MS. REBECCA ROBERTSFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your community with the world. I'm Rebecca Roberts sitting in for Kojo. Coming up this hour, we will guide you through the blockbusters and arty indies of summer movies. But first, it's the place where you can enjoy a picnic under the stars and see acts like Aretha Franklin for as little as $20 a ticket.

MS. REBECCA ROBERTSWolf Trap is a quintessentially Washingtonian institution. It is the only national park for the performing arts and it has been delighting audiences around here since 1971. That's right. This year is the 40th anniversary of performances at Wolf Trap's main venue, the Filane Center. It's also 40th anniversary of Wolf Traps opera company. And alumni who receive training through Wolf Trap's mentoring programs are coming back to literally sing its praises.

MS. REBECCA ROBERTSBut even as Wolf Trap pops the champagne, it's facing the same economic challenges as many other arts organizations, forcing some cutbacks in its well-regarded programs. So what lays ahead for Wolf Trap? Joining us here is Wolf Trap's president and CEO, Terrence Jones. Welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show."

MR. TERRENCE JONESGood. Good to be here, thanks.

ROBERTSAnd you can join us at 800-433-8850 or send us e-mail, kojo@wamu.org. You can also get in touch through Facebook or tweet us @kojoshow. Terrence Jones, you have been at Wolf Trap for almost 15 of its 40 years, which is a long time for any CEO, but certainly unprecedented for a Wolf Trap CEO. Did you think you'd be around for its 40th birthday?

JONESI don't know that I think about those sorts of things. I mean, I think -- you know, I took the job thinking we could make a difference and could move Wolf Trap forward and do some interesting and innovative things. And I think we've done that. And when you do it that way, you work each year and see what the next one brings.

ROBERTSIt's now been this place that, you know, generations of Washingtonians go bringing their babies back to sometimes, even the same acts they saw when they were younger. Give us a little bit of a history. How did it come about?

JONESWell, it really was the generosity of one woman, Catherine Filene Shouse. The Filene family in Boston, she came from that family and she owned that property, which was in fact a farm. Of course, the original name of the national park was Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts. That was changed several years ago by an act of Congress to Wolf Trap National Park. But she gave the land and the money to build the first Filene Center because she felt there was a need for a place in Washington that you could have this unique experience that you just described.

JONESAnd people could come from the busy hectic world of Washington that we all know, to a place where they could relax and have a picnic and sort of make it their own backyard and hear wonderful music, see wonderful performances. And she just felt very strongly that that was an important part of America and something she could give back and do. And she started this when she was 75 years old. So most people are thinking about, you know, relaxing in the Hamptons or something at that point.

ROBERTSRight.

JONESBut she had this vision of this great performing arts center and they realized that vision.

ROBERTSAnd then she rescued it again after that big fire.

JONESShe did. There was a fire in 1982 that burned it all the way to the ground, and a sad note. So she was in her mid-80s by that time. And, once again, she wasn't prepared to give up, went out to try to raise the money, raised about half of it and continued it. Actually, continued presenting even during the absence of the building. She got a large tent loaned from the Saudis and they put it up in the meadow and they continued performances even in the summers when there was no building there.

ROBERTSAnd what is your business model? I mean, the National Park Service is involved. You charge for tickets, but your tickets are very low compared to other venues. How does it work?

JONESWell, we're a not for-profit and we work in partnership with the National Park Service. We work under a cooperative agreement so we actually have a signed contract agreement with National Park Service basically to be the operating partner for the park. So we do the performances. We do the advertising, the concessions, the restaurants, all of that sort of thing. This falls under the Wolf Trap Foundation. And so that's how we do it.

JONESWe raise a lot of money, mostly for our education programs and a lot of people mistake -- they think, well, we're raising money to bring in Aretha Franklin or whoever it may be. And that's not true. The money that we raise goes to those programs that are designated to the education programs from early childhood education all the way up through the opera program, which is a training program or an education program.

ROBERTSSo ticket sales don't cover your expenses?

JONESNo. Ticket sales are about 52, 53 percent of the total budget. We earn probably another 12 percent. So we have earned income of about 65 percent, which is actually pretty good for a performing arts not-for-profit, but the balance, of course, is donated funds.

ROBERTSAnd since you are required to keep your ticket prices, at least some of them affordable, does that constrain what acts you're able to bring in? Does it change what sort of performance center you are?

JONESSure. There are things that we're not able to do simply because the cost is too high. And it's actually been an interesting balancing act. When Wolf Trap was built, it has about 7,000 seats counting the inside seats and the lawn that we can sell tickets to. And that was relatively large back in the 1970s, even the 1980s. But since then, much larger venues have been built. There's been an escalation of costs, artist fees, costs for producing, advertising, all of that sort of thing.

