Theatre IV Accomplishments - 2009-10

Posted by Bruce Miller
As the end of the year approaches, it's always good to look back and see what we all accomplished. Nonprofit theatres rely on contributed funds, and we have to earn those contributions every year.

Today I'm listing highlights from the 2009-2010 Theatre IV Season, which ends on June 30 (tomorrow). Tomorrow I'll post a similar listing for Barksdale.

During the fiscal year that will end on June 30, 2010, Theatre IV served a total audience of 581,950 children, parents and teachers.

We produced and presented 129 performances of six plays and musicals on our mainstage Family Playhouse Season in our historic Empire Theatre: The Ugly Duckling, A Christmas Carol, The Song of Mulan, Jack and the Beanstalk, Buffalo Soldier, and The Sound of Music.

These six mainstage productions received excellent reviews from the critics and audiences (and yes, there were a couple times we got burrussed). They were well attended by 42,140 children, parents and teachers.

In partnership with Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, we produced and presented 175 touring performances of Hugs and Kisses, Virginia’s principal child sexual abuse prevention program.

The 2009-2010 tour was seen by 56,270 children in 127 schools spread out over every region of the state. One hundred and eleven children, slightly less than 2% of the total audience, were referred to the Virginia Department of Social Services based on post-performance disclosures. An additional 661 children came forward following the performance to ask pertinent questions.

In other touring, we produced and presented 16 additional instructional programs, including Ben Franklin and His Kite, The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!”, Buffalo Soldier, A Christmas Carol, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, "I Have a Dream" – The Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Jungle Book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Patchwork – The Little House Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Shoemaker and the Elves, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sojourner Truth, The True Story of Pocahontas, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Velveteen Rabbit.

We performed these programs live before 187,950 Virginia students in 537 Virginia schools. These same touring shows were performed live before an additional 277,350 students who saw the touring shows in 394 performances in 28 states.

In partnership with CenterStage, the Latin Ballet of Virginia, Richmond Public Schools, Chesterfield Public Schools, and Henrico Public Schools, we launched the FIELD Project (Family Involvement in Early Literacy Development), addressing the reading deficits faced by economically disadvantaged students in Central Virginia’s pre-school programs. We serve as the administrator and controller of this landmark arts-in-education program.

As a part of our partnership with Richmond Public Schools in the Kennedy Center’s national arts-in-education program, Performing Arts Centers and Schools, we produced and presented three continuing education workshops with a total of 46 teachers. The three workshops were: “Beyond The Wiz—The Multi-Faceted History of African American Theatre,” “What It Takes to Produce a Musical,” and “Using The Sound of Music to Teach the Holocaust” (co-produced with the Holocaust Museum).

Through our Tickets for Kids program, we made free tickets available to 2,345 economically disadvantaged children in Greater Richmond. Our 2009-2010 partners included 64 local nonprofits including Art 180, Association for the Support of Children with Cancer, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Children’s Hospital, Dominion School for Autism, Flagler Home at St. Joseph’s Villa, Friends Association for Children, Garfield Childs Memorial Fund, Hospital Hospitality House, International Hospital for Children, Massey Cancer Center Children’s Ward, Richmond Area Association for Retarded Children, Ronald McDonald House, Sacred Heart Center, Salvation Army, STEP, United Methodist Family Services, Very Special Arts Virginia, Virginia Home for Boys, William Byrd Community House, and Whitcomb Court Community Center.

With our holiday mascot, Snow Bear, we provided free-of-charge entertainment for the annual Christmas Party at the Children’s Hospital. Snow Bear also participated in numerous community events during the holiday season.

With St. Andrew’s School, we assisted in our fourth year of after-school instruction for economically disadvantaged fourth and fifth graders. This year SPARC took the lead, and we were happy to partner with them.

With Barksdale, we implemented our annual Stage Explorers Summer Day Camp, serving 117 children over a six-week period.

