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Show I n l , Ml ., P.I'T. t I i Page A14 Thursday, July 23, 1987 Park Ream. Madonna an Olympic hopeful? You may remember her from a few years back. As a member of the Silver Kicks, Park City's women's soccer team, and an annual winner in the East Canyon and Heber triathlons, there was nothing, it seemed, that Park City resident Madonna Harris couldn't do. If you watched last week's United States Cycling Cycl-ing Federation Age-Graded Nationals held here in Park City, you may have gotten a glimpse of Madonna. In both the road race and criterium, Madonna easily outpaced her competition, turning turn-ing in lap times last enough to be competitive with the men. While some people in town noticed Madonna for the first time last weekend, many remember her back in those earlier days, when changing from swimsuit to biking attire were what she did best. Glancing through old copies of The Record it's hardly possible to pass over a sports section without seeing her name in print. Winning triathlons and other such endurance events seemed seem-ed second-nature for the soft-spoken New Zealand native. Plus, she made them look so easy. Although Park City is where most of us have been introduced to Madonna, it hasn't yielded the first avenue of success. Competing on the New Zealand national women's basketball team and national track and field team, Madonna had dreams of going to the Olympics ten years ago. Editorial Sflneiniimaim by J.P. Max Searching for better opportunities, the then-single then-single Madonna Gilchrist came to Utah to attend Utah State University in Logan on a basketball and track scholarship. Unfortunately, the coaching didn't work out too well and dreams of playing basketball in the Olympics dissolved. Things are different these days for now-married, now-married, 30-year-old Madonna. She's still winning, winn-ing, but now, unlike winning mere ribbons and trophies in local triathlons, the stakes are different dif-ferent and the dreams have changed. Since entering her first cycling competition in the 1984 Park City Vaughn Angell Bicycle Race, Madonna has gone no where but up within the ranks of cycling prestige. Heads are turning when she crosses the finish line in national competitions, competi-tions, and Madonna keeps getting faster. Now, looking toward the 1988 Olympics, Madonna Madon-na smiles. Sponsored by Celestial Seasonings, equipped with more bikes and gear than she knows what to do with, there is nothing holding her back. Park City is behind you all the way. We're proud that our hometown has become your hometown. New avenues of talent needed It is always gratifying, whatever the impetus, to see that long-time friends and supporters of Park City Performances and the Egyptian Theater are still interested and concerned in the direction and activities of that group. Bob Toy, who has not volunteered for some time, has written a thoughtful and sincere letter expressing his reasons for not being involved recently, and the direction in which he feels PCP should be going. While I wholeheartedly agree with much in Bob's letter, I feel it is important to see both sides of this picture. I do not speak for the entire Board of Trustees, but I do speak with the agreement of the President of the Board and from a personal history with PCP that began in 1981. To begin, I'd like to list the current Board of Trustees. The Executive Board is Norman Weiss, President C85), Maggie Reno, Exec. Vice President Presi-dent and President-Elect C79), Ann MacQuoid, V P. Development C81), Ruth Ann Fitzgerald, V.P. Programming (79), Susan Glasmann, Past President f 80), Frank Harris V.P. Finance C82), Hot) MacDonald, Treasurer C86). The dates behind each name represent to the best of my knowledge the year in which the individual became involved and active with PCP. Most have been a part of the community theater either since the opening of the Egyptian Theater in 1981, or prior to that when PCP was operating out of the Kimball Art Center. Other trustees include Richard Scott, Jere Calmes, Gary Cole, Chuck Folkerth, Madeline Smith, Val Thurnell, Jackie Toy and Glenn Artist... Ar-tist... all of whom were a part of the theater from its earliest days. "Newcomers" whose involvement involve-ment extends back only three or four years include in-clude Franci Eisenberg, Dick Lueck, Phil Plutt, Mob Richer, JoAnn Krajeski, Tom Sedgwick, Carole Sanders and David Woodcock. Our advisory ad-visory board includes Ed Ames, Vince Donile, Carroll Horton and Jerry Howells. Certainly, a cross-section of our community and new ideas that bring excitement and growth to PCP. Election to the Board is, of course, voted upon by members of PCP, and that membership includes in-cludes all season ticket holders and all First Nighters. Invitations are sent to our annual Board Meeting in April to all members, and members are asked to submit recommendations for Board membership. Most of the time, only a handful of the some 300 members come to the meeting. I cannot can-not speculate if that is because they are "turned off", or if it is because they are satisfied with the leadership of the theater. Previously, when there was a separate "member" category, as is recommended recom-mended by Bob, only 15 or 20 people ever joined, the Baord in 1983 decided to simplify categories by having all season ticket holders automatically become members with no additional or separate fees. I'm not certain what specific actions Bob refers to when he mentions "the direction taken by the Board" in the past few years, but I would like to point out a couple of pertinent facts. One, in 1983, when the Board of Trustees took over management manage-ment of the theater group, we were $50,000 plus in debt, after two years in the Egyptian Theater. That debt was specifically the result of plays that were not financially successful at the box office, outside performances that were fiscal disasters (Chamber Music lost some $2,000; big name acts and Salt Lake shows were uniformly losers for PCP). While the diverse and experimental activities ac-tivities might have "added to the quality of life in Park