Chicago, Chicago, That Toddling Town

Raised as a Pure Michigander, frequent trips to the Midwest's New York City were standard. Of course, Michigan Avenue is Chicago's main tourist attraction so during the weekend visits (aka shopping sprees with mom), we never made it further south than Grand (aka Nordstrom). Embarrassingly enough, we finally discovered Rush Street in just the past three years.

So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I made the decision to relocate to this magical city this past summer. I was determined to experience everything Chicago had to offer, everything I had been missing out on those weekends I was busy paying 4% more for the same sweater I could purchase in Michigan -- hey, I was on vacation! I had never ridden the train -- not that it's anything to write home about -- never visited the surrounding neighborhoods, never been exposed to the Theatre District, never attended one of the festivals, never been to the museums; the list goes on.

That's why I'm grateful not only for the invaluable career-oriented experience I'm gaining from The Silverman Group, but also the crash course covering the culture of Chicago. In the past three months, they’ve provided me with opportunities I would not have been able to experience in three years on my own. I've attended Joffrey Ballet rehearsals with reporters previewing the performances. I was able to compare the choreography unfolding two feet away from me with the press-attended opening night performances viewed from the back of the breathtaking Auditorium Theater. I've also had the chance to work directly with the promotion of the hilarious A Christmas Story, The Musical! TSG invited press members to a rehearsal at the Oriental Theater where I was able to assist and interact with the amazingly talented and mature cast largely comprised of kids under ten years old. TSG even trusted me enough to let me staff an event on my own last night! The Fulcrum Point New Music Project introduced me to, you guessed it, new music at their Benefit Concert. The unique performance was held at the Chicago Cultural Center, another one of Chicago's gorgeous gems I had yet to visit, and I was able to mingle with the musicians, board members and guests at the reception afterward. And the excitement continues next week! I’m anticipating I will “find Christmas” in the words of Cindy Lou-Hoo and my holiday spirit will skyrocket when I accompany Beth and Erin to the unveiling of LIGHTSCAPE on State Street.

These are just a handful of the exciting, one of a kind experiences TSG has allowed me to be involved in, and I'm sure many more are to come with the holiday season creeping in. Who knows, they may even suck me in for another semester! Stay tuned…

The All-Important (and Sometimes Unattainable) Agency Experience

Word's from TSG's awesome 2011 Fall Intern, Alina.

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I graduated in 2010 from a Big Ten school with a pile of student loans and no means to pay them back. How did I get here? I did everything I was supposed to do. I entered an accredited university, chose and excelled in a major broad enough to provide options yet focused enough to enjoy a specialized area of interest, I volunteered and completed three internships in my field, I joined a sorority, I built my network through experienced professors with connections, and I participated in my PRSSA chapter. So I’m sure you can imagine my confusion when I crossed the stage with a $40,000 piece of paper in my hand and I lacked the pool of job offers I was told a college education would guarantee.

Six months before graduation I began applying to all the big PR firms with offices in metro-Detroit. The common thread in the impersonal rejections: “no agency experience.” How could that be different than all the experience I had gained in internal PR departments? And if it is, how could I gain that experience if none of them would hire me?

Fast forward one year and a rainy relocation later: here I am, a graduate student working full-time between two internships in successful PR agencies. And guess what? The rejections were right.

Agencies provide a much deeper understanding of the practice of PR. My creativity and writing skills have been challenged as I’ve had to adapt to different clients and styles of writing. I’ve gained further insight into crisis management. I have sharpened my event planning and coordination abilities. My media relations knowledge has more than doubled in the past two months with the opportunities to accompany the executives to press events and interact with journalists one-on-one. And I have absolutely mastered the art of time management. Overall I’ve learned that PR offers a more sophisticated means of communication. My interest and faith in the industry has been restored by its unrestricted nature, and I’ve decided that publicizing the arts and entertainment fields is what I will continue to work toward.

