Calgary’s Premier Community Musical Theatre Company · 2018. 9. 15. · Little Shop of Horrors...

Calgary’s Premier Community Musical Theatre Company

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Front Row Centre Players Society 375 Bermuda Dr NW Calgary, AB T3K 2J5

http://www.frontrowcentre.ca 403-246-8505

[email protected]

Mission Front Row Centre Players Society is a charitable arts organization, dedicated to providing a fun and safe environment for anyone to participate in and learn all aspects of musical theatre and to deliver enjoyable, high quality entertainment

to our community.

Vision To be a driving force in the community by enhancing the cultural environment

through the active promotion of musical theatre.

Values Community • Fun • Diversity

Creativity • Passion • Safety

Opportunity • Teamwork


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2016/2017 Board of Directors

Darren

Stewart President

Janos Zeller

Vice-President

John Zeller

Treasurer

Danielle

Desmarais Secretary

Joey Sayer

Artistic Director

Jenn

Lanciault Volunteer Director

Jamie

Eastgaard-Ross Inventory Director

Kristine Astop

Member at Large

Jeffrey Diodati

Member at Large

(Interim Marketing)

Matt Ryan

Member at Large

Others During the Year

Marketing Director Samantha Carson (Until Jun 2017)


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

State of the Society ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

Board of Directors...................................................................................................................................................... 5

Partnership (CCTL/BTAC) ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Surveys ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Past Audience Survey ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Attendance ............................................................................................................................................................... 10

Expectations for 2017-2018 .................................................................................................................................... 12

Courses ........................................................................................................................................................................ 13

Review of 2016/2017 .............................................................................................................................................. 13

Plan for 2017/2018 .................................................................................................................................................. 14

FINANCIAL REVIEW ................................................................................................................................................ 15

REVIEW OF 2016/2017 ...................................................................................................................................... 15

OUTLOOK FOR 2017/2018 ................................................................................................................................ 16

Artistic Programming .................................................................................................................................................. 17

Review of 2016/2017 .............................................................................................................................................. 17

PLAN FOR 2017/2018 ............................................................................................................................................. 20

future planning ........................................................................................................................................................ 22

Assets and Inventory Management (Jamie) .............................................................................................................. 23

Review ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Plan .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Volunteer Recruitment and Retention ........................................................................................................................ 24

Review of 2016/2017 .............................................................................................................................................. 24

Plan for 2017/2018 .................................................................................................................................................. 25

Marketing and Publicity .............................................................................................................................................. 26

Output and Visibility ................................................................................................................................................ 26

Marketing Direction for 2017/2018 ........................................................................................................................ 26

Evaluation and Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 27

Appendix A: Ranking of Shows on File (69/83 Total) ................................................................................................ 28

Appendix B: Financial Statements Year ended June 30, 2017 ................................................................................. 30

Appendix C: Budget Review for 2016/2017 ............................................................................................................... 37

Appendix D: Budget for 2015/2016 ............................................................................................................................ 38


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STATE OF THE SOCIETY

This year showed (optimistically) the tail end of a turbulent time for FRC and potentially the beginning of a levelling out as we settle into our new home and new programming structure.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Moving into this year there was some vacancies on the board that were not filled, maintaining a lower than typical board size. Challenges of over-taxing our most committed volunteers happened as a result, particularly with some of the high level board activities that happened during the year. Roles that continue to be difficult to fill are Technical, Fund Development, and Marketing, as our marketing director brought on in 2016 (Samantha Carson), was not able to continue through the full year. Jeffrey Diodati, an existing member at large, stepped in to fill the role to date.

We continue to monitor board involvement in our shows beyond gala, front of house and tech week involvement to try and keep it as no more than half, but with a smaller board that proved more challenging this year.

Show Board Members in Design & Leadership

Team

Board Members in Cast

Board Members otherwise credited (excl. Gala, FOH,

Tech Week)

Total Board Members

Iconic Broadway (Opera in the Village)

Danielle Desmarais, Samantha Carson

None Jenn Lanciault (Piano)

3

Jekyll & Hyde Jeffrey Diodati, Matt Ryan, Darren Stewart

Janos Zeller, Samantha Carson

None 5

Reefer Madness

Danielle Desmarais, Darren Stewart,

Samantha Carson, Kristine Astop

Janos Zeller Jenn Lanciault (Piano)

6

Through the Decades

Jenn Lanciault, Darren Stewart,

Jamie Eastgaard-Ross

Samantha Carson, Jeffrey Diodati, Darren Stewart

Janos Zeller (Catering

Coordinator), Matt Ryan (Raffle

Coordinator), Jenn Lanciault (Piano)

8

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Jamie Eastgaard-Ross, Jenn Lanciault

None Samantha Carson (Running Crew), Darren Stewart

(LxOp), Joey Sayer (LxOp)

5

Little Shop of Horrors

Jeffrey Diodati, Danielle Desmarais,

Kristine Astop

Matt Ryan (LxCrew), Darren Stewart

(Trumpet)

5

Our Front of House this year was again run by our committed board of directors, including most of those not listed in the table above.


