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'~ hl ttp://wwv~.startribune.com/entertainment/onstage/90950204.html?e1r=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDi07aiU <br />mil <br />''', <br />,:i ~~ ,.. , ,,. <br />• ,. htt~f/startrlb,cxsm <br />Danielle's dance recital. <br />• Public/private partnership. "It works best <br />when the municipality is an active player in <br />the development," said Steve Barberio, a Twin. <br />Cities theater producer who was a force <br />behind the building of the Hopkins arts <br />center when he was artistic director of Stages <br />Theatre. <br />At publicly funded centers, the relationship <br />with the city needs to be maintained to avoid <br />political fallout, which is what Burnsville's <br />fledgling venue has been experiencing. With a <br />more established place like Hopkins, city <br />officials "pay attention but they don't <br />micromanage," said Hanna-Bibus, who <br />reports to the city at least twice a year. <br />• Marketing. Pree parking and safer streets <br />are known amenities. But the challenge is <br />alerting people outside of the immediate <br />suburb about presentations and <br />performances-- and that tickets usually cost <br />less than. they do downtown or at a casino. <br />If the attraction. -- and price -- is right, <br />people will travel to a suburban arts center. <br />Only 10 percent of the audiences at the <br />Hopkins center come from. that suburb. To <br />see Sinbad in Burnsville, Greg Devine and <br />Laura Thomas drove 45 minutes from <br />Ramsey and came away impressed. She said: <br />"This is like going to Chanhassen Dinner <br />Theatre." He said: "I like this better than. the <br />Guthrie." <br />• Alcohol. No, you don't need afull-time bar, <br />but liquor is an amenity that enhances event- <br />goers' experience. And it helps with the <br />revenue. <br />Questions about arts sprawl <br />Burnsville, Bloomington, Hopkins, Lakeville, <br />Minnetonka and Hudson, among others, have <br />arts centers. Maplewood and Chaska are two <br />'burbs that have community centers with <br />high-quality theaters that accommodate <br />nearly 300 patrons. <br />Why does the Twin. Cities have so many of <br />these suburban facilities? <br />"As the population has shifted from the core <br />cities to the suburbs, arts consumption has <br />shifted, or grown, accordingly," said Jeff <br />Prauer, executive director of the Metropolitan <br />Regional Arts Council. "There's a great <br />appetite for things to happen in the suburbs." <br />Theater impresario Barberio sees it as a <br />combination of "arts sprawl" and civic pride. <br />"There is a strong sense of civic pride here <br />Advertisement <br />Print Powered By <br />~"~ t~,~.~~Dynarrtcs ~' <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />http://www. startribune.com/templates/fdcp? 1276288336622 6/ 11 /2010 <br />