Rearrangements w/ Jill Anna Ponasik, Milwaukee Opera Theatre

This week, the gang welcomes Jill Anna Ponasik, Artistic Director at Milwaukee Opera Theatre, for a wide ranging conversation about her sources of inspiration in the work of leading a small arts organization and applying the lessons from her artistic practice to creating a vibrant ecosystem of arts organizations, artists and creatives in Milwaukee.

The last BBQ of the summer and the Strauss-Howe generational theory (00:51), Call back to the conversation about time as a loaf of bread and also, do also love the "book end" slices of your loaves? (2:38), The current federal and state policy asks and push (5:15), Welcoming Jill Anna and the differences between COVID podcasts and conference calls (12:53), Jill Anna's Milwaukee Opera Theatre origin story (15:00), Jill Anna's three-pronged inspiration (19:57), What she has learned from failure (21:19), Getting to know and connecting with Imagine MKE (28:25), Building connections in the broader ecosystem (32:14), Creating opportunities for leading, learning, and doing, and getting to think about ideas, arrangements, and effects (35:22), Redefining the signifiers and expectations for success (43:53), Going beyond talking about the arts and creativity as instrumentally vital but also essentially vital to our city and communities (53:31), What makes Jill Anna hopeful in 2020 (1:02:14).

Ugh. We forgot to ask Jill Anna to for plugs and was, of course, too graceful to remind us. Sorry, but here they are in the show notes:

Visit: Milwaukee Opera Theatre / Stream: All four episodes of Doc Danger and the Danger Squad: Radio Edition on Anchor or wherever you listen to us. / Social: Facebook / Twitter / Youtube

Audio Transitions: Caroline's, by Amanda Huff

Take action to ensure the future of arts and culture in Milwaukee

Other episode 31 ephemera:

• Strauss-Howe generational theory (Wikipedia)
• That time a conversation about categorizing art in the office included a tangent about pizza and aliens and the concept of time as a loaf of bread (Facebook)
• Ideas Arrangements Effects: Systems Design and Social Justice (Nonprofit Quarterly)

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