When Jennifer Bilfield took over as executive director of Stanford Lively Arts last June, she vowed to revamp the program to include more student-oriented marketing and events.

Bilfield — the former president of Boosey & Hawkes music publishers — succeeded Lois Wagner, who retired in 2005 after running the program for more than 20 years.

The new director said it is typical for a program to step back and reflect on its progress when an important figure leaves.

“Lively Arts took this opportunity to reevaluate its place on the campus and as an arts provider,” Bilfield said. “The new mission was to engage at a much deeper level with the campus. Lively Arts had been a stand-alone thing — it was more of a traditional presenter.”

Bilfield and her team are working on programming for the 2007-2008 season that they hope will be more student-focused and interactive. Part of that effort includes hiring a staff member solely dedicated to student engagement — a position the program has never had before.

“Whether through dorm salons, master classes, course connections or collaborative artist residencies, the campus engagement program aims to give students the opportunity to explore and create alongside some of the world’s most compelling established and emerging artists,” said Michelle Lee, the director of campus engagement in an email to The Daily.

“We are particularly proud that this month has been marked by an unprecedented level of campus immersion activities,” she said, “including the Public Theater at Stanford, Jerry Quickley, American Piano residencies, the Pan Asian Music Festival and the ongoing World Beat dorm series.”

Bilfield explained that the student outreach would expand Lively Arts’ reach and improve its programming.

“Instead of putting on a show,” she said, “it’s building content that’s meaningful to the campus.”

Along with new supplementary programming for live performances, Lively Arts is attempting to cater to students with reduced ticket prices and enticing pre-show events. All students can purchase performance tickets at 50 percent off the public price and additional discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more.

The Lively Arts team said they have begun to see a spike in student attendance with the creation of the Supper Club program — nights in which students get pizza and admission to a show for $10. The Supper Club nights are organized and marketed by the Lively Arts Street Team, a small group of undergraduates committed to getting the word out about Lively Arts.

“Up until last year most undergraduates were lucky if they even knew about [Lively Arts],” said Jillian Barber ‘09, a Street Team member. Student ticket sales have risen by 70 percent since the creation of the Street Team.

While the Supper Club has tentative plans for an event early in spring quarter, its next confirmed function is scheduled for April 25 to coincide with a performance by Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

Other upcoming Lively Arts events include performances by the Company Vincent Mantsoe (a historical approach to dance), the Jupiter String Quartet (young and vibrant chamber music) and Emio Greco (an edgy dance company).

In addition to her work on Lively Arts programming, Bilfield also serves as a representative of the program to a concert hall building committee. Peter Bing ‘55 and his wife Helen have pledged to donate $50 million for a new hall, which will benefit the Lively Arts program and other art events on campus.

“The conversations with Peter Bing are always about what [it will] be like for the students,” Bilfield said. “Not what will get the most press.”

Like Bing, Bilfield’s main focus is to explore student interests. Right now, she said, her primary goal is to learn what motivates students, with hopes of further increasing participation in Lively Arts.

To view a full schedule of Lively Arts performances or to volunteer with the Street Team, visit http://livelyarts.stanford.edu.

Contact Kelsey Mesher at kmesher@stanford.edu.