Jennifer Cooper – Courtesy of Rob Slaven. Used with permission.
Jennifer Cooper said that she was a huge fan of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, and followed it faithfully for years, but never dreamed that one day she would eventually join the fringe movement as an administrator. And that is exactly what occurred when she was appointed executive director of IndyFringe in early March, following a national search. Cooper holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and an MBA from the University of Montana School of Business
A native of the UK, Cooper came to Indy after a five-year stint as executive director of the Montana International Choral Festival. Her husband Zach’s acceptance of a teaching position at Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University sparked the move to Indy along with their two children and two Corgis. Joining them in the area were her parents, when her father took a job in Anderson.
About Cooper, IndyFringe’s board chair, Bob Devoss said, “She understands the nature of artistic festivals, has the skills and talent needed to grow our audience base and our talent base, and clearly envisions the performing arts as a critical aspect of a community’s character. We are thrilled to have her to join IndyFringe.” A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the gregarious and inquisitive Cooper on a park bench outside the IndyFringe Basile Theatre and Indy Eleven facility to chat about her job, background, and plans to build upon what her predecessors, Pauline Moffat and most recently Justin Brady, had achieved. Below is an edited transcript.
Jennifer Cooper – Courtesy of Jennifer Cooper. Used with permission.
You have an interesting accent. Tell me about your background.
My family immigrated to Canada when I was a teenager, so I lived in Southern Canada for eight years. I was born in the Midlands in the UK, but when I was in high school, my family immigrated to Canada. I have a background in music. I did my first degree in music in Canada and then I went back to the UK for my master’s degree at the Royal College of Music, which is in Manchester. I play the flute. And then I came over to the States for my doctorate from the Cincinnati Conservatory and my doctorate is in flute and music theory. I was in Cincinnati for five years. In my first job, I taught music history and flute at Morehead University in Kentucky, and I taught there for six years. Then my husband got a job at the University of Montana in Missoula. He is also a musician, and I met him at the Cincinnati Conservatory where we were both students. He is a French Horn player. We were both on the University of Montana faculty for the last eight years teaching flute and music theory, and then I wanted to start doing something extra, so I started running the Montana International Choir Festival with big choirs from all over the world — 385 choir members representing 12 different countries — so I dealt with their visas, their housing, their meals, all the festival planning. Such a fantastic event. Through that job I got such a bug for arts administration, and I realized how much I loved it, so I went back to school for my MBA and graduated a couple of weeks ago. Now I feel like I can finally run an organization properly.
You have already accomplished a great deal. What is your age?
I am 38 years old. The only reason we are here is my husband is starting at Butler, and I started looking for jobs here. I absolutely love the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It is one of my favorite things. I have been following them for years. I love the Fringe model; I am obsessed with it. And I could not believe it when I looked for a job on the Arts Council of Indianapolis’s job board site. I saw the listing. That was in January. I was just poking around. I applied and the very next day they called and said they wanted to interview me. Everything just fell into place. Even my parents, whom I have not lived with for 20 years, moved to the area, too. My father has a contract in Anderson. It all happened within a three-week period. With this job, I am the happiest I have ever been, and it truly feels like my true calling. My favorite part of it — and it is through my years of teaching college — my favorite part is just empowering people and lifting people up. I love that component of it. You are one of our more established producers, but there are others who are here truly for the first time and have little to no experience. I love it when we can just give these neophyte artists wheels. The other thing about arts administration I love is building up interns and giving them skills. It is so great and the perfect fit for me.
Zach & Jennifer Cooper & family. Courtesy of Jennifer Cooper. Used with permission.
Has the community welcomed you?
My very first few days here, Bob DeVoss, the board chair, was just remarkable. He dropped everything and took me all about town. I met Julia Goodman at the Arts Council my very first day here. We went to The Cabaret, where I met Shannon. We did so many things. I went to “Streetcar Named Desire” co-produced by Catalyst and your company, Magic Thread Cabaret. It was the first play I had ever seen. I saw Summit Performance’s “The Convent” at the Phoenix and that was my second play. The quality of both, especially “Streetcar,” was fantastic.
Have you attended an Indianapolis Symphony concert yet?
I have not. My husband played with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra last week. I hope to play and be more involved myself. I have played flute with professional symphonies. I have played with symphony orchestras for the past 25 years. I am hoping to teach again, too. I have met so many theatre people but have not met many musicians at all.