JONESAnd so it does -- it's a careful balance that we have to do because what we do -- our mission is to provide a very diverse array of performance. So we do everything from ballet to symphony to rock and roll to folk music to jazz. And in doing that, we have to look very carefully at what the financial balance is because bottom line is we're a business and we have to keep operating.

ROBERTSWell, does that also sort of serve to give you a distinction from other local venues? I mean, if someone's going to put on some extraordinary pyrotechnic show, it might be at Merriweather Post or something, instead of at Wolf Trap.

JONESRight. Yeah. I mean, there's definitely -- I mean, the other thing, we're very family-friendly. When you talk about bringing your own picnic or whatever you want to bring in, it's all built on the premise that we will be a family venue that you can come in, you can feel comfortable there, not threatened there. And so, again, the type of show you bring in is geared toward the kind of audience that will want to come and have that Wolf Trap experience.

ROBERTSSo in addition to choosing acts based on affordability and appeal to your audience and trying to have a diverse makeup on the schedule, are you one of those people who watches the weather religiously? I would think that running an outdoor venue would be really tricky.

JONESYes, I have radar on my iPad.

ROBERTSI imagine so.

JONESI often say in all those college degrees that I got, they never taught me how to look at, you know, how to watch the weather. Nor did I ever think with degrees in theater that I actually have to worry about the weather so much. But every day, we look at the weather because obviously Wolf Trap is impacted by weather. And, you know, we do a lot better when there's no rain.

ROBERTSYeah. Does extreme heat cut down your audiences there?

JONESActually, heat doesn't. You know, if we have a long run of heat, then sometimes we see a little decline. But basically people in Washington are pretty hardy and they know that in summer it's going to be warm. And I'd like to say that there's always a little breeze coming through Wolf Trap. It's our little piece of paradise.

ROBERTSYeah.

JONESOur little Camelot out there.

ROBERTSMy guest is Terrence Jones. He is the president and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation. And if you have questions about the upcoming season or about Wolf Trap as a park, anything at all, really, give us a call, 800-433-8850 or send us e-mail at kojo@wamu.org. This is Dan in Alexandria Virginia. Dan, welcome to the program.

DAN MCKAYHi, Dan McKay (sp?) here from Alexandria, and I've been a Wolf Trap volunteer usher for the past -- most of the past five years. And I think that Wolf Trap is a treasure of our nation and I want to applaud the efforts of Terrence Jones and say it's a pleasure to serve as a volunteer usher. And I think that many patrons don't understand everything that goes into producing these performances, as wonderful as they are.

DAN MCKAYAnd I wanted also mention the effort to be more green and preserve our trees and, you know, used to be, I guess, additional programs for performances would be printed, but go unused. And that was a waste. But the efficiencies in later years, more recently, are really contributing to a greener environment. And I really want to tip my hat to Terry Bobeck (sp?) and everyone on the volunteer staff. I've served in that regard, putting patrons to their seats and handing programs to patrons and it's all very rewarding.

ROBERTSDan, thank you so much for your call. He mentioned the effort to go green at Wolf Trap and that's actually what you were talking about the last time you were here with Kojo. How is that going?

JONESIt's great. We've actually reduced our carbon footprint by about 20 percent. We announced that initiative in 2006, instituted after a study in 2007 and reduced that by about 20 percent so far. We're obviously still working on that. And we've reduced our landfill solid waste by 50 percent so we've really made some extraordinary measures in that. It really is -- it's an effort that we're doing in conjunction with the national park.

JONESThere's a Climate Friendly Parks Program within the National Parks Service. We're part of that. But we really did help kick that off, and especially in our industry, we were actually one of the very first to make a commitment to go green in our operations. And we're doing that on both sides, both at the national park and on the Wolf Trap Foundation side. But I also want to thank Dan and recognize the volunteers.

JONESHe's absolutely right in terms of people understanding the complexity of Wolf Trap and an acknowledgement and a thank you to all of our volunteers. There are hundreds of volunteers, both for the national park, which is what the ushers are, and then hundreds of volunteers for Wolf Trap Foundation itself. And so we really couldn't ask the model and we really couldn't do it without that volunteer service there at Wolf Trap.

ROBERTSBelieve me, we in public radio understand that model, too. This is Alex . He's on the Beltway in D.C. Alex, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show."

ALEXHi.

ROBERTSHi. You're on the air, Alex. Go ahead.

ALEXWell, I guess I just had a question. I was in the production and live sound internship at the Barns at Wolf Trap and I found out recently that they are not offering that this fall. And I was wondering if you can comment as to reasons for that or if it will be coming back in the spring at all.

JONESYeah, I'm not sure on that exact internship. We actually have an extraordinary internship program ranked in the top 40 by Business Week in all industries and we're actually the only not-for-profit and the only arts organization ranked in that 40 listing of internships. The internships vary depending on what we're doing. We have some that, of course, are through lines that is a standard business function.