So I want to thank The Silverman Group for taking a chance on someone with no agency experience and providing me with what truly has been a unique learning opportunity. And to all the recent graduates encountering the same problem, I encourage you to remain a current and viable asset in this industry. Enroll in graduate school and move to a more vibrant market. Join your local PRSA chapter and engage in interesting conversations with successful people. Volunteer, offer your services to local businesses, and inquire about job shadowing to get you one step closer to that hiring manager. Most importantly, don’t give up. Eventually your dream agency will recognize your potential and your increasing proficiency will transform you into the PR professional you’ve worked so hard to become.

5 Things I’ve Learned About Arts Publicity

Words from one of TSG's excellent 2011 Summer Interns, Deirdre.
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I’ve been an intern with The Silverman Group for a couple of months now and I can honestly say that I’ve learned quite a bit about arts publicity. A lot goes on behind the scenes of promoting art, theater, dance, music and other entertainment clients that I didn’t expect. I came up with a list of five lessons I’ve learned about arts publicity and will dive a little bit deeper into each lesson below. Warning: this list is not meant to scare anyone away from pursuing a career in arts publicity, it’s just a heads up on what you can expect!

1. Publicists are busy; Journalists might be busier.
My point here is that it is important to not waste a journalist’s time. I’ve noticed that they tend to be overwhelmed with endless stories to cover, so their time is precious. This was never more evident than the first time I was assigned to call up the major news desks to confirm they received a media advisory from us. Within seconds, I already felt like I was wasting their time, as they rushed me off the phone. With the decline of the economy, it’s no secret that many journalists now individually cover double to triple the amount of work that they used to. Since journalists are so busy, it is important for publicists to make a client’s event super easy to cover. We can do this by creating clear, concise media alerts. Make sure that the necessary information is laid out for them to see and that the supporting facts are easy to find. The less research an editor or reporter has to conduct, the more likely they are to cover a story.

2. Just because you think an event sounds newsworthy, that doesn’t mean reporters will.
Even the catchiest media advisory can’t save some events from little coverage. I learned this lesson at the first event I helped staff, in which no reporters (with cameras) showed up to film. I thought the event sounded like the definition of newsworthy. It was a collaboration event between a live music orchestra and some award-winning filmmakers. I thought I’d see as many camera crews as I did hipsters, but I was wrong. I guess it’s not always realistic to expect a lot of media coverage, which I’m sure seasoned publicists understand. All you can do is try your best to get the word out there and hope news outlets will show an interest.

3. A Publicist must be a know-it-all, of sorts.
At least it helps. I can’t count how many times the office gets phone calls from people—whether clients, reporters, or agents, asking unexpected questions. As a publicist, it helps to know as much as possible about your clients, the city you’re working in, the relevant news outlets, social trends, etc. Seemingly pointless trivia ends up being very useful at times! The more you know, the better. It’s vital to at least know the basic history of your client’s organization—when it was formed and how its existence has transformed over the years. When you already know a lot about your client, it makes work like writing a press release a whole lot easier!

4. The hours are long.
I learned this lesson while helping with the TBS Just for Laughs comedy festival. The festival lasted one week, which I spent staffing the press room and assisting with media relations at the events. When I factor in the time spent commuting, I think my shortest work day that week was 13 hours. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working at the festival. It was a great opportunity to get to see how press functions at such large scale events. I even got to escort some comedians around to their scheduled interviews. My only point is that an arts publicist probably can’t expect to have a standard 9-5 work day schedule. They are often handling media at events later in the day and sometimes even on the weekends. Which brings me to my last lesson learned…

5. It takes a true passion for the arts.
Life as an arts publicist would be quite dreary if you weren’t completely in love with what you do. You need a true passion for the arts to dedicate yourself to this field. You have to be willing to put in the time and effort that your client deserves!

CIMMFEST 2011!

