This episode features TWO guests, Leah Edwards and Dimitri Pittas, founders of Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera in Charleston, South Carolina. Originally conceiving "HALO" in 2019 as a more traditional Opera company, COVID forced them to pivot. And not only surviving but thriving during that tricky time, they came to understand and nurture their community in ways that will forever change the landscape of the arts in Charleston. Their story and vision are truly inspirational, and one that I hope many arts communities around the country can lean on in this new post-COVID world. Please enjoy Leah and Dimitri and the story of HALO.
Find HALO!
https://holycityarts.org/
IG @holycityarts
Theme music written by Rachel Dean and orchestrated by Katie Coleman
Audio engineer Lane Sanders
Special thanks to the following folks from the SIX Boleyn Company for lending their voices to the intro:
Dylan Dineen
Sarah Ortiz
Jane Cardona
Kaitlin Ciccarelli
Mike Rukstad
Kami Lujan
Jillian Bartels
Find us!
on IG @howtosucceedintheater
https://howtosucceedintheater.buzzsprout.com
This episode features TWO guests, Leah Edwards and Dimitri Pittas, founders of Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera in Charleston, South Carolina. Originally conceiving "HALO" in 2019 as a more traditional Opera company, COVID forced them to pivot. And not only surviving but thriving during that tricky time, they came to understand and nurture their community in ways that will forever change the landscape of the arts in Charleston. Their story and vision are truly inspirational, and one that I hope many arts communities around the country can lean on in this new post-COVID world. Please enjoy Leah and Dimitri and the story of HALO.
Find HALO!
https://holycityarts.org/
IG @holycityarts
Theme music written by Rachel Dean and orchestrated by Katie Coleman
Audio engineer Lane Sanders
Special thanks to the following folks from the SIX Boleyn Company for lending their voices to the intro:
Dylan Dineen
Sarah Ortiz
Jane Cardona
Kaitlin Ciccarelli
Mike Rukstad
Kami Lujan
Jillian Bartels
Find us!
on IG @howtosucceedintheater
https://howtosucceedintheater.buzzsprout.com
00:15.26
Leah and Dimitri
Dmitri and I met in 2006 at the Santa Fe Opera where we were both singing both returned that fall back to New York where we had both been living.
I had just finished my master's at Juilliard and he had just finished his training years at the metropolitan opera and ah he went off into big career land doing european tours audition tourism things and I stayed in New York and got my first. Um. Dig with the encores series and that we sort of lived our best life you know globetrotting and and performing and it's a lot. Yeah, but all fun, all fun and then.
00:47.88
howtosucceed
Yeah.
00:54.37
howtosucceed
Yeah I do know I'm familiar. Yeah, it's a lot.. It's great, but it's a lot. Yeah.
01:06.47
Leah and Dimitri
Um, we got married in 2010 and continued all of that and then moved to Charleston in 2015 for sort of ah sunshine and palm trees I think yeah it was it was hard to yeah, it was hard to you know, kind of.
01:18.82
howtosucceed
Yeah, were you? So I'm curious about that. Let's go ahead.
01:25.92
Leah and Dimitri
Globe trot around the world and visit all of these beautiful amazing places and then come home for some downtime in between contracts and the downtime down that location was New York city where there is never any downtime and so um, we we kind of decided that um for our.
01:40.40
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah.
01:45.75
Leah and Dimitri
Kind of own health and sanity sake ah that we would make a move and um, we asked a lot of friends and colleagues about um cities that they love to visit or we could could consider living and Charleston kept coming up but we had never we never experienced Charleston at all. So. We stopped here in January of 2015 spent 36 hours came back a month later and put in an offer on a house that is that kind of it was that beautiful and that um, warm and hospitable and and we loved it and you know it's ah it's a short.
02:13.95
howtosucceed
Oh Wow. Ah.
02:20.45
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah.
02:23.64
Leah and Dimitri
It's got a great little airport. Um, so not not so little anymore. Um, they're breaking their records every six months it seems like but um, you know we can get anywhere. We need to from here. Um, and so we decided to make it our home and kind of lived that that quiet ah life.
02:29.66
howtosucceed
Wow.
02:43.15
Leah and Dimitri
For ah for a few years. Maybe um, you know we run off on our gigs and our adventures and we'd come back and you know mow the lawns in our t-shirts and garden and stuff like that and and our our neighbors thought that we were we weren for spies. Yeah.
02:59.30
howtosucceed
Ah, so were you guys able to coordinate schedules so that you were both there at the same time or was it often like 1 or the other yeah that's hard.
03:08.71
Leah and Dimitri
sometimes um sometimes yeah it's you know what? the 2 2 performers right? like it's very hard to to coordinate those those things. Um, but when we when we could we we would and otherwise um.
03:15.20
howtosucceed
Yeah, right.
03:24.70
Leah and Dimitri
You know we would just kind of not be together. Um until we were again. So um, we had people that would you know come and mow on mow our lawn and feed our cloyfish in the pond in the backyard and stuff like that make sure that everything in the house is ok, um.
03:27.39
howtosucceed
Rape.
03:36.16
howtosucceed
Wow. Ah, oh my goodness.
03:39.67
Leah and Dimitri
Yeah, and then um, but we didn't really have much Um, um, we didn't a lot of performing here. Yeah, that wasn't the point. The point was to not do what we do when we were here because no, no, that's.
