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OCTA
204 N. Robinson Avenue,
Suite 1950
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73102-3082
Phone: 405-236-0788
Email: oktheatre@sbcglobal.net
Contents
AACT Awards
OCTA Board Adopts Major Change
What's Happening
OCTA featured on OETA’s “Oklahoma Horizons
History of the OCTA Awards
Office Goings On
Meet Your Board
Festival For Dummies
Theatre Facts 2006
Web Site Fun Facts
Web Site Information
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Vanessa Adams-Harris receives Best Actress at AACT Festival
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Vanessa receives her award for Best Actress from Bill Muchow,
President of AACT
(Photo by Stephen Bird) |
More than 1200 people attended AACTFest, the national theater festival sponsored by the American Association of Community Theatre, June 18-24, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Event registrations were up nearly 30% from the previous festival, according to AACT Executive Director Julie Angelo.
Hosted by The Metrolina Theatre Association, the event featured keynote speaker Ben Cameron, former Executive Director of Theatre Communications Group. The fundraising Endowment Dinner featured Broadway veterans Terrence Mann and Charlotte d'Amboise. There also were workshops, lecture demonstrations and panel discussions led by arts professionals from all over the United States.
Vanessa Adams-Harris was awarded the Best Actress for her prtrayal of Lena May Baker in Theatre Norths production of "Who Will Sing For Lena?"
New this year was a Design Exhibition, with professional adjudication to recognize excellence in set design, costume design, and graphic arts (season or event materials, logos), as well as website design.
“This biennual AACT event rotates between different cities,” notes Jim Sohre, US Army Entertainment Director and AACT Region X Representative, “and this was without doubt the most exceptional National Fest I have attended. Our official show entry was from the US Army Community Theatre in SHAPE, Belgium, and we were all not only treated to Southern hospitality at its finest, but also experienced outstanding technical production support from local theatre practitioners who are at the top of their game.”
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Sand Springs Theatre
Andrea Campfield, the force behind the new Sand Springs community theatre
has been visiting existing community theatres to not only see the product, but to pick the brains of staff and board members of those theatres. She is being helped by OCTA members through the Rural Theatre Initiative. She and her husband, Tripp are seen here with her parents, Kathy & Bob McFarland, at a production of The Grove Playmakers’ All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
Rural Theatre Initiative
OCTA's RTI makes available the talents of a wide
range of experienced theatre professionals from
across the state to communities initiating theatrical
events or attempting to build community theatres.
Contact the OCTA office for additional information.
…from Tim Smith,OCTA Board Member
Pauls Valley, OK
From a one act play festival that partnered with
the local high school vocal music department, a
series of outdoor concerts and the advanced
preparations for a full length fall theatrical
production, the Pauls Valley Arts Council continues to
take the essence of OCTA's Rural Theatre Initiative
[ RTI] to another level. Through these and
other events and by drawing into the community
individuals interested in all aspects of the arts,
particularly the performing arts, the community has
enjoyed both the cultural and economic impact of
this initiative. Of particular importance is the
power that theatre is having on the overall
programming of the council. At a recent exploratory
meeting of individuals interested in participating
in any aspect of a proposed fall theatre production,
folks from surrounding communities were in
attendance. There has also been conversation with
at least one of these communities in not only
joining the council, but partnering with them on
future projects.
Julie Tattershall
We just found out!...
Julie Tattershall, the artistic director of both Heller and Clark
Theatres, was named Communicator of the Year, the
top honor of the annual Bronze Quill Awards
sponsored by the Tulsa chapter of the International
Association of Business Communicators in October of
2006. Tattershall was honored for her quarter-century of dedication to creative
communications and passing the gift of acting along to many. Julie
began a ‘New Plays’ series in 1990, a tradition that currently continues in
production. Julie also began Tulsa’s first regular performing improvisational troupe,
The Laughing Matter Improv" , which, after twenty years, still
performs regularly to packed crowds. Under her
direction, Heller Theatre was honored by the Oklahoma
Community Theatre Association as "Theatre of the
Year" for 2005 and for the past two festivals
they have been selected to represent Oklahoma at
the American Association of Community Theatre’s
Region VI Festival.
