The Observation Deck

The Beck Center For The Arts offers arts education that attracts students from all over Northeast Ohio. The live theater competes and sometimes surpasses what you see at Playhouse Square. The arts education program is second to none.

http://www.beckcenter.org/


It was constructed and maintained over the years by hundreds of professionals and volunteers who believed in its mission statement:

"To offer the highest quality arts experience, performance, and education to all people and communities of the region."

The recent announcement by Playhouse Square to offer a competing education program in the soon to be renovated Middough Building may put all that to an end:

http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index. ... eater.html

Are there an unlimited number of students?
Are there an unlimited number of patrons?
Are there an unlimited number of donations?

The Playhouse Square Foundation and Cleveland State University will use donations, tax payer subisidies, federal tax credits and CAC subsidies to replicate the Becks programing and services.

How long the Beck Center survive?

Is this what they mean by regionalization?

I had a similar reaction, Bill.

Competition between businesses for customers supposed to be good. However, if the businesses are being subsidized by a variety of public development programs, then, having two entities compete based on the merits of programming and meeting customer needs is out the window.

(However, isn't this how cities/regions compete with other cities/regions for private industry?)

It seems as though the RTA and arts "businesses" have at least one thing in common: Both cannot exist without substantial public subsidies.

From everything I've read of the project, the overlap in offerings isn't going to be as substantial as you imagine. The core of the project is CSU's undergraduate program, and Case/CPH's graduate program. Playhouse Square will likely offer an enhanced lineup to their already existing educational programs, but I don't think you'll see them expand beyond theater and dance, and even then they typically offer workshops and camps rather than sustained long-term classes. Beck's bread and butter are those regular fundamentals courses in all of the artistic disciplines for elementary and high-school students.

So yes, there'll be some duplication in services, but not a lot. What there is will likely be an addition to the opportunities for young artists rather than a subtraction from some zero-sum game.

My kids have been getting more involved at the Beck mainly with theatre and art. And, if I can boldly plug, my daughter is currently in Once Upon a Decade. We have very positive experiences.

What struck me was the low number of students from Lakewood--at least in my kids' classes & the show my daughter is in. Students of all ages do come from everywhere and I wonder how we can better draw students from our own back yard. Maybe there are a substantial amount of Lakewood kids at the Beck and my experience is not like others.

With new competition and a slow economy it seems like there could be incentives for Lakewood residents. Perhaps, like Lakewood Rec, residents could get a break on tuition. I know they do have some scholarships--I don't know much about them. I wonder if some could be set aside specifically for Lakewood residents.

I love the arts & think they are important in a community. I feel Lakewood can continue to develop this area from many different aspects in our city.

Brian Pedaci wrote:So yes, there'll be some duplication in services, but not a lot. What there is will likely be an addition to the opportunities for young artists rather than a subtraction from some zero-sum game.

I don’t Think so.

The new CSU/Playhouse Square arts center will offer all types of art classes from pre-school to college level. According to their web site they will offer those services for little or no fees:

http://www.playhousesquare.org/default. ... Engagement

That sounds like a strong competition for the Beck Center.

Kristine Pagsuyoin wrote:What struck me was the low number of students from Lakewood--at least in my kids' classes & the show my daughter is in. Students of all ages do come from everywhere and I wonder how we can better draw students from our own back yard. Maybe there are a substantial amount of Lakewood kids at the Beck and my experience is not like others.

Few students are from Lakewood and few board members are from Lakewood. That is one reason why the Beck was so intent on moving to Westlake. Their bags were packed and they were ready to go until someone spilled the beans.

If the majority of the students and customers and board members of Beck Center drive from Westlake, Bay Village or Parma do you think they will be unwilling to drive to CSU for broader, better funded, better connected and less expensive offerings?

The fate of the Beck will be similar to the fate of Lakewood Hospital, slow, deliberate strangulation. The hospital has 50% few full time employees than it did 10 years ago. When a Lakewood High School teacher recently needed emergency room treatment she was taken to Fairview. Apparently the people at th e High School have discovered what many others have discovered.