03:45.69
howtosucceed
Sure right? Yeah and I'm curious. Sorry gone. Well I'm curious. What what like the state of the arts were in Charleston at that time like what was going on. In opera theater music.
04:07.84
Leah and Dimitri
Well, um, ah ah I'd love to answer that with a short little anecdote. Um, maybe you can. It's your story you you should be the one to tell it know about our neighbor walking up to us and oh. No, no, please. So so we were in the front yard doing something someday and it was a beautiful day because it's Charleston and um, a neighbor is walking by that we hadn't met yet and she said hey now somebody tell me y'all are opera singers. That's like.
04:25.38
howtosucceed
Yeah, ah sure.
04:38.74
Leah and Dimitri
That's like a play where you sing the whole time right? and we said? yeah yeah I mean you're not wrong. Sure Yes, that is a very good way of putting it? Um, but if if that I'm not sure if that is an indicator or not um, the fact is is that um there is a wonderful.
04:45.60
howtosucceed
Right? true.
04:58.10
Leah and Dimitri
World festival here the scalleto festival which has existed since 1977 and um, you know every every summer for about two or three weeks they put on between 1 and 3 operatic productions every year and there are and there are great theaters and great venues here. Um. But but what what we notice as we talk to all of our you know all of our neighbors and all of the friends we were meeting who lived here full time is that not a lot of them actually knew what splato was what they did or about opera oh and in general, the.
05:32.98
howtosucceed
Sure.
05:36.50
Leah and Dimitri
Arts education in this town from preschool even mommy and metime. Um and then definitely in preschool through high school. We have award-winning marching bands. We have all of these amazing solo careers that have come out of Charleston.
05:47.60
howtosucceed
Great.
05:53.97
Leah and Dimitri
We've got great young theater Programs Education performances with Charlesston stage and they're just there's so much emphasis on Arts education and then you graduate high school and they're like go get a real job or ah.
05:54.24
howtosucceed
Ah.
06:13.10
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah, yes, I'm very familiar with that. Yeah.
06:13.48
Leah and Dimitri
You know, like what have you done from the ages of 4 to 17 that is so committed and then you have to go somewhere else to do it. So There's not when yeah and we we There is not um, a significant was not a significant presence of. Professional opportunity. Um.
06:33.50
howtosucceed
Sure and was the community generally supportive of the the venues that did exist or I mean it sounds like there weren't very many opportunities but I know in some communities people love to support the arts and others they're like oh I don't know that's not something.
06:50.80
Leah and Dimitri
Um, well Charleston I think much like some other parts of the country is in a very interesting position. Um in this post pandemic world because we we did see a huge migration of of people come from the larger cities in the northeast.
07:03.63
howtosucceed
Oh oh sure.
07:09.33
Leah and Dimitri
Um, and and even further towards the midwest come down and um I think one you know they they fell in love with it much in the same way that that we fell in love with it. It's you know, sunshine and palm trees and 68 degree weather in the middle of January there's not a lot to you know, not like about that.
07:22.64
howtosucceed
Wow.
07:26.49
Leah and Dimitri
Um, but I think I think they they're starting to kind of they're seeing the same thing that we saw which was that um you know coming from New York and and les from Richmond also which is a really you know there's a lot of arts and culture in the town and I think that it just.
07:40.90
howtosucceed
Yeah, my.
07:44.62
Leah and Dimitri
You know New York is obviously an anomaly you can't you know you can find anything whenever wherever you want it in New York and in some other cities you have to kind of either seek it out or you have to wait for the certain time to come in order to appreciate it and I think that that's what a lot of people are finding out is that.
07:48.52
howtosucceed
Yeah, yeah.
07:55.92
howtosucceed
1 hang.
08:02.66
Leah and Dimitri
That there isn't that much frequency of that kind of art or let's say Opera and musical theater and so ah so they're you know part of part of the game is that um, they've moved down here but you know they're still um, contributing and still become. They're still um, you know? ah.
08:07.18
howtosucceed
Right.
08:22.59
Leah and Dimitri
Audience members of the companies from from whence they came and um, you know so it's it's I think philanthropically the arts are not where philanthropy has traditionally been set in Charleston um.
08:25.27
howtosucceed
Right? That's great. Yeah.
08:36.21
howtosucceed
Sure yeah.
08:41.99
Leah and Dimitri
Philanthropy you know we have we have 2 really huge performing art centers the North Charleston performer art center where all the national tours come through and so that's a very ticket based you know that those shows come through and even subscriptions you're buying shows.
08:55.33
howtosucceed
Right? yes. Yeah.
09:01.81
Leah and Dimitri
You're buying tickets and so I think culturally what we know called our Charleston Community we what we know and what we're used to is that tickets support the arts and that is or like you know, paying for lessons.
09:06.93
howtosucceed
Yeah.
09:14.61
howtosucceed
Saha. Right.
09:19.37
Leah and Dimitri
When you're a younger you know that paying for lessons supports the arts and there is not an understanding I suppose there is a lack of understanding that philanthropy is what actually fuels the arts and what supports the arts but it is not to get sales.
09:23.35
howtosucceed
Yeah.
09:31.25
howtosucceed
Yeah.
09:36.99
Leah and Dimitri
Um, and in this post pandemic world that we're all coming back to you know 1 $35 ticket does not a $300000 production make they so.
09:37.59
howtosucceed
Right? ah.