Yukon Arts & Humanities Council
Summer at the Gazebo
In the city that’s home to Garth Brooks, Dale Robertson, and the 2001 Miss Oklahoma USA Cortney Phillips, The Arts and Humanities Council of Yukon has been producing summer theatrical events for seven years, stepping in when the OCTA member, Stage Door Theatre, takes a summer rest. They are now doing three productions each summer, some only for one weekend, some for three, at the Gazebo in Chisholm Trail Park 500 W. Vandament in Yukon.
In July they presented their first musical, “Give My Regards to Broadway,” for three performances. It was directed by Christy Tate of Mustang.
On August 17-18 they will perform “An Evening of Culture -- Faith County II: The Saga Continues.” This is the sequel to the wonderfully popular “Faith County” which they presented last season. It is directed by Debbie Hill. The curtain rises (so to speak) at 8 PM and there is no admission charge. Bring your chairs or blankets. Seating will be in The Gazebo to provide cover from the elements.
Drama in the Park is a presentation of The Arts and Humanities Council of Yukon and is produced with the cooperation of Yukon Parks and Recreation Department and is funded in part by grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment of the Arts. For further information, call Maggie at 833-8747.
OFFICE GOINGS ON
Darrelyn Hoffman
Volunteers have been at work on the OCTA library, putting memorial labels in the books donated by the Charles Hair estate, and generally tidying up the circulation records. Our thanks to Sharon Burum, Diane Chapel, Paula McGee and Jimmy Vaughn for their help. The library is always in need of help, as new plays and theatrical books are constantly added. There are books that still have not been posted on our library webpage and since this page gets the largest number of ‘hits,’ we could really use your help. If you love to organize things and have a few hours a week to volunteer, we would greatly appreciate your help. Call Darrelyn at the office to arrange the schedule.
Website Statistics
(Some of this is a repeat of last quarter, but we felt it could be posted again)
We can all use free publicity. Here is a very simple way to get some basic free press with just a small amount of effort.
USE THE WEB
The wonderful thing about the World Wide Web is that, for the moment, it is still basically free for all to use and has unlimited opportunity for growth. At any one time there could be anywhere from two people looking at your site to several thousand.
Fun Fact
www.oktheatre.org had 82,000 hits last month alone. The most popular day of the week was Friday with 17,000 hits and the busiest time of day was from 2am to 3am (theatre people, go figure) with 5,700 hits.
How to do it
There are several sites where theatres can get free or low cost web exposure. My favorite is Geocities powered by Yahoo. It is very easy to use and free. (You can go a little further and get the package with no advertising on it for just $5.00 per month) You can also get your own domain names by going to Network Solutions to get a personalized domain for about $40 per year. Web forwarding is available for an extra $12 per year. Once you get your website, crosslink it with anyone who will cross link with you (this means putting up a link to their website and them putting one up to yours). This will increase traffic for everyone concerned and it will increase your ranking in the search engines
All in all, for about $110 a year you can get a web page up and running with your own domain name.
Think about it...If you sell just 10 more tickets per season to the people who see your web page, you have paid for your investment
It sounds confusing, but I am willing to set up a workshop for OCTA members for the price of a hotel room, some gas money, and a meal or two where I will come to your city and show you everything you need to do to get started.
Simply send me an email at alb74066@aol.com or tacta@tacta.net and we'll see if we can't work something out.
Thanks,
Anthony Batchelder
Webmaster
Oklahoma Community Theatre Association
Theatre Tulsa
Heller Theratre
Clark Theatre
Theatre North
Cushing Community Theatre
Anthony Batchelder
Laughing Matter Improv
TACTA Forum
Julie Tattershall
The Arts Ranch
Tulsa Area Community Theatre Alliance
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OCTA Board Adopts Major Change
On August 11, the Board of Directors of OCTA accepted, unanimously, a proposal to commit themselves to adopt and adapt the Carver model of policy governance as the principal method for board operations. This model promotes the concept of governance within a policy framework rather than management practiced by a governing board. It is a giant step towards becoming more vision and value-oriented, and need we say that word—accountable!
A task force of OCTA advisory and board members began researching and working with this model in the Fall of ’07. Jack Liggett and Tom Cowley were the two Advisory Board members on the task force. They have been leaders of OCTA’s board enrichment and development workshops for many years. Their expertise and encouragement were invaluable to the job of the task force. Ruthie Carrico, board member from Bartlesville, and Suzanne Boles, President, completed the task force. They are each “staff” in their respective local theatre companies and could, therefore, share their experiences from that side of the aisle.