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PARTNERSHIP (CCTL/BTAC)

During the course of this past year, CCTL has taken on Beddington Theatre Arts Centre as its primary trade name and is not using CCTL for regular business. The partnership of continues to strengthen and work to overcome the challenges of running the facility as a shared space for FRC and StoryBook. Managing the relationship between all of the related parties is challenging at times, but the benefits of a shared space have proven themselves time and again. FRC remains dedicated and heavily involved in the day-to-day governance of the building.

SURVEYS

We continued to conduct a set of surveys with each show to try and ascertain the expectations of participants, do a midway check-up of how things were going, and then a final round-up of how the show went. It is important to know that the Board of Directors reads each survey and usually discusses the substantial ones at a meeting. The answers and comments on these surveys are guiding the decisions of the board on an ongoing basis.

Three questions that we feel are a good indicator of how we are doing are included here. They show a marginal decrease from the same results last year, and response rate was roughly equivalent.

OVERALL, DID YOU FEEL APPRECIATION OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SHOW WAS ADEQUATELY DEMONSTRATED?

Jekyll Reefer H2$ Little Shop Overall

Response Rate 47% 71% 77% 56% 63% Yes 89% 63% 100% 71% 68% No 4% 3% 0% 4% 2%


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ON A SCALE OF 1-5 (1 BEING VERY POOR, 5 BEING EXCELLENT), HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE ON THIS SHOW:

Jekyll Reefer H2$ Little Shop Overall

Response Rate 43% 50% 45% 46% 46% 5 11 13 18 13 55 4 12 4 8 7 31 3 2 2 1 1 6 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 1 3

Score* 81% 60% 53% 71% 64%

ON A SCALE OF 1-5 (1 BEING "NEVER" AND 5 BEING "DEFINITELY"), HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN AN FRC SHOW AGAIN?

Jekyll Reefer H2$ Little Shop Overall Response Rate 43% 48% 45% 44% 45%

5 17 13 18 13 61 4 5 4 8 7 24 3 3 2 1 1 7 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1

Score* 84% 59% 53% 70% 64%

*Where Score = Grade * Num Responses / Max Grade * Total Responses

PAST AUDIENCE SURVEY

As a project resulting from Rosza’s Arts Management Program, we sent a survey to several audience groups

Survey Name Description of Group Complete Responses

Incomplete Responses

Past Audience Survey Patron records that bought tickets to a show in 2012-2013 but not in the past 12 months

193 22

Recent Audience Survey Patron records that bought tickets to a show in the past 12 months (Catch Me If You Can to Reefer Madness inclusive)

511 36

Facebook Audience Survey Open to anyone on Facebook 20 0

Total 724 58 782


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From these we noticed a few trends that are worth talking to.

What You Said What We’re Doing

The seats suck! We worked with the Beddington Theatre Arts Centre and the manufacturer of the risers to install new cushions and flip-up armrests, installed Sep 2017.

Beddington’s a long way away The Beddington Theatre Arts Centre is a superb venue for our productions that affords us the opportunity to produce bigger and better shows in an up-to-date facility for a lower cost. For the foreseeable future, we cannot change locations and maintain the quality and affordable ticket prices that we are accustomed to.

Do more shows I know and like Show choice is so subjective! We poll our audience at every show but we feel that this is misleading us as to what people want to see in general. We sent out another survey to build upon this information and to give our patrons more of a voice that we will use to help choose from our available options.

As demonstration of our challenge, here are the top 10 longest-running Broadway shows (from Wikipedia), with those that we cannot do due to rights marked.

1. The Phantom of the Opera (currently restricted) 2. Chicago (currently restricted) 3. The Lion King (currently restricted) 4. Cats 5. Les Misérables (currently restricted) 6. A Chorus Line 7. Oh! Calcutta! 8. Mamma Mia! (currently restricted) 9. Wicked (currently restricted) 10. Beauty and the Beast

However, it is important to note that we will always do some shows that not everyone will know, it is important to the health of an artistic organization as well as being something that was frequently noted as being a “plus”.

The show was too long Our artistic teams will be keeping a close eye on show lengths and investigating how to better head off shows of the length of How to Succeed in Business. This show ran longer than we expected by about 40 minutes.


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We see too much of the same actors

We have open auditions and embrace new talent, such as our lead in Jekyll & Hyde, Praneet Akilla, our leads in Reefer Madness, Jamie Robinson and Forrest Tymchuk, our lead in How to Succeed, Logan Shave, as well as our lead in Little Shop of Horrors, Jeff Rivet, all of whom were new to us this year. The community of volunteer actors is a small one in some ways, so you will always see some repeated faces and voices. The best way to counter that is to come out and audition!

We don’t hear about the shows We continuously evaluate our promotional opportunities to try and get the best bang for our buck. From the feedback in the survey we are going to try some new areas to focus in and possibly drop some old ones that may not be getting us what we want.

More affordable options Our tickets are already very affordable at $25 or less but we are keenly aware of the economic circumstances in our city.

We are very proud to have been partnering with the Calgary Public Library and offering tickets to low income families through the Sun Life Arts & Culture Pass program and will continue to be a part of that program.

Additionally, beginning with Little Shop of Horrors, the 1st Tuesday of each run will have all remaining seats available as Pay What You Can at the door!