09:50.38
howtosucceed
Ah, if only yeah yeah.
09:55.93
Leah and Dimitri
I mean we're good, but we're not that good. Ah, right turns out, we're not magicianss in that money does not as amazing as Charleston this money does not grow on trees here here. Um so I think that just that that's an adjustment that is.
09:58.89
howtosucceed
Ah, ah yeah, right.
10:05.50
howtosucceed
Yeah.
10:13.66
Leah and Dimitri
You know, cultural adjustments don't happen overnight and and the arts are um, the arts are inserted into Charleston and then they are moved away and and so it's a very event based and ticket based opportunity. Um, and.
10:15.11
howtosucceed
Yeah.
10:23.82
howtosucceed
Yeah.
10:31.22
howtosucceed
Ah.
10:32.86
Leah and Dimitri
And so the concept of Artistic Philanthropy is one that we are trying to to grow and sustain. So.
10:42.20
howtosucceed
That's a big undertaking but so necessary so congratulations I think that everywhere in the country needs that right now. So you're really good job.
10:47.48
Leah and Dimitri
Um.
10:54.48
Leah and Dimitri
Yeah, things. No I mean that's ah we all obviously had our own experiences during the pandemic and we had the the concept of Halo had begun before um and but what it sort of.
11:10.20
howtosucceed
Ah.
11:13.19
Leah and Dimitri
Has organically you know we were gifted this opportunity to really be in the community with our truck concerts and and out and so whereas we wouldn't ordinarily have had this opportunity to understand initially what the you know issue may have been. We literally had.
11:25.86
howtosucceed
Her.
11:32.15
Leah and Dimitri
Q and a session at every single concert we did to say what is scary What is great. What would make you support the arts consistently. What would you know? and so we got a lot of like actual impact information that we've been able to digest.
11:39.74
howtosucceed
Oh yeah.
11:52.70
Leah and Dimitri
As well which has helped significantly in the process.
11:53.13
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's amazing. That's really great and was the audience receptive to that at first were they happy to answer your questions or were they kind of timid like oh you're you're doing great.
12:06.40
Leah and Dimitri
Um, yes, all about all of us some of our of course some of our greatest um audience members are kids because they bear all truth yes and um, so we really we really learn a lot.
12:07.94
howtosucceed
Ah I bet.
12:12.79
howtosucceed
Yeah, we're honest, yeah.
12:22.88
Leah and Dimitri
In talking to children because we also understand how their parents think in a sense and um and we were doing this one concert. Um, so we we take we in the tort in the plan pandemic about a month in we took a pickup truck.
12:28.15
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's true.
12:39.89
Leah and Dimitri
We put a piano on the back of it and we sang concerts in any way. Any place that we could fit a pickup truck. We would go and sing a concert whether it were a park or a driveway we'd shut down streets in downtown Charleston it was just amazing and we did this 1 concert on Daniel Island and ah somebody who somebody had.
12:42.21
howtosucceed
Cool. Ah, that's so cool.
12:49.77
howtosucceed
Wow.
12:58.39
Leah and Dimitri
And ordered an ice cream truck for free like I guess they did just paid for the kids to have ice cream while they while we were there giving the concert thought it wouldn't be interesting. This was a mom friend of mine. It was like can the kids come and I said yes of course um, and she was like ok, whatever and 1 of her friends brought.
13:02.66
howtosucceed
Okay, great. Yeah. Yeah.
13:17.12
Leah and Dimitri
Ah, had just ordered the ice cream truck to be there because she was like the kids are never going to sit still for this? Yeah, so we're singing and obviously the kids are in complete Awe Jaws drop down to the chin the whole time and so back then we didn't we were just singing and we would introduce the numbers.
13:21.60
howtosucceed
The kids. But oh my gosh. Okay, and ah.
13:26.89
howtosucceed
Yeah.
13:35.90
Leah and Dimitri
And say what was going on between the characters or what the character was going through and then we would sing the piece and so we were doing that and then about after the third number or fourth number we said does anybody have any questions and this little 6 or 7 year old raised his hand There's definitely 3 sorry only because I remember the 3 year old 3 at the same time I was like at least this did not come from my child's mouth ah very young so he he raised this and said oh we have a question. Yes, sure stand up speak really loud and and ask your question and I mean we're looking at him and he's a young kid.
13:56.80
howtosucceed
Ah, okay so very young, very young. Ah yeah.
14:08.38
howtosucceed
Yeah, oh.
14:10.26
Leah and Dimitri
He's holding an ice cream cone and the ice cream is melting off of the onto his hands I mean it was just like that. So in other words, he was so enthralled with what we were doing. He stopped eating his ice cream and he stood up and he said could you speak less and sing more please and that was.
14:17.55
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah, ah.
14:24.51
howtosucceed
Oh wow, that's truth telling. Yeah you know what.
14:29.59
Leah and Dimitri
Yeah, um, it was amazing to us. Yeah, and so that's when we got the idea listening to people and engaging with the community. That's when we decided. Okay, we've got to put some subtitles up from when we're singing in languages that is in english and we put ah the next concert we had we put a forty two inch
14:41.71
howtosucceed
Right.
14:47.20
Leah and Dimitri
Led Tv and we ran subtitles and we've been doing it ever since.
