Art is all the parts.

Mission Paradox has these to very good posts – the first on the sports to church to theatre analogies (those Bears examples still hurt – redemption on Monday?) and then followed it up with Not nearly enough

“The implication is this: Art isn’t enough. If you want a career as an artist, or a strong organization, you are going to have to do so much then create work.”

And I agree – except (and.) I want to expand the notion of what the “art” is.
It’s certainly not the script we print out.
It’s not what happens between the house going out and the bowing.
When we’re making a show, that can’t be it.
The art has to be the part where we communicate with (entertain, excite, challenge, talk to) the people we’d like to share some time with. That’s the art of performance.
Posters, language, what happens as people begin to arrive (the dramaturgy of the half-hour),
how the drinks are priced and what happens after.
All of it is the art.

So – to make the art better (better at communicating to people)
all of the parts need to be looked at as a whole.
Better marketing won’t save boring over priced plays and
cheap great things that no one knows about isn’t going to do it either.

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