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ATTENDANCE

Attendance continues to decline from previous years. However, it is important to note that our 2012/2013 year was a record-breaking year and should probably be taken as an anomaly when considering ticket sales. This chart is a per-show average since 2010 (excluding Galas & Forbidden Broadway). Note that Putnam brings the average down for 2013/2014, most likely due to the shorter run.

The full rank is in Appendix A.

JEKYLL & HYDE

Number Rank

Attendance 1472 40/75

Rank in Beddington 13/16

Average/Show 92 58/75

Capacity 51% 45/75

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Per‐Show Average


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REEFER MADNESS

Number Rank




Capacity 47% 49/75

THROUGH THE DECADES

Number Rank


Rank of Galas 2/6


Capacity 106% 1/75

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Number Rank




Capacity 55% 35/75


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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Number Rank




Capacity 61% 28/75

EXPECTATIONS FOR 2017-2018

Due to the show choices, we expect that attendance numbers for 2017-2018 will follow very closely the pattern set by 2016-2017.


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COURSES

REVIEW OF 2016/2017

For this year we continued offering both our dance classes and audition classes in a 6 hour format (6 weeks x 1 hour for dance classes, 4 weeks x 1.5hr for auditions). As is our intent with all workshops and courses, these classes are run by experienced instructors, who are engaged on a contract basis (i.e. not volunteer).

Registrations remained low and the courses ran at a slight loss partially due to a set of fees from the previous year paid in this fiscal year.

Audition Class Registration Session

August (Jekyll) 3 October (Reefer) 3 January (H2$) 3 May (Little Shop) 1

The audition courses were run by either Carl Bishop or Lindsay Kurtze. The May audition course was run as a single 1:1 class at the agreement of the registrant and instructor.

Dance Class Registration Session

Discipline Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Combined Drop-Ins

Aug-Sep Jazz 4 9 0 3 Tap 4 0 5 Sep-Oct Jazz 0 0 0 Tap 4 0 0 Nov-Dec Jazz 0 0 0 Tap 0 4 4 Feb-Mar Jazz 8 0 5 Tap 8 11 3 Apr-May Jazz 4 6 0 1 Tap 2 11 2

Jazz classes were run by Danielle Desmarais or Christine Mooney, Tap classes were run by Mikee Ames.

REVENUES: Course 2016 2017 Auditions $1,247.62 $ 528.56 Jazz Level 1 $ 916.68 $ 828.56 Jazz Level 2 $1,695.24 $ 733.38 Jazz Level 3 $ 614.28 $ 266.66 Tap Level 1 $ 411.91 $ 942.84 Tap Level 2 $1,319.04 $1,438.04 Tap Level 3 $ 933.32 $ 690.48 Total $7,138.09 $5,428.52


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COSTS: Space & Instructor Fees $5,117.56 Marketing $ 650.74 Total $5,768.30

PLAN FOR 2017/2018

For our FY18 year, we will continue offering these courses, with a reduced number of options for Jazz and offering some free drop-in opportunities in the hopes of bringing registrations up. As per this last year, we will cancel or postpone low registered classes. Advertising for these courses will be focused on social media.


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FINANCIAL REVIEW

REVIEW OF 2016/2017

Detailed financial results appear in Appendix B to this report.

A review against our planned expenditures and revenue is in Appendix C. Note that all changes from the financial statement review have not been included in these numbers.

2016/2017 year ending June 30, 2017 finished with a strong balance sheet and an adequate financial performance.

Bank balances were 133k including 1.5k in casino at year end. Royalties for the new season appear in prepaid expenses at 21.2k. Net fixed assets total 23k at year end and we show a loan to CCTL at 199.6k.

Our expectation is that the loan would not be fully repaid until 15 years from date of issue.

Our income breaks down to 105 in gate receipts, 74k in fundraising, 51k in donations, 24k in grants, 6k in workshop fees and 4k in equipment and miscellaneous revenues. Our total gross revenues for the 2016/2017 season were 264k. Please note that during the year, FRC received a 40k donation from a patron who passed away in the year.

General expenses (bank, insurance, office and the like) were 20k. Volunteer and personnel costs were 10and marketing and publicity costs were 22k. Fundraising and events costs totaled 13k. Controllable production expenses were 50k and non-controllable (royalties, theatre rent, ticket system) were 86k. The costs related to workshops were 7k and for equipment and inventory were 20k, mostly for outside storage space rental).

Our net income for the year, after depreciation and GST adjustments, was 32k. Without the special donation, our net income would have been a loss of (8)k.


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DETAILS OF THE 2016/2017 SEASON

$k Jekyll & Hyde Reefer Madness

How to Succeed

Little Shop of Horrors *

Gate 24.9 22.4 26.0 31.3

Fundraising 5.1 5.5 5.2 6.1

Total Income 30.0 27.9 31.2 37.4

Total Expenses 39.5 36.3 38.9 38.3

Show Profit/(Loss)

*Please note that this show ended late in June and some expenses are expected in new year.

(9.5)

(8.5) (7.7) (.8)

OUTLOOK FOR 2017/2018

A budget overview for 2017/2018 can be found in Appendix D to this report.

Budgets are being held tight this year to secure our finances against trending lower ticket sales and to help rebuild our safety fund.