14:52.16
howtosucceed
That's amazing. You know what? I really love about this is I do feel like there's an idea for artists. Especially maybe maybe in New York but in in like high levels of art that we're doing this for the art. Not for the audience. And that like commercial theater is doing it for the money. But really that we have to do this for the audience like there would be no arts if it weren't for the audience and so to to open yourself up and be vulnerable in that way and you're really giving a gift to them. You're saying we have this.
15:10.40
Leah and Dimitri
And he.
15:27.60
howtosucceed
That we want to give to you but we need to know how to give it to you and to just listen. That's really incredible.
15:30.65
Leah and Dimitri
Um, yeah, well and that's what it was I I do think you know Demetri and I have always had a conversation going about this.
15:40.67
howtosucceed
Yeah.
15:41.96
Leah and Dimitri
Um, you know singing exactly as you say like opera has this elitist thing that it's all about the rise of the diva and the throwing of the flowers to the 1 person and the claing in between acts and you know all of that that is very. You're here to lavish praise on how amazing I am.
15:58.69
howtosucceed
Yeah.
16:01.20
Leah and Dimitri
But not, there's no focus on name and you know commercial theater is like you're all about selling merch to me for you know my joy be you know, but like basically you're here for me right? Um, and so Dmetri and I have always had this thing that like I don't you know if we sing in a.
16:12.15
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah.
16:20.20
howtosucceed
Yeah.
16:20.50
Leah and Dimitri
Coffee house. It's no different. My art is not different singing in a coffee house than it is standing on the stage of the met right? It's just the pressures might be different but my art should not be different and so oh yeah, yeah.
16:28.42
howtosucceed
That's true. Although I think sometimes singing in a tiny venue is harder than in a large venue. It's very intimate. Yeah.
16:40.37
Leah and Dimitri
Well and that's the thing is that that has pushed both of us outside like it's in theory. The thing that we like the most but when um, but when you're faced with it. You have you have to you know your text and your face and your interactions and there's no spacing out.
16:58.82
howtosucceed
Ah, right? yeah.
16:59.93
Leah and Dimitri
Right? There's no phoning it in it is you're in it and and so we are that the very first concert that we did in our driveway I mean everybody fell apart we were all weeping it was April Sixteenth of 2020 like nobody knew what was going on in the world.
17:11.69
howtosucceed
Oh oh gosh. Yeah.
17:19.31
Leah and Dimitri
Everybody Everyone knew you know was dying from a thing we didn't know anything about it just it was like this weird apocalyptic moment in time and all we know how to do is communicate through our art and and so that's what we did and then we had our neighbors who.
17:24.50
howtosucceed
Bright time? yeah.
17:32.74
howtosucceed
Um, yeah.
17:38.66
Leah and Dimitri
Only know us as neighbors. They don't really care who we who we are and you know quote unquote right? Don't you know who I am ah and and and and it was just like neighbors and human beings creating.
17:41.71
howtosucceed
Yeah, what? what? you've been in sure. Yeah, yeah.
17:53.72
howtosucceed
Yeah.
17:56.67
Leah and Dimitri
You know, sharing this moment and everybody had a job their job was to listen and to feel our energy that we were singing and communicating and and giving and nobody. There was 0 judgment like.
18:01.73
howtosucceed
Um, yeah.
18:14.24
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah.
18:15.42
Leah and Dimitri
What is opera or what is theater and there was no like don't you know these people I mean it was just like everyone was equal on equal footing and we were all weeping at the end of this and the only thing anyone could say was great. So same time next week and all this boy I don't know sure.
18:22.29
howtosucceed
Yeah.
18:30.80
howtosucceed
Yeah, oh of course I don't know or like tomorrow. Yeah.
18:35.54
Leah and Dimitri
Yeah, um, and still we right? Yeah and so we we did and like just even from our 25 neighbors around who would come to our driveway concerts. Originally um, you know we had this like somebody would be crying. And they'd say I don't even know that it's supposed to be crying. Even I think you are which means that you are tell me more and so we got to learn like what did it make you feel in all these conversations that you always want to have but like as professional sometimes we don't have that.
18:58.25
howtosucceed
Ah, yes, yeah.
19:05.19
howtosucceed
Yeah, right? Yeah, yeah, sure.
19:12.52
Leah and Dimitri
Time or capacity or you know it's just and and we just had the pandemic gave us this like warped sense of time to get to know our community and what our art needs to be for them to reflect.
19:21.56
howtosucceed
Right.
19:31.29
Leah and Dimitri
What they want to hear and so it's just it's a luxury that so many companies have not had I mean I think the opportunity to to explore because of structure or whatever like we didn't have any and and really the the bones of it is that a nonprofit should.
19:35.13
howtosucceed
Um, yeah.
19:41.76
howtosucceed
Sure yeah.
19:50.89
Leah and Dimitri
Should exist for the community in which it is right? and so what is what is the point of putting on an art if if the people that are here aren't going to like and now of course there's educational elements in that.
19:52.87
howtosucceed
Yeah.
20:01.76
howtosucceed
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:05.83
Leah and Dimitri
But really the majority of it is telling stories in ways that our community can relate to and that's that's really what what Halo is all about and it's.
20:09.48
howtosucceed
Right? Yeah and what an opportunity to like nurture your community at such a tough time and then build trust with them to then have a loyal base when times are back to Normal. That's great.
20:27.94
Leah and Dimitri
Yeah, that's it's a new. Um, it's a new experience I Think with people are willing to trust that like they know who we are.
