Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

More documents

Recommendations

Info

In the Greenroom theatre buzz Get the latest news throughout the month by subscribing Economy Tightens Grip Over the past month the economy has tightened its grip on theatres across the country. Madison Rep in Madison, Wisc., closed its doors in early March, after a failed donation drive. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the theatre was at least $500k in debt to subscribers and vendors. Calls to the Rep went unanswered. Meanwhile, the Foothills Theatre Company in Worcester, Mass., raised close to $100k in a few days in March in order to present their next show, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. “We made some cutbacks in the theatre and we scaled the show back a little bit, which helped,” said Foothills Marketing Director Kristen Fischer. “But we’ve honestly just received donations from individuals. The outpouring of support was fantastic.” But they’re not out of the woods yet. They’re approaching the remainder of their season on a show-by-show basis, and holding a fundraising gala on April 11 to raise more money. They’ve even pushed back accepting early-bird subscriptions for next season, pending the results of the gala. If successful they plan to develop new ways to raise money for the theatre besides ticket sales, but for now it’s all about how well their shows do. “We’re very grateful for the people who have helped us,” said Fischer. “But we still need help and we’re not out of the woods yet. Just come out to the show and support us!” Also in the Northeast, Shakespeare & Company had mixed news. Despite being able to expand its Shakespeare in the Courts program thanks to a large donation from the Jay Polonsky Fund as well as a $300k line item in the 2009 Federal budget, they still had to restructure in order to cut costs and increase income. S & Co. trimmed $900k from their annual budget and laid off seven employees. Others were shifted to part-time or consulting roles, while still others saw their duties expand. Furthermore, a 10% across-the-board pay cut took place for year-round employees. The three Founders of Shakespeare & Company—Artistic Director Tina Packer, Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman and Director of Training Dennis Krausnick—will forgo pay entirely for two months. “We felt it was the least we could do so that the cutbacks did not have to be more severe” said Coleman. To help boost to our RSS feed at www.stage-directions.com revenue streams, the Company created a single to team to handle sales for all of the company’s services, including tickets to performances and workshops as well as space, gear and costume rentals In Chicago, the About Face Theatre launched a campaign to raise $300k to pay off old debt and be able to finish out the season. The new leadership at About Face had already been working to clear the institution’s debt when the credit crisis hit in October. The theatre didn’t have any operating reserves, and About Face found themselves in a cash flow crisis. They reduced their budget by over 30%, implementing staff and production cuts while also postponing their third show of the season, but still more action was needed. So they began the Face the Future campaign. The first $100k raised will allow them to finish their current season and meet payroll and other current expenses. The second $100k will go to service their old debt. The last $100k will be put into cash reserves to stabilize the theatre for the future. “We didn’t want to do a fundraiser that is just going to stop the bleeding,” said Managing Director Rick Dildine. “We want to have an organization that’s going to keep going and keep getting better, not to put it into a place where the cycle can happen again. We want to stop the cycle.” So far they have raised just over $100k. Individual artists are also having a tough time of it. The NEA performed a study on how the current recession has affected working artists. Their report, Artists in a Year of Recession: Impact on Jobs in 2008, finds that artists are unemployed at twice the rate of professional workers. The NEA study also paints a bleak picture for the recovery of the arts, predicting that the “job market for artists is unlikely to improve until long after the U.S. economy starts to recover,” noting that unemployment for artists because of the 2001 recession didn’t peak until 2003, two years after the recession had ended for the rest of the workforce. Amidst all this there was one bright spot. In Miami, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County was able to pay off a $14 million bank loan seven years early. M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center, made the announcement on Feb. 17, thanking the Center’s fundraising support organization, the Performing Arts Center Foundation of Greater Miami. 2009 Olivier Awards presented Black Watch and Jersey Boys received Best New Play and Best New Musical awards, respectively, at the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards. Black Watch director John Tiffany won the Best Director award, while Sir Alan Ayckbourn received the Society’s Special Award. The Oliviers are Britain’s top theatre award, roughly analogous to the Tony’s. Other winners include: Paule Constable for Best Lighting Design for her work on The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse; Gareth Fry, Best Sound Design for Black Watch; Tom Piper and Emma Williams won Best Costume Design for their work on The Histories; Todd Rosenthal took home Best Set Design honors for August: Osage County; Margaret Tyzack won Best Actress; Derek Jacobi won Best Actor; Elena Roger took home the award for Best Actress in a Musical and Douglas Hodge for Best Actor in a Musical. 6 April 2009 • www.stage-directions.com
industry news changing roles Jan Kallish Appointed Executive Director of Victory Gardens Theater V i c t o r y Gardens Theater has appointed Jan Kallish as the company’s new executive director. Kallish, formerly executive director of Chicago’s Jan Kallish Auditorium Theatre, was tapped for Victory Gardens’ top executive position after a nationwide search. She steps into the job previously held by Marcelle McVay, Victory Gardens’ long-time managing director, who announced her departure last fall. Brian Dennehy Named Member of Goodman Theatre’s Artistic Collective Brian Dennehy, two-time Tony and Golden Globe Award winner and six-time Emmy Award nominee, became the newest member of Long Day’s Journey Into Night Brian Dennehy performing in Goodman Theatre’s Artistic Collective this March. A longtime actor of the stage and screen, Brian Dennehy has been particularly lauded for understanding and interpreting Eugene O’Neill in “a way that few others can match” (Chicago Tribune). J. R. Clancy PowerLifts Now ETL Listed PowerLift, J. R. Clancy’s popular automated theatre hoist, has been listed as meeting the UL 1340 Hoist standard for safety by ETL and and will now carry the ETL listing mark. A Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), ETL was originally founded by Thomas Edison in 1896. There are many standards intended to make equipment safer. An NRTL such as ETL or UL is authorized to list items that the lab has tested and found to meet the requirements of a standard. Listing assures all who use the equipment that the product is up to the latest published standard for safety. Public Theater Names Andrea Nellis General Manager, Daniel C. Smith Promoted To Director Of Finance The Public Theater has named Andrea Nellis general manager and Daniel C. Smith director of finance. Nellis moves to the general management position after working for 15 months as the Public’s chief financial officer. Smith has been promoted to director of finance after serving as the Public’s controller since January 2008. “Andrea and Daniel have years of experience in managing the administration and finances of some of New York’s finest non-profits,” said Public Theater Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson. “We are thrilled to have them playing such important leadership roles at the Public.” www.stage-directions.com • April 2009 7
Page 1: • Polite Interview with Austin’
Page 5 and 6: Publisher Terry Lowe tlowe@stage-di
Page 10 and 11: Tools of the Trade Chauvet COLORado
Page 12 and 13: Theatre Spotlight | By Jessica Hird
Page 14: Feature | By Jacob Coakley Hit the
Page 17 and 18: faculty, and they’re not alone in
Page 19 and 20: For a production of The Hobbit, the
Page 22 and 23: Special Section: Community Theatre
Page 24 and 25: Special Section: Community Theatre
Page 26 and 27: Plays & Musicals AmericanPlaywright
Page 28 and 29: Off the Shelf | By Stephen Peithman
Page 30: Answer Box | By Eric Gebhard A Deli

Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?