“Policy Governance is a complete model for governance. That is, it is a coherent framework of concepts and principles that is internally consistent as well as powerful in dealing with whatever practical situations arise.” So says its designer, John Carver, who spent the bulk of his time first in managing public mental health and mental retardation services, (no asides, please!) then in developing and applying governance and executive management concepts. He has spent a great deal of time with ‘for-profit’ business boards, but has consulted, also, with nonprofit, governmental, and other public boards, councils, and commissions in the US and Canada.
Reverend Dale Scott of Bartlesville’s Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church |
At the retreat, the OCTA board was aided in understanding this model by the Reverend Dale Scott of Bartlesville’s Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, which adopted the policy governance model seven years ago. His experience, wisdom, and practical approach clarified much for the board. Because this way of doing business is very different for most boards, his suggestion that we use the next year to 18 months to fully implement the model led the board to instruct the OCTA task force to develop a time-line for its implementation and present it at the October board meeting. Future board meetings will have a time set aside for learning how to operate within this framework.
The model requires a strong staff person, complete with a set of ‘executive limitation policies.’ The Board must set policies, also, that define how it conducts itself. The linkage between staff and board lays out, among other things, methods of monitoring the actions and decisions of the staff leader (Executive Director, CEO, etc.) as well as those of the board of directors. These sets of policies are the means used to carry out the “end policies’ (mission, vision) which define more clearly the ‘owners’ of the organization, and how the board operates on their behalf.
The OCTA board believes that once they have adapted this framework and understand it more thoroughly, they will be in a much stronger position to hire a new executive director for OCTA. In the meantime, they must also operate as volunteer “staff.” Wearing two hats isn’t easy, but they are committed to do it for the foreseeable future in order to strengthen the organization.
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If you think you might like to adopt this type of board in your local theatre or any other community organization with which you work, please contact the OCTA office, 405-236-0788. Or, if you want to know how you can help by volunteering for the many “staff” jobs and committees that need assistance, please call. OCTAFest is coming up and that committee is hard at work defining its own committees and jobs which will require a lot of volunteers.
Special Thanks to our friends at Theatre Tulsa , TACTA , and Heller Theatre .
Special thanks to Theatre Tulsa for providing us a space and lunch on Sunday for our annual retreat, TACTA (Tulsa Area Community Theatre Alliance) for donuts on Saturday morning and Heller Theatre for donuts on Sunday morning
OCTA featured on OETA’s “Oklahoma Horizons"
Interviews with Kathy Kelley,Southwest Playhouse, Clinton, and Shonda Currell, Past President of OCTA, aired on OETA’s “Oklahoma Horizons”on Sunday, July 29. Anchor Rob McClendon and reporter Lori Stockstill were on hand for the shoot of a dress rehearsal of “1940s Radio Hour.” The emphasis of the three-minute segment was on the importance of community theatre for the individuals involved as well as the economics of a community. The commentator also commented on the professional performances of many community theatres. The feature was arranged for OCTA by Stephen Lalli of Carovilli Communication as part of a statewide publicity campaign.
History of the OCTA Awards
For those of us who weren’t part of OCTA some twenty years ago, it is helpful to be able to call on those who were for an understanding of OCTA’s history and progress. In an effort to get this “institutional memory” out of heads and onto paper, so to speak, Jimmy Vaughn, Past President of OCTA and now on the Advisory Board, has contributed his recollections of how the Awards began and who their namesakes were or are. For his description of the history of the awards in general, see the OCTA web page. We reprint here one of the awards.
The Jeanne Adams Wray Special Recognition Award
Many Oklahoma theatre persons were making big contributions to Oklahoma Community theatres and to OCTA. However, they were not affiliated with a particular community theatre. The JEANNE ADAMS WRAY SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD was approved by the OCTA Board of Directors in 1989 and was dedicated to the forethought and the stamina of Jeanne Adams Wray in forming the Oklahoma Community Theatre Association and bringing international recognition to the organization. This award is to be given to those who have contributed significantly, but indirectly, to the community theatre of Oklahoma.
