Art administrators find home in AMA

By Angela Romansky

Two Tony Awarding-winning producers will be coming to Rider next month to accept an award presented by the Arts Management Association (AMA).
At its 5th Annual Arts Management Blatant Self-Promotion Mixer on April 7, the AMA will honor Randy Adams and Sue Frost, the producers of the Broadway musical Memphis. The  two will receive the award for outstanding service to the arts community.

The AMA is an organization on campus consisting of more than 20 arts administration majors. The major is available to students interested in managing the arts, with tracks in music, theater, dance and arts and entrepreneurship.

Since the fall semester, the members of AMA have been planning the Self-Promotion Mixer, which brings students seeking arts-based internships, volunteer opportunities and employment together with major arts organizations.

Lisa Ann Wetzel, a junior arts administration major and co-president of the AMA, said she is excited to honor Frost and Adams at this year’s event.

“Sue and Randy have done so much for the arts industry,” Wetzel said. “After all of the time that members of the Arts Management Association have put into ensuring the success of the mixer, having two Tony Award-winning producers present is just icing on the cake.”

Todd Dellinger, a seasoned arts administrator who came to Rider this fall from Austin, Texas, is the adviser of the AMA. Dellinger commends its members for their efforts in making the mixer a reality.

“The students in this organization have done everything from the budgeting of the Self-Promotion Mixer to the advertising of the event,” Dellinger said. “They have reached out to several arts businesses, from Theatrical Rights Worldwide to Princeton Ballet School.”

In the past, students who attended the mixer have received internships at organizations like Opera New Jersey, the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company and The McCarter Theater. The event offers networking opportunities for students interested in all fields of art and the music industry.

Members of AMA are not only juggling the responsibilities of the Self-Promotion Mixer, but they have also chosen to simultaneously take on several arts-related projects.

Sophomore Louise Mayer, an arts management major and member of AMA, refers to the experience as “a balancing act.”

“The Arts Management Association hosts events and also helps other students with their individual arts endeavors,” Mayer said. “Basically, we are an organization looking to help Rider students achieve their goals. If a student comes to us asking for assistance in marketing a play he has produced, our members do all they can to make it happen.”

In April, AMA will be hosting “Rider’s Got Talent”on the Lawrenceville campus, which will feature performers from both campuses. There also will be a karaoke night on the Princeton campus, which is open to everyone at Rider.

The AMA members are putting last-minute touches on the events that they have been planning since the fall.

“People like Sue Frost and Randy Adams are truly inspiring,” Mayer said. “By being a part of the creation of events like the Self-Promotion Mixer, I am making a contribution to arts management here at Rider. Bringing the arts to other people is my passion. There is no other feeling like it.”

The internship mixer will be held in the Cavalla Room in the BLC on Thursday, April 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Students who are interested in attending should e-mail Joshua Levin at levinj@rider.edu to receive a registration form. Students must dress professionally and bring résumés and business cards.