Theatre Artists Studio Board

Board:

Meeting Minutes

Minutes Archive

Board Meeting on April 2, 2019

8 Attendees:
Carol MacLeod
Clark DesSoye
Judy Lebeau
Judy Rollings
Marney Austin
Mary Robinson
Patti Suarez
Steven Mastroieni

Previous Board Meeting Minutes Approved

President`s Report
Landlord (Jason Bowles from Whitestone REIT) contacted Carol to discuss renewing the lease but she told him, at this time, The Studio will be asking for a one-year extension with the current terms. Jason was obviously disappointed by seemed to open to looking at that option. He said he would need to get back. Carol also explained to Jason that the board had created a lease committee and it, under the leadership of Steve would be responsible to future negotiations. She will be forwarding Steve’s contact information to Jason.

All agreed that so far the lease situation has been handled well and will work with Steve to try to get the best possible terms for an extension while efforts are made to raise the necessary funds to sustain The Studio given the fact that membership and ticket sales alone do not cover the two major expenses: the monthly lease and utility costs.

Financial Committee Report
With Amy absent, Carol reported that The Studio has $6,000+ in the bank, primarily from two nice donations: $5,000 from Martha Wasserman and $1,000 from Dr Sipperley (in support of Patti Suarez

Member Committee Report

Business Committee Report
Clark and Steve related the insights that Richard Bredemann, our SCORE mentor, gave us in consideration of our fundraising needs:

Richard believes that The Studio should qualify for the popular non-profit tax credit (through which donors can get a dollar for dollar tax deductions). Carol will ask Amy to look into this with the AZ Department of Revenue.

He also reinforced many of the conclusions that we had come up with, such as looking at lists of past and current artistic and sustaining members and donors. Carol has already started work on this list.

The importance of coming up with a rationale for this fundraising effort that will make sense to possible donors. As we had previously discussed, he agreed that we need to stay positive, talk about the uniqueness of what The Studio offers the community.

It was determined that each board member should try to come up with a theme for the fundraising effort and connect by email in the coming days.

A lively discussion followed with many useful suggestions offered:

Marney discussed a theater group from Minnesota that is doing some interesting promotions that she will research to see if there are elements of it we can use.

Highlighting that some of the funds raised will be used for theater upgrades (“audience comfort enhancements”, i.e., seat cushions), more extensive food and beverage offerings.

What sets The Studio apart from other live theaters in Phoenix/Scottsdale?

Variety of productions

Relevant theater, thought-provoking dramas

“765 years of acting experience and still in our prime” and you can be a part of this ongoing legacy….

Carol posited that the fundraising goal should be $50,000; but the rest of the board suggested that we should be trying for $100,000

Many board members have already forwarded their ideas, via email, since the meeting ended and we should be able to put together some drafts of a fundraising brochure in the next few days. Clark has volunteered to take the lead on putting it together. He will be sharing drafts on this Google drive for member review and comment.