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ARTISTIC PROGRAMMING

REVIEW OF 2016/2017

Joey Sayer continued in his role as Artistic Director solo during the 2016/2017 season, marking a departure from the co-artistic director model that we had previously employed since 2008. This role involves preparing and presenting season recommendations for approval by the Board, being a part of the audition process and monitoring the progress of rehearsals and the overall vision of Front Row Centre’s season.

This year, in addition to our four regular mainstage shows, we supplemented the season with what has become our season announcement gala, this year with a theme of “Through the Decades”.

The shows presented during the 2016/2017 season consisted of a variety of shows designed to appeal to a range of patrons, all of which took place during different time periods, leading us to the “Through the Decades” thematic link between the shows. We were able to successfully present a balance of male and female directors, with one first-time director.

This season, we produced the following musicals, two of which had been previously produced by Front Row Centre Players (one which had been previously produced twice!), and three of which were nominated for Best Production of a Musical at this year’s CAT Award ceremonies:

OCTOBER 28 – NOVEMBER 12, 2016: JEKYLL AND HYDE

Directed by: Lindsay Kurtze, assisted by Thompson Harper; Musical Direction by Winnifred Hume; Orchestra Direction by Matt Ryan; Choreography by Amy Tollefson

This show marked Lindsay Kurtze’s return to directing for FRC after January 2015’s production of Urinetown. It featured FRC debuts for Amy Tollefson as a choreographer and for Winnifred Hume as Musical Director. Thompson Harper was mentored in the role of a director. This production of Jekyll and Hyde presented some darker-than-usual subject matter for Front Row Centre Players that was received well by audiences, thanks to the inventive, considered and sensitive acting by the cast and staging by the director. Jekyll and Hyde was nominated for 6 CAT Awards (including Best Musical, and a nod for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for new-to-FRC Praneet Akilla).


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JANUARY 6 – 21, 2017: REEFER MADNESS

Directed by: Danielle Desmarais; Musical Direction by Chelsea Wellman; Choreography by Jeff Diodati

A timely but fun and irreverent show, Reefer Madness was based on a made-for-television movie which was, in turn, based on the infamous 1936 exploitation film of the same name. The show featured Danielle Desmarais’ directorial debut. The potentially touchy subject matter was deftly dealt with by the production team, leading to a rollicking time for audiences. Reefer Madness was nominated for 12 CAT Awards (including a nomination for Best Musical, and a win for new-to-FRC lighting designer Thomas Geddes).

MARCH 11, 2016: THROUGH THE DECADES

Directed and MCed by Carl Bishop; Music Direction by Jenn Lanciault

This year’s season announcement and gala showcase of talent took place at the Alexandra Centre, and recognized the “Through the Decades” theme of our season. The excitement generated by this gala season announcement is always palpable.


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MARCH 24 – APRIL 8, 2017: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Director: Jamie Eastgaard-Ross; Musical Direction by Allie Higgins-Pompu; Choreography by Andrea Gleason; Orchestra Conducted by Lurene Bates

This was the third time in our history that Front Row Centre Players has presented How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which garnered 6 CAT Award nominations. The show presented a fun, classic frolic with a special voice-over role from Mayor Naheed Nenshi and some impressive stage magic with the set. Although some audience were concerned about the longer-than-typical running time of the show, we expect that similar concerns may be dealt with in the future by selecting shows not quite as lengthy and with the advent of better-cushioned seating for the audience. Nonetheless, audiences enjoyed the show and it flew by very quickly for many theatregoers!

JUNE 9 – 24, 2017: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Director: Jeff Diodati; Musical Direction by Danielle Wahl; Choreography by Danielle Desmarais

Little Shop of Horrors proved itself to be the hit of the season, pleasing audiences with its popular score, fun story and its inventive comic book-inspired visuals. It swept the CAT Awards, being nominated for 12 awards and taking home 8:

Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Musical (Cody Field) Outstanding Engineering/Sound Effects in a Musical (Steven Eastgaard-Ross) Outstanding Performance by a Chorus/Ensemble in a Musical Outstanding Stagecraft Outstanding Musical Direction (Danielle Wahl) Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Jeff Rivet)

Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Jeffrey Diodati) Outstanding Production of a Musical


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PLAN FOR 2017/2018

Front Row Centre Players, as opposed to some theatre companies which select their shows and then find directors to attach to them, asks potential directors to submit a variety of possible shows about which they were passionate.

This year, the proposals were greatly increased from the previous year, with 14 directors submitting a total of 54 shows (as opposed to last year when 5 directors proposed a total of 32 shows). Many submissions came with very detailed, several-page vision outlines, showing the seriousness with which potential directors took the process. The shows were narrowed down by a number of criteria, looking at the such elements as availability, technical aspects and costs, artist merits and potential audience popularity, the experience and vision of the potential directors and the show’s ability to form part of an exciting overall season.

After proposals were shortlisted, then shortlisted again, in-person or telephone meetings were set up with the selected directors to discuss the visions presented in the proposals, the challenges the shows provided and to clarify any questions on each party’s side.

The artistic director’s recommendations were then presented to the Front Row Centre Board. There was some healthy debate as to the appropriateness to doing certain shows with FRC or whether they might fit a different company’s artistic mandate better, and the technical ability of FRC to pull off certain shows. Selections were approved and performance rights secured. We were able to achieve a mix of male and female directors and fulfill our goal of securing at least one director new to FRC.

