Honesty In Advertising: Seating Charts

February 28, 2012 |

There’s a terrific blog post from Toronto based artist, blogger, and orchestra patron Rob Elliott (h/t Musical Toronto) who decided to sketch a new seating chart for Roy Thomson Hall, home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), after recently attending a TSO concert.

With an approach that is perhaps best described as “truth in advertising” his blog post and sketch is fall-out-of-your-chair funny; especially for those who know all too well what Elliott is lamenting.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a great organization, with excellent players and a bold programming…TSO audiences, on the other hand, leave something to be desired. Every time I attend the symphony, I fear my brain is going to explode before the concert is over.

<sarcasm>The only real concern in Elliott’s plan is the hall may need to incorporate increased scaling to accommodate higher price point distractions.</sarcasm>

Which halls do you think deserve updated seating maps and why?

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house. I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why. In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu. For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, and love a good coffee drink.

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