We staged the 13th Annual Fairy Tale Ball, Richmond’s only family gala, entertaining 703 children, parents and grandparents while raising funds for our outreach programs.

We participated as full partners in the Acts of Faith Festival and Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts.

At the request of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, our artistic director, Bruce Miller, facilitated the annual meeting of Virginia’s major arts organizations, held during the Art Works for Virginia conference.

Working in partnership with the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, we managed Virginia’s statewide Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest. Virginia’s winner was among the top nine finalists nationally.

With Commonwealth Girl Scouts, we hosted four theatre overnights and/or learning days in the historic Empire, providing workshops and performances necessary for 208 girls to earn their theatre badges.

With CenterStage, we participated in and loaned sound equipment for the Grand Opening. We also offered leadership, master classes, workshops and performances for Lights Up - CenterStage’s Open House for Young Artists.

At the request of Henley Street Theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, we served as paymaster whenever union actors accepted contracts at Richmond's smaller theatres. This was our 9th year volunteering our services in this manner.

Our staff volunteered their time for 14 career days; we provided 356 free tickets to charity auctions throughout Greater Richmond.

We owned, operated and maintained the historic Empire Theatre on behalf of the greater community, sharing the facility, often free of charge, with eight other nonprofit groups.

We achieved all of this while maintaining a balanced annual operating budget of $3,167,403 (Theatre IV only, pre-audit) in a very challenging year.

None of this would have been possible without the tireless work of our exemplary staff, and without your support. Many, many thanks.

--Bruce Miller

In the Good Old Summertime

Posted by Bruce Miller
The books are now closed on the Summer of 09, and the good news is that our recent hit productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Driving Miss Daisy and Fully Committed broke last year’s records, adding up to Barksdale Theatre’s selling-est summer ever!

If you look only at the months of June, July and August, the Summer of 08 was the previous box office winner. In Summer 08 we sold or comped a total of 13,500 tickets, grossing $338,218. The box office breakdown looked like this: Guys and Dolls at the Empire (10,922 tickets, $270,260), Shirley Valentine at the Tavern (2,578 tickets, $67,958).

This past summer, Thoroughly Modern Millie never caught fire the way Guys and Dolls did the summer before. We know our audience LOVED Millie (as did the critics), so we’re guessing that sales were sluggish due to:
a. the economy
b. lower title recognition
c. our decision to compete with ourselves by remounting Driving Miss Daisy at Willow Lawn.

When all was said and done, the Millie box office released 7,698 tickets for a total revenue figure of $190,724, nearly $80 K short of the Guys total.
Fortunately, even as sales sagged a bit in the early summer at the Empire, Fully Committed proceeded to knock it out of the park in the late summer at Hanover Tavern. Somewhere in mid-July, you could almost feel consumer confidence begin to turn a corner. The Fully Committed box office released 4,181 tickets and brought in $107,553 in revenue—nearly $40,000 more than Shirley Valentine did at Hanover Tavern the summer before.

Just as we had hoped, it was dear Miss Daisy who put us over the top. Daisy pulled off an impressive performance at Willow Lawn, especially taking into account that it was a revival of a hit Tavern production that did very well in Hanover the previous fall. A total of 2,915 ticket holders saw Daisy, generating $63,955 in revenue. There was no comparable show or slot in the 2008 line-up, and so the addition of this third show made it possible to break last summer’s record.
All told, in Summer 09, we sold or comped a total of 14,794 tickets and grossed $362,232—an approximate $24,000 increase over Summer 08.

So, how do things look for Summer 2010? With the economy starting to improve, and three GREAT productions in the works (The Sound of Music in the Empire, On Golden Pond at Hanover Tavern, and a revival of Crowns starting at the Gottwald Playhouse and then transferring to Barksdale Willow Lawn), we have every reason to be optimistic.

Who knows? Maybe 2010 will be the summer we break $400 thousand.