JONESMy guess is that particular one in the Barns may have had something to do with the production of our newly commissioned opera that we did, "The Inspector," that we produced and presented this past spring. And that happened in the Barn. So my guess is that one may have been there, but I'm not sure. And the odds are there will be an internship like that coming back again in the future.

ROBERTSAnd if that caller or anyone else wants to find out about internships, where do they go?

JONESThey can go to the website, www.wolftrap.org and there's a whole page on internships and how you apply for them and what's available.

ROBERTSThis is Daniel in Bethesda. Daniel, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show."

DANIELHello?

ROBERTSHey, Daniel, you're on the air.

DANIELHi, hi. I wanted to call in and besides just giving compliments to Barbara Parker and Peter Zimmerman for putting the other great shows every year at both venues, I actually personally am just driving home from having played the Theater in the Woods this morning and all week this week. And I just wanted to also get you guys to talk a little bit about children's programs that you have going on because you have some of the best in the area. And I'm very pleased to be a part of it.

ROBERTSDaniel, thanks for you call. What is the venue in the woods he was just talking about?

JONESYeah. Children's Theater in the Woods, it's been with us, really, just about from the very beginning of Wolf Trap. And it is a program designed specifically for children and families. It operates five days a week. There are two performances on each of those five days a week. It's this wonderful outdoor venue as you -- there is a Wolf Trap run, which is, of course, a stream in Virginia as the run.

JONESAnd you cross the run or over the river or over the stream and in the back of the woods, there's this wonderful little amphitheater. It seats about 4 or 500 people and specific programs that are designed for children. And we do that -- we just opened about a week ago, that venue. And it'll play for about six or seven weeks. So people come and you can picnic, you can bring your children. It's very inexpensive to get tickets and just a great place.

JONESIt's another part of Wolf Trap that not everybody is familiar with. So it's good that the caller mentioned that. And is just another aspect of our family friendly nature there at Wolf Trap.

ROBERTSThis is Delabian (sp?) in Washington. Delabian, welcome to the show.

DELABIANHello. I started going to Wolf Trap when you had too few restrooms for women. So, like I said, I was there at the beginning and we used to go regularly until we had a baby who was about six months old and I had to pay full price for him. We almost never go back. You said you're family-friendly and I'm wondering, do you still have no separate rate for children?

JONESNo. The ticket prices are that way in part because of the artist contracts. And the artist contracts require that we have a ticket for each person. There are tickets that are lower priced and for some shows we will do that. But the contracts are negotiated with the artists' agencies and they, basically, require that we do that admission.

ROBERTSAnd in terms of artists, there are some -- clearly, they're on the bill almost every summer. Are there people that Washingtonians completely expect to see, that if you ever cancelled their performances, it'd be a mutiny?

JONESI don't know if there'd be a mutiny, but, yeah, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Beach Boys are all shows that come back every year. From national public radio, Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion has been with us, I think, everywhere for the last 12 or 13 years. So those are all wonderful traditions. What we try to do is balance those shows. And you're right, you mentioned earlier, I mean, the Beach Boys, for example, you'll see four generations.

JONESYou'll see, you know, grandparents and grandchild or great-grandchildren all out there having fun. They do the beach ball thing on the lawn and all of that. So, you know, it really is about providing a mix of programming so that everyone has something to do. And, you know, again, you can get tickets for as low as, I think, $8 and sit on the lawn, which is, I believe, cheaper than a movie these days so...

ROBERTSIf you look at -- you just said Temptations, Four Tops, Beach Boys. I think the average age of the guys in those bands are probably pushing 70. Every so often, you hear Wolf Trap having a reputation for appealing to an older audience, even getting stodgy. How do you come about that?

JONESWell, one, we do a lot of shows that are not in that. I mean, we do Miranda Cosgrove coming up this year, which is geared toward 12 to 15-year-olds or 11 to 14-year-olds. I'm not sure exactly what that market, but I know it's a tweener age because my grandchildren are interested in that. You know what? What's interesting about the other kinds of shows -- and we just Hall and Oats, for example.

JONESYou might say, well, that's, you know, they're going to draw an older audience. It was fascinating to see the number of 20-somethings and 30-somethings there because, of course, that music is often used in movies and movies that they like to see. They hear that music and there is a whole sense of retro. So whether it's retro '80s or retro '70s or retro '60s, I mean, it's fascinating. I mean, when you look at the artists, people think, you know, they immediately imagine the people from that generation populating it.

