Alysa VandenHeuvel
Position: Performing Arts Manager
Organization: Gunnison Arts Center
What does your job entail?
I manage all programming for our music concerts. We hold a free summer concert series for the community, with concerts in Legion Park on Sunday nights. I book all the bands for that series as well as for a First Friday Art Walk that involves up to 10 galleries. I also book a few concerts and workshops here at the Arts Center. In all, I book music for about 20 events per year.
In addition, I run the programming for our dance studio—all ages of dancing starting at 2 years old and all the way up seniors. And I do the producing for our 8-10 theatre productions every year featuring all local actors and local directors.
When hiring live music acts, how do you find talent that fits your organization's needs? A lot of people contact me. I have not had to reach out very often to find bands to play here. We have quite a few local bands that I really enjoy featuring first, before hiring out-of-town bands, but maybe one-quarter of the groups we present are from Denver, Boulder, or Paonia. Paonia, which is just half an hour from us, has a huge music scene. (Photo: Sundays @ 6 free concert series held in Legion Park, Gunnison. Photo by Matt Burt.)
What is your greatest challenge as a booker?
Finding people to attend our events. Also our calendar—we have so much going on that there’s often an event every night of the week; it can be stressful on the community as well. I do find some local sponsors around town to help with certain events, and I do extra promotion for the events that aren’t free to the public. Another challenge is price; I try to negotiate with the band or the workshop instructor to show them our not very large budget and explain what would happen if we raised or lowered the ticket price.
What is the biggest red flag or turnoff in considering an act?
For music, it would probably be price. If the group wants an amount that’s out of our budget, and they aren’t able to negotiate due to their own legitimate needs, sometimes we just can’t match up on a price. As far as dance productions go, we don’t have a big theatre and some groups just can’t perform here. We work closely with the Crested Butte Center for the Arts; they have a larger theatre.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
I love experiencing an event or a class going well, where the students or audience members walk out feeling refreshed and inspired, like they’ve learned something.
What is a local act that you booked recently that was especially successful, and why was it a success?
We recently presented an event called “Singer Songwriters in the Round.” A local singer songwriter, Chris Coady, approached us; he had done a similar performance here before and he had some singers who had just moved back into town. The other performers that night were Evelyn Roper, Kevin Walter, Alan Wartes, and Issa Forrest. I loved how they were able to talk about each song and give some background about it before they played it, rather than a regular concert, where you just go from one tune to the next. This event took the experience to another level and got the audience thinking more about the art of songwriting. I think it got the musicians even more inspired about the songwriting process, too.
