Silver Fox Advisors - Case Studies

CASE STUDY: Organizational Transformation

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

An African-American theater company is located in the Watts section of Los Angeles. They have a long track record as an inner-city cultural icon and arts venue.

PROBLEM ENCOUNTERED

The theater company was at a crossroads: pigeon-holed as a ghetto inspirer for youth. Corporate donors were not willing to support another arts group that was focused primarily on addressing poverty or helping to curb it. Donors wanted to support the arts on a broader scale. Many of the creative talents who regularly volunteered for service at the theater had stopped participating.

SILVER FOX ADVISOR INVOLVEMENT

They heard Silver Fox advisor Hank Moore speak at a national conference and engaged him to analyze the organization and offer strategies for change. Moore talked with theater patrons and saw a trend toward cutbacks in services and dwindling community support. Patrons cited poverty conditions and their own shrinking abilities to support an arts group.

Moore knew the reputations of theater directors and principals...most of them being prominent black actors and directors in mainstream Hollywood productions.

Moore energized the theater board to remember why they got into show business. Part of their passion was to produce works that might be ignored by mainstream Hollywood. Part of their purpose was to showcase up-and-coming talent. Another was to showcase performers who might be stereotyped in films or TV but who could "spread their wings" on the legitimate stage.

Moore convinced the board to think of themselves as a cultural "brain trust" for all of Los Angeles, not just the Watts section. By shining a bigger spotlight on a city-wide venue, then the opportunity for contributions, support and longevity would emerge.

Moore encouraged the board to contact and re-engage the talents of the city's arts visionaries. He suggested ways that the theater could collaborate with educational institutions and the studios themselves. The goal was to transform thinking and operations to that of an umbrella arts organization, leaving opportunities for future expansion and alignment with theaters in other parts of the country.

CONCLUSIONS

The theater company reconstituted itself as a semi-professional company. Keeping the inner-city mission, the company sought to broaden its base. A new corporate culture was designed, along with a funding campaign, volunteer recruitment and the solicitation of properties for an expanded performing arts program. As a result, the company is getting donor support for an expanded arts complex. The future of this inner-city icon is now as a West Coast cultural destination. It is being grown and expanded, as a beacon to other arts organizations.

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