JONESWhen, in fact, that's -- there are a large number of those people who are back with good memories and wanting to hear those performers again. But there's, you know, at least, 30, 40 percent who are, in fact, younger audiences and so we're doing it that way. But as I say, we're also trying to do things, you know, young -- gearing at -- whether it's Miranda Cosgrove or Train or, you know, whatever the groups may be to attract younger audiences. And, you know, we're probably aiming the demographics, as you know, late 20s, early 30s through the 60s -- through the people in their 60s.

ROBERTSMy guest is Terrence Jones. He's President and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation. And you can join us with questions about Wolf Trap or the upcoming season -- the continuing season at 800-433-8850 or send us e-mail, kojo@wamu.org. Cliff from Vienna is on the line. Cliff, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show."

CLIFFHey, how you doing?

ROBERTSGood.

CLIFFI just wanted to ask about supporting local bands and local artists opening for some of the performers at Wolf Trap. Do you guys do much of that? I personally play in a band, a local band, that plays all over and I was just inquiring on if you guys actually let local artists open for the national ones there?

JONESWell, it depends. I mean, there's a combination of things. National artists have the final say on who's on stage with them. And so, often they decide themselves who will come and who will open. Occasionally, our programming staff -- and somebody acknowledged them earlier, they do a fantastic job. They may be, in fact, looking at people and so they may be out there searching for someone. To be honest, that happens, probably, far more often in the Barns, which is our smaller venue.

JONESAnd it's a 400-seat venue that runs when the outdoor venue isn't running so fall through early spring. And in that, we do try to introduce new and different artists and some of those are local artists. You know, not all of them, but some of those are also local artists.

ROBERTSDo you find that the audience in the Barns is different from the summer crowd at Filene Center?

JONESThere is -- that's an interesting question. There is some crossover, but, yes, there are some who are basically dedicated Barns fans. They love the intimacy of the Barns, the uniqueness of the Barns, the acoustics of the Barns and so you do find people who come there. Most people, we find, go to both and enjoy both venues.

ROBERTSYou mentioned that education programs are part of your mission and part of the thing that you're raising the money for. How has the economy impacted that? Are you able to do everything you hoped to do?

JONESWell, no. We're never able to do everything we'd hope to do. But we are keeping up and have not significantly had to decrease the number of education programs that we have and the outreach that we have. One of our biggest -- actually, probably our biggest education program, is our Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the arts, which is a Pre-K program, 3 to 5-year-olds where we utilize the arts and integrate the arts into standard curriculum.

JONESWe work with teachers to do that. We have teaching artists who work with these teachers and it's a long term project. They go into the classrooms for seven-week periods and at the end of that, in most cases, the teachers have fully integrated that into their curriculum and continue to use that. We've just kicked off a program -- and you talk about funding. We received a four-year competitive grant from the Department of Education for $1.1 million over the four-year period to integrate stem learning into this Wolf Trap Institute program.

JONESAnd so we're actually teaching science technology...

ROBERTSScience technology...

JONES...engineering and math.

ROBERTS...engineering and math, yeah.

JONESFor or at the early childhood level. And a lot of -- you know, it surprised a lot of people, but we're asked to do this. And we will be doing research on that and then publishing those and disseminating those techniques throughout the country. So it really is a major program. So that was -- and we've -- we have been able to hold onto that funding of that four-year grant through the Department of Education. And that has been a big one for us.

ROBERTSBut I understand that you lost some money from the state of Virginia?

JONESWell, not really. We didn't -- well, I mean, I guess we have in the long term. We really haven't really received state of Virginia funding since 2007, was the last time. And that's when the budgets began to tighten at the state level. And all of the funding that we did receive prior to that was, in fact, applied toward programs in early childhood learning for head start programs, disadvantaged programs in the downstate area.

JONESAnd so those programs, yes, we've had to -- unless the community itself, the schools and/or programs in those communities have been able to come up with the funds to help us support that, those -- and there are a few that are still there. But most of them have had to go away because there just was no funding and the state could no longer fund it as a result of their budgets.

ROBERTSI think we have time for one more call here. This is John in Bethesda. John, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show."

JOHNHi, thank you for taking my call. I was calling because I would like to request a band for next summer that you guys tried to book. The band is Fish. And I know that they've played there before, about 18 years ago in '93, and the fans in this area are clamoring to see them at Wolf Trap again.

JONESAll right.

ROBERTSJohn...

JONESWell I appreciate it. I'll take that suggestion, pass that along to our programming staff. And you're right, they have been there and I'm sure they're on the list to bring back at some point.

ROBERTSTerrence Jones, President and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation. Thank you so much for being here this morning.

JONESMy pleasure.

ROBERTSI'm Rebecca Roberts sitting in for Kojo Nnamdi. Kojo is back tomorrow. Coming up, we will walk you through the summer movie list from the big superhero blockbusters to some of the smaller indie art house films. We will be back after this quick break. Thanks for listening.