20:42.58
howtosucceed
Yeah.
20:45.58
Leah and Dimitri
But like are am I going to come sit through at opera when like I've hit the driveway concert right? But it's I don't know that I'm ready for you know a full 2 hour thing so yeah yeah, and it's it's really interesting. We're actually that's a lot of.
20:54.60
howtosucceed
Right? Yeah yeah, small buy ins. Yeah yeah.
21:05.33
Leah and Dimitri
Um, the work that we're starting to do now is we have 3 years of data of audience data and where people are willing to go and what they're willing to do and it's it's a little. It's a little bit like New York here like neighborhoods pockets of people. You know you've got.
21:09.15
howtosucceed
Yeah.
21:22.80
howtosucceed
Yeah, sure. Yeah yeah, but.
21:25.46
Leah and Dimitri
Manhattan and Brooklyn and queens and you know near the twain shell meet right? or or sometimes those those people who travel right? Yeah yeah, and so I love your Queen's apartment we're we we're Queen's people than we lived in in.
21:31.72
howtosucceed
Ah, crossed over right I live in Queens here I am in my Queen's apartment. So I think oh good, good good.
21:45.27
Leah and Dimitri
Wood side the good side that's great. Um, and and it just so we that again just with the truck got to know all of the different pockets of people and so we're still able to really transfer that into our larger.
21:57.16
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's so cool.
22:05.20
Leah and Dimitri
Season programming is like we can do one program um high impact low stress for us. We take 1 program and we do it downtown on a Saturday night and then we do it on kiwa on a Sunday afternoon and like so we have all these.
22:07.30
howtosucceed
Ah.
22:20.91
howtosucceed
Oh.
22:24.30
Leah and Dimitri
Have this opportunity to really continue to reach and engage audiences where they are um rather than you know we are here in this place at this time and you come to me, you know it's.
22:27.24
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's so cool.
22:38.67
howtosucceed
Yeah, right right? ah.
22:42.94
Leah and Dimitri
And it's It's really obviously hard and logistics are a challenge but um, but but that's part of continuing earning their trust and it's going there. It's like rather than making them. You know come across the bridge to see it. We go over the bridge.
22:46.58
howtosucceed
Um, yeah, yeah, so right.
22:57.90
howtosucceed
Right? Yeah, that's so great. So I'm just I don't want to take up too much of your time but I do I'm really curious so it's tricky for artists often to go from performers to like.
22:59.30
Leah and Dimitri
We grab their hands and we say okay whenever you're ready Now you can kind of come you come back with us.
23:13.10
Leah and Dimitri
Um.
23:15.54
howtosucceed
Business people so you too founded this company So now what does that mean for your day-to-day lives and what challenges have you faced in leading a company that you weren't that you didn't have to know before as performers.
23:27.84
Leah and Dimitri
Well, your audience can't see before before this organization began I had hair and there was no white in my beard and now I am oh yes, yeah, super yeah, everyone should just start a business. It just like magically.
23:40.90
howtosucceed
Ah, so it's been easy.
23:46.21
howtosucceed
Yeah I mean you guys make it sound easy.
23:48.12
Leah and Dimitri
And we look look we so we the the concept actually came around the org that the the nonprofit itself existed in 2019 before the pandemic began. Um, and so um.
24:01.23
howtosucceed
Wow. Okay.
24:07.40
Leah and Dimitri
1 of the things that we had to learn very quickly was how to pivot. Um, because we had we yeah we had these grand ideas of you know we knew what what it was. You know we had an idea of what we wanted to do for our big you know inaugural production performance thing. And yeah, you know.
24:12.50
howtosucceed
Didn't we all didn't we all? yeah.
24:26.61
Leah and Dimitri
And then March Twenty Twenty rolled around and we were like okay well we end and how you know our it really ended up taking off um the organization that up taking off rather out of our outreach which is not really something that a lot of nonprofit organizations. Do first right right? You develop yourself you develop your product.
24:36.69
howtosucceed
Sure you didn't expect that. Yeah.
24:44.80
Leah and Dimitri
Right? And then you start to go out there and with us it was just the opposite and I think it was um, it was very helpful for us because we got to develop the product again like what we were saying for the community and by engaging the community. Um, so you know there aren't There aren't a lot of books on how to do that.
24:45.42
howtosucceed
Sure.
24:55.90
howtosucceed
Yeah.
25:02.38
Leah and Dimitri
Right? There's a lot of there's a lot of books on how to develop your product and then sell it. Um and exactly um so you know some of the stuff came on the fly. Obviously we have been around in the business and businesses of opera and musical Theater Broadway for long enough.
25:04.62
howtosucceed
How to write a business plan. Sure.
25:17.79
howtosucceed
Yeah, which is it's impossible I mean it's it not easy. You knew that it wasn't easy. Yeah yeah.
25:20.47
Leah and Dimitri
To know how everything works. Um, but it's not right right? Well and I think you know too we had again. We had a little more time we were doing 8 to ten shows a week but on a truck and we had 2 tiny people that required to be you know, fed and clothed and loved.
25:31.73
howtosucceed
Um, yeah.
25:37.72
howtosucceed
You start small sure. Yeah.
25:39.71
Leah and Dimitri
Um, but but in our spare time. Um, no, we had the opportunity to actually read and to take courses you know at Cornell and doing all the online things that were suddenly available. Um, you know, taking business courses taking leadership courses and actually getting to interact with us.
