The show must go on....

For those of you who even slightly know me - you know I am a Broadway nerd and concert geek. Not hard to fight it - and I don't want to fight it. We all have our "things" and we should be proud of it. I definitely am.
I've been lucky to seen many shows and get a different experience than most. From my time interning and then working at the Hennepin Theatre District - my passion has only grown. Since I left the theatres, it has been hard to feel like that part of my life is gone (in so many ways) but I'm happy to report that part of that is coming back to my life in a very unique form. I was invited and asked to be a part of a new group that the non-profit part of the theatres, the Hennepin Theatre Trust, is creating for young professionals, ages 21-39. There is a HUGE need for involvement and education in that age group - one that has been ignored for a while. There definitely are YP groups that have recently been formed, some successful and some not. But this really is the group that needs to be engaged and focused on. Yes, it is fantastic for people to have the appreciations for theater and the arts - but from a monetary aspect, it is important to keep those people interested and excited because they are the future donors; they are the people that will keep organizations alive with their financial support. If you only focus on the current donors and money that is coming in today - pretty soon those donors will have all died off and you are left with people who put their money elsewhere and then what? It is crucial to involve and educate people our age in order for the survival of the arts and arts organizations. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who were never introduced to the arts when they were younger and therefore don't know about or care about its well being as they grow older.
Okay - enough of my preaching. Last night was the first meeting of the board members of this new group called, "The Scene". And for those of you counting (at least I know I am counting! lol) I was the person that came up with the name of the group. Back in March when I attended the show Rent with some former co-workers - they told me about this new group they were in the beginning stages of forming. I was so excited about it that the next day I started brain-storming names and ideas. I quickly e-mailed them to my co-worker and the next thing I know, I find out they picked MY idea for the name of the group. I was pretty excited and honored to have been a part of that. And then when I was asked to be on the board - I was even more ecstatic. Bascially the board is consisting of young professionals who have some connection to the theaters/theater arts/downtown mpls. People who are passionate about getting others involved and excited about what we already know is an amazing asset to our community. Minneapolis is actually the #3 city in the country when it comes to theater. How about that?!?
In any case - I guess I'm sending this out into the blogsphere - Have any of you ever been involved in a "young professions" group? What did you think of it? What did you like? Dislike? What worked and what didn't?
We are really trying to learn from other groups and hope to not make the same mistakes they have made. We are also trying to distinguish ourselves in a different way from other YP groups. Many people believe that what YP groups are becoming just a meat market and way to get hooked up - just parties and cocktails. While we definitely know that the social/cocktail aspect of the group is an important one to get people involved, we are also looking to reach out as a philanthropic group - not only helping ourselves by being involved but looking out into the community and support Hennepin Theatre Trust as a non-profit and helping it succeed. There are so many ideas out there and we are at the very beginning of putting these ideas down and finding out what works. But we are looking to others for ideas as well in what they would find attractive about a group like this. We are still in between if there will be a small fee to be a part of the group or if the first year is free and then we will start charging. We are already thinking about the benefits of being a member including discounted tickets, pre/post show parties, discounted merch, partnerships with restaurants and hotels and the list goes on. Another part of this group is helping to maintain the Hennepin Ave Arts District. The president of the trust has worked long and hard to get Hennepin Ave to what it is today - and if you think it is still pretty sketch - you should have been there 10 years ago and seen how far it has come. We are hoping to maintain the viality of downtown mpls and the theater district as an important part of the city.
While I could ramble on and on about things - I will stop and hope you would take a minute to write me back and let me know any thoughts or ideas you have about this group. Any interest or none - what would draw you in or push you away. What would you pay annually to be a part of this group? What excites you about the theatres and the shows?
Anything you would like to share is important and will really help the growth of this group. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a part of this and how pumped I am to get this group off the ground. Looking forward to hearing what you (and everyone else) think!