Thank you for continuing to help us keep Barksdale growing and going strong. I hope you will buy your subscriptions, group sales and single tickets soon, if you haven’t already. We need you. I look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

PS – Revenues that came in during the first couple weeks in June for the end of the run of I Ought to Be in Pictures are added into our Spring box office tallies, and therefore not included here.

Wear Black for Broadway??

Posted by Bruce Miller
On Facebook—yes, as many of you know, I’ve ventured recklessly into that brave new world—a “global rally” is being promoted. On Jan 4, it is suggested, any and everyone who loves theatre should show their support by wearing “Black for Broadway.” A black show tee shirt is recommended, but any black garment will do.

My friend Lizzie Holland—no one loves Broadway more than my friend Lizzie—has signed up for the event. Facebook being the fervent social secretary that it is, I was informed immediately. That's Lizzie below and to the left with Raúl Esparza.

The well intentioned ideas behind this pro-Broadway, pro-theatre demonstration are these:

Sunday, Jan 4 will mark the closing of four Broadway musicals and one comedy: 13, Boeing Boeing, Grease, Hairspray and Young Frankenstein. Closing notices have also been posted later in January for Gypsy, Spamalot, Spring Awakening, Forbidden Broadway (Off Broadway), and “many others.”

The creator of the event, which was originally listed on Facebook as a “protest” and later changed to a “rally,” believes that the closings are premature and the result of our troubled economy. I doubt that this is actually the case, nonetheless ... “This event,” he or she writes, “is just a bunch of theatre fans showing our love and showing our support for something we care about during these difficult times. It’s a day of honor.”

I'm certainly in agreement with that sentiment, and so I'm getting my black Peter Pan tee washed and ready.

As of this writing, 7,548 theatre lovers on Facebook have signed up for the event, a figure that will no doubt increase exponentially over the next few days.

One cogent commenter, Chris Leavy of Orlando FL, added, “I'm actually going to a show on the 4th. Not on Broadway, but still—the best thing we can do to rally support is to keep seeing shows—any shows we can, as often as we can. Broadway is killing itself with $120 ticket prices. Hopefully some good will come of this recession and soon many more people will be able to afford to see live theatre.”

Apparently Phil and I are on the same wavelength with Chris. Hefty ticket prices are a problem not only in NYC, but also right here in River City. When the economy tightens, people look for bargains. At Barksdale and Theatre IV we’re trying to address these current realities by launching our Entertainment Stimulus Package, announced in a news story last week on Channel 12. Click here for more information and to view the YouTube coverage of the news broadcast: http://www.barksdalerichmond.org/stimulus.html#12

So what are we up to? The truth is this—thus far, ticket sales are doing really well. We’ve exceeded budgeted goals for Driving Miss Daisy and Sanders Family Christmas at Hanover Tavern, This Wonderful Life at Willow Lawn, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Empire.

But as we look to the future, we’ve come to believe that additional stimulus will be needed if we’re to match projections for Children of a Lesser God and Well at Willow Lawn, the World Premiere of Mona’s Arrangements and I Ought to Be in Pictures at the Tavern, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Annie at the Empire. With the exception of Annie, these shows have less name recognition that our recent hits. And if any of you are wondering if name recognition is a factor in ticket sales, I assure you in all caps, IT IS.

So we are continuing to sell our best seats at normal ticket prices (appromimately $38), reducing our second best seats to a very affordable $20 (you must purchase by Jan 31), continuing our $15 rush tickets for any and all theatre lovers who don’t mind waiting until 3-hours before curtain to purchase their seats, and providing Hanover County Students with $9 (same as a movie) tickets to all shows at Hanover Tavern.

And if these prices aren’t low enough, we welcome folks to write to me, tell me how much you can afford (on the honor system), and we’ll find a way to make tickets available to you for the price you name. This has always been our policy. We’ve never turned anyone away because of inability to pay.

