Update #2
JulieVW
SMU
Practicum A
March 2, 2003
Monthly update #2
A. Log of hours worked since last update
Thursday 2/6 9:00- Noon at YA offices (3 hours)
Tuesday 2/11 8:30 - Noon at YA offices (3 ½ hours)
;Thursday 2/13 4:30 - 6:00 Artists Meeting (1 ½ hours)
Tuesday 2/18 8:30 - Noon at YA offices (1 ½ hours)
Wednesday 2/19 9:30 - 10:30 (1 hour)
Total Time logged for this update: 10 ½ hours
Total Time logged to date: 38 ½ hours
B. Specific progress on objectives since last update
Since the last update I've done a lot of writing and revising by hand. The Young Audiences offices are in the process of being painted which has resulted in chaos and a lack of desk space. I've spend a lot of my time working in the empty courtrooms and corners of Landmark Center! As soon as I have access to a computer again I'll be typing like crazy and ready to publish a LOT of study guides!
C .Reflection on useful experience
I found the Artists Meeting (on 2 /13) particularly useful. I got to meet and speak with quite a few of the artists on the Y.A. roster. It was exciting to put faces to the names I've only seen on paper and great to connect with people. During the "official" part of the meeting Johanna and the staff discussed "The State of Young Audiences" and opened a strained discussion about other opportunities or ideas for the organization. After the meeting ended, people stayed to nibble on food and chat. Many many ideas, brainstorms, and connections came out of the informal talking time (for the artists, for the organization, and for me!) While great ideas came out of the formal part of the meeting the informal aspects were extremely successful and useful!
D. Aspects of Organizational Culture
The mission of Young Audiences is to inspire learning by making the arts an essential part of every child's education and development. As an organization Young Audiences expects that everyone (from the staff to the artists) will work and do their job. Staff often choose to work at home (or at the coffee shop) instead of coming to the office and that's OK. While duties have been delegated, everyone is quite happy to do something outside their job description if it needs to be done. To get along at Young Audiences, one needs to understand and accept that the staff truly operates as a team. Even the physical office space is set up to facilitate working together. There are few walls and no cubicles to separate desks or people. The computer system allows anyone to access everyone's messages and files. All the passwords are standardized.
Due to high staff turnover in the last year, a newcomer can be overwhelmed by the names on files and lists. For example, anything labeled "Lorie" really belongs on Angela's desk, and something marked Elizabeth goes to Linda. Something marked for Linda could belong to Linda (or it might be something for the person who took over Linda's job a few months ago!) The system is dizzy- ing for someone new to the organization (but the change happened gradually for the staff, so people in the organization just accept it as natural!)