City" they put the theater into such a dangerous financial position that in 1983 there was serious talk of disbanding PCP as fiscally unredeemable. A handful of people decided that that was not in the best interest of the community, and efforts were made to put the theater in the black and save PCP. That was the beginning of a "New direction" for the theater, and it was directly related to saving PCP from total failure. We limited staff to one hired person who was office manager and office director; we determined that all shows put on the stage at the Egyptian Theater had to be at the very least "break-even" productions. We could not afford any more losers. We set about to aggressively ag-gressively fund-raise in the community and the volunteer Board of Trustees committed hundreds of hours to the day-to-day activities of the theater. It worked. In 1986, we were back in the black, and overall we remain there today. UFAPn ALfetTOOUS M0ULP WAVE HQZE CWCY , As H See It We did not, and do not today, limit participation in our productions in any way. All interested people peo-ple are invited and encouraged to try out for shows. In fact, Richard Jewkes was specifically directed to use at least 50 percent local actors in "This is the Place, Take Three", which opens tonight. Not enough Park City actors came to the four auditions for him to cast the show entirely from local people, but the good news is the cast does include three Park City actors who are brand new to the stage. New local talent is still emerging and taking part. Perhaps the real complaint is that some of the "old" actors feel the "new" talent is taking over. That is probably true to a great extent. One reason may be that those who were able to devote the hundreds of hours it takes to be in a show back in 1979, now find that, they have real jobs, children, responsibilities that limit -their time for theater1 productions. ; i The only specific disagreement I have with Bob's point of view is that "community theater is primarily to provide an artistic outlet for the residents of that community." That is an admirable ad-mirable goal, but we have found that it is simply not financially possible. We must consider that community theater is also for the purpose of bringing br-inging quality theater than enhances the artistic opportunities in the community. That is sometimes achieveable with strictly local talent and volunteers as with our expansion series that resulted in the "Miss Firecracker Contest". However, it is necessary to broaden our "community" "com-munity" to include "outside" actors and professional profes-sional directors, stage and set designers and others. The results on the stage speak for themselves. Certainly, we need our local actors and our volunteers, and we would never exclude them, but we also need to seek new avenues of artistic ar-tistic expression. As to support from the community: our "Casino Royale" fundraiser was a smashing success; we have twice the number of First Nighters and season ticket members that we did three years ago; we have had sell-out, financially successful shows during the past two years; in 1986-87, so far, we have either made money at the box office or broken even on all but one production, and that one only lost $150. We cannot afford to only make oney on one production a year and allow the others to be financial disasters. As to Bob's recommendations about workshops, chorus, community visibility, etc.I agree. That is exactly why we are hiring Ed Britt. Ed's years of theater background and degrees in theater administration ad-ministration and direction will enable us to greatly great-ly expand the scope of the theater. While volunteers are so valuable and have been so well organized by Val Thurnell, I must say that it is difficult dif-ficult to do all the things Bob suggests with volunteers. While we are managing to stay in the black through fundraisers, successful box office receipts and community support, we do not have a large budget for staffing. We do not own our building; we do not receive large government grants; we do not have one or two "angels" who give us large amounts of money. We are still in a position where we must have only one or one and half staff members to do an incredible variety of things. The opportunity to have a staff person who combines a wide variety of theater-related abilities was a business decision that the Executive Ex-ecutive Board made, however painfully, in what it believed to be the long-term best interests of the theater. It is my belief that the stage is set and waiting for Park City Performances to take off as a regionalcommunity theater that will be pointed to with pride by locals and visitors alike. More than ever, PCP needs the continued support of both old and newcomers... the stage is yours. Ann MacQuoid Ann MacQuoid is vice-president of the board of directors for Park City Performances and has been involved with the theatre since 1981. Theatre needs community support The direction taken by the board of trustees of the Egyptian Theater during the last couple of years has finally shaken me from my apathetic acquiesence and obligated me to submit this statement. state-ment. My contention is that they are out of touch with the people of Park City, particularly many of us who have supported the theater with our time, talents, sweat, enthusiasm, and dollars. The theater was started in the summer of 1979 in a manner that captured the true essence of community com-munity theater. There was a spirit during those first few years that was electric, exciting, and heart warming. Closet performers came out all over town. Over the years theater -goers witnessed individual, personal, and collective growth among our performers. I firmly believe the primary mandate of a community com-munity theater is to provide an artistic outlet for the residents of that conxruni Anything achiev: ed over and above that i$ cbrtirnunity embellish-ment. embellish-ment. Within the parameters of that mandate there can also exist artistic growth and fiscal soundness. Among its citizenry Park City is blessed bless-ed with an enormous amount of artistic talent. I'm