Beth MacMillan came to Reno to dance in a show years ago but fell in love with the city and never left. She is now the executive director of Artown and PLANS the event throughout most OF the year.
When did you come into Artown? And how long has it been going on?
Why did you get involved with Artown?
Iโve been involved with the arts since I was 3 years old, so it seemed like a natural part of my evolution. I had my own business teaching childrenโs dance classes and then I ran the ballet company here in town. That was how I got my feet wet in the nonprofit industry. And after I left there, Karen Craig from Artown called me and asked if I would like to join this organization. It just seemed like a really good fit.
What’s different about this year’s Artown?
Every Artown is totally different from the one before, the one before that, and the one thatโs going to come next. And Artown is huge. I mean, weโre all over the Truckee Meadows. It used to be basically downtown, but now it has spread out all over. The footprint has grown tremendously. The number of people coming down to our event is tremendous. It canโt really grow bigger, but it becomes more important to our community every year. It becomes more significant on a deeper level as opposed to just getting bigger. I think that Iโm starting to notice that change. I also know that we are really trying to focus on who we are as a community right now and staying relevant to who we are as a community. Weโre not the same community we were 20 years ago. The makeup of the community is different. Peopleโs behaviors are different now. Youโve got a lot of grandparents coming down to the park with their grandchildren, and youโve got a lot of people who are from different cultural backgrounds coming into this community. And we want to make sure that all those cultures are celebrated. We want to make sure that new cultures are introduced to our community. We really try to focus on that when we create our festival, and this year, we have what I think is the best opening nights weโve ever had. This year is Pink Floydโs Dark Side of the Moonโs 40th anniversary. This amazing group of musiciansโCorey Glover, Melvin Gibbs, Karl Denson and a bunch of othersโare coming together, and theyโre going to play the album in its entirety. And opening for them is Jelly Bread, so itโs really nice. We always try to have our local and national or international juxtaposition of talent. So I think that is going to be huge this year.
Is that what you’re most excited about?
You know what Iโm always so excited for are the ah-ha moments that happen that you just donโt know are going to happen. Iโm very excited for the World Music Series. Iโm very excited for our Monday Night Music Seriesโon the 15th we have the Glenn Miller Orchestra coming, and weโre doing that as a tribute to Roy Powers who was one of the trustees of the Robert Z. Hawkins Foudnation. He passed away last year, so thatโs going to be a very important night to our community because he was a great artist and just a really great person in the community. And our closing night, weโre bringing in the legendary Shuggie Otis. Iโm really excited about that. Weโre bringing in Pete Escovedo, whoโs a Latin jazz percussionist. Heโs coming here with his daughter, Sheila E. Sheila E. was the percussionist for Prince. The father and daughter are coming together, and theyโve never come together in Northern Nevada. Iโm excited for our Family Series. One of the really great things weโre bringing is Story Pirates, which is a group of improvisation artists from Los Angeles, and weโve reached out into the school district here and children have written stories. Theyโre going to review those stories and act them out on stage at the Family Series. So really, two of our students in the Family Series are going to become playwrights overnight. Iโm really excited about that. Discover the Arts is every single weekday for 6 to 12 year olds. We have them discovering all kinds of art, and they get to do projects with recyclable materials. โฆ What makes me excited is that I really believe we have put on this festival offering something for everyone. Itโs not just one thing. Itโs the fact that anybody in this community can get excited about something at this festival, and thatโs really the goal.
So how do you go about planning all of this and choosing who to perform?
Itโs a lengthy process. I start typically in September. We try to get a little bit of a rest in August. I go to a conference in the end of August, actually. I really network with a lot of people who do what we do, other festivals around the country, other people on the west coast that do presenting. And we start working with local artists in November โฆ if you look at the board behind you, thatโs how we put it together. I mean, itโs all with stickies. Itโs very old fashioned really because itโs all done in patterns and rhythms. And I network with different people I know and find out which artists are relevant, which artists have new projects, which artists are touring, which artists are around but havenโt been around for a while, which projects are exciting, which artists are hot right now, and can we bring them in? I mean, what is so great is that some of these really great, really interesting artistsโRed Baraat is one of them this year, amazing fusion with bhangra and all kinds of stuffโwe get to do them as a free event. Our community can come down at no cost to them and experience a new artist. Whereas, in other communities, you have to buy tickets to Red Baraat. How many people are going to buy tickets to something they donโt even know? We have the opportunity just to put it out there and have all these people get to know a new artist. Itโs really great.
It’s gotta be fun for you to get exposed to all these different things.
Itโs very exciting. I get to see things that make me go, โWow. Thatโs really happening?โ I do. I get exposed to a lot of different things. Itโs really probably the funnest job in the whole wide world, but right now, in June, the pressure is huge. It just feels like my responsibility to this community is so enormous because the expectation is huge. I think itโs great that the expectation is huge, but I feel so indebted, such a responsibility, to this community, and thatโs a big responsibility when you think of the size of this community and an entire month? Itโs not just a weekend gig. Itโs a whole month where you have to keep chugging along, and you have to keep making sure that itโs correct for this community. โฆ And the stories that we hearโthere was an estranged father and son a couple of years ago, and they decided to meet in Wingfield Park on opening night. On closing night, they came to me and told me the story. They gathered together in Wingfield Park about three times a week during the month of July and bonded again because of Artown, and they hadnโt spoken in years. So is that not worth the whole job right there? You know? You hear these magical stories of how a park like Wingfield Park in downtown really connects our community, whether itโs friends, families, meeting new people, whatever it is. Itโs magical.
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
My favorite job is being able to make a difference to the community that I live in. Without Artown, July would be July, right? And I get to help make a whole month in this town, this city be ignited. Even if people donโt come down to Artown, everybody knows that itโs happening. Everybodyโs encouraged and enthusiastic about it. Everybody loves July because itโs Artown, whether youโre down here every day or youโre down here once in the month, whatever it isโeverybody knows that Reno is Artown in July. And thatโs the part that makes me most proud and makes me so grateful to be able to have this job.
What’s the most difficult part of it all?
I would say the most difficult part actually is to make sure that I program the festivalโeven though itโs the best part, itโs also the most difficult partโis making sure I program the festival for this community to be the dream festival for this community. And thatโs difficult because I think Pink Floydโs Dark Side of the Moon is going to be fantastic. Weโll see on the first of July, right? So the most difficult part is programming it and making sure youโve done it right. And that always sort of falls out when itโs happening.
Anything else that people should know before coming to Artown?
If you have not come to Artown, come on downโparking is a perceived problem. Itโs not a real problem for the most part because itโs in the evening. Thereโs something for everyone, and you definitely will have a tremendous experience if you come down to Artown. The other thing I would like to say is that thereโs the stage, and thereโs the dance floor. And then the first area has always been low-back seating and blanket seating. Weโre changing it up this year, and this [first] little area here is for blankets only. Then the next area is for low-back chairs, low-to-the-ground seating, and then all the rest is any kind of seating you want. It can be blankets, high chairs, anything. Weโre just doing three tiers instead of two. ฮฉ