Brian Smith | Staff Photographer
Chautauqua Institution vice president and director of programming Marty Merkley speaks at the arts-themed Trustees Porch Discussion Wednesday morning on the Hultquist Center porch.
natalie mayan
Marty Merkley, Chautauqua Institution vice president and director of programming, provided an overview of large- and small-scale collaborative arts efforts on the grounds during the weekly Trustees Porch Discussion last Wednesday.
The most ambitious recent example of the Institution’s inter-arts collaborations, Merkley said, is The Romeo & Juliet Project, which was performed in the Amphitheater on July 27. The production involved Chautauqua’s theater, opera, symphony, dance and voice programs.
“That was the most complex collaboration that we have ever done at Chautauqua,” he said.
Merkley praised the production as an amazing feat, bringing so many organizations together in such a short time frame. Nonetheless, he reminded those in attendance that collaboration is also occurring everyday on the grounds, though perhaps not as visible as The Romeo & Juliet Project.
When it comes to programming for the season, Merkley is a “one-man show”; his position comes with extreme pressure and responsibility. He described programming as one huge jigsaw puzzle.
“My job here is to facilitate the visual and performing arts, both the professionals and the students,” Merkley said.
One member of the audience asked why there is so little jazz music at Chautauqua. Merkley explained that there is simply not enough money in the budget for a separate jazz program, although he does try to feature jazz in the Amp during the season.
“If you’re here throughout the season, you will see all [kinds of] music, from 1900 to today,” Merkley said. “It cannot all be in one week.”
He said he also does his best to present programs that are of interest to Chautauqua County residents and others from off the grounds. Ticket sales from such programs, including Friday night Amphitheater concerts, help to subsidize other arts presentations on the grounds.
Attendance from the wider community can also create future arts advocates at Chautauqua — which is important considering the 20 percent gap between the Institution’s revenue and expenses.
“Philanthropy is the lifeblood of any arts organization, no matter where you live,” Merkley said.
Another audience member asked Merkley to comment on the proposed Amphitheater Rehabilitation Project. Merkley explained that gravity is slowly pulling the current Amp structure toward the lake, putting additional stress on its roof.
“So it is incumbent on the Chautauqua Institution at some point in time to do something,” Merkley said.
The Institution hopes to not only make the Amp structurally secure for the next 100 years but also provide a venue for 21st century programming, in a way that previous builders could not have imagined.
“In 1893, there was no such thing as handicapped accessibility,” Merkley said.
The addition of an orchestra pit, for example, means the orchestra will no longer block audience sight lines, he said. The pit can hold up to 100 members of the orchestra, plus a grand piano and a set of timpani.
Referring to the project as “the old Amp made new again,” Merkley encouraged Chautauquans to view the scale model of the Amp project currently on display in the Smith Memorial Library. He referred to it as the “old Amp made new again.”
The Trustee Porch Discussions take place at 9:30 a.m. every Wednesday on the Hultquist Center porch.
The Chautauquan Daily 