Bill Call wrote:The fate of the Beck will be similar to the fate of Lakewood Hospital, slow, deliberate strangulation. The hospital has 50% few full time employees than it did 10 years ago. When a Lakewood High School teacher recently needed emergency room treatment she was taken to Fairview. Apparently the people at th e High School have discovered what many others have discovered.

I think it will depend on if people are willing to drive downtown for classes, find parking (which is not free), and are comfortable doing so a night. I'm always amazed at the number of people "afraid" of downtown, so it remains to be seen.

Bill, I'm also curious to know how you think Lakewood Hospital would be doing today if it were not part of the Cleveland Clinic? You like to blame the Clinic and accuse them of all kinds of underhanded conspiracies against Lakewood Hospital, but what makes you think the hospital would be any better off if they weren't run by the Clinic?

Personally, I think the hospital would be far worse off, and most likely not even exist any more as an independent entity.

Bryan Schwegler wrote:Bill, I'm also curious to know how you think Lakewood Hospital would be doing today if it were not part of the Cleveland Clinic? You like to blame the Clinic and accuse them of all kinds of underhanded conspiracies against Lakewood Hospital, but what makes you think the hospital would be any better off if they weren't run by the Clinic?

Personally, I think the hospital would be far worse off, and most likely not even exist any more as an independent entity.

You're probably right.

I vaguely recall that the Hospital was predicted to be in some financial difficulty so a partnership with the Clinic made sense.

I suspect that if Clinic wanted to make the Hospital a true center of excelence they would do so. I don't think that is what they want.


The unanswered question is : is the hospital board fighting for the hospital? accepting the inevitable? or fighting for a bigger peice of the pie?

The operating of the Lakewood facility in Westlake is a good example of a bad busioness decision. It shouldhave been a Lakewood Hospital facility and not a Lakewood Hospital Name where the paitients and revenues go to Fairview.

Bill, you linked to the same page I did - their existing programs. Nothing has yet been announced about PSF expanding their existing range of offerings. The Plain Dealer article said "The two universities' academic programs will join existing preschool-12th grade arts education classes at PlayhouseSquare's nearby Idea Center." If Playhouse Square's educational programs stay as they are and just add in CSU and CPH, then they will have achieved their announced goal of offering 'learning opportunities from pre-school to college level' and it will be an educational environment like few others in the country, but they still won't be a significant competition to Beck Center. I see one example on that linked page where they currently significantly overlap with Beck - a one-time-per-year summer 'Broadway Camp' for teens.

Nowhere did they say they'd be expanding into 'all art' (suggesting the inclusion of visual art and music as well).

Again, Playhouse Square excels in supplemental arts learning and exposure activities: workshops and bringing in school groups for special performances. They do not engage in the same kinds of long-term coursework that Beck does. I'll be curious what they do with the expanded facilities, but said facilities will be in heavy use just with the CSU and CPH/CWRU programs.

There already are competitive organizations in Beck's niche, primarily Fairmount Center for the Arts, Beck's east-side counterpart, as well as countless schools of dance, art classes and music studios. Beck excels and persists because they hire exceptional instructors.

You've got a lot of things to worry about, Bill. This particular development ain't one of them.

Brian Pedaci wrote:There already are competitive organizations in Beck's niche, primarily Fairmount Center for the Arts, Beck's east-side counterpart, as well as countless schools of dance, art classes and music studios. Beck excels and persists because they hire exceptional instructors.

You've got a lot of things to worry about, Bill. This particular development ain't one of them.

You may be right. The Beck was very busy last night. It as a dedicted staff and a loyal following. But followers grow old and move on. I'm not sure they can compete long term with the millions in subsidies that will be flowing into Playhouse Square.

Will the Playhouse Square Foundation be the new Cleveland Clinic Foundation? Growing by absorbing existing business.? Will the Beck some day decide to let itself be operated by the Playhouse Square Foundation? To see its future decided by someone else?

It doesn't hurt to ask these questions but then again it doesn't seem to help much either.