A Study of Interrelationships Between a Regional Theatre's Revenue and Location Rebecca Snedeker-Meier the College of Wooster, [email protected]
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The College of Wooster Libraries Open Works Senior Independent Study Theses 2017 Show Me the Money: A Study of Interrelationships between a Regional Theatre's Revenue and Location Rebecca Snedeker-Meier The College of Wooster, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy Part of the Arts Management Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation Snedeker-Meier, Rebecca, "Show Me the Money: A Study of Interrelationships between a Regional Theatre's Revenue and Location" (2017). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7876. https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7876 This Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar is brought to you by Open Works, a service of The oC llege of Wooster Libraries. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Independent Study Theses by an authorized administrator of Open Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Copyright 2017 Rebecca Snedeker-Meier The College of Wooster Show Me the Money: A Study of Interrelationships between a Regional Theatre’s Revenue and Location by Rebecca Snedeker-Meier Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Senior Independent Study Requirement Theatre and Dance 451-452 Advised by Shirley Huston-Findley November 10, 2017 1 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………..2 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………...3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………....4 Chapter One: History of Theatre in America………………………………………………....12 Chapter Two: Theatre Biographies ………………………………………………………......31 Cleveland Play House…………………………………………………………….….31 Alley Theatre…………………………………………………………………..……..35 Arena Stage………………………………………………………………………......43 Guthrie Theater……………………………………………………………………....49 Chapter Three: Financial Analysis………………………………………………………..….55 Cleveland Play House……………………………………………………………..…55 Alley Theatre………………………………………………………………………....63 Arena Stage…………………………………………………………………………..69 Guthrie Theater……………………………………………………………………....77 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...84 Appendix: Interview Transcriptions …………………………………………………………91 Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………………...130 Works Consulted…………………………………………………………………..………..136 2 Abstract Regional theatres are non-profit organizations that survive off earned and contributed income. In particular, contributed, or donated, income can change depending on the community a theatre is located in. However, there is no consensus whether there is a relationship between the two. This study compares Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House and Alley Theatre to answer the question; how does geographic location relate to the ratios of revenue sources? The income ratios were based off numbers derived from 990 tax forms and the theatres’ operating budgets. Those numbers were then analyzed and compared to the other theatres’ income ratios. It was conclusive that there is a relationship between location and the income sources of a theatre. However, the study should not end here. There are other facets of this topic that need to be explored so that theatres can better understand their local financial options to maximize both their earned and contributed revenue. 3 Acknowledgements Thank you to my friends and family for your steadfast and everlasting support. Thank you to Shirley Huston-Findley for always reminding me that I am doing okay, even when I do not believe you. Your guidance and mentorship have been invaluable. Thank you, Eva Laporte, for the conversations and ideas that blossomed into this study. Thank you Erin Koster, Rachael Feola, and Raymond Inkle for connecting me with your coworkers. Without you, I would not have been able to complete this project. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Kristen Mitchell, Allen O’Reilly, Don Poole, Danielle St. Germain-Gordon and corresponding theatres for taking a chance on my research. You have opened my eyes to a professional world that I cannot wait to join one day. 4 Introduction Every family in every country has a different way of passing the time together. Some families go to a pub, others meet at the movies. Sometimes it can be as simple as a picnic in the park or more elaborate like a party to which everyone you know will be invited. Families can also get together to enjoy sports; whether it be playing together, watching your favorite local team, or cheering on your chosen professional team. In the United States alone, several million people attend some type of professional game annually. For those who are not into sports, there are a wide variety of other pastimes such as going to the theatre. In fact, more people attended a theatre performance in 2015 than games in any professional American sport—except for Major League Baseball.1 Some theatres, such as those on Broadway, are like sporting events whose high attendance rates are vital to the success of the company. Broadway shows are geared toward bringing in an audience, whether they are avid theatre goers or tourists visiting New York City for the first time. Professional regional theatres2 also work hard to bring in a substantial audience but their survival is not entirely dependent on selling tickets. Regional theatres are nonprofit organizations meaning their income is based on more than box office revenue alone; additional sources can include government funding and support from foundations as well as corporations. Typically, government funds come from state, local, and federal governments. The National Endowment for the Arts is a consistent supporter of theatres throughout the country. 1 According to ESPN, the National Basketball Association had almost twenty-two million in attendance in 2015. The National Football League had 17.3 million, the National Hockey League had 21.5 million and Major League Baseball had 73.7 million in attendance. Theatre Facts 2015 reports the attendance for all U.S. professional nonprofit theatres was 29.5 million patrons. Broadway League estimates 13.3 million people in attendance for a Broadway production. 2Regional theatres are typically located outside of New York City across the United States 5 Some states are excellent at providing funding for the arts such as New York and Minnesota while others, like Georgia, are lacking (St. Germain-Gordon; Smith). The options available to each theatre are dependent on how much their individual governments support the arts. If the state is not as dedicated to funding the arts, there are also non-government grants available in each region. There are foundations, such as the Shubert Foundation, that do not have a geographic requirement. Others, like the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation, only award grants to art nonprofits located in communities that house a branch of their law firm. These two foundations have allocated funds for theatres or other arts organizations. Corporations also distribute funds to assist nonprofit companies in their continued success. Both foundations and corporations usually fund a specific startup program, such as a new initiative in an education department. There are a few grants that can be used for general operations, but those are unusual. Each area has a different set of funding options available to the theatres, but it is unclear whether there is any correlation between the area and the sources of funding. This study explores the question: how does geographic location relate to the ratios of revenue sources in a comparison of four regional theatres throughout the United States? To ensure a well-rounded analysis, regional theatres were asked to participate in this study that represented one of the following regions: West coast, South, Midwest, Northeast and East coast. In the end, four theatres agreed to participate, each in vastly different areas: The Alley Theatre located in Houston, TX; Arena Stage in Washington, DC; the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN; and Cleveland Play House in the heart of Cleveland, OH. The only region that is not represented is the West coast. While this is not an inclusive list of theatres that fit 6 the requirements to participate, the diverse locations provide a representative sample that will be sufficient to draw a conclusion. The participating theatres are all recipients of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. This award was created in 1976 by The Broadway League and American Theatre Wing to honor “a company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally” (“The Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre”). It was originally created to highlight theatres outside of New York City, but the rules were changed in 2014 to allow non-Broadway theatres within the city to be eligible.3 Arena Stage was the first theatre to be honored in 1976 whereas Cleveland Play House is one of the most recent winners, awarded in 2015. No theatre has won it twice which “testif[ies] to the growing strength of professional theater nation-wide” (“The Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre”). In addition to being recognized as an outstanding theatre, the participating theatres are members of the League of Regional Theatres (LORT). LORT members “must be incorporated as a nonprofit IRS-approved organization, each self-produced production must be rehearsed for a minimum of three weeks, the theatre must have a playing season of twelve weeks or more,” and operate under