sure there is no other city of our size that can boast of such a talent pool. That pool had just barely begun to be tapped prior to the change of direction taken by the board. I first became involved with the theater group that eventually evolved into Park City Performances Perfor-mances during its first full season in 1979 as a member of the chorus in "Oliver." I have been involved in-volved in fifteen productions with the group. The involvement has included stage managing, running runn-ing spotlights, bit and support roles, lead roles, and director. I was one of the original financial supporters of the theater and have volunteered numerous hours of labor in cleaning, set construction, construc-tion, and concession work. I directed Plaza Suite in December 1985. Every function of the show was entirely staffed by local Parkites and the Park Record theater critic judged it best play of the '85-'86 season. I asked to be considered for directorial direc-torial duties for the following season but was informed in-formed professional directors were being retained. retain-ed. I have not been involved with a PCP production during the last nineteen months but am currently performing in the Salt Lake City Starlite Theater production of "1776." During the first few years of the theater, there was struggle, experimentation, failures, disagreements, but yet, there was growth. Acting seminars, children's theater, locally produced Broadway-style revues, civic activities, Salt Lake City produced shows, big name acts, and local theater productions all appeared on stage at the Egyptian. Some failed miserably but usually mistakes were not repeated and lessons were learned. The overall effort was a positive addition to the qulity of life in Park City for performers, support staff, and audiences. The theater is now positioning itself in a manner that will result in a major erosion of community support. This will cut off their very lifeblood. It's a well-known fact that very few small theaters can financially survive on box office receipts alone. Volunteer financial and volunteer physical support, sup-port, coupled with spirited and enthusiastic volunteer performers pave the way to a successful small theater operation. It is my sincere wish to see the Egyptian Theater returned to the people of Park City who continue to have a desire for an outlet through which to vent their artisitic tendencies. During the past sixteen months there have only five productions produc-tions staged there. The theater has been "dark" since May 23, 1987. There have been no workshops or seminars, no children's theater, and hardly any As I See lit auxiliary functions held in the theater during the past couple of years. I think the board of trustees should maintain the present level of aggressive fund raising. But they should rely on box office receipts as a primary source of income only from fund raising type shows such as "Pump Boys" and "This is the Place." Advertise them as fund raisers along the lines of Salt Lake Acting Company's "Saturday's Voyeur." The theater needs to become more community oriented. I would like to see fee-funded actordirector ac-tordirector workshops, children's theater, co-op programs with the local high school drama department and radio station, profitable musical revues, a community chorus, etc. sponsored by the theater. While these won't necessarily be revenue producing, they will heighten community visibility and make fund raising easier and more successful. The theater needs to build, maintain, and nurture nur-ture a professional-quality cadre of volunteer performers per-formers and support personnel. An actor, technician techni-cian mailing list needs to be kept. Invitations to auditions need to be sent, rather than depending on announcements with local media for adequate turnouts. Directors hired by the theater must be urged to hold open auditions and to cast from these auditions. "Pre-casting" must be discouraged discourag-ed or eliminated. Except in cases where quality would definitely be jeopardized, casting preference should be given to local actors. Selection Selec-tion or productions should be aimed toward the known capability of local actors. Even more than funds donated by theater patrons, the most valuable resource associated with Park City Performances is its volunteers. A volunteer effort for the theater should be rewarded reward-ed with a feeling of dignity and volunteers must be treated with respect. A large corps of enthusiastic volunteers is also a key to cost efficiency, the other edge of fund raising. I highly recommend another level of active membership in PCP be established in addition to first-nighters and season-ticket holders. Membership Member-ship fees should be minimized in an effort to get more people of Park City involved plus facilitate fund-raising efforts. These should be voting memberships. The board of trustees should be nominated and elected by the membership. At present, participation on the board is reserved for those persons nominated and appointed by the existing ex-isting board. I think this has proven to be a foolproof fool-proof system for loosing touch with the community communi-ty one was originally selected to serve. The disgraceful handling of the dismissal of the Egyptian's business manger David Fleisher is symptomatic. I think the situation at the Egyptian is salvageable with corrective action. However, I fear for the future of the theater I once called ours if it continues along its present path. I want this to be read as a statement of love, support and concern con-cern for our community theater to the board of trustees. Please, give us back our stage. Bob Toy Bob Toy is currently the director for group sales for Park City Ski Holidays. He has been a member of the theatre community for nearly a decade. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down THUMBS UP - to the badger patrol of the Summit County animal control. When Cheryl Batty called to say her home had been invaded invad-ed by a wild badgar, three officers, Lynn Slack, Tony Sargent and Clint Wilde responded respond-ed with a tranquilzer gun and saved the day ! |