ART AT WORK: TACOMA ARTS MONTH >>>
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Executive Director David Fischer is so awesome the Tacoma Arts Commission created an award for him.
Fischer will be the first recipient of the Arts Leadership award, which recognizes exceptional vision, dedication and leadership in the arts in Tacoma.
The Arts Commish will skip riding the scary elevator up to Fischer's penthouse office in the Pantages Building to hand him the award. Instead, wisely, the Commish will slide Fischer's award into the AMOCAT Arts Awards ceremony Nov. 3 at the Museum of Glass - the official kickoff of the gargantuan feast of literary, visual and performing arts known as Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month.
Likely before the other award recipients - The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts and Stella Haioulani - receive their awards for Arts Patron, Community Outreach for an organization and artist, respectively, Fischer will approach the podium, set aside his slice of cake from Celebrity Cake Studio, and wait out the five minutes of continuous applause for saving the Broadway Center, creating Washington state's top arts education program, for bringing our diverse community together through focus groups and open forums and, of course, booking top entertainment - adding an edgy element here and there, thankfully.
Fischer is backed by a hard-working crew. He always gives kudos to his staff as the true talent of the organization. That said, Broadway Center Deputy Executive Director Benjii Bittle and the staff would claim the "Leadership" award carries equal merit inside the Broadway Center organization.
I caught up with Fischer as he waited in the Eugene, Ore. airport for his thoughts on how his journey through the arts has helped him at the Broadway Center.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: It's obvious from your public speaking engagements that your acting background taught you to be a dynamic, passionate speaker. How have those skills helped you as executive director of the Broadway Center?
DAVID FISCHER: Most folks think acting is about artifice ... but, it's really about mirroring reality with as much authenticity as possible. One of the reasons I came back to Tacoma to take the job at the Broadway Center was because Tacoma is one of the most authentic places on earth. So, I guess my training has helped me get as grounded in authenticity as Tacoma is.
VOLCANO: What stuck with you most from those years as director of the Tacoma Little Theatre?
FISCHER: With out a doubt the most fun and exhausting job I've ever had! The mix of doing good theater with people whose hearts are so deeply invested in the work was a joy.
VOLCANO: What was it that drew you from your director position on the Pierce County Arts Commission and the Broadway Center to executive director of the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa?
FISCHER: I left TLT to go to the Pierce County Arts Commission, then to the Broadway Center (working for Eli Ashley) and then to Santa Rosa. Each of those moves was inspired by different reasons. After nearly five years at TLT, I was exhausted and needed to let someone else take the reigns. Pierce County at that time was running a vibrant program, and it allowed me to learn new skills. The move to the Broadway Center was in response to an invitation by Eli to come join his team, and there, too, I was interested in learning more about running a performing arts center. The move back home to California came at the urging of a "head hunter" and at the prospect of being closer to my aging parents and siblings. The move back to Tacoma was in response to community activists asking for feedback about how to improve the performing arts sector. I'd finished my goals in Santa Rosa (securing naming rights from Wells Fargo and selling 25 acres of arts center land to a major hospital) and the thought of returning to Tacoma, its people and these gorgeous buildings as a case of perfect timing and a perfect offer.
VOLCANO: Is there any signs of your Santa Rosa experience at the Broadway Center?
FISCHER: Yes, mostly in our programming strategies - trying to deeply reflect the community with diversity and accessibility. Also, the creation of our membership program that invites support from the community in exchange for great benefits. Finally, in building a strong team. In Tacoma, in particular, it is a privilege to work alongside the GREAT teammates we've assembled at the Broadway Center.
VOLCANO: If you could cast a trophy and put it on your mantle at home of your proudest accomplishment so far at the Broadway Center, what would the engraving say?
FISCHER: "The Broadway Center ... a home for all of Tacoma's citizens."
VOLCANO: How the hell did you triple the audience at the Broadway Center?
FISCHER: We have a couple of slogans we stay focused on: "It's all about relationships" and "Know thy customer, and give 'em what they want."
VOLCANO: Who are the three performers/performance groups you are dying to have play the Broadway Center?
FISCHER: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Bonnie Raitt and Yo-Yo Ma
VOLCANO: Who are the three most important people on your speed dial?
FISCHER: Just three? Melinda Lowe and Spencer Fischer, wife and son; Benjii Bittle, our deputy executive director and miracle-man; Lacey Leffler, our marketing director and miracle-woman; board leaders, donors, fellow arts executives and our 250,000 annual visitors.
VOLCANO: Now that's a smartphone.
[Museum of Glass, Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party & AMOCAT Arts Awards, Thursday, Nov. 3, 6-8:30 p.m., free, 1801 Dock St., Tacoma]