25:47.15
howtosucceed
Cool. Yeah.
25:59.37
Leah and Dimitri
Ah, you know we as artists were all trapped in our homes. But so was everyone else and so everyone else that took to the the world of Youtube and or you know any sort of sharing their expertise in in a minute. Um.
26:02.11
howtosucceed
Yeah, right.
26:15.51
howtosucceed
Yeah.
26:18.56
Leah and Dimitri
Was really helpful for us that that all of a sudden. There's the condensing of the um, what exact points to write your you know to to talk to a donor and we just um.
26:28.67
howtosucceed
Not a.
26:32.35
Leah and Dimitri
You know make your first big. Ask it was like great. Let's read up on this you know and and and be able to say you know working with friends who had expanded into development and fundraising and all these places we we got to but who were friends from the arts. Um, who had done this before us had made this transition transition prior to the pandemic. Um, you know we that there was a lot of email flying back and forth with um, you know how can we make this happen and then they would make a suggestion and we would do that and that the test in a just period.
26:52.40
howtosucceed
Right? right.
27:09.90
Leah and Dimitri
Is hilariously active in halo's life in our lives. Um, we were very fortunate that a lot of our friends and colleagues that were that are into business weren't working and so they actually had time to sit down with us over a Zoom or a conversation.
27:12.50
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah, that's great.
27:22.88
howtosucceed
Right? Ah yeah.
27:26.71
Leah and Dimitri
And you know I was able we were able to you know, essentially build relationships and with mentors and things that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to do because they would have been too busy for it. So you know we the the whole thing was about making lemonade out of lemons and um and you know it was would not.
27:37.26
howtosucceed
Schmur.
27:43.73
howtosucceed
Um, yeah.
27:46.80
Leah and Dimitri
It didn't come without a lot of effort and a lot of hard work I say this is I love that we're sitting here and being like it's fine. It just happens like so like our desk is a disaster. Why of us can find anything ever and and but we do again as artists as performers as. You know magicians with quotes around it like that is our job is to show the beauty that that it's completely put together but it is it is an insane amount of work. We are up very frequently at two o'clock in the morning when one of us like wakes the other one up and is like this thing.
28:07.14
howtosucceed
That's true, right? Yeah yeah, oh my gosh. Yeah.
28:22.48
Leah and Dimitri
Like let's write it down or let's just go downstairs and you know so it's it's ah.
28:23.79
howtosucceed
Ah, and do you guys have a staff now is it just just the 2 of you.
28:32.70
Leah and Dimitri
Ah, we have an amazing ah group of volunteer ah givers. Yeah, but we they offer time and they and an expertise if they have it in that field which a lot of them. Do.
28:40.12
howtosucceed
Great.
28:49.46
howtosucceed
Yeah.
28:51.18
Leah and Dimitri
Um, a fair amount of them are retired and so they and they want to they love what it is that we do and what we what? how we present it to the community and so they want to see us succeed. Um, so we we have ah we have a lot of support by that way. Um, we have some.
28:56.45
howtosucceed
Yeah.
29:04.45
howtosucceed
Right? Yeah sure. Yeah, that's great. Ah right? and then yeah.
29:10.70
Leah and Dimitri
Contracted staff. You know when when it's necessary getting for productions and things front of house and Pr and graphic design and all of that like it's but otherwise it's you, you're listening to the staff. Yeah.
29:22.24
howtosucceed
Yeah, just and what about the the workload between the 2 of you just one of you focus more on like the numbers and the other or how does that work. Ah yeah.
29:27.94
Leah and Dimitri
Ah, staff.
29:33.39
Leah and Dimitri
Um, you know it's funny when we first started we kind of shared everything um and and and as the as the years have gone by it seems um we have realized you know what it is that we're good at and what we can offer the organization individually. Um.
29:46.98
howtosucceed
Her.
29:50.94
Leah and Dimitri
You know? and so whereas you know in in 2020 we were saying that we're co-founders you know, um, now it's much we are still co-founders. But now it's like the line is much more clear in some respects as to what it is that that we both bring.
29:56.82
howtosucceed
Yeah.
30:08.36
Leah and Dimitri
You know from our own experiences but there are quite. There's still quite a few things that um, you know are better when we're together and that is the great thing about about you know, working with and in my case under your spouse is that.
30:08.71
howtosucceed
Ah.
30:15.61
howtosucceed
Yeah, right.
30:26.22
Leah and Dimitri
You know I can I I a task master as a boss for sure. My deadlines are are sharp. Um, yeah, no no I just it's it's definitely a that's you know nonprofit 1 a 1 is like when you're the.
30:35.15
howtosucceed
That's great. That's great. Ah yeah, what.
30:45.20
Leah and Dimitri
When you found a nonprofit. It's like immediately or as soon as possible. Get rid of your jobs that you either don't want or you're spending too much time doing because it's not your first thing and yeah, yeah, and dmitry and I you know again as life partners. It's sort of convenient that.
30:53.86
howtosucceed
Yeah, like outsource. Yeah.
31:04.52
Leah and Dimitri
That you you sort of find your life partner who is good at things that you're not right? That's how life this this art works. Yeah ideally and so that um, you know we both had significant experience. Um doing really different things and so.
31:07.68
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's how it works Ideally, yeah.