The upcoming season will feature the following shows:

SEPTEMBER 22 – OCTOBER 7, 2017

THE PAJAMA GAME

Directed by: James Noonan; Musical Direction by Carey Unger; Choreography by Danielle Desmarais “We can hardly wait to wake and get to work at eight.” Conditions at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful as sparks fly between the new superintendent, Sid Sorokin, and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship comes to a head when the workers strike for a 7½ cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor, but a battle of the sexes as well. The Pajama Game was awarded the 1955 Tony for Best Musical and, over half of a century later, claimed the award for Best Revival of a Musical, proving that the story is truly timeless. With an energetic score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (Damn Yankees), The Pajama Game is brimming with songs and dances that have become musical theatre standards, including "Steam Heat" and

"Hernando's Hideaway.


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JANUARY 12 – 27, 2018

CITY OF ANGELS

Directed by Darryl Lindenbach; Musical Direction by Danielle Wahl; Choreography by Ashley Soles “Three million people in the City of Angels according to the last census, easily half of them up to something they don’t want the other half to know.” It’s 1940s Los Angeles. A moody, gritty time for private investigator Stone. Or so it is in the imagination of New York novelist Stine. When Hollywood offers him the opportunity adapt his books into film, he packs up and moves to Los Angeles himself to work on a screenplay for movie producer/director Buddy Fidler, much to the disgust of his wife Gabby. All too soon the parallels between the fictional world of Stone and that of Stine navigating the real Hollywood of film studios and flimsy negligees becomes clear and the borders between the two worlds blur as well. It is a tale of decadence and homicide with a liberal sprinkling of femmes fatale. In its original Broadway incarnation, City of Angels won 6 Tony Awards

including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score. On the West End it won Best Musical both as a new musical in 1994 production and for the 2015 Revival. “What you don’t know about women is fright’ning and you don’t know nothin’ about me.”

MARCH 30 – APRIL 14, 2018

DOGFIGHT

Directed by Kristine Astop, assisted by Jamie Eastgaard-Ross; Musical Direction by Danielle Wahl; Choreography by TBA

“A smell, a sound, a memory you found can take you back.” It's November 21, 1963. On the eve of their deployment to a small but growing conflict in Southeast Asia, three young Marines set out for one final boys' night of debauchery, partying and maybe a little trouble. But, when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress whom he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of love and compassion. This hauntingly beautiful musical by Oscar Winners Pasek and Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen, James and the Giant Peach, A Christmas Story) and Peter Duchan, was praised by countless critics and nominated for numerous

awards, winning the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. Based on the 1991 Warner Brothers film, Dogfight takes audiences on a romantic and heartbreaking theatrical journey that stays with you long after the performance. “A spring and summer song too brief, the steady turn of a falling leaf.”


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JUNE 15 – 30, 2018

PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT Directed by Mike Sornberger; Musical Direction by Andrea Timmons; Choreography by Stephen Welch and Christine Mooney “Welcome to the back of Woop Woop. Do you realise how far out you are? I mean off the highway.” Tick, Bernadette, and Adam are a glamorous Sydney-based performing trio who agree to take their show to the middle of the Australian outback. Acquiring transportation in the form of a battered old bus that they christen “Priscilla”, they take off on a twisting trip through the desert. Battling prejudice and breakdowns, they ultimately have a heartwarming, uplifting adventure, searching for love and friendship and ending up with more than they could have ever dreamed. Based on the Oscar winning, smash-hit movie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is a hit parade of dancefloor favourites including “It’s Raining Men”, “I Will Survive”, “Hot Stuff”, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, and “I Love The Nightlife”, this wildly

fresh and funny musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS! Winner of 5 Australian Greenroom awards, an Olivier award, a Tony award and many more awards throughout the world, Priscilla will leave its mark on your heart. “I will take my life into my hands and I will use it. I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it.”

FUTURE PLANNING

As of this Annual General Meeting, I will be stepping down as Artistic Director of Front Row Centre Players, after serving in this role for a decade and half. This gives the opportunity to bring a new and fresh insight and perspective to the organization, and allows for others to have the opportunity for further growth and experiences. I will not be leaving FRC by any means of the imagination, however, and I plan to maintain a presence on the Executive Board and to offer whatever assistance I can, through my own knowledge, experience and contributions. I look forward to seeing this theatre company which I wholeheartedly love grow and evolve further!

As with last season, a call for proposals from directors for our 2018/2019 season will be put forward by the end of October, with proposals due by the end of November. The form that this call will take may alter from previous years, with the advent of new artistic direction and with a goal to try to select from some of our most requested and viable shows. The potential directors will then be shortlisted and meetings will be set up to further discuss the show visions put forward prior to creating potential season packages for FRC Board approval.


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ASSETS AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT (JAMIE)

REVIEW

1. We kicked off the 2016-2017 season with another successful Costume Sale, although it continued to have it’s challenges. We took in approximately $1700, which while still a great number and well worth it, was certainly down from previous years. The two biggest challenges we faced on the weekend were securing room availability (as space is tight in the building between rehearsals, theatre school, and external rentals), as well as securing volunteers to help with the set up and tear down (largely due to the event being on Thanksgiving weekend which was the best weekend for space availability).

