The Des Moines Business Record has reported in their February 25, 2007 Cover Story, “Now Showing - Des Moines Creative Class” by Sarah Bzdega, that Des Moines ranks in the TOP 10 for percentage of population working in creative occupations for metropolitan areas 250,000 - 500,000. What is also of great interest is that Des Moines is 32nd OVERALL in the US.

Top 10 creative class metropolitan areas with populations 250,000 to 500,000

1. Boulder, Colo.
2. Santa Cruz, Calif.
3. Tallahassee, Fla.
4. Madison, Wis.
5. Lawrence, Mass.-N.H.
6. Boise, Idaho
7. Santa Rosa, Calif.
8. Des Moines, Iowa
9. Jackson, Miss.
10. Lowell, Mass.-N.H

You can read the full article at the Des Moines Business Record Online.

While CHANGE Producing Artistic Director Thatcher Willliams is quoted in the article - we’d like to clarify a couple of comments:

1. CHANGE has seen an increase in our per performance average audience size - from 25 our first season to the high 40’s (47 to be exact) not the “40″ stated in the article. CHANGE has almost doubled our average audience in less than 2 years. This increase is due, in part, to our move to Grand View College’s Viking Theatre, as well as our dedication to keeping ticket prices low, alternative resources for marketing, and our commitment to continuously improve upon our previous productions. We remain focused on our goal to produce more theatre that is more affordable for more people.
2. Thatcher is quoted as saying “it could be another 10 years before Des Moines is capable of supporting a full-time acting company.” Actually, he has always stated Des Moines is already capable of supporting a theatre organization that employs actors on full-time wages, but that it is about 5 to 10 years before an organization will be successful in doing so. In fact, Des Moines has had successful theatre companies in the past, such as Charlie’s Showplace, that did pay full-time wages to their actors. A theatre organization need not sacrifice production values or advertising dollars in order to pay their actors.

We applaud the Des Moines Business Record’s article shining a spotlight on the importance of culture in the community and the impact it has on Des Moines!