31:24.49
Leah and Dimitri
As you know as we set ourselves as general and artistic director which was I like not even a conversation. It was just like you're this and I'm this you know it's it was yeah um, and then as that you know sort of living moving into marketing materials and then like I would write all the copy and he would.
31:32.36
howtosucceed
It was clear. Yeah cool.
31:44.22
howtosucceed
Wow! yeah.
31:44.32
Leah and Dimitri
Make everything look pretty and it just like it started making it very clear. Ah, very clear boundaries about ah you know to then how to build the rest of it out of that and like but no spread spreadsheets Dmitri and I are now exceptional at excel just as I'm like giving our resumes out.
31:54.22
howtosucceed
Right.
32:01.21
howtosucceed
Ah, okay.
32:03.31
Leah and Dimitri
We are very skilled at Excel are.
32:06.67
howtosucceed
Ah, all right? That's plan B if things don't work out and so what is the long term plan Now What's the vision.
32:14.91
Leah and Dimitri
The same is what it was in 2019 and you know we get. We get asked that a lot and I think that that really says something to the strength of the organization. Um, you know from ah from an aesthetic standpoint um or to paint a picture if you will.
32:17.73
howtosucceed
Wow. Okay, yeah.
32:27.65
howtosucceed
Ah.
32:33.86
Leah and Dimitri
Um, our vision is so that is that that audiences from near and far come they sit down um in in our in wherever it is that we are performing and um, they get to hear let's say. You know the overture to a mozart opera while they're you know smelling the the plouff mud of low tide that's kind of you know those experiences which are you know it's all it's all of the sensations. So Puff mud is like it's the really rich.
33:03.61
howtosucceed
So I don't know what that means.
33:10.55
Leah and Dimitri
Rich, Rich dark kind of clay that you find a low tide. Yeah, when you walk out, It's kind of if if you've ever been here before and you walk out in the low tide At some point you're going to step in. You're gonna go too deep and you're gonna lose your flip flop to you know to puff mud. It's just there is a distinct scent at low tide that is.
33:11.21
howtosucceed
Soil. Yeah oh Wow I'm not.
33:22.70
howtosucceed
Okay, got it. Ah.
33:29.62
Leah and Dimitri
Different than a New York low type. No but it's yeah and in all of that. It's just what what was clarified. Um, you know it's it's the magic of Santa Fe is what originally we wanted to create here.
33:43.69
howtosucceed
Yeah.
33:45.67
Leah and Dimitri
Um, you know that open-air experience the entire campus where wherever you go there is music and rehearsal and just artistic energy I always as a kid from sixth grade I went to chamber music camp in the mountains and it just making music.
33:51.62
howtosucceed
Right? yeah.
34:00.26
howtosucceed
Oh cool outside. Yeah.
34:04.70
Leah and Dimitri
Outdoors it where everyone everyone can hear it. Everyone can experience it and you know the the the line of art that sort of just dances throughout. Everyone's lives and becomes intertwined that's.
34:07.92
howtosucceed
Yeah.
34:19.58
howtosucceed
Yeah.
34:21.76
Leah and Dimitri
That's the whole goal and then it was really amplified in the pandemic that that was exactly what we were creating and business structure wise we had to adjust that a little bit but other than that the idea was just like yes this is our brand. It is.
34:29.19
howtosucceed
Yeah, sure. Yeah yeah.
34:40.89
Leah and Dimitri
Bringing you know, using using art to connect people to find common ground to to create the common ground essentially and so it it Yeah ah young old. It's a challenge people keep saying who's your target audience and.
34:50.65
howtosucceed
Right? That's great.
34:58.46
howtosucceed
Oh yeah, yeah, a business coach would not like that. But that's okay, everyone in Charleston so there I also saw something on your website about Charleston being the birthplace of opera.
35:00.97
Leah and Dimitri
Everyone's mad at me for saying everyone. But yeah, might not not working on that.
35:14.61
Leah and Dimitri
Um, yeah, the very thing in seventeen thirty five on the corner of church and broad street on the peninsula in downtown Charleston existed an edifice called sheep said tavern and this.
35:15.18
howtosucceed
What What do you mean by that. Ah.
35:21.90
howtosucceed
Okay.
35:28.80
howtosucceed
Um, ah okay.
35:32.44
Leah and Dimitri
It it was a it was a 2 story multi-story building and on the second floor was called the long room and by day the long room would be held used for anything from government like to be used as ah as a courtroom for the government to you know, holding other sorts of meetings and things like that. And then in the evening it would quite often be used for entertainment and in 35 and ah, a production of a show came over from London on a ship and um, they mounted it in that in the long room of sheep said tavern.
36:04.99
howtosucceed
Bahan wow! oh.
36:10.10
Leah and Dimitri
Um, and um, so that was essentially the first time that a full production was ever presented on these shores in North America um, contrary to what a lot of people think um, you know a lot of people say that. Um.
36:18.44
howtosucceed
Yeah, wow, That's amazing.
36:28.23
howtosucceed
I Love New Orleans. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay that makes sense.
36:28.55
Leah and Dimitri
New Orleans norleans yeah but they are the ah right? No yes of course they had brought the first french opera and but it was not the first opera. The first opera was in fact, played here in Charleston in 1735 called flora and then.
36:41.27
howtosucceed
Oh my gosh. Okay.
36:47.36
Leah and Dimitri
It played the next year when the dock street theater which is touted as America's first house exclusively for entertainment opened in 1736 and it played again there and so the that history of opera.