2. The biggest news for the year was that we have given up our off site warehouse and moved all inventory to our new onsite storage, consisting of one sea-can and one 60ft Atco trailer. Several reasons motivated the decision to move: 1) It does cut our inventory costs by about 40%. 2) All inventory is now on site and accessible 24/7 (by arrangement of course). This has already proved incredibly valuable, both in terms of needing to grab things last minute during tech week, and in terms of both ourselves and Storybook no longer having to coordinate access to backstage cubbies around show schedules. The move took place over several weeks in June, utilising many volunteer hours, although as always finding volunteers for this sort of task proved challenging, and resulted in a few fantastic people putting in a LOT of hours. Many, many thanks to everyone who helped.

3. We have not made any loans or rentals of significance this year, however several smaller companies have been able to borrow much needed pieces in exchange for running advertisements in their show programs.

4. Finally, we were able to utilise several inventory pieces to showcase what we do at various marketing events such as Calgary Comic Expo.

PLAN

1. Continued organization of the trailer is our top priority this year. The move itself was conducted in several stages, so we were able to create zones in the trailer and sea-can and do a high level organization, now we need to do the detail work. This process has already begun but much more work is needed to reach the full potential of the new facilities. Our biggest challenge is going to be managing larger pieces, as the sea-can does not leave us much room for expansion of set inventory.

2. We will again hold our annual costume sale in October. Details to be announced shortly!

3. Jamie will be stepping down from the position of Inventory Director this year but will be remaining on the Inventory Committee to assist the incoming Director transitioning into the position.


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VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Volunteers are the lifeline of FRC and community theatre. Without them we could not continue doing what we do as a community theatre company and we are proud to say we have a very loyal and enthusiastic volunteer base.

REVIEW OF 2016/2017

1. We had volunteers working hard to fill 772 roles for FRC this year in all areas from Ushering to Board Members. 2. Of these, volunteers 315 qualified as members of FRC due to significant contribution. 3. Volunteers put in an estimated total of 55,740 hours throughout the season. 4. Many volunteers come back show after show season after season, which is fantastic, and we had approximately 74 people sign up online to be included as volunteers for FRC in some capacity. 5. To offer small tokens of appreciation to our hard working group of volunteers we offered the following

a) An FRC branded Pen or pencil for those involved in our productions at the beginning of the process. b) A larger gift at the conclusion of the run that may vary per show (these are typically funded by the

cast/orchestra/crew instead of by the company). c) For ushers and ticket takers we held a draw for a shirt from each show for 2 winners. d) An opening night gala for each production. e) A meal provided for those assisting with the move in of any production. f) A meal provided between shows on closing Saturday for all of those involved in each production in any

capacity. This is new this year, and has been well received. g) A strike party for everyone involved in the production.

6. The above-mentioned tokens of appreciation are well received by our volunteers and offer that “thank you”. 7. We put forward Kathy Ma and Meghan Skeet for Volunteer Appreciation Awards at the Calgary-ACTS CAT Awards. 8. Our main appreciation event is a member appreciation BBQ we hold annually. 9. A total of about $9K was used for the above expenses for the retention and recruitment of our volunteers – this is up from last year (however, it should be noted that some prior year expenses were incurred in this current year, so this is likely flat year over year). 10. The volunteer committee is accountable for the following:

a) Recruitment Coordinator Work with Production Team to recruit team members (when required) Manage the submission of New Volunteers from website. Send call outs for volunteers (to FRC database, Calgary ACTs, etc) (as required) Research and find new places for volunteer recruitment. This role is to be filled by the Volunteer Director.

b) Front of House Coordinator Send call outs for Front of House shifts for all shows. Manage and schedule all Front of house volunteers. Work with Volunteer Director to ensure Front of House Manager shifts are covered. Any other Front of House related tasks. This role has been filled this season by the Volunteer Director and other members of the Board of Directors

(different for each show).


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c) Recognition Coordinator Handle all recognition for our Volunteers (pens, pencils, T-shirt draw for Ushers) Research and brainstorm new methods for recognizing our volunteers (Volunteer of the Month? Year? BBQ) Seek sponsorship for volunteer events (door prizes) from local businesses. This role was not specifically filled this year, and volunteer recognition was managed by the Show Producers.

d) Meals Coordinator Organize all move-in meals based on a standard process. Assist in establishing standard food management process. Coordinate and communicate with Show Producers for food requirements, allergies, and number of people to feed. Work with Show Producers to organize Strike meals Seek food sponsorship from community/local businesses. This role is currently filled by the incumbent Volunteer Director, as she enjoy it!

e) Special Projects All special projects – Members BBQ, Casino, etc. All members of the committee will participate and support any Special Projects. Our casino this year was managed by Jeri Wallis.

In summary, it was a very successful year. Our volunteers are a vital resource and we have a core group of fantastic people who volunteer their time and enjoy continued work with FRC. Overall, there was very positive feedback on each event/show and the tokens of appreciation were well received.

PLAN FOR 2017/2018

Next season, the plan will be to continue with the above structure.