Six days is all ladies and gentleman. Six days away from the cultural masterpiece that is known as the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but i am giddy like a kid in a candy shop about some of the content that will be presented at this years festival. CIMMFEST, in its 3rd year, is a four day, multi-venue festival that emerges the world of film and music together and allows the creative community of Chicago to come together and celebrate the amazing world of music and film. The festival will showcase a lot of the fun and unique work created by artists, directors, producers and the creative community as a whole, and we have four days of it! (consider your weekend planned). The festival this year will feature the world premiere of "FIX: The Ministry Movie" focusing on the former Chicago industrial metal band, The Ministry. Bassist, Paul Barker as well as the films director Douglas Freel will be in attendance at the screening which takes place April 14th at 7:30 pm at the Music Box Theater. Seventy films from over 20 countries will be screened including features, documentaries, shorts, concert films, animation, and music videos, all of which have music at their center. Supplementing will be live performances by Mike Watt, stars from Chicago’s All Natural label, Tutu & the Pirates, Gurf Morlix, Tim Rutilli and Gillian Lisee (Fruitbats), plus panel discussions and numerous filmmaker appearances. There will also be plenty of free programming at the Chicago cultural Center throughout the weekend, see CIMMFEST webstie for details, www.cimmfest.org. Hope to see all your smiling faces there!

Dance Triumphs: Luna Negra and SPDW Dance Theatre

Luna Negra Dance Theater...

"'Flabbergast' an unrelenting blast of entertainment" (Chicago Tribune)

"Luna Negra's showing what dance can do" (Chicago Sun-Times)

"Luna Negra Dance Theater joins the ranks of the country's finest mixed-repertory contemporary companies..." (Time Out Chicago)

All the critics agree, this past weekend's performance by Luna Negra at the Harris Theater was spot-on brilliant. A spectacular display of exquisite dancing, beautifully honed artistry and new creative horizons, Luna Negra is raising its own already high bar, and we (the Chicago audience) get to sit back and enjoy the show.

And if you don't trust their opinions, you can trust ours. The show was indeed quite wonderful. My personal favorite work was Spanish choreographer Fernando Hernando Magadan's Naked Ape. It opened with four white-clad dancers standing center stage, flanked in the corners by luminous, three-dimensionally molded articles of clothing, like shirts and pants with invisible wearers. These pieces lit up from the inside, making the scene even more surreal and ghostly. A fifth dancer, clad all in black, observed the group like a detached researcher, speaking in Hungarian as he shaped the dancers' forms when they froze in their movement. The group morphed out of and back into their own series highly original movement that was tense, relaxed, strong, weightless, graceful, forceful, complicated and subtle. Wonderfully nuanced duets and solos emerged. It's hard to describe, but believe me, it was a gorgeous work, using simple yet imaginative imagery to create truly stunning tableaux.

Book-ending Naked Ape was Luis Eduardo Sayago's Solo una Vez, a very likable romp for three men and three women about the challenges and rewards of relationships -- to which we can all relate -- and then Gustavo Ramirez Sansano's wildly hyper but still focused Flabbergast, the kind of work that puts the Latino flair into Luna Negra's repertory just where it fits the best.

Overall it was a remarkable evening of some of the best dance I've seen this season. Should you have missed it this time around, don't make the same mistake next season. Luna Negra is on fire -- muy caliente!!

SPDW Dance Theatre...

And lest you think we're being partial to our clients, another show this past weekend that I cannot rave enough about is Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre's outing at The Dance Center of Columbia College. The debut weekend for the troupe at this ideally-sized dance house, the program of three works offered a lovely and delicious array of the company's many formidable talents.

Joanna Rosenthal's Grey Noise was essentially a character study through dance, the kind of work that puts the "theater" in dance theater, rich in subtext, individuality and unexpectedness.

Carl Flink's HIT was full of just that -- uncompromising, literal and forceful hits, the kind of "take that!" smacks that made the audience visibly and audibly react. I applauded the bravery of both this choreographer, for asking his dancers to be so harsh (and yet so trusting!) with one another, and his dancers for truly going there to make the theme of violence and aggression ring true.

The evening was completed by the silky bittersweetness of Shapiro & Smith's To Have and To Hold, a gorgeous work where the dancers used three long benches to create the simplest yet most profound images. The work's transcendent themes of love, death, loss, and the emphemerality of life were never so profound in a work of dance.

