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WICS - Merging Creativity with the Business Side

By Misha Goussev, April 2003

Previously published in The Wharton Journal

Do artistic creativity and self-expression belong to the world of finance and sober business acumen? In the pre-Enron era, the answer to this question would have been a definite “yes.” One possible application for such a combination of talents, that is, creative accounting, was an acceptable practice in some very well-known corporations. However, in the world of media and entertainment, the line between the business and creative sides of the operations has always been clearly marked and seldom crossed. Each side presumably requires a unique set of expertise and talents that the other side presumably lacks. This might be true in the world of “big entertainment,” but certainly not in the Wharton MBA environment, as has been successfully demonstrated by two 100% student run productions: the Follies, and still young but quickly becoming the school’s legacy, the Wharton International Cultural Show (WICS)[i].

I have had the privilege to be involved with WICS from its very birth as a member of the founding team, the artistic director, and a performer. As some of my friends have already done so, I would like to offer my perspective on how it all started, and share some memories and insights. Looking back, I must confess that the work on the show was the most powerful experience I have gained during my time as an MBA student (besides the DIP week, of course), as it provided the most revealing insights into the true spirit of the school and the richness of the talents of the student body.

In the beginning, there was an idea that was introduced to the world by Nimish Doshi, the producer of the first show. Despite the magnificent end result, the beginning of WICS could be compared to that of a typical start-up in a garage. The lack of capital or experience was well compensated by the excess of energy, dream-like vision, and contagious desire to create. Even though the Wharton environment provided virtually unlimited opportunities for all tastes to get involved and apply their talents, the idea of the show immediately struck me as truly unique and extraordinary. Thus, when I received the e-mail that Nimish sent to the entire school introducing the idea of the show, I was hooked immediately (proving that direct marketing works). However, the first meeting was less than spectacular and produced only half a dozen volunteers and as many suggestions for the cultural acts. Even though the energy was high, it was a poor substitute for a robust strategy that would somehow fill up the thousand seats of the Irvine Auditorium. A couple of subsequent meetings could also be compared to an attempt to navigate a spaceship by a team of intelligent and overly optimistic beings, but without any relevant experience. However, we learned quickly, as in any other Wharton team assignment, and soon, the structure of the show started to come to life. Synergy, a common goal, and a “just do it” attitude seemed to be taking us the long way; however, not all the way.

During our first technical visit to the Irvine Auditorium facilities (the venue for the first show), it became apparent that no teamwork or synergy would replace at least some amount of hands-on experience. It is no accident that I compared our show to a spaceship. The beautiful and majestic building of the Irvine Auditorium itself, with its dozens of lights, mysterious backstage quarters, cathedral-like ceiling, and glassed operator’s deck positioned some 40 feet above the audience with a couple of spot lights shooting down on the stage, in my mind, resembled a giant spaceship from Star Trek. The building certainly had a personality and contained many memories of past performances. The opportunity to bring it to life for one night and become a part of its history was both exciting and intimidating. The need for someone with prior experience in running stage productions became obvious, and given the proximity of the show, quite urgent.

Johan D’Costa entered the WICS world as a savior. Not only did he have plenty of experience as a technical lead on other productions, he also agreed to spend 30 minutes of his time to give us a crash course on how to do it. The 30 minutes turned into at least 50 hours. At this point, it is difficult to judge what made him sacrifice himself—the passion for the artistic expression of the MBA students or a cute member of the WICS management team—but in the end, he was ours. It was only after he completed the first draft of the “tech cues” (the actual step-by-step technical script of a show) that I realized how far we would have been from success without his precious knowledge.

It is worth saying a few words about the first and only full rehearsal that was supposed to take place one day before the show, but in reality, never happened. The day of the production was the first time the show had run in its entirety. Of course, it was not planned this way. We simply underestimated the art of the union workers (all stage workers by law belong to a union) to do nothing but appear to be very busy. The logistical nightmare of coordinating 25 acts with more than 100 performers who, for the most part, had never been on stage, took its toll as well. For whatever reason, we never had enough time to run the show through, and, therefore, we were not sure whether it would actually run through.

The show was nearly sold out (about 90% of the seats were sold). I remember watching the auditorium filling up with a mixture of feelings: elation, haze, pride, and curiosity. After all, all of us, despite the fact that we were the organizers (and many of the performers) were also the audience who came to see the show for the first time. I remember persistently thinking to myself, “It will either be a spectacular success or a spectacular failure.” Somehow, after all the work we had put into it, I felt very calm about either option.

The audience was crying, screaming, yelling, and basically going nuts. Some acts were more spectacular than others, but all together, they created an unbelievable experience of color, energy, music, and variety—a variety of cultures, costumes, personalities, and emotions. It was truly a celebration of life. The performances were so professional that it was hard to believe that the students or their partners had done it all. The striking fact about the performance was the unanticipated unity of the audience with each act. Since the friends, classmates, or family members of each member of the cast were in the audience, it was almost as amazing to watch the reaction of the viewers as the performance itself. Contributing to the overall atmosphere was a healthy competition among different cultural groups for the loudest support for their act. After all, it was an International Cultural Show. As the show was under way, few people would have been aware of the intense communication taking place via the intercom system, which connected the technical team with the back stage managers. Sometimes, I wish we had had it recorded for posterity, but frankly, most of it would probably not have been printable. Jokes aside, we experienced virtually no technical glitches, not counting the lonely spot light that shone at a wrong time only once.

It is hard to believe that this year, the show is celebrating its third anniversary. It seems to have acquired a life of its own and is rapidly building its alumni base. Many prospective students from the Wharton Welcome Weekend of 2002 mentioned that they had chosen Wharton over other schools after seeing the show, and I am not surprised. These are the kinds of people and personalities that the school attracts and who, in turn, make the school so exceptional.

I look at the show as much more than simply an organized way to have fun on stage after class. I view it as an opportunity to learn how to use business skills, creative thinking, intelligence, teamwork, and communication to enable visions to become realities, to inspire, to create, and to make an impact. After all, I believe that all of the great creations of humanity begin with inspiration and dreams, which are part of human nature. I also believe that technical competence, hard work, and business acumen, in many cases, are important prerequisites to such creations. WICS was merely one example of how the business and creative sides can work together and produce synergy. I would like to thank all of my teammates and everybody involved in this very unique production for making it happen and keeping in alive as the years go by!▪