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MARKETING AND PUBLICITY

OUTPUT AND VISIBILITY

Where you saw us advertised:

Calgary Transit – Bus Shelter Pattison Digital Billboards Business Cards Metro Calgary – Print Ads and Home Page Takeover (new this year) Facebook – Sponsored Ads Posters External Production Programs Swerve Listings and other Calgary Area Event Listings Theatre Alberta FRC Email Lists Calgary ACTS (Facebook and Email) Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) Charity Benefits and Raffle Draws Yelp! Great News Publishing “Community Business of the Month – August” Calgary Pride Broadway Across Canada Programs- Cinderella, Kinky Boots Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo

MARKETING DIRECTION FOR 2017/2018

We plan to increase our exposure for this season by continuing with the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, and also the Pride Parade, as well as reaching out to local businesses and communities (local small stores, special interests organizations, and hobbyists).

Our best marketing continues to be the casts, crews, and orchestras of our shows, and our loyal season ticketholders. Perhaps there are new ways to explore investing in these areas to increase capacity in a known area of high return.

While we are always careful with our limited marketing dollars, we do plan on returning to or staying with proven ROI campaigns this season.

We are always looking for new ways to promote our dance and audition workshops, which are geared mostly towards our existing membership, so if ever anyone has an idea they would like to see tried, please let us know.

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

Overall, 2016/2017 was a challenging year for Front Row Centre in terms of getting the word out on our shows and courses, and that was reflected in registrations and ticket sales. Nevertheless, ticket sales remained fairly close to average. Our finances remain stable, but only due to the stringent cost controls currently in place. We continue to have challenging opportunities available in our committees to strengthen the overall abilities of the company, and are working to improve our technical and artistic ability to present crowd-pleasing shows and shows worth producing by offering a spectrum of theatre related courses as continuing education opportunities for adults.

Once again, if we are able to meet our fiscal constraints for the year and bring in or exceed the ticket sale quantities that we have planned while presenting 4 artistically successful shows, we will have a successful 2017/2018 season.

Thank you to everyone involved in the company and shows for 2016/2017 and welcome to those coming aboard for 2017/2018!

APPENDIX A: RANKING OF SHOWS ON FILE (75/88 TOTAL)