Are arts colleagues reaching out to you?
Yes, and I love meeting new people. I am always open to that. I went for a lovely lunch with Bill Simmons. He gave me a list of people I should meet. I met Kim Gutfreund at Dance Kaleisoscope. She is my kindred spirit. She is not a dancer but is running a dance company. I met Constance Macy at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre. Everyone you meet here is welcoming and willing to give you the extra hand and the help you need.
Do you observe competition or collaboration as the norm among arts organizations in Indy?
That is something I have noticed about this town. It does not seem to be competitive. Everyone helps one another even though each theater company has its own niche and sticks to their own thing. There is a patchwork, and I like that.
Tell me about working with your staff Jeffrey Dalstrom (director of programming and artistic operations) and Max McCreary (director of audience engagement)
The best team ever. I absolutely love them. They keep saying that we are like parts of a pie, and I believe it. We all have our own piece of the pie and together we make a complete pie. Max is just so on the ball with his marketing. He knows how to relate to people. Jeffrey is good at making sure that everybody is where they are supposed to be and getting all the scheduling in place. They are both on top of everything.
Jennifer & Zach Cooper – Courtesy of Jennifer Cooper. Used with permission.
Sounds like an ideal team.
And we all get along well. I am so content and happy. (laughs) It seems like such an organic relationship, and to me, it feels like we have been friends for years. It is lovely and has helped my transition to Indy working with them. We really have some great creative meetings together like how we can have a better education component for Fringe and brainstorming together and all our backgrounds are so different. Max is a director and actor, and I am not sure if Jeffrey is doing any outside productions, so he is helping with other productions. The other day we were talking about getting our taxes in order, and we had to make sure we have a lot of contractors signed up. Then, we reminded ourselves that they are not contractors but artists.
Has there been an event held to officially introduce you yet?
That is not a bad idea. We need to do more fundraising. We are doing great things but need to tell our story better and secure more key donors. So much of our revenue goes to the performers, and we are really struggling on the other side of things. I do not want to change the model to take from the performers. I want to keep that in place, so what must happen is we need to get more funding from the city, but we need to get those key donors on board to really lift and support our mission.
Will you team up with board members to fundraise?
Max was a great wingman in the early stages, but he and Jeffrey are both so busy. I have visions of having a huge staff that can do all of these things and help but that takes money, so we need those seed grants to come. I know in my short time here that a lot of the support that had been ongoing in Indy is changing. For example, the Indiana Arts Commission usually gives us operating support and this year they chose not to for the first time in many years and now they have changed to a biennial model. CICF is focused more on diversity initiatives. There must be a new approach and so it would help securing new donors and fostering those relationships.
Jennifer Cooper & Morehead State University students. Courtesy of Jennifer Cooper. Used with permission.
How are things going with Fringe?
Things are going great. This is the most performances we have had signed up for the festival — 70 shows and 300 performances. I am also starting a new initiative with Joanna Taft over at the Harrison Center. We are going to do an art exhibit there. It is going to be “What Is Fringe?” We have words…. edgy, eclectic, curious… but our patrons must go over to the Harrison Art Center and find the art that represents those words. The other big thing since I have been here is to organize the Spotlight Series. We have so many good artists coming through. We need to structure it better so that people can buy a flex pass and go to five shows a year, and if the schedule is set for a year in advance, it will be an advantage for them because they can plan, and I think that is such a cool component.
What are some of your hopes for Fringe moving forward?
There are two. The art initiative is the first one. I want the festival to include art and music on a much grander level, and I want to make this a destination spot. It can be a tourist draw. It can be year-round. I want Bottleworks Hotel guests to discover that there is a theatre there right down the street. They are our sponsors for our passport this year, which is great. I want to get some lights and some murals and brighten up our exterior and grounds. We have been in touch with an architect who has some ideas for this pocket park. We want to light it up and make it more visible. We have our marketing collateral in that hotel, and every person who checks in knows what show is on at the Fringe. It really can become a huge destination hub. We can use Fringe as a vehicle to make the arts more vibrant and to make it a tourist hub for Indy.
What is your message to Indy?
Thank you for being so welcoming and letting us make Indianapolis a place that people do not think twice about visiting. Let’s make it a true destination spot and use Fringe to discover all the great art we have here.
For more information about IndyFringe and to see the 2023 IndyFringe Theatre Festival schedule visit IndyFringe.org
