Mary R. Trudel

Getting Better at Telling Our Stories: What do Salzburg and The Hurt Locker have in common?

Posted by Mary R. Trudel, Mar 12, 2010 1 comment


Mary R. Trudel

First, John Killacky, I’m so jealous that you blogged from and about Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart and imaginary home of the Von Trapps. Second, I sensed a thread through many of the rich posts—notably Margy Waller’s and Barry Hessenius’—about the importance of telling an arts story that resonates and is relevant to listeners.

What is the connection between Salzburg and The Hurt Locker?  I believe it’s about authenticity and identity.

Salzburg IS music, it attracts visitors who seek a connection to the magic of geniuses past and present. The city and music are synonymous, creating an appeal that resonates in the ear and the soul as much as the mind. Anticipation of the experience is a mesmerizing overture to a visit and even second hand, thank you John, we have a sense of the magic.

The Hurt Locker is a case in point of making something irresistible by being so authentic that early audiences had a unique experience and became advocates, sharing their enthusiasm via word-of-mouth—which, as we know, is the most powerful marketing tool on the planet. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the movie is tangentially about the war but actually is a character study of what war does to the warriors, creating a rush of adrenaline which becomes an addiction and makes real life seem dead by comparison.

(It just so happens that one of my oldest friends is the mother of Mark Boal, author of the Hurt Locker and winner of an Oscar for best original screen play.  Mark wrote the script drawing on his embedded experience as a journalist with a bomb squad in Iraq. When the movie was released it seemed that audiences wanted anything but a realistic picture of wartime Iraq—the war that’s happening “off stage” to most Americans. Mark even resorted to giving away free tickets to assure a full house and secure a second week’s run. Then the word-of-mouth took off and it became, as noted in the media, “the little movie that could.” Decidedly it wasn’t for everyone but was irresistible to the passionate few.)

How are these two examples relevant and what can we learn from them? Art happens in real time with the exchange between audience and experience. The “noise” the soul hears is the sound of art awakening the human within.

I think it’s simple; it’s about telling our stories well to folks who are hungry to hear them. Every arts experience is unique. No two performances are the same—even of the same play, dance, or music. No visual arts offering will be viewed the same way by any two individuals. No two cities are the same, Salzburg will never be New York or Peoria, for that matter (as our new NEA Chairman discovered!)

The arts, as Picasso said, “Wash from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
We need to do a better job of helping audiences understand the unique appeal of each offering, and be clear about what’s in it for them. People know what to expect when they visit Salzburg or New York, they already know what’s in it for them and are prepared to engage. We need to help the willing get involved with the arts experience and the artists who create it so they become advocates and create the “echo effect” Margy described. I believe everyone wants to be an insider and the more authentic and intense the arts experience; the more impact and resonance it can have.

I’ve been pleased and excited to be part of this fascinating Blog this week.  Many thanks to AFTA’s Private Sector for putting it together and to my fellow bloggers for the stimulating exchange.

1 responses for Getting Better at Telling Our Stories: What do Salzburg and The Hurt Locker have in common?

Comments

John Killacky says
March 13, 2010 at 1:02 pm

Thanks Mary, nice to be blogging with you this week.

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