We have certainly come a long way in a very short time – from giving serious consideration to dissolving the Sioux Empire Community Theatre over a year ago to the most successful season in a decade. In one season, we were able to pay off all of our short-term debt -- to the tune of $75,000 -- and we ended our fiscal year, June 30th, with money in the bank.
There are a lot of lessons learned over the past year that are worth remembering
More shows don’t necessarily mean more profit.
Doing 8 shows in previous seasons increased expenses, exhausted staff and volunteers and we ended up running deficits. We did four shows this past year and ended up in the black – on every show.
You don’t need to rent the Orpheum for a full month and do three weekend runs. It’s hard on the cast and crew and doesn’t necessarily translate into more ticket sales. We rented the Orpheum main stage for 17 days, put on 10 performances and cut our rental expenses in half.
While it is always great to be on the cutting edge of what is going on in the theatrical world in terms of live theatre, picking popular shows our patrons are familiar with and want to see, drove ticket sales to historic levels.
Marketing budgets are never adequate but by partnering with Midco and Kelo radio and others we were able to supplement our meager marketing budget with over $100,000 in free television and radio advertising. With a 2 for 1 electronic billboard buy for each show, strategically placed newspaper ads, an aggressive social media campaign – the Sioux Empire community was well aware of Season 16 and bought tickets, lots of them.
We were also able to get corporate show sponsors and people to donate and help get us back on our feet. We cut operating expenses in half, crew members were willing to take a smaller stipend – and the staff and board stepped up – big time.
These are just a few of the lessons learned from the past year. We are stronger today for the struggle and now focused on the future. We have come to appreciate the reality that we are in fact a business and embrace the concepts – “if there isn’t a margin, there is no mission” and that being a non-profit is only a “tax status, not a business plan.”
Because of an incredibly successful Season 16, we have been able to hire a new Executive Director, Robin Byrne, who brings three decades of both theatre and business acumen to our organization. We have also been successful in recruiting several new board members with skill sets and experience that are sure to assist Robin in taking our organization to the next level.
As the new President of the Sioux Empire Community Theatre, working with the Board and Staff, I want to focus on two primary goals:
Long-term and sustainable financial viability
Professionalizing our organization and our product at all levels
One final note, as you may know, the Washington Pavilion, effective July 1st, is now managing the Historic Orpheum. We have already met with key Pavilion staff to better understand how this change is going to affect our organization. This will be a transition and there are going to be some changes. We will do our best to keep you updated on our ongoing discussion with the Pavilion staff and how we are moving forward.
We have a great line up for Season 17: Mamma Mia, Tuesdays With Morrie, Lend Me A Tenor, and Beauty and the Beast. If you haven’t bought your season tickets yet, I encourage you to go online today at www.siouxfallstheatre.com and get your season tickets and perhaps make a small donation. Ticket sales and donations are important to maintaining our financial viability.
On behalf of the Sioux Empire Community Theatre and the Board of Directors, I want to thank you for all you have done – and hopefully will continue to do – to ensure that community theatre remains alive and well in the Sioux Empire region.
Sincerely,
Rick Weiland
Board President
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