Theater League Picks a Politico
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But the Chicago Park District is where Halperin’s marketing talents apparently came to the fore, defining a powerful position that didn’t even exist before she arrived. “She is incredibly creative and a tough taskmaster,” says Park District director Forrest Claypool. Halperin helped publicize the glories of the park system through such marketing maneuvers as launching a $650,000 radio and television advertising campaign, publishing the first facilities directory, and forming a partnership with Coca-Cola to distribute park information. She introduced new marketing methods, including direct mail and consumer research. She also proved to be skilled at wrangling funding from foundations, securing a $200,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support programming in the parks. Yet Halperin’s tenure was not without conflict. One of the most heated contests involved the 19-year-old Grant Park Concerts Society, which supplied promotional support to the annual Grant Park Music Festival. Earlier this year the Park District severed all ties with the society to start its own festival fund-raising arm.
Halperin will need every bit of that experience to grapple with the serious challenges she will face once she assumes her new position January 1. Chief among those tasks is raising the visibility of the local theater industry not only at home but elsewhere. Privately local theater executives admit their companies need to do a better job on marketing and promotions, and they believe Halperin, with her background in both the media and politics, can help the league achieve that goal. “The industry has to reflect the power and the prominence that it really has here,” says newly elected board president Robert Perkins, producer and co-owner of the Royal George Theatre Center. The league’s long been frustrated by the lack of local theater coverage on radio and television, and they will be looking to Halperin to improve the situation. Halperin’s appointment was reported on the local TV news, perhaps a sign of things to come.