Given the fact that the company sold out its three-night run, I would safely say the performances were a huge success -- commercially and artistically!

And still to come...

The crunch of the dance season came a bit early this spring, happening around late February. But it's not over yet -- this coming weekend brings one of my favorite companies back to the Harris Theater stage -- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago! (The show runs Thurs. through Sun., March 17-20.) The spring engagement brings two Israeli dance powerhouses to the Chicago audience: Ohad Naharin (yay!) and Sharon Eyal. Hubbard Street fans know who Ohad is (re: Minus 16, a HSDC staple), and Sharon is another visionary artist from Tel Aviv's Batsheva Dance Company. HSDC is presenting new works by these artists, and I simply cannot wait! It should be a powerful, beautiful, and very fun program. I hope to see you there!

Joffrey's "Merry Widow" a lighthearted, fleet-footed delight

Last night the curtain rose for the opening performance of The Joffrey Ballet's latest production, Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow. Widow is a three-act story-ballet adapted from Franz Lehar's operetta of the same title. In order to turn a dialogue-heavy opera into a wordless ballet, Hynd worked with composer John Lanchbery to adapt the original music into something more dance-friendly. Using a combination of lyrical dancing and gestural mime, Hynd tells a story of love and scandal with a glamorous Parisian setting.

But if you think you can just sit back and watch, and then completely grasp what's going on, think again. Pay close attention to those program notes, or you might be asking yourself who that old man is, where that lady in pink came from, and why everyone is constantly swigging champagne.

Allow a little crash-course on the plot: Picture It! Pontevedro, turn of the century. (No, Pontevedro isn't real, it's a made-up French principality.) Pontevedro's bureaucrats realize the country is broke. Ah, but there's a ball coming up at the French Embassy, and look who's on the guest list -- a rich widow, Hanna! And, being far younger than her late husband, she's still quite a catch. So the natural solution is to have Pontevedro's sovereign, Count Danilo, capture Hanna's heart and thus secure her wealth for their country.

Meanwhile, an affair is revealed between Valencienne, a Baron's young wife, and Camille, a young French attache. More on that shortly.

Cut to the ballroom scene, with plenty of sparkly dresses and light-as-air waltzing. Danilo and Hanna meet, but alas, the already know each other! Turns out they met when she was a penniless peasant girl and he was an up-and-coming nobleman. He broke her heart then, but now the tables are turned. Long-scene-short, Hanna and Danilo still have strong feelings for one another but are both too stubborn to admit it.

Two more scenes unfold, and when Valencienne and Camille are almost discovered, Hanna smartly steps in to replace Valencienne, coming up with the rouse that she and Camille are engaged (much to Danilo's chagrin). Still with me?

Cut to the final scene at Chez Maxim, a glitzy French cafe. Valencienne is furious at Camille, poor Camille is almost done over in a duel with the Count, and everyone is beside themselves as to whom Hanna will end up with. While I doubt this will spoil it for anyone, I'll leave out the details for now and suffice it to say that everyone lives "happily ever after."

Now The Merry Widow isn't like last season's Othello, as there's no dark, brooding drama. And it isn't quite like Cinderella, which had everyone enchanted from the first moment with the familiar tale of everyone's favorite rags-to-riches sweetheart. But nonetheless, The Merry Widow is a lighthearted, charming and rich ballet full of absolutely gorgeous dancing. Hynd constantly surprises you with his choreography, adding a creative tilt of the head, an unexpected lift, or a beguilingly supple line just when you think you know what's coming next. The evening is magical, the characters endearing, and the Joffrey shines doing what they do best -- a little of everything!

