them happy.”

Though Kearns will be consulted on hiring the UA employees, the final responsibility will fall to Hancock.

Nederlander’s main performance space is Centennial Hall, and for three years it has coordinated dates carefully with UA Presents, which also uses Centennial. That will continue, said Hancock.

But the UA Presents programming position is another layer to ensure that Nederlander won’t grab the most attractive dates, he added.

“The calendar is a balancing act,” said Kearns, who noted that Centennial Hall is also used by a number of university departments, arts organizations, and for such events as high school graduations.

“We’ve certainly shown that it’s working out really, really well,” she added. “There hasn’t been stress in ensuring that UA Presents has the dates it needs to match maximum opportunities for its programs.”

The agreement allows UA Presents to get much more for its marketing dollar because Nederlander, acting as the advertising agency, will combine media buys, giving both organizations more buying power.

In the end, said Hancock, he thinks the Nederlander agreement will result in a heftier bottom line for UA Presents.

“We think it will save money because marketing and sales projections are so critical in your operations,” he said. “When you have an experienced team, we can anticipate greater savings.”

And that, he said, will allow UA Presents to bring in groups that are artistically important but may not draw the larger audiences, fulfilling its mission to bring “world-class arts to the Tucson community,” he said.

Kearns has overseen an expanded subscription base since she joined Broadway in Tucson eight years ago. She has been involved in arts management in both profit and nonprofit organizations since 1973, and one of her areas of expertise is audience development.

In addition, Nederlander has deep roots in the national arts community, and is willing to tap into them on UA Presents behalf. That is expected to result in more expansive programs for university students, such as master classes with artists and lecture series.

Databases of audience members and subscriptions will remain separate for both organizations, though they have promoted each other’s programs to their subscribers for years and will continue to do so.

The agreement doesn’t change the 2015-16 UA Presents season, which opens with Tony Bennett on Oct. 9. Nor is it expected to raise ticket prices.

But, Kearns said, the ticket structure trends have changed around the country — with some higher prices and some lower ones, and many more accessibly priced desirable seats. Those may eventually be implemented for UA Presents.

UA Presents publicly posted a request for proposal for the management contract in early March. Nederlander was the only organization to respond. The contract between the two begins July 1 and continues for three years.