Present: Michael Hirsch, Dallas Carter, Sharon Peng, Jay Steele, Dan Singletary, Steve Sammonds, Jen Maggio, Jeffrey Henson, Raiña Parks, Kevin Brownstein, Doug Hughes, Sara Dean, Doug Hughes, Ed Hunter

Start 7:04 pm

Welcome by Michael Hirsch

Agenda

  • Board Chair – 5 minutes
    • Meeting Norms, Remembering Ginnie, Board recruitment
  • Functional Update
    • Marketing & Social Media (Doug Hughes) – 4 minutes
    • Facilities (Jeffrey Henson) – 4 minutes
    • Tech (Dan Singletary) – 4 minutes
  • Financial Update (CFO: Jen Maggio) – 5 minutes
  • Executive Director Update (Sara Dean) – 10 minutes
  • Committee Updates
    • Community, Inclusivity & Accountability (Kevin Brownstein, Sharon Peng) – 5 minutes
    • Development & Fundraising (Dallas Carter) – 5 minutes
    • Organizational Development (Jay Steele) – 5 minutes
    • Vision & Planning (Michael Hirsch) – 5 minutes
  • Break – 5 minutes
  • CIA Presentation – 60 minutes

Actions

[Action] 

Board Chair

Establishment of meeting norms

  • Create and foster a safe and brave space (respect privacy and confidentiality)
  • Be present and listen with the passion you want to be heard
  • Choose authenticity over comfort
  • Ground statements in evidence
  • Invite everyone to contribute
  • Set an agenda and invite members to add to it and allocate time accordingly
  • Respect everyone’s time
  • Balance personal and group grace and accountability
  • Respect our learning (intra/interpersonal, mute your mic, different ways of learning)
  • Embrace messiness and kindness
  • Be aware of equity of voices
  • Focus on issues instead of personalities

Stephen made motion to approve

Dallas made motion to approve with amendments that it be excepted as an organic document that may change

No abstentions or objections, passed with a majority

Remembering Virginia “Ginny” Koester
1