To all our Sherman Players supporters,
As a number of you may already know, on Saturday April 26 I’ll be stepping down as President of the Sherman Players following our Annual General Meeting, as later this year my family will be moving back to my native UK and our next big adventure.
As I wrap things up, I wanted to say a heartfelt Thank You to everyone who supports the Sherman Players, the Playhouse, and the performing arts in our region. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t, and couldn’t, do what we do.
Today, as I prepare for tomorrow’s AGM, I find myself looking back on my time at the Playhouse. I hope you’ll indulge me.
I’ve been President for 5 years, taking up the position just as COVID had closed everything down. Great timing, you might think. Despite preventing us from doing what we love, it did present us with both challenges and opportunities, and I’m proud of our response to the enforced hiatus. We found new ways to deliver productions and raise funds, and space to tackle some of the jobs that seem to pile up when running busy theatrical seasons – refreshing the public spaces (especially the Green Room), clearing and organizing the backstage and costume storage areas, upgrading our IT systems and building a completely new website. Then, when the time was right to open our doors to the public, we implemented clear safety policies so that our audiences could feel confident in returning to live theatre. We got a lot done!
It seems like both ancient history and just yesterday, when we staged the first post-pandemic live production in 2021, Durang Outdoors – actually held indoors due to the dreadful weather that weekend! We then came back stronger than ever with the excellent A Doll’s House Part Two followed by the barnstorming Wreck The Halls in its first appearance at the Playhouse. This deliberately confident slate of shows set us up for a ‘return to our regularly scheduled programming’ next season and all the success that followed.
To be President of the Sherman Players is a privilege and an honor. It’s been hard work, not without its frustrations at times, but truly a joy and a high point of my life. I’ve overseen 21 productions, acting as producer on the majority. Then there was co-hosting, with Robin Frome, the successful Keep The Ghost Light On series of web broadcasts, which ran for over a year and sought to explore the impact of the pandemic on the performing arts. Add to these the various events and one-offs, and it’s been quite a full time enterprise.
In all this I’ve been aided by our wonderful Board of Directors. Anyone leading an organization can’t do it alone. I’ve been fortunate to have been a part of the friendliest theatre you could wish for, and I’ll long treasure the support of my Board colleagues. I’ve been happy to preside over formalizing roles and responsibilities such as Artistic Director, and to see us become more skilled in submitting grant applications (vital in keeping us in above water in 2020/2021), as well as joining in with new and novel fundraising ideas (ask us about the Savers event and the herculean efforts of Dean Alexander!)
As I say, none of this was a solo effort, and during my tenure there have been two Board members in particular who I consider as essential to my success, and I know the others will understand why I call these two out. Betsy Scholze WAS the Sherman Players, her organizational knowledge, long history at the Playhouse, and calm wisdom helped me find my feet and guided me through the first couple of years. Her passing was a great blow, but I’m pretty certain she’s still keeping an eye on things – I always make a point of saying ‘Bye Betsy’ when locking up and leaving the Playhouse. Then there’s Al Chiappetta. Big Al has become a true friend and the best right-hand man I could wish for. As Vice President he’s always ready to listen and advise, and as Technical Director there seems to be nothing so challenging that he can’t find a solution for it (though don’t mention chandeliers.)
I’ve gotten a great deal of satisfaction from maintaining, and I hope enhancing, the Playhouse’s reputation for high quality theatre, but there’s also something wonderfully rewarding knowing that you’ve been in at the start of successful new endeavors too. The Board has become used to my philosophy regarding trying new things. It’s basically, ‘Let’s do it. If it works, great we can do it again and if it doesn’t, we’ll learn something.’ And, yes, this has meant almost biting off more than we can chew a couple of times, but hey, we wouldn’t have had the fantastic ‘Special Presentations’ of Personality Conflicts and Yashica 8 a couple of years ago – after which both Al and I really needed a lie down or a Caribbean holiday! I take great satisfaction in being able to say we did all these things, and a feel a particular glow when considering two other regular events we’ve instituted over the last year or so – Playhouse Karaoke and The Cold Lemonade Reading Series.
Now, really, I can’t claim the credit for these, but I will… Al, a regular ‘Kroaker’ at karaoke nights around the area, suggested a one-off evening event to make use of the Playhouse one time when it was dark. Sure, I said, it could be fun, might make a few dollars and attract a new crowd, why not. And we’re still hosting monthly Playhouse Karaoke evenings, which have become a fixture of the booming local scene. It IS fun, it DOES attract a new crowd, and it DOES bring in a FEW dollars!
I recruited Morgana Watson to the Board as I knew she had a passion for theatre, an encyclopedic knowledge of productions, and experience of play writing. She also attended a popular writers’ group in NYC. A great fit. She’s the one who is truly responsible for The Cold Lemonade Reading Series. The format is unique in this area, with playwrights submitting 10-minute segments for presentation at a session where actors are cast on the spot to do cold readings of their pieces. This type of event is really only available in certain big cities, but Morgana felt it could be something new to complement the traditional writers’ workshops run at other local theatres. But would it work in our neck of the woods? Who knew? All we could do was to have faith and give it a go. From the very first evening event it was clear we had another success on our hands. Morgana’s program has gone from strength to strength and attracts playwrights from as far afield as New Jersey, NYC, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as having developed a loyal local following.
The lesson? Trying ‘new stuff’ will always be successful, whether or not it makes money, if it brings in fresh talent and audiences. I’m proud to say we’ve innovated, and I’m confident that’ll continue to pay off.
I’d better round things up now.
I’m sure to be emotional at tomorrow’s meeting. The Sherman Playhouse has been a home for me since I first walked on the stage in 2014 for See How They Run rehearsals. It’s given me far more than I could ever give back, though I do hope I’ve given what’s been needed. The Playhouse is a special place and I’ll miss it terribly. It’s the people who have made it what it is, the countless supporters, audiences, volunteers, Board members, directors, casts and crews over the years, and the long line of Presidents who have come before me. I’m proud to have been a small part of the Sherman Players’ first 99 years. I say to the next President, enjoy yourself, take some risks, feel the love in the bones of this old theatre, and rely on your friends on the Board. Betsy used to say that the President plants a garden. I hope some of my seedlings continue to bloom and am looking forward to hearing all about new plantings as the Players launch into the next 100 years!
Thank you all, and Bye Betsy.
