Name: David Kortes
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Year in School: Second Year MAAA Student
GA Position: Events and Outreach Assistant with IU Cinema
Q: How did you come to find yourself at the MAAA program?
A: My undergrad in Milwaukee was percussion performance. So, you know, to the utter delight of my parents, I had the whole idea of getting a performance degree, or maybe a performance Masters, and becoming a gigging musician or teaching at the collegiate level. And then I remember, vividly, one day for a masterclass, our professor brought in someone auditioning for an orchestral position and they had this stack of excerpts and said “I have to memorize all of these and I don’t even know if I’m even going to get the job…” And I go “that ain’t it for me!”
Then, also during my undergraduate, I did a lot of work with our student organization for our percussion studio. We were able to apply for grants and funding that fixed a lot of our equipment and allowed us to start a steel pan program. We bought a used set of steel pans with funding through the student organization and I went “Huh… now this could be something.” I did research on other schools, but my professor knew someone who went to the MAAA program here at IU and so I applied, got in, and now I’m here.
I, frankly, have loved every second of the program. Being somebody that’s coming straight from undergrad into Arts Administration, which I had no idea what it was, I mean, I had an idea what it was, but I had no idea what to expect. Being accepted easily by my peers and actually enjoying the studies that I’m doing now, I cannot ask for anything else.
Q: What’s been your favorite part of the program thus far?
A: Is it a cop out to say coming back in person, being with people? With COVID and everything it’s a great time to do your studies. I started fall of 2020 which was completely online, as was the spring semester of 2021. So a year online and a year in person. But coming back in person and actually getting to meet people, it’s been so great.
Q: What’s been the most challenging part of the program thus far?
A: The practical piece of everything with COVID… I didn’t want to do practicums online and fully remote.
Q: What practicums did you end up completing?
A: I did a shadow opportunity with the Executive Director of the Percussive Arts Society during PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) and that was amazing. And I’m doing the Leadership Seminar Series. I’ve also been working with Dementia Friendly Bloomington on their Arts Council. So what that includes is going to meetings and talking about what we can do because it’s pretty much a brand new arts board in Bloomington. I also helped the IU Cinema get to Level Two status on their website. So now, if you’re a person living with dementia, IU Cinema is a safe space for you to come into and enjoy our content. Being able to, you know, learn about a community that not a lot of people think about… We want everyone to be included.
Q: Your GA role is with the IU Cinema, correct?
A: It is. I’m the Events and Outreach Assistant with IU Cinema. I was placed into it through the O’Neill Service Corp. Fellow Program.
Q: What do your day-to-day responsibilities with IU Cinema look like?
A: Whenever the Cinema has events, I act as a house manager making sure everything is going as smoothly as possible. I’m also responsible for managing volunteers that sign up for events and assign them to jobs like ticket scanning, greeting patrons, etc. When I’m not working screenings, I’m busy with planning for student outreach events like First Thursdays Festival and organization fairs. Some of my planning includes getting flyers made up for upcoming events and sometimes showing trailers for the films showing at the Cinema that week.
Q: What is your favorite project, event, or initiative you have worked on so far?
A: Even though it may not seem like a glamorous or exciting project, my favorite one must be creating a scoring system for the Jon Vickers Film Scoring Award. It was enjoyable to spend the time to research scoring systems used by similar competitions and try to relate it to what we were looking for. It was also a very rewarding experience as it led to me creating a scoring system that will be used for the foreseeable future. I also received a lot of great feedback from my supervisor and the panel of judges who used the rubric I created for it.
Q: How does your class work overlap with your GA Position?
A: There is a good amount of overlap with classes especially when it comes to being organized while I work. I’ve been able to learn a lot of useful skills from classes like Performing Arts Center Management and Audience Development that have set me up to deal with situations that might arise with administration and more importantly, our patrons.
Q: What is the most beneficial part of participating in this Assistantship?
A: This assistantship has taught me that what really matters to an organization is the community that it serves. IU Cinema’s vision is to create transformative cinematic experiences FOR ALL and they really show that right when you walk through the door. Whether you’re a regular patron or someone just walking in for the first time, they make you feel welcome. Throughout my course work here we have always talked about how having a great connection with your community can make an amazing organization, and IU Cinema is truly a perfect model for that.
Q: What advice would you give for students who are interested in this type of work?
A: When working in administrative positions that involve aspects of events management, it’s always important to have fun and be excited for the work that you’re doing. If you know how to have fun during your events it makes the experience so much more enjoyable for not only you, but your patrons and those that are working with you. It’s always a great time working events with my co-workers/volunteers when we can laugh and joke around together.
Q: What are your thoughts about graduating in May? How are you feeling?
A:I’ve already been applying to jobs. I’m looking at moving back to the Milwaukee/Chicago area. I’ve applied for two jobs so far. One in Chicago and one in Milwaukee. An entry level development role and a role in community outreach and events. And there’s a major gifts officer position I’m also looking at. So more in the development area as a lot of jobs are there right now.
Q: What sort of long term goals are you thinking about?
A: To be a Development Director of some kind. You drink the Kool-Aid of the MAAA program to and think “maybe I could even be an Executive Director someday.”
Q: There’s a lot of misconception around what Arts Administration is. How do you explain it to your family or people you may meet that don’t understand what “Arts Administration” means?
A: Whenever I talk to people our age outside of the arts and I say I’m getting a Masters in Arts Administration and they ask what that is I say it’s arts business and they’re like “oh okay that makes sense.” That works for family too but family will ask what you can do with that. You can do anything with Arts Admin and the nice thing is that a lot of the stuff that we learn here translates to just about anything business related.
Q: And how would you explain Arts Administration to a ten year old?
A: Haha! “You see the people onstage? Well you see there are also people behind the stage and offstage that help put on the show because, Little Timmy, we still need money!”
Q: If you were to meet someone who might be considering a degree in Arts Administration, what would you say to them?
A: Don’t shy away from opportunities that come your way. Also, don’t be afraid to seek out opportunities because you never know what’s not being advertised. That’s how I got my practicum with Percussive Arts Society. I talked to the Executive Director during the Informational Interviews we needed to do for practicum and kept a relationship going. Then one day, during the summer a couple of months before the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), I just sent an email that went “Hey! I just got my badge for PASIC. Could I hang out with you and shadow for a bit?” And he goes “Of course!”
Then my internship, which I did for Third Coast Percussion over the summer and into fall, I was just sitting in on a talk about Arts Marketing and then one of the ensemble members goes “we’re looking for interns, email me and we’ll talk!” I emailed him asking to intern and that my interests are in development which he shared with the Development Associate who immediately went “Yes!” You never know. If someone tells you no it’s usually a “no, not right now” not a flat out “no.”
Q: What advice would you give to fellow peers and fellow arts administrators?
A: No matter what you do, just have fun. That’s kind of been my philosophy.
Q: What’s on your arts and culture bucket list?
A: The thing is, I’ve never been to New York City. So, I’ve got to go. I’m a very big Broadway fan.
Q: Favorite work of art (any art form, genre)
A: Third Coast Percussion’s Archetypes album, which they just received three Grammy nominations for.