×

John Charles Kaufman, Jr. – Signature

It’s not easy making culture happen. Just ask John Kaufman. “We try to bring in something for everybody,” he says.

Kaufman does all the legwork for putting on a show at the Manship Theatre: he meets with agents, negotiates contracts and gets people in the seats.

“One of the things we want to do, ultimately, with Manship is get the idea out that even if you are unfamiliar with an act, you’ll trust us that it’s good,” Kaufman says. “If it’s an act at the Manship, and you haven’t heard of them, you’ll know you can come anyway and enjoy it. “

Kaufman sees the Manship Theatre as one part of downtown’s development, but Baton Rouge has a culture of habit. Drawing in people to try something new is one of the biggest challenges of his job.

“It’s easy to sell out a headliner,” says Kaufman, who moonlights as the drummer for alt-country band The Myrtles. “We could sell out Aaron Neville all day long. The biggest challenge is making people aware and going back to having people trust us on acts they might be unfamiliar with.”

Kaufman wants to expand what Baton Rouge culture has to offer. John Waters’ recent Christmas performance is one example. After that success, Kaufman remains optimistic that the Baton Rouge cultural scene is on a positive trajectory. “This town can be a little tricky. People are not always willing to try new things. But I think it’s getting a lot better.”