RANK BY TOTAL ATTENDANCE

Rank Show Year Total Attendance

1 Monty Python's Spamalot 2013 3887

2 Chicago 2007 3744

3 Grease 2009 3392

4 Jesus Christ Superstar 2004 3304

5 Fiddler on the Roof 2009 3025

6 Legally Blonde 2013 2823

7 Evita 2006 2817

8 Annie 1996 2718

9 Rocky Horror Show 2011 2684

10 Wizard of Oz 2008 2430

11 Hello Dolly! 2010 2396

11 Singin' in the Rain 2012 2396

13 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2009 2384

14 Oklahoma 2006 2353

15 Camelot 2008 2296

16 Footloose 2014 2285

17 Godspell 1996 2261

18 My Fair Lady 2013 2219

19 The Producers 2011 2178

20 Little Shop of Horrors 2007 2172


22 Nunsense the Mega Musical 2010 2139

23 Catch Me If You Can 2016 2108

24 Oliver! 1994 2061

25 South Pacific 2016 2030


27 Music Man 1999 1992

28 Guys and Dolls 1997 1969

29 Brigadoon 2011 1924

30 Anything Goes 2015 1919

31 Urinetown 2015 1814

32 Hair 2006 1810

33 Young Frankenstein 2014 1804

34 9 to 5 The Musical 2014 1770


36 Gypsy 2012 1725

37 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 2017 1572

38 Bells are Ringing 2000 1530

39 The Who's Tommy 2016 1493

40 Jekyll & Hyde 2016 1472

41 The Mystery of Edwin Drood 2015 1471

42 Nine 2007 1431

43 Reefer Madness 2017 1363

44 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 2001 1362

45 Sugar 1998 1360

46 Bye Bye Birdie 1999 1354


48 Chess 2010 1333

49 Godspell 2008 1327

50 Annie Get Your Gun 1995 1326

51 Chicago 1993 1309


53 Leader of the Pack 2005 1270

54 Man of La Mancha 2005 1200

55 Kiss Me Kate 2004 1165

56 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 2014 1132

57 Assassins 2012 1113

58 Jesus Christ Superstar** 1989 1054

59 Cabaret 2001 930

60 Company 2003 896

61 Gypsy 2001 891

62 Pippin 2005 850

63 A New Brain 2004 800

64 The Rocky Horror Show (Remount) 2000 778

65 The Rocky Horror Show 2000 772

66 Eating Raoul 2002 568

67 Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits 2010 405

68 Tunes and Tickles V: A Look Back 1994 303

69 Putting it Together 2011 206

70 Front Row Centre at the Movies 2012 185

71 Through the Decades 2017 127

72 Flights of Fancy 2015 105

73 YESTERDAY • TODAY • TOMORROW Celebrating 25 Years of FRC

2013 103

74 It's Good to be Bad 2016 91

75 Coming Attractions 2014 73

RANK BY AVERAGE ATTENDANCE Rank Show Year Average

Attendance

1 Annie 1996 272

2 Monty Python's Spamalot 2013 243

3 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2009 238

4 Oklahoma 2006 235

5 Godspell 1996 226

6 Chicago 2007 220

7 Jesus Christ Superstar** 1989 211

8 Oliver! 1994 206

9 Grease 2009 200

10 Guys and Dolls 1997 197


12 Front Row Centre at the Movies 2012 185

13 Rocky Horror Show 2011 179


15 Legally Blonde 2013 176

16 Evita 2006 166

17 Wizard of Oz 2008 152

18 Singin' in the Rain 2012 150

18 Hello Dolly! 2010 150

30 The Producers 2011 145

21 Nunsense the Mega Musical 2010 143


21 Nine 2007 143



26 Camelot 2008 135

26 Bye Bye Birdie 1999 135

26 Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits 2010 135



31 Annie Get Your Gun 1995 133

31 Cabaret 2001 133

31 Godspell 2008 133



36 Brigadoon 2011 128


38 Through the Decades 2017 127


38 Leader of the Pack 2005 127


42 Sugar 1998 124


44 Music Man 1999 117

45 Gypsy 2012 115



48 9 to 5 The Musical 2014 111


50 Hair 2006 106

51 Flights of Fancy 2015 105


2013 103

53 Bells are Ringing 2000 102

54 Chicago 1993 101

55 Company 2003 100



58 Jekyll & Hyde 2016 92


60 It's Good to be Bad 2016 91

61 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 2001 91

62 Chess 2010 89

63 A New Brain 2004 89

64 The Rocky Horror Show (Remount) 2000 86


66 Kiss Me Kate 2004 83

67 Man of La Mancha 2005 80

68 Assassins 2012 74

69 Coming Attractions 2014 73

70 Pippin 2005 65

71 Tunes and Tickles V: A Look Back 1994 61

72 Gypsy 2001 59

73 Eating Raoul 2002 57

74 The Rocky Horror Show 2000 55

75 Putting it Together 2011 34

RANK BY PERCENT OF CAPACITY Rank Show Year Percent of

Capacity

1 Through the Decades 2017 106%

2 Tunes and Tickles V: A Look Back 1994 93%

3 Jesus Christ Superstar** 1989 91%

4 Monty Python's Spamalot 2013 88%

5 Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits 2010 87%

6 Annie 1996 85%

6 The Rocky Horror Show 2000 85%

8 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2009 83%

9 Oklahoma 2006 82%

10 Flights of Fancy 2015 81%

11 Footloose 2014 79%

12 Chicago 2007 77%

12 My Fair Lady 2013 77%

14 Jesus Christ Superstar 2015 75%

15 Grease 2009 73%

15 Catch Me If You Can 2016 73%

17 Jesus Christ Superstar 2004 71%

18 Godspell 1996 70%

18 South Pacific 2016 70%

18 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 2014 70%

21 Anything Goes 2015 67%

22 Rocky Horror Show 2011 64%

22 Oliver! 1994 64%

24 Young Frankenstein 2014 63%

24 Urinetown 2015 63%

24 Legally Blonde 2013 63%

24 Fiddler on the Roof 2009 63%

28 Little Shop of Horrors 2017 61%

28 Coming Attractions 2014 61%

28 Guys and Dolls 1997 61%

28 9 to 5 The Musical 2014 61%

28 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 1991 61%

33 Evita 2006 58%


2013 58%

35 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 2017 55%

36 South Pacific 2002 54%

36 Singin' in the Rain 2012 54%

38 Front Row Centre at the Movies 2012 53%

38 Wizard of Oz 2008 53%

40 Little Shop of Horrors 2007 52%

40 It's Good to be Bad 2016 52%

40 The Who's Tommy 2016 52%

40 Hello Dolly! 2010 52%

40 The Producers 2011 52%

45 Jekyll & Hyde 2016 51%

45 Nunsense the Mega Musical 2010 51%

45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood 2015 51%

48 Nine 2007 50%

49 Reefer Madness 2017 47%

49 Camelot 2008 47%

51 Godspell 2008 46%

51 Cabaret 2001 46%

51 Brigadoon 2011 46%

54 Leader of the Pack 2005 44%

54 Chicago 1993 44%

56 Putting it Together 2011 43%

57 Bye Bye Birdie 1999 42%

57 Fiddler on the Roof 1998 42%

59 Annie Get Your Gun 1995 41%

59 Gypsy 2012 41%

61 Sugar 1998 39%

62 Eating Raoul 2002 38%

63 Hair 2006 37%

63 Music Man 1999 37%

65 Company 2003 35%

66 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 2001 32%

66 Chess 2010 32%

65 Bells are Ringing 2000 32%

69 A New Brain 2004 31%

70 The Rocky Horror Show (Remount) 2000 30%

71 Kiss Me Kate 2004 29%

72 Man of La Mancha 2005 28%

73 Assassins 2012 27%

74 Pippin 2005 23%

75 Gypsy 2001 21%

RANK BY ATTENDANCE (BEDDINGTON) Rank Show Year Total

Attendance









9 9 to 5 The Musical 2014 1770


11 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

2017 1572


13 Jekyll & Hyde 2016 1472




APPENDIX B: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

APPENDIX C: BUDGET REVIEW FOR 2016/2017

APPENDIX D: BUDGET FOR 2015/2016

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Calgary’s Premier Community Musical Theatre Company · 2018. 9. 15. · Little Shop of Horrors...

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