...And
the show goes on
by
Mike Kroll
Often described as Òthe jewel of Galesburg,Ó the
restored Orpheum Theatre is facing twin challenges as the new year dawns.
First, the ever precarious financial situation at the Orpheum seems just a bit
more of a concern with the 2007 Galesburg city budget out of balance. Some city
council members have suggested that reducing or eliminating funding of
organizations such as GREDA, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony and the Orpheum may be
one way to help re-balance the city budget. Secondly, the theater's managing
director since February 2004, Jennifer Rakestraw, recently resigned with no
warning and little explanation as to why she would leave the post other than to
say that it was Òfor personal reasons.Ó
Both challenges struck the Orpheum during December;
when the city council refused to approve two tax increases that were considered
key to balancing the city budget and when Rakestraw tendered her resignation on
New Years weekend. While members of the Knox County Civic Center Authority
board that oversee the Orpheum are publicly concerned about the potential loss
of $100,000 annually from Galesburg's Hotel-Motel tax they are emphatically
unconcerned publicly about the impact of Rakestraw's surprise resignation. In
fact there is most likely little reason for fans of the Orpheum Theatre to fear
either development.
Civic Center board chair Mark Blackburn is very
concerned about the potential damage loss of this funding would do to the
Orpheum Theatre. He points to some number his board has developed to help show
how far the Orpheum has come in just a few years of concerted effort to achieve
strong financial footing. ÒWe would love to be self-sufficient as an
organization and I hope to get to that point someday but today we are very dependent
upon the Hotel-Motel tax money. Our 2007 theater budget depends upon this
$100,000 for about 24 percent of our annual revenue and like everyone else we
are expecting to be hit very hard by increases in our utility bills. Current
estimates are that we will pay about $52,000 in 2007 for utilities, that
represents a 93 percent increase over what we paid for utility expenses in
2005!Ó
ÒMeanwhile the Orpheum has made great strides since
2002 when the Hotel-Motel tax funding was initiated. Overall attendance is up
90 percent since 2002. That represents the good results of lots of things we
have done at the Orpheum including many more events, improved marketing, a
greater number of marque events and just greater community support of the
theater in general. We are working toward establishing an endowment to help
cover the costs of maintaining the building itself and subsidizing operational
expenses such as utilities and we continue to seek ways to schedule more and
more events in the Orpheum. We now average about 2.5 events weekly over the
course of a year.Ó
With respect to the city funding, few observers of
Galesburg's city council really believe the Orpheum funding is in any serious
jeopardy. It is considered unlikely that the city council will use money from
the Hotel-Motel tax to help balance the city budget as it would inflame a
number of loud and politically powerful constituencies. Recent history has shown the city
council to be easily swayed by such constituencies and we are in the midst of
reelection season for half of the council. Whether or not the city council can
understand the city budget problems sufficiently to identify a reasonable
solution remains to be seen but it is unlikely more than one or maybe two will
actually support pulling the Orpheum funding.
As for the departure of Rakestraw, both the theater
board and staff are confident that operations of the Orpheum will continue
unaffected while the search is on for Rakestraw's replacement. For the time
being Jaimie Avery is serving as interim director of the Orpheum and is
comfortable directing day-to-day operations of the theater given her experience
as Rakestraw's right-hand gal for the past 2 ½ years. ÒEverything is
running just as normal,Ó assured Avery. ÒOur 2007 season was already in place
and bookings of the theater are strong already for the coming year. It will be
a different experience taking the lead in lining up bookings for 2008 and the
future but I am totally comfortable handling daily theater operations. Jennifer
worked closely with all the staff and we are a strong staff that will do fine
while the board searches for Jennifer's replacement.Ó
In December the Orpheum announced its 2007 ÒRed Carpet
SeriesÓ of seven theater-sponsored events beginning with the return of
hypnotist Jim Wand on March 3rd. Part of the Orpheum's strategy for achieving
financial self-sufficiency is to book events where the theater itself reaps the
profits of success. Despite recent increases in the theater's rental rates
there is no realistic way to become self-sufficient through such rentals alone.
Avery says that there were more than 50 separately booked private rentals
during 2006 and she expects that number to either remain the same or increase
slightly during 2007.
ÒWhile some of us were concerned that increasing the
Orpheum rental rates might cost us some theater rentals so far that has not
been the case. We have a number of such private rentals that have renewed for
years into the future and new rental customers regularly contact us about
available dates.Ó
While some private rentals are done on valuable
weekends most take place during the week when demand for the theater is less
and rental rates a bit lower. ÒIn recent years we have seen a growing
popularity of school groups organizing PTO fun nights where a complete
elementary school comes to the Orpheum,Ó noted Avery. ÒJust about every school
in Galesburg now has either one or two of these events each school year and we
have booked schools from Knoxville, Abingdon and elsewhere. These are great
opportunities to introduce children to the theater and perhaps they will later
attend other Orpheum events or become a theater supporter as an adult. Even
before the PTO fun nights it have become common to book special shows for
school children during weekdays at the Orpheum and that will continue.Ó
Another regular event at the Orpheum are the classic
movie nights. Thanks to
sponsorships by local businesses the theater now shows a classic movie
for teen and adult audiences each month and a second family or children's movie
on Sundays sponsored by NAEIR. The attendance at these movies varies from show
to show but has been a solid program that will continue into the foreseeable
future according to Avery. Another key to obtaining financial independence is
growing the profits from concession sales at the Orpheum. For most commercial
theaters concession sales is the
major profit maker, this is especially true of movie theaters.
For much of the history of the restored Orpheum
concessions were a missed opportunity due to concerns over the potential mess
and cleanup costs as well as a simple inability to understand or appreciate
concession operations. Even before Rakestraw's resignation Avery worked hard to
demonstrate the feasibility and profitability of concession sales at the
Orpheum. The theater's policies have now changed and concession food and
covered drinks may now be taken into the theater during performances. ÒThis has
led to a major increase in the profitability of concessions at the Orpheum,Ó
noted Avery. ÒWhile before we had nights with less than $50 total sales we are
more commonly seeing sales top $300 nightly now.Ó
On Thursday evening the Civic Center board will meet
to discuss establishing a search committee for Rakestraw's replacement. The
Orpheum staff is now selling memberships in their Red Carpet series where buys
can realize significant savings off regular ticket prices at Orpheum sponsored
events and get preferential early seating choice as well. Individual
memberships range from $80 to $350 but Avery says they would be happy to work
something out if you want to pay more than those amounts. Posters describing
the upcoming events are now up across town.
ÒI don't think we can overstate the contribution made
by the Orpheum Theatre to this community,Ó said Blackburn. ÒEvery show attracts
people to visit Galesburg, many from far away who have never been here before.
And there are regulars who travel by Amtrak to attend Orpheum events. Each of
these visitors contributes directly to the financial future of Galesburg when
they spend money here as they support our local businesses and generate sales
taxes. Just as importantly these visitors are all potential economic
development opportunities discovering Galesburg by virtue of attending an
Orpheum show. The Orpheum Theatre is another key to the quality of life in
Galesburg that should make our community attractive to outside businesses while
it enhances the lives of people who already live here.Ó
01/11/07