The recipients of this award since 1989 are:
Dr. Jerry Davis, then of the Drama Dept of Oklahoma State University
Dr. Lee Hicks, then of the Drama Dept of Central State University
Mrs. Mona Poehling, the First Executive Director of OCTA
Mrs. Betty Price, State of Oklahoma Arts Council
Dr. Nat Eek, University of Oklahoma, Norman
Dr. Claude Kezer, Southwestern Ok State Univ, Weatherford
Dr. Molly Risso, Southeastern Ok. State Univ., Durant
Dr. Nancy Vunovich, University of Tulsa
Mark Houston, Oklahoma City writer/composer/director
State Sen. Penny Williams, Tulsa
Joe Freeman, Oklahoma City
Philip Blender, Bartlesville
Cliff Hudson, Sonic Industries
Meet Your Board
Paula McGee
Paula is as a teacher at Key Academy in McAlester. She likes to say that she teaches so that she can support her theatre habit. “OCTA has given me a broader perspective,” she said. “If you talk with people from around the state about their theatre experiences and activities, your view of what’s possible is expanded. I also value the friendships I have made throughout the years.”
She is a founding member of McAlester Community Theatre, so she understands the process of ‘building an organization from the ground up.’ As with many founding members, she has acted, directed, produced, and designed sets, costumes, and makeup.
Paula was elected to the OCTA Board of Directors in 1992. She came to the board as a regional representative from southeast Oklahoma. Since then she has co-chaired the Grants and Scholarship Committee that gives scholarships for attendance at the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute. She has chaired and work with OCTA’s youth conferences over the years. She has served on the OCTA Festival committee and the library committee. She served as President from 2001-2003. She is retiring from the OCTA Board in 2008, but she promises that her volunteer work for the organization won’t stop. Thank you, Paula, for many years of service.
Festival For Dummies
By Sharon Burum
For any of you who have wondered if your theatre should enter the festival cycle, the unqualified answer is YES!!! In a series of articles about festival, we hope to encourage, to nurture, and to see you and your theatre at Festival ’08!
Reasons to enter festival:
• To showcase your theatre’s talents – You may have a group of actors or a director or some technical people at your theatre. This is the way to showcase those talents and give your community some deserved statewide recognition.
• To challenge your creativity – Festival plays can be out of the usual list of shows your theatre normally produces. At festival, there is no censorship, so creativity is especially important. You have the opportunity to choose an “edgy” or original script.
• To take your artistic efforts to the next level – Festival offers the adjudication of your efforts, giving you invaluable critique from nationally known experts in theatre. Many theatres that have listened to the critiques and then adopted the advice have gone on to win national awards.
• To give all your theatre family a network with others – My favorite reason to attend festival is the friends and contacts made there. Everyone is into theatre. I found out how to make Christmas tree light bulbs pop for “Tuna Christmas” and to build sets without walls for “Curious Savage” and made a great group of friends.
• To revitalize and rethink your season/play selection – Just talking to others and seeing all those festival plays will give you and your theatre ideas about shows you can do in your area. Perhaps you find an original script you might bring to your town.
• To have a great weekend! Plays every day and evening, networking between shows and looking at table displays, parties and get-togethers every night and it’s all theatre all the time!
Are you ready to begin?
Future articles:
Choosing a play
Royalties for play and music
Putting together a set
Fundraising
Après festival
Theatre Communications Group
Publishes Theatre Facts 2006:
Shows Continued Growth In The
Not-For-Profit Theatre Fields’s Fiscal Health
New York, July 2007 - Theatre Facts 2006, released by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), reports that 2006 proved to be a period of continued growth for the field's health over a 5-year period (although with a slight decline from 2005) as both earned and contributed income outpaced expenses. The report reveals that theatres continue to make tremendous contributions to the nation’s artistic legacy, to their communities and to the economy despite ongoing challenges.
For over 30 years, TCG has published Theatre Facts, which draws on responses to the annual TCG Fiscal Survey to offer an analysis of the attendance, performance and fiscal health of the American not-for-profit theatre field. Theatre Facts 2006 compiles information gathered for the fiscal year that theatres completed anytime between September 30, 2005, and August 31, 2006.
Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG, commented, “Theatre Facts is an enormously valuable tool for our field, giving theatres the ability to compare their experience with national trends. Theatre leaders and trustees use this data in developing appropriate strategies for their organizations and in reaching educated conclusions about their performance. And as the only document analyzing the fiscal health of the national not-for-profit theatre field, Theatre Facts has a broader appeal as a vital advocacy and policy tool for trustees, foundation and corporation executives, policymakers and the national press.”
