Speaker
Karen Foster
Stories from a life time managing the Arts
​After more than 30 years managing orchestras, theatres and groups, Karen has a wealth of experience and amusing anecdotes which she will share with your audience to amaze and inform them about the behind-the-scenes world of the professional Arts. If you want to know the real truth behind the glitzy façade, then sit back and listen.
It shouldn’t happen to an Orchestral Manager
How do you deal with an ex-Prime Minister on your first ever solo gig, or an over active canon in the 1812 Overture? Try organising the China premiere of Handel’s Messiah which is banned by the politburo for being subversive, religious, Western music which will contaminate the Chinese people? And then there are all the unexpected incidents which arise when organising concerts in Buckingham Palace, Portugal and Australia.
Orchestral anecdotes from 25 years of touring with professional orchestras.
Encounter with the Dark Side of Theatre
Never mind the on-stage dramas, there’s a whole world which exists backstage — the Dark Side - that the audience never sees and probably wouldn’t believe. Having managed professional venues for more than 10 years, Karen has rescued artists from toilets, dealt with over-excited fans and had meetings with actors in drag. She’s also run a two– million pound charity and managed a team which included the occasional ghost, council workmen and, of course, Elvis was in the house.
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Crossing Borders
After nearly forty years crossing borders for work and pleasure, Karen offers tips on how to deal with Aussie Customs officers who want to talk about cricket, Polish flight officials after a missed connection and how to get someone allegedly residing at a death row institution, INTO the USA to play the viola. She will discuss the tendency of large items of luggage to misbehave and what to do if you’ve chartered a plane to fly to Orkney when the air traffic control computer has gone down. She also shares the fear of the wall of shame in the Libyan customs hall.
Audience comments
"What an interesting job!"
"I had no idea what an orchestra manager did! Now I do and I'm exhausted!"
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"You seem to relish the excitement of some amazing situations and I've loved hearing about it."
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