Promoting A Mayoral Debate: Exit Comfort Zone, Enter Spin Zone

So vis-a-vis our relatively new client, Chicago Tribune Special Events, Laura Silverman and I had the rare opportunity to promote and staff a major political event: the recent televised Chicago Tribune/City Club of Chicago Mayoral Debate (aired live from WGN TV studios). Scheduled participants (in alpha order): Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico, Miguel del Valle, and Rahm Emanuel. Was a good challenge to step out of our comfort zone (which is promoting the arts to reporters with whom we've worked for years) and instead communicate with a new group of press with new types of questions (predominantly related to the technical aspects of the broadcast and the sharing of "pool" photography and video). Not to mention, with the timing of this debate in particular, Emanuel was in limbo as to whether his name was to be included on the ballot or not (based on ongoing residency challenge). He fully intended to participate in the debate - the Tribune had kept him on lineup- and the affirmative decision was actually handed down by the Illinois Supreme Court within an hour and 1/2 of the live debate airing! Given the confab of candidates and cameras all gathered at WGN TV's north side studio, that was definitely the place to be for anyone following the campaign.

But first, a quick summary of the preliminary publicity work that got us to that place.



Advance efforts were typical of other special events we're promoted, basically drafting and distributing a press release and then following up with the media to secure advance coverage and on-site attendance. However, there were two key differences: (a) We didn't have at our disposal a local "political" media list, since we don't usually dabble in that arena, so a list needed to be compiled ASAP and thanks to some good old fashioned sleuthing (Hello, Google!), it was not too laborious. (b) Among the myriad more technical rules about how to secure footage via Chicago Switch (a connector of broadcast signals so that other TV stations could pull video from WGN TV) was the disclaimer that only one reporter per media outlet would be allowed to cover the debate on site and needed to RSVP to me within 48 hours of debate. Apparently much of the technical info was written in invisible ink as I started getting requests to bring their own cameras (no), to bring a producer (um, no) and to bring a third reporter from their newspaper (NO!). That said, I did persuade client to allow the Sun Times to bring a second reporter just because it felt like right thing to do, although ultimately only one showed but I'm glad we made allowance.

Despite the tenuous situation with Emanuel's residency status hearing, from a press standpoint, it was all going smoothly - all the A-list media were accounted for and ready to attend (and get all necessary audio and visual feeds) - until the day of the debate. Suddenly, out of the woodwork popped up some of the aforementioned reporters requesting a ticket even though their media outlet was already set, not to mention one "reporter" who somehow managed not to have seen or heard anything about the Debate until within 5 hours of it taking place, when we had turned down others because of capacity, and then accused me of playing unfair and threatening "you haven't heard the last of me" (and I didn't, and will perhaps explain later).

So, off the phone and flash forward some five hours, our job was to man the "Spin Room." And yes that's what it was called.



(Outside the Spin Room was the main entrance to the actual Debate studio, and there was tight security there. It was funny seeing a very hirsute former Alderman Burt Natarus getting wanded, as though he was a threat of any sort.) So basically, we monitored the room where the press were allowed to sit and watch the Debate on a big screen TV, as it happened live in the studio next door. Most of the press that RSVP'd actually showed up, but given the breaking news about the residency issue being resolved, some reporters ended stuck at their desks it turns out. From a publicist-geek standpoint, was interesting to see the "old school media" (Carol Marin, WMAQ TV) who propped their laptops on a table (replicating a desk top computer?) and plugging in, while the younger crowd (Sam Hudzik, WBEZ FM) balanced laptops on their lap. The oldest of the old (Mike Flannery, WFLD TV) took notes on a pad of paper!

The two most contentious during Debate were, not surprisingly, Emanuel and Chico- and their constant name dropping (of the President and Mayor, respectively) got old quickly.

Then, following the Debate, the four candidates were shepherded in to take FIVE MINUTES of questions from the group, press conference-style. Really, the canned-idates answered the questions from the press with the same canned responses they'd provided in the Debate so there were no revelations but I think the press at least appreciated the perception of one-on-one time.

Glad to have "worked" only one debate... and I still don't understand the Rahm tax.

O hey, It's the new guy...

