In Support of the Arts

Caught a wonderful show last night, “They Came From Way Out There,” at the Milwaukee Rep’s Stackner Cabaret. It’s about the five most ambitious candidates for president of the Paranormal Society, set to present a musical comedy show reenacting actual paranormal events that have happened to them. Personal friction, a limited budget, and the fact that they are amateur performers take this meeting to other-worldly levels of fun.

Here’s a link to a video clip

“Way Out There” runs through March 10.

I love live performance, and I’ll take it over movies and TV anytime. There’s no do-overs, no stunt doubles, and anything can and does happen. Those are some of the many reasons I sing with Midwest Vocal Express.

Live performance takes a little more input from the audience, but the investment really pays off. It’s a communal experience you don’t get in front of a TV. Live performance also needs something else, money. It’s not cheap to stage a production, and ticket prices rarely cover the costs. That’s why outside funding is so critical. Our trip to the Stackner was courtesy of our bank, M&I, which is a huge supporter of the arts.

In Milwaukee, UPAF, the United Performing Arts Fund, subsidizes 36 organizations, like the orchestra, ballet, and the Rep.

As a nation, the National Endowment for the Arts provides funding. Righties cringe when you say that. All they can think of are the wildly outlandish, way-out-there stuff that received NEA funding in the past. Art isn’t always pretty, and you’re not expected to like everything, how boring would that be? in 1996, the Republican-led Congress, apparently happy with boring, effectively gutted the NEA, reducing a budget that peaked at $175 million in 1992 to $99.5 million, and 40% of that was set aside as block grants for states.

The NEA regrouped, and focused their attention on the erosion of arts education in our public schools. It's a remarkable turnaround for an agency whose mere name was once enough to get Newt Gingrich and other social conservatives foaming at the mouth.

Now led by Dana Gioia, funding has slowly climbed to $124.4 million in the current fiscal year, and President Bush's budget proposal sent to Congress recently would hike the budget to $128.4 million.

"I don't believe the arts are about right or left," Gioia said. "If we want to create the communities we want to live in, and if we want our schools to produce the best educations for our children, we need the arts. This is not a partisan issue. This is civic common sense."

See you at the show!