36:55.34
howtosucceed
Okay. Wow.
37:06.58
Leah and Dimitri
And Charleston is as long as opera history in America and and Charleston has never had its own local homegrown opera company and so that was but what left what flora.
37:09.51
howtosucceed
Yeah, that's so cool.
37:20.47
howtosucceed
Right? wow.
37:25.89
Leah and Dimitri
Left Charleston and became as it expanded um was what grew in ballot opera grew into modern day american musical theater or I suppose original the original versions twenty s to the 60 s of of american musical theater and so.
37:31.90
howtosucceed
Ah.
37:35.26
howtosucceed
Yeah, sure.
37:42.50
howtosucceed
Yeah.
37:44.25
Leah and Dimitri
That's why we honor both. We are not an opera company. We are a performing arts organization because we honor both traditions and and the intersection. Absolutely absolutely yeah and you know the first.
37:48.38
howtosucceed
Yeah, right and Opera was the musical theater of its day like it was the popular theater of its day. So now we just have.
38:03.70
Leah and Dimitri
The first radio waves that were that was ever sent out was you know and Rico Caruso singing and he was that was the popular music and and it you know it never really changed popular music changed I guess but um, but ah yeah, it was so it was it was what you did.
38:10.50
howtosucceed
Ah, right? Yeah yeah, the styles.
38:21.53
howtosucceed
Right.
38:22.49
Leah and Dimitri
It was you know, um, and and even then you know for the century after that. Um it continued music continued to flourish here. Some of it was in the forms of um salon concerts and things like that and so you know what what halo does is prevent present everything from large-scale productions um to smaller intimate concerts and conversations with artists and things like that. Um in order to continue to um to like Leah said um, honor both all of the traditions.
38:50.36
howtosucceed
Yeah.
38:58.52
howtosucceed
Um, yeah, that's what go.
39:00.14
Leah and Dimitri
And European Opera and but American musical theater and I'm a giant nerd and I didn't know this right? As someone who does all of this for a living and I did not know any of this information then I took a very deep dive into nerd them and curated a whole.
39:06.75
howtosucceed
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:17.93
Leah and Dimitri
Walking tour right? We have this beautiful historic city and you know porgy and bess was written about a story here written by a Charleston author um novelist and then Gershwin came here and at the piano that Gershwin wrote Poy and bass on.
39:19.31
howtosucceed
Yeah.
39:27.49
howtosucceed
So cool.
39:34.95
howtosucceed
Ah, ah oh.
39:35.91
Leah and Dimitri
Is here at you can see it at our museums and so ah, you know we curated this walking tour. It's a 90 minute walking tour and everyone's like but you're an opera company. Why do you have a walking tour and I basically said because I'm a giant door and you should come on our walking tour. There's at least 90 minutes
39:45.32
howtosucceed
Aha.
39:51.75
howtosucceed
Yeah, um, yeah of information that's so cool. Yeah.
39:55.84
Leah and Dimitri
Worth of exploring exploration. Yeah yeah, and so and then you get to walk around Charleston too and you can go to our website and see when that's offered. Ah.
40:06.66
howtosucceed
Yeah I was looking at it and I'm like oh my gosh I I really want to go to Charleston this looks so amazing I'm so inspired by your story and I think that this is a really great model for even just community theaters around the country as a way to engage with the audiences at a time when the world's changing.
40:12.67
Leah and Dimitri
Ah, yeah.
40:25.83
howtosucceed
And so I commend all that you have done so great. How's yeah I know ah I really want to it sounds lovely. Maybe I'll go in like January or February when it's freezing cold here and I need a a break. Ah, for.
40:27.70
Leah and Dimitri
Thank you, thank you please come come to Charleston.
40:40.10
Leah and Dimitri
Um, jet jetblue and delta have direct flights multiple times a day from laguardia and Jfk. Um.
40:45.27
howtosucceed
Likes Ah okay, all look ah where do people so your website which I will link to on the show notes. But um, do you have any other social media exciting things that where people can find you.
40:58.26
Leah and Dimitri
Sure we are on all of the socials at holy city arts um, we're on Facebook we're on Instagram we're on. We're even on formally known as Twitter I think um, it's yeah x.
40:59.20
howtosucceed
Great. Okay.
41:10.25
howtosucceed
So X Ah, okay.
41:13.92
Leah and Dimitri
Um, and of course our website where you can find most of that information and I am toying with I'm toying with getting on the Tiktok I haven't figured out I haven't figured out what the voice is going to be for halo on Tiktok. Um, but we're we're definitely toying with it. This is.
41:25.42
howtosucceed
Ah, same right? Yeah, ah.
41:33.60
Leah and Dimitri
This is more people that's a lot of feedback people are like you guys should be on Tiktok I mean I'm like but do what will you watch and so we're just starting to get that input. Um I yes.
41:37.40
howtosucceed
Oh my gosh right? Yeah yeah, maybe find like a fifteen year old who can come just follow you around with our phone and design him for.
41:54.25
Leah and Dimitri
Exactly that.
41:56.31
howtosucceed
Ah, yeah I feel the same way. Great. Thank you both. So thank you all so much. This is lovely.
42:38.34
Leah and Dimitri
I Think it's awesome. We had a great time. Yeah, thanks so much for having us. Thank you. Thank you.
42:44.95
Charlotte Mabry
So thank you.