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Summary: New Managing Director announced, space
search committee revived, January mainstage announced, membership discussion, and more!
MINUTES TAKEN BY JOHN WUCHTE
23
Total in attendance
14
Company Members
(33 Members currently in Company)
3
Board Members
(John Sylvain, Jonathan Tavss and Jim Tosney)
SAA (Andy Wolf)
ü
Need 2 folks for phone tree.
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Elections in 2 weeks, next company meeting December 5, 2004.
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We will have speeches followed by the election.
Nominations
(Company members only!)
SAA
– (runs meetings, email lists, phone lists, communications)
Andy is stepping down after 4 terms serving 2 years. Thank you Andy! NO
NOMINATIONS
Literary Manager
– Mcintyre nominated.
Memcom
– (Needing to replace Ruth who is stepping down,
Thank you , Ruth!)
Kathi Copeland nominated.
Artistic Committee
– Joe Jordan, David Mcintyre and Padraic Duffy nominated.
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All nominees please email the SAA a short statement
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Please submit any other nominations to the SAA before the
next company meeting.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS (Sylvain, Tavss,
Tosney)
New
Managing Director Announced
John Sylvain – We have some big
news. We have hired a new Managing
Director. Adam will be stepping
down. Thank you, Adam!
John Mitchell will be the new MD.
He has worked on MBR and Dubya, this is his first meeting.
He has experience in both management of theaters and technical expertise.
Adam will remain advisory, but from hence forward direct all MD questions
to John.
John Mitchell – I’m very
excited about the future. I want to
talk to all the members and get their input before any changes begin.
Jonathan Tavss – We are very
excited about John.
NOTE: The Company was not aware of the announcement prior to the
meeting.
Space
Opportunities
Sylvain – we will be meeting with
Gil Garcetti councilman to discuss possibilities of a free space, that is larger
and better located for Sacred Fools.
Wuchte – I would suggest that you
speak with our landlord, Baravarian, and inquire about the space right next door
that is available. I think it might
be more realistic to take advantage of expanding here while continuing to look
for a free space, after the past several years I feel the free space seems more
like a pipe dream.
Sylvain – I wouldn’t say it’s
a pipe dream. We had an opportunity
in the past that fell through and we want to get back on track looking for a
free space. If anyone would like to
help with the search let me know (Kiesche expressed interest).
Heliotrope has too many liabilities and the landlord is difficult.
Wuchte – You or John Mitchell
should still speak with the landlord to make sure that new tenants wouldn’t
interfere with the theater i.e. parking, noise, etc…
Sylvain – I will speak with him.
DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR SEARCH
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Sylvain – we put an ad on craigslist.
Got 12 responses. John Wuchte also interested in position.
Wuchte – Will the development
director focus on both grants and fundraising?
Should we split those responsibilities for effectiveness?
Tavss – They don’t need to be
mutually exclusive.
ARTISTIC COMMITTEE (Mcintyre/Duffy)
ü
Finn in the Underworld
cancelled due to royalty issues
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Love Tapes by Penn Jillette and Steven Banks
directed by Jessie Marion, Starring Dean Cameron and Julie Mullen to replace Finn
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Love Tapes playing 8pm/Finer Noble Gases
at 10
Sylvain – might the running time
be cutting it close for a 10pm show?
Corey – remember we used to have
shows ending at 10:55 and still got late-night shows up at 11, so having 30
minutes will be good.
ü
Producers Needed!!!
MANAGING DIRECTOR (John Mitchell)
John Wuchte – question for Adam,
I noticed all the box office tally sheets accumulating in the office, have you
been keeping detailed records of all our shows?
Adam – No.
not really. I have all the
hard copies. But not all the
figures are in one place.
Wuchte - -So there is no tally of
attendance at this point?
Adam – No.
Kiesche – Adam, what is our
financial situation?
Adam – We have paid all past debt
up til now. Once we pay December
rent that will be about it. I still
have to make a deposit on the DUBYA cycle.
That should be a good chunk of change.
HOUSE (Brandon Clark)
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Please keep signing up!
FACILITIES (Lou Burnstein)
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The infamous front light still needs to be replaced!
LITERARY (David Mcintyre)
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Lots of readings. Check
the website.
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MY UNCLE SAM auditions coming up!
PUBLICITY (Phil Sokoloff)
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LA Times feature article on Dean Cameron and Sacred Fools.
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Quiet, Please had 3 press people on opening
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Radio plug coming (KPFK) for Quiet, please.
MEMCOM (Wuchte/Aldrich)
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We
will be voting in new members at the next meeting.
Kathi
Copeland – I would like to suggest we utilize company members as much as we
can for readings. Even go against
type for experience
Mcintyre – cast Uncle Sam almost
entirely company and some folks dropped out at last minute.
AC does their best to utilize company for readings.
10
TOPS (Aldrich)
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Coming on December 6th. Sign up online!!!
F&L New Year’s Eve
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Produced by Anthony Backman, David Mcintyre and Jenelle Riley
Underneath the Lintel
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Return engagement/2 performances
DISCUSSION PERIOD
Membership
Kathi Copeland – People ask me
about being a member and I’m not sure what to tell them.
Becky Harrison – I came to SF
during MBR (Midnight Brainwash Revival). Wish
I had been told of the company aspect earlier on in the process.
More communication is needed to the cast and crew.
Wuchte – Memcom is stepping up
its attempt to let folks know about the company, but we do check in with the
actors during shows via emails and personal invitations. We plan to present ourselves at first rehearsals.
Aldrich Allen – I reached out to
the Dubya cast personally and through and email. Not much response.
Mitchell - -After MBR I was
considering just leaving. I
didn’t feel the company support. But
then I stayed to help Joe with Dubya. We
need to capture and hold members.
Adam Bitterman - The benefit of
being a member is being able to call yourself a Sacred Fool.
That was always the original premise.
If you were around, you were a fool.
Wuchte – 4 years ago we had 80+
members but half of them were never present.
So memcom and the idea of membership has changed somewhat over the years
to respect those that are around and do the work and attempting to better define
who a member is.
Choosing
an entire season/casting possibilities
Aldrich – likes the idea of the
AC really striving to see what projects fit the company
Joe Jordan – nigh on impossible
to create a season for actors
Padraic – Very difficult to find
enough shows for a whole season. A
year in advance, let’s say. Just
not enough proposal and people available.
Some general thoughts:
Marketing of our theater/our season
Is a full season possible with our
organization?
Do we focus too much on trying to
define membership?
Action items are needed at each
meeting and updates to chart our progress or meetings become stagnant.
Minutes taken by John Wuchte, and edited and
posted to the web by Corey Klemow.
Contact Corey with corrections and clarifications.
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