Written by Zannie Giraud Voss, Associate Professor, Duke University, and Glenn B. Voss, Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, along with TCG staff members Christopher Shuff and Ilana B. Rose, the report examines unrestricted income and expenses, balance sheet, attendance, pricing and performance details and is organized into three sections that offer different perspectives.
The Universe section provides the broadest snapshot of the industry for 2006, examining an overview of 1,893 not-for-profit theatres—201 theatres that completed the survey and 1,692 theatres that filed IRS Form 990. Using an extrapolation formula based on annual expenses, findings include: Not-for-profit theatres made a direct contribution of nearly $1.67 billion to the U.S. economy through payments for goods, services and employee salaries and benefits. Theatres offered 172,000 performances that attracted over 30.5 million attendees.
The majority of theatres’ employees are engaged in artistic positions, with an average workplace consisting of 62% artistic, 25% technical and 13% administrative personnel. 52% of total income came from earned sources and 48% from contributions.
The Trend Theatres section provides a longitudinal analysis of the 105 theatres that have responded to the TCG Fiscal Survey in each of the past five years. This analysis examines trends in earned income, expenses, contributed income and attendance figures. The trend analysis, although encouraging, also highlights areas of concern. Findings include:
65% of theatres ended 2006 in the black and deficits have been less severe in the past two years, while surpluses have been greater.
Earned income growth exceeded expense growth, with earned income rising 8% in the past year alone and outpacing inflation by 17.8% over the 5-year period.
Adjusting for inflation, contributed income rose 11.6%, total income was up 15.1%, while expense rose 6.2%.
Average endowment earnings were at a 5-year high in 2006, increasing 33.5% in the past year and more than 600% over the five year period.
Although total attendance declined 8% and subscription numbers continued to drop with 7% fewer subscription tickets purchased over the 5-year period, attendance and ticket sales were on the rise from 2005 with attendance increasing by 1.3% and single tickets sales rising 9%. Subscription ticket sales from 2005 to 2006 remained unchanged.
Occupancy/building, equipment and maintenance costs increased each year, rising 34% above inflation over 5 years—the greatest percentage increase of all expenses.
Working capital was negative in each of the five years and at its worst in 2006 indicating that theatres are carrying accumulated debt and are borrowing funds to meet daily operating needs.
The Profiled Theatres section provides the greatest level of detail for the 201 theatres that completed the TCG Fiscal Survey 2006. This analysis breaks down earned and contributed income, expenses, attendance, pricing and performance information by budget group and in aggregate. Findings include:
On the whole, earned income financed 61.8% of total expenses and contributed income financed 46.9%, which shows that total income exceeded total expenses by 8.7%.
Income from ticket sales represented 70% of total earned income and supported 43.5% of all expenses.
The labor-intensive nature of theatre is evidenced by the fact that 56% of total expenses—$517 million—goes to compensation (including salaries, benefits and royalties to playwrights).
Theatres received gifts totaling $135.5 million from individuals (the largest single source of contributed income), which supported 16.8% of total expenses and accounted for 36% of all contributed dollars.
52 theatres conducted capital campaigns that generated $82.9 million or 19% of all contributed funds.
These are only a few highlights from the findings reported in Theatre Facts 2006, which is now available free of charge on TCG’s website, www.tcg.org. For more information about Theatre Facts 2006, contact Chris Shuff, Director of Management Programs, 212.609.5900 x 248, or by email at www.cshuff@tcg.org.
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, offers a wide array of services in line with its mission: to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Artistic programs support theatres and theatre artists by awarding approximately $3 million in grants annually, and offer career development programs for artists. Management programs provide professional development opportunities for theatre leaders through workshops, conferences, forums and publications, as well as industry research on the finances and practices of the American not-for-profit theatre. Advocacy, conducted in conjunction with the dance, presenting, music and opera fields, includes guiding lobbying efforts and providing theatres with timely alerts about legislative developments. As the country’s leading independent press specializing in dramatic literature, TCG’s publications include American Theatre magazine, the ArtSEARCH employment bulletin, plays, translations and theatre reference books. As the U.S. Center of UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, a worldwide network, TCG supports cross-cultural exchange through travel grants and other assistance to traveling theatre professionals. Through these programs, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of and appreciation for the theatre field. TCG serves over 460 member theatres nationwide.
Take a minute to visit our Web Page at
www.oktheatre.org
where you will find lots of interesting stuff such as information on membership and programs.
All programs and services of the Oklahoma Community Theatre Association are funded in part through the generosity of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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