It goes without saying that we need to continue to sell tickets at all price ranges in order to stay afloat. And we WILL stay afloat. I say this emphatically because literally every time we announce a new fundraising campaign or ticket sale initiative, friends and supporters suspect that we’re going under. Such is the legacy of the surprise closings of TheatreVirginia in 2001 and Broadway Under the Stars in 2006.

Friends. I promise. We are in no danger of closing. We’re merely trying to address strategically the economic challenges that ever business is facing.

So, you can wear your black show tee shirt on Jan 4, or you can pull out a $20 (or two tens and a five if you want to wait for Rush) and show your support by buying a ticket. This is a time for all of us who love theatre to stand shoulder to shoulder and rally behind the art form and the several nonprofit theatres that make our lives so much more fulfilling.

All of Richmond's nonprofit theatres need your support. I hope to see you soon at one of them!

--Bruce Miller

"Guys and Dolls" Lights Up Downtown

Posted by Bruce Miller
The figures are in for total attendance at Guys and Dolls this summer at the historic Empire, and if I were a bell I’d go … well, you know.

11,421 people came streaming downtown to catch our sizzling summer hit. In comparison with other recent winners, 11,307 rushed out to get a peek at The Full Monty, and 10,418 believed that Mame charmed the husks right off of the corn. Both of those musical blockbusters were at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn.

Convincing all of Barksdale’s large and vibrant audience, many of whom live in the suburbs, to venture into downtown without a parking deck was not without its challenges. We offered valet parking (free to subscribers, $5 per car to everyone else), hired an off-duty policeman for each performance, and engaged in a LOT of positive and proactive communication.

It worked! Not only did a great many suburbanites make the trek back to the heart of our city, even better, they had a wonderful experience! To the best of our knowledge, there was not a single frown-inducing moment during the ten-week run.

Now I know, a lot of you come downtown all the time and are sitting back now saying, “What’s the big deal? Who doesn’t love downtown?” I’m with you. I’ve been down here on Marshall (my office) and Broad (our theatre) pretty much every day since 1986.

But the perception persists among many of those who have yet to become downtown denizens that once you cross Belvedere all hell breaks loose. Shoot, a lot of folks misperceive that all hell breaks loose once you cross the Boulevard.

Thankfully, this summer, a wonderful time was had by all. That bodes well for Barksdale Theatre and next summer’s Empire run of Thoroughly Modern Millie, for our many downtown neighbors, and for the CenterStage facilities set to open a little farther downtown only one year from now.

Our good neighbors at Tarrant’s Cafe and Bistro 27, two of the eight outstanding restaurants that have opened within two blocks of the Empire, wrote us letters to express their appreciation for our bringing the big summer musical down to the Arts District. “In one summer,” wrote Ted Santarella, owner and chef at Tarrant’s, “Barksdale Theatre has single handedly brought thousands of new faces to our neighborhood. Speaking with other merchants, particularly restaurant operators, we have not only seen an increase in foot traffic into our businesses, but felt the positive impact on our bottom lines. Barksdale has brought a new market of customers who ‘haven’t been down here in years,’ and may now return on their own to enjoy another evening out.”

Carlos Silva, owner and chef at 27 (pictured to the right), agrees: “I have been enjoying the benefits of your play (Guys and Dolls). Every weekend my restaurant is full between 5:30 and 7:30. Normally on a Saturday the crowd doesn’t start to grow until 8:00. Thanks to you, I have a full turn of tables before my usual crowd arrives. My revenue has increased across the board.”

When we joined the first urban pioneers and invested $2.3 million in the historic Empire way back in 1986—and gambled our future—this is exactly the type of neighborhood transformation and downtown revitalization we imagined. It’s been a long time coming, but the Richmond Arts District, which runs for five blocks along Broad and Marshall from Henry Street on the west to Art 6 on the east (just a few steps beyond Foushee), is now one of Greater Richmond’s hottest neighborhoods.

We’re proud to have been here from the beginning, and to be contributing still to the vitality of this community. We now know that nothing but great things are on the way for this upbeat corner of downtown Richmond!

--Bruce Miller