Projects — Mariclare Hulbert Consulting

Current and Past Clients

ARTS NONPROFIT
Arizona Commission on the Arts
Germaul Barnes, Dance Artist
Bridge Live Arts
Adrian Madison Cario, Arts Leader
Dance/NYC
Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists Program
Ryan Donovan, Broadway Bodies: A Critical History of Conformity
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Erin Kilmurray, Dance Artist
Kinetic Light/Disability Dance Works
Leela Dance Collective
The National Center for Choreography - Akron
Hope Mohr, Dance Artist
Regional Arts & Culture Council (Portland, OR)
Visual Studies Workshop
Whistle (Robyn Doty & Frances Chiaverini)
Yvonne Montoya, Dance Artist

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES NONPROFIT
Friends of New York City Nurse-Family Partnership
This Is My Brave, Inc.

SMALL BUSINESS
Duck Inn Lodge

COLLABORATIVE WORK
Amy Jacobus Marketing
Laura Roudabush Consulting
Nel Shelby Productions
PENN Creative Strategy

“Mariclare took her time to listen and understand my needs and specific goals. She worked hard on my behalf and exceeded far beyond my expectations. I appreciated Mariclare’s incredible professionalism. She is a joy to work with.”

— Yvonne Montoya, Choreographer & Dance artist

A large wood studio glows in twilight, surrounded by greenery and a dark sky — The new Perles Family Studio at the Pillow; photo by Robert Benson Photography/Flansburgh Architects

Jacob's Pillow Dance festival

Strategic Communications Planning & Media Relations

When Jacob’s Pillow’s PR Manager relocated two months before the Festival kickoff, they called me to help build an integrated communications plan.

Every summer, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is an outstanding tornado of dance, with more than 300 events and action-packed days that leave staff with little time for strategic thinking or thoughtful writing.

With a new Director, the impending unveiling of a new five-year strategic plan, and a ribbon-cutting of a multimillion dollar dance studio, an effective communications plan was a necessity.

I created a strategic plan and calendar of key distribution dates that covered email marketing, social media, donor communications, special events, and press and media relations to take the team through the rest of the year.

I also focused on writing and stockpiling as many press releases as possible, made pitch recommendations based on important institutional and ticket sales priorities, and prepped customized media communications. When the new PR Coordinator joined the team, I helped with the onboard process, not only reviewing the press materials I had created, but also sharing tactics to create long-lasting relationships with staff, artists, and influencers.

YVONNE MONTOYA

Media Relations & Messaging

Like so many independent artists, AZ-based dancemaker Yvonne Montoya arrived at a pivotal career moment without the infrastructure in place to really make the most of it. A busy choreographer, thought leader, and mother, Yvonne’s work was being recognized with two prestigious fellowships and an upcoming premiere at the Kennedy Center. With new resources and momentum, she saw a chance to build visibility and turned to me for help.

I worked with Yvonne to distill the messaging already inherent in her work into compelling copy that could be adapted for press announcements, presenter outreach, and digital communications. In addition to sharing her work with my own press contacts, a list built over fifteen years, I created a custom meda list specific to her geographic region and to her niche as a Latinx artist. We also re-evaluated her biography and prepared her to interview with confidence.

COVID-19 reached the U.S. at the beginning of my relationship with Yvonne. Her latest work -- already titled Stories From Home -- was perfectly positioned. She was already focused on balancing parental and career responsibilities, distance and isolation, and the importance of family, all of which are top of mind as we navigate this crisis. She adapted the work to include a virtual component and launched it in July 2020. Several news outlets agreed that her story needed to be told, and we successfully landed interviews and features with Dance Enthusiast, Dance Magazine, and her local NPR station, among others.

Yvonne, a Latina woman with long brown hair, does a one-handed cartwheel while her son imitates her. They are outside, their small dog looks on — Yvonne Montoya dances with her son Buddy in her *Motherhood and the Performing Arts Project;* photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli.

Alice Sheppard in DESCENT; photo by MANCC/Chris Cameron

Kinetic Light

presenter guide/project management

Alice Sheppard and Kinetic Light are innovators in dance and the disability arts world. Their first national tour featured DESCENT, a captivating duet with a huge custom-designed ramp installation. When we began working together we had one month until APAP, the biggest presenter conference in the U.S.

They needed a way to not only attract presenters but the RIGHT presenters. They were tired of the overwrought, academic, insider language found in so many artist marketing materials.

I crafted a unique Presenter Guide: access for disabled audiences was addressed outright, bios were written the way you’d introduce a talented colleague at an industry event, and in lieu of press reviews, we sourced amazing quotes from respected artists, audience members, and Alice herself.

I found the right graphic designer, who was able to capture the lines and curves of wheelchair wheels and the ramp and create fantastic infographics to tell the story of DESCENT. We finished the job on time and the company was thrilled with the refreshing results.

Nel Shelby Productions & New Jersey Hall of Fame

Script Writing for Voiceover Narratives

Nel Shelby Productions has been creating videos for the New Jersey Hall of Fame Award Event for years. Nel lost her script writer and needed someone with a keen copywriting eye to jump in.

Each year, the NJHOF honors everyday heroes, Jersey business visionaries, sports stars, actors, journalists, and musicians. When honorees are introduced at the ceremony, a short video introduction provides context of their achievements and distinction.

I researched the honorees, reviewed materials provided by their families and agents, checked facts, and squeezed the life and accomplishments of each person into a 90-second script. The scripts needed to be accurate, interesting, and easily illustrated by photos and videos. They also had to be what I call “NPR-approved,” aka easy for our narrator to read and record, and an engaging listening experience for the audience.

Sixteen scripts later, what had started as “Ack! I need help. Is this something you’re interested in?” resulted in compelling videos for a high-powered event.

“Mariclare is pure sunshine with major smarts, attention to detail, creativity, and quality. I hired Mariclare to write voiceover scripts and my client commented that these were the best scripts ever written in the 10 years they have been doing the project. Hire her!”

— Nel Shelby, Owner of Nel Shelby Productions