Well hey everybody, this is officially my first personal blog post as a new member of The Silverman Group Chicago so I'll take a second to introduce myself. My name is Demetrius and I'm a current senior at Columbia College Chicago, in my last semester after 5 grueling years in America's higher education system. I hail from the lovely Midwest town of Kansas City, MO and this is my 3rd year in the Windy City. The arts have been my personal love attachment since i was just a runny nose kid playing Lego's and my opportunity to be a part of the artistic community here in Chicago comes at the perfect time.I came from a stint at the alternative weekly newspaper, The Chicago Reader and The Silverman Group has welcomed me with open arms and let me dive head first into some fun and unique projects that they are a part of here. I'm excited about my tenure with this hip organization, and yes, they are about as hip as it gets :). I have the opportunity to play a big part in the publicity for the Peace on Earth Film Festival which is to take place February 25-27 at the Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theatre which I'm extremely excited about and invite everyone to take part in some portion of the festival. February is going to be a big month for us with The Joffrey Ballet's performance of "The Merry Widow", Avalon String Quartet, John Lequizamo@ the Royal George Theatre and many other exciting events that will keep all of you art and culture junkies foaming at the mouth. Chicago is the place to be for entertainment and all of us lovely personnel here at the Silverman Group will make sure that you know about some great events happening here in the City. Well anyway, back to work, i would love to hear some of your responses about events that you have attended and your overall feedback on the blog!

Cheers,
Demetrius

Peace on Earth Film Festival 2011 (POEFF)

The 2011 Peace on Earth Film Festival (POEFF), along with the Board of Directors of Transcendence Global Media, will showcase an intriguing exploration of film in the areas of peace, nonviolence, social justice and an eco-balanced world at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 East Washington, Friday, February 25 through Sunday, February 27. All screenings are free and open to the public.

“The Peace on Earth Film Festival was designed to encourage filmmakers to craft films in the genre of peace, nonviolence, social justice and an eco-balanced world,” says POEFF Executive Director Nick Angotti. “However, we have taken the festival beyond showing films and awarding filmmakers and have helped showcase Chicago’s effort for peace and environmental protection while providing an education element to the audience".The 30 films being screened were chosen from a field of 148 international films addressing similar topics.

Admission to all screenings and events are free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis and held at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington Street, Chicago. For more information visit www.peaceonearthfilmfestival.org.

Your MLK Day Cultural Activities

So you have the day off on Monday for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, and you're wondering how to fill your day while at the same time honoring the reason you're off in the first place. Allow us two fun and culturally active suggestions:

African Dance Master Class at Joffrey Ballet

Hosted by the Academy of Dance, Official School of the Joffrey Ballet, this class will be led by Andrea Vinson accompanied by live drummers Deshon Newman and Seneke. Open to adults and kids age 10 and up, this fun and lively class is perfect for the whole family. And no dance experience is required -- it's appropriate for all skill levels. So come learn some groovy African moves while celebrating Dr. King's civil rights legacy.

• 12:30-1:30 pm
• At Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph St. (between Wabash and State)
• $10 per person
• Register in advance by calling 312-784-4600. Walk-up registration may be available.
• More info: http://www.joffrey.org/academy/classes/martin-luther-king-jr-day-january-17

Chicago Sinfonietta presents A Dream Unfolds, Annual MLK Tribute

In this beloved musical tradition, guest conductor Leslie B. Dunner joins Sinfonietta Founder Paul Freeman in a celebration of Dr. King's pioneering steps forward, allowing listeners to reflect -- through beautiful and stirring classical music -- on his indelible mark on American history. This will be an especially moving event because it will be Maestro Freeman's final time leading this program, as he will retire at the end of the current season. The highlight of the program will be Gershwin's classic folk opera Porgy and Bess, arranged for orchestra by Robert Fussell Bennett, where the Sinfonietta will be joined by vocalists from the Chicago Community Chorus.

• 7:30 pm
• At Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.
• Tickets range from $26 - $96
• For tickets call 312-236-3681 ext. 2, or available by walk-up at the Box Office
• More info: www.chicagosinfonietta.org

Even if you don't have the day off, don't let Winter keep you inside -- take this opportunity to enjoy some good ol' Chicago culture. Hopefully we'll see you there!