Wagon Wheel Brings Symphony Under Its Leadership
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
John Hand, WWT Board of Directors president, made the announcement during the annual Director’s Club Dinner Wednesday afternoon.
Hand said, “Having (WWT Musical Director) Tom Stirling full time ... he’s worked for us most during the year, and now he’s on our staff full time. And this fits in very well because Tom will be highly involved with the Symphony of the Lakes and conducting performances.”
Symphony Board President Mike Gavin stated, “This is really an exciting time for the Symphony of the Lakes. For us to be able to continue to provide concerts to the community, it was very important for us. And as a board, we spent quite a bit of time discussing how do we continue to maintain our mission to the community, to the musicians, and basically to the board that have tried to work hard and keep the Symphony of the Lakes viable for the last so many years.”
The Wagon Wheel seemed like a natural fit to combine forces with, he said, and to “continue to expand this organization is just a dream come true for us.”
Gavin said the Symphony was excited to be a part of the Wagon Wheel Theatre’s long-range plan, to keep its mission to the community and expand its mission to the children of the community and provide opportunities for them to play.
“We’re gratified. There’s a lot of due diligence we still have to do yet, but we believe that those are small hurdles to overcome, and we’re excited. We’re looking forward to it. We’re looking forward to being a part of this great team that has been assembled at the Wagon Wheel,” Gavin continued.
Hand said, “We are just excited as they are. Actually, this is going to make us, the Wagon Wheel and Symphony of the Lakes combined, in my opinion, Northern Indiana’s performing art center because we are going to get this under one roof.”
During a question-and-answer session, diner Jim Newcombe asked what the Symphony of the Lakes was.
Deb Bishop, past president of the Symphony, answered, “The Symphony of the Lakes started as the Warsaw Community Orchestra. And then Patrick Kavanaugh came and there was a group of people who established a not-for-profit called the Symphony of the Lake.”
The Symphony has been providing concerts, mostly at Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake, for quite a while, she said.
“It’s been really fun to do that, and it’s been obvious that it’s been harder and harder to get funding; and sharing funding and staff will make a big difference,” Bishop concluded.
She stressed the Symphony of the Lakes is not part of the MasterWorks Festival. It just shared the same director in Kavanaugh.
State Rep. Rebecca Kubacki, a past president of the Symphony Board of Directors and a WWT Board of Directors member, said, “What was important what we (Symphony) did was that the concerts that we provided were totally free. And we would have a sell-out every time we had the concerts. And that was one of the important things for us was that we provide an opportunity for people to enjoy symphony music at no cost. It’s a wonderful thing because you realize how important the arts are to our community.”
With the two boards joining forces, Kubacki said it will make them “different from everyone else because we are concentrating on the arts and I think that’s what makes communities great, is that you have the arts.”
Earlier in the meeting, Hand explained how the Wagon Wheel went from a for-profit to a non-profit in 2011. By August 2011, Hand said the board of directors has its first meeting. By January 2012, the non-profit took over the operations of the theater, but did not own part of it. In March, the non-profit purchased all the assets, except the land and building.
Owner Bruce Shaffner turned over to the non-profit a “well-organized theater operation,” Hand said. “Good people in it, knew what they were doing and was well organized. In fact, it’s the only theater in Northern Indiana that produces its own shows at a Broadway-quality level.”
In 2012, Hand said the theater was able to expand its community events, including junior productions. He said that will continue to increase.
“One of the things that we are going to do ... we met with the principal of Eisenhower. Next year, their students will be bussed over to the Wagon Wheel Theatre for dancing class taught by Scott Michaels. That is just the type of things we’re doing,” Hand said.
WWT Board of Directors Treasurer Jill Serbousek said 2012 was the first full year the WWT was a non-profit.
“Overall, we did pretty good. In fact, I think we did very good,” she said.
Money left over in 2012 for the organization was $79,000, which she said was “fabulous.” However, its expenses have been growing.
The theater season in the summer thrived, but the concert season “struggled a bit,” she said, so they are still working out what they’re going to do with the concert season.
“It’s really tough for us to compete against the First Fridays and the fairgrounds when they have free concerts. It’s tough for us to compete against free, so we’re kind of seeing how we’re going to do that,” she continued.
The junior programs were a huge success in terms of youth participation, she said. The quality of the programs were very impressive, she added.
Community offerings like those programs will continue to grow as WWT becomes a cultural center, she noted.
“The financial area that also helped us a lot ... was in sponsorship from local companies and in grants and donations. Our single largest grant was from OrthoWorx the past two years. That really, really made a difference for us,” Serbousek said.
Local foundations and individuals also were supportive.
“This is an area of support as a for-profit the Wagon Wheel could never tap. But now being a non-profit, we really can get in there and work with those groups,” she said.
Will Dawson, WWT director of operations and marketing, reviewed a new structure for the Director’s Club dues and the 2013-17 goals for the WWT.
The goals include reducing its overhead by purchasing the WWT building and land by Jan. 1, 2017, for a cost of approximately $800,000; strengthen its relationship with the Warsaw School District, including a banner contest for all Warsaw students for “The Sound of Music”; reach more diverse audiences; and increase the average attendance for its six summer productions from the present 50 percent to 65 percent by 2017. It also will improve restroom facilities, purchase lights and other equipment and add a hearing aid induction loop for the elderly.
The dinner concluded with Artistic Director Scott Michaels reviewing choices for the 2014 summer season. He also talked about the theater adding an “encore” show in September 2014 that would cater to theatergoers who like more adult shows.[[In-content Ad]]
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John Hand, WWT Board of Directors president, made the announcement during the annual Director’s Club Dinner Wednesday afternoon.
Hand said, “Having (WWT Musical Director) Tom Stirling full time ... he’s worked for us most during the year, and now he’s on our staff full time. And this fits in very well because Tom will be highly involved with the Symphony of the Lakes and conducting performances.”
Symphony Board President Mike Gavin stated, “This is really an exciting time for the Symphony of the Lakes. For us to be able to continue to provide concerts to the community, it was very important for us. And as a board, we spent quite a bit of time discussing how do we continue to maintain our mission to the community, to the musicians, and basically to the board that have tried to work hard and keep the Symphony of the Lakes viable for the last so many years.”
The Wagon Wheel seemed like a natural fit to combine forces with, he said, and to “continue to expand this organization is just a dream come true for us.”
Gavin said the Symphony was excited to be a part of the Wagon Wheel Theatre’s long-range plan, to keep its mission to the community and expand its mission to the children of the community and provide opportunities for them to play.
“We’re gratified. There’s a lot of due diligence we still have to do yet, but we believe that those are small hurdles to overcome, and we’re excited. We’re looking forward to it. We’re looking forward to being a part of this great team that has been assembled at the Wagon Wheel,” Gavin continued.
Hand said, “We are just excited as they are. Actually, this is going to make us, the Wagon Wheel and Symphony of the Lakes combined, in my opinion, Northern Indiana’s performing art center because we are going to get this under one roof.”
During a question-and-answer session, diner Jim Newcombe asked what the Symphony of the Lakes was.
Deb Bishop, past president of the Symphony, answered, “The Symphony of the Lakes started as the Warsaw Community Orchestra. And then Patrick Kavanaugh came and there was a group of people who established a not-for-profit called the Symphony of the Lake.”
The Symphony has been providing concerts, mostly at Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake, for quite a while, she said.
“It’s been really fun to do that, and it’s been obvious that it’s been harder and harder to get funding; and sharing funding and staff will make a big difference,” Bishop concluded.
She stressed the Symphony of the Lakes is not part of the MasterWorks Festival. It just shared the same director in Kavanaugh.
State Rep. Rebecca Kubacki, a past president of the Symphony Board of Directors and a WWT Board of Directors member, said, “What was important what we (Symphony) did was that the concerts that we provided were totally free. And we would have a sell-out every time we had the concerts. And that was one of the important things for us was that we provide an opportunity for people to enjoy symphony music at no cost. It’s a wonderful thing because you realize how important the arts are to our community.”
With the two boards joining forces, Kubacki said it will make them “different from everyone else because we are concentrating on the arts and I think that’s what makes communities great, is that you have the arts.”
Earlier in the meeting, Hand explained how the Wagon Wheel went from a for-profit to a non-profit in 2011. By August 2011, Hand said the board of directors has its first meeting. By January 2012, the non-profit took over the operations of the theater, but did not own part of it. In March, the non-profit purchased all the assets, except the land and building.
Owner Bruce Shaffner turned over to the non-profit a “well-organized theater operation,” Hand said. “Good people in it, knew what they were doing and was well organized. In fact, it’s the only theater in Northern Indiana that produces its own shows at a Broadway-quality level.”
In 2012, Hand said the theater was able to expand its community events, including junior productions. He said that will continue to increase.
“One of the things that we are going to do ... we met with the principal of Eisenhower. Next year, their students will be bussed over to the Wagon Wheel Theatre for dancing class taught by Scott Michaels. That is just the type of things we’re doing,” Hand said.
WWT Board of Directors Treasurer Jill Serbousek said 2012 was the first full year the WWT was a non-profit.
“Overall, we did pretty good. In fact, I think we did very good,” she said.
Money left over in 2012 for the organization was $79,000, which she said was “fabulous.” However, its expenses have been growing.
The theater season in the summer thrived, but the concert season “struggled a bit,” she said, so they are still working out what they’re going to do with the concert season.
“It’s really tough for us to compete against the First Fridays and the fairgrounds when they have free concerts. It’s tough for us to compete against free, so we’re kind of seeing how we’re going to do that,” she continued.
The junior programs were a huge success in terms of youth participation, she said. The quality of the programs were very impressive, she added.
Community offerings like those programs will continue to grow as WWT becomes a cultural center, she noted.
“The financial area that also helped us a lot ... was in sponsorship from local companies and in grants and donations. Our single largest grant was from OrthoWorx the past two years. That really, really made a difference for us,” Serbousek said.
Local foundations and individuals also were supportive.
“This is an area of support as a for-profit the Wagon Wheel could never tap. But now being a non-profit, we really can get in there and work with those groups,” she said.
Will Dawson, WWT director of operations and marketing, reviewed a new structure for the Director’s Club dues and the 2013-17 goals for the WWT.
The goals include reducing its overhead by purchasing the WWT building and land by Jan. 1, 2017, for a cost of approximately $800,000; strengthen its relationship with the Warsaw School District, including a banner contest for all Warsaw students for “The Sound of Music”; reach more diverse audiences; and increase the average attendance for its six summer productions from the present 50 percent to 65 percent by 2017. It also will improve restroom facilities, purchase lights and other equipment and add a hearing aid induction loop for the elderly.
The dinner concluded with Artistic Director Scott Michaels reviewing choices for the 2014 summer season. He also talked about the theater adding an “encore” show in September 2014 that would cater to theatergoers who like more adult shows.[[In-content Ad]]
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