THE EQUUS PROJECTS:Addendum to When to say NO

THE EQUUS PROJECTS
April Blog

Addendum to: When to say NO

The Field’s brilliant Jennifer Wright Cook pointed out to me that I might want to write a bit more about my When to Say No situation. She thought I ought to describe how this situation played out. So I have:

We have a large project coming up in northern Texas. Our producer is a horse person, a ranch owner, someone who has produced numerous events. She knows how to write press releases. She is a published author who has been on book tours. She had written a press release for us titled: Texas Twist: Dancing with the Stars.

This title in no way described what we would be doing. I felt it would be misleading. We were planning to make an expansive movement installation on a hillside with seven dancers and six horses. Dancing with the Stars was not at all what we would be doing!!

Our objections encountered lots of resistance. Our producer felt she knew how to attract a Texas audience. She wanted to make sure we brought in a substantial audience.

I had to remind myself that her desire was for us to succeed.

I wrote a long email describing my vision for the piece in an effort to have her see how inaccurate that title would be. Dancing with the Stars remained her first choice for a title.

It took us a week of patient conversations and emails to find a resolution.

In the end our Executive Director Michael Lonergan and I found an alternative title that captured the Texas spirit without misleading the reader: The Equus Projects Martini ~ A Splash of New York a bit of Texas and a Dash of Horses.

Staying on task. Being clear about your own work; but also the importance of Compromise. And of course listening. .