Providence City News: Interview with Adam Gertsacov, Director of Bright Night

From the City News interview series...

My City: Adam Gertsacov, Director of Bright Night

Adam Gertsacov adopted an almost dying New Year’s Eve tradition for Providence four years ago and together with teams of supporters and volunteers, scaled it down to a manageable degree, and turned it around into something bolder and brighter.

Billed as an “artist-run, arts-oriented New Year’s Eve Celebration,” Adam seems most fit to be at the helm of it all, because when he’s not busy being the jack-of-all-trades for the festival, he makes a living as a performer, a professional clown to be exact. But it seems that juggling is more than an art form for this professional, it’s also a very important skill to have when you’re leading the City’s best, brightest, and most talented performers for what is the first major event of every year.

In the midst of grabbing a quick bite, answering phone calls on his cell phone, doing a show in the morning, Adam takes a moment to talk to City News about the inner workings of Bright Night Providence.

Tell us about how the tradition of First Night evolved into Bright Night.

First Night, as an idea, started in Boston in 1985. It was designed as an alcohol-free event that celebrated the arts during the New Year. The next year, it started in Providence through a bunch of local artists getting together. Slowly, it became an organization with a half-a-million dollar annual budget. Around the millennium, in 2000, the organization was starting to experience some financial hardship and in 2003, there was discussion of shutting it down. Doris Stephens, then the director of First Night, called a group of artists together to talk about what could be done. Well, many of us didn’t want the City to go dark in the New Year – so we raised money and got support from the City and the State to make it happen. Around mid-September of 2003, I presented a scaled-down version of First Night at one the Mayor’s Night Out events. I was number three in line to see the Mayor (next after a taxicab driver), and the Mayor seemed very interested in the proposal. He recommended me to Paul Brooks and Cliff Wood, and eventually, we received a $25,000 donation from the City of Providence. From October 15 through December 21 of that year, we managed to raise $80,000 all together and were able to hire 125 performers to perform at 20 venues all over the City. Bright Night was born. At the last minute, after much work, we also managed to get fireworks. During that first year, nothing was burned down, no one was killed nor maimed, and we didn’t lose our shirts! We paid our artists more than what they were contracted for and I’m happy to say that everyone got a fair wage that year.

In your opinion, why is it important to keep this tradition going in the City of Providence? How do residents and tourists benefit from it?

Bright Night draws people from everywhere to see the festival. It’s excellent publicity for the City. Last year, the festival made it in the Wall Street Journal, and the fireworks were featured on CNN. Providence -- and Rhode Island -- has such a wealth of talent. It’s my job to create the best community festival possible.People are entertained, amazed, and delighted by what’s going on. The hotels, restaurants, and parking garages are full and people come down for that one night. Twenty-five years ago, Providence was desolate except for one night: First Night. But when you think about the fact that Waterfire was a project that grew out of First Night in 1994, you can really see the kind of impact this festival has on the City. Waterfire alone has really changed the face of Providence and has put it on the map.There’s a will in the City to make this happen – I wish I could say that it’s just me that gets it all done, but it’s not. It’s the City, the corporations, the volunteers, the artists – it takes all of these people to make this happen.

After four years of steering this event, you must be very excited as a professional clown to have a circus as the main act this year. Tell us about what’s in store for that show.

This year’s main act is an adaptation of some of the best national and international circus act superstars. One main act is usually chosen from out of state. We try to look for acts that appeal to families and adults. We’ve had great acts in the past, for example last year’s Passing Zone was featured in America’s Got Talent.But, I’ve always wanted to do a circus act. And a friend of mine from Ringling was doing Cirque Du Jour. We started talking and putting together names, and came up with a list. This year – we will have a Russian Quick-Change Act, a Tight Wire Act, a Clown named Adam Kuchler who just came back from Germany and does an amazing juggling performance with cigar boxes, and also a Contortionist.It’s a show that’s guaranteed to knock your socks off and if you’re not wearing socks, look out!

What’s your favorite part of the festival?

One of my favorite things is watching people watch the fireworks. Knowing that we are making 20,000 people happy all at once is gratifying. I also get to hire and work with some of Rhode Island’s best artists.

If you could remind audiences one or two things to do or not to do while they’re participating in Bright Night, what would it/they be?

Donate to Bright Night! But really, the most important thing is to have fun. It’s impossible to see everything, so just have a good time and don’t be afraid to see something you might not normally see because you might actually enjoy it.For example, one thing that is unique to Bright Night is the Matthewson Street Labyrinth. It’s a tradition where guests can walk around the labyrinth and meditate and think about what’s in store for them personally for the New Year. It’s a nice thing to go to away from noise and crowds.

What are you going to be meditating about?

My hope is that it doesn’t rain on New Year’s Eve! I would also say that I’m already thinking about how to make things bolder, brighter, and better for the next year.

Where do you see Bright Night going in the future?

I really try to create the largest festival I can afford. We guarantee admission to all of our shows at a 8,400 maximum capacity. I don’t want to see it grow much bigger, but to grow slowly in a way that makes sense and doesn’t risk everything. I’d also like to start an endowment so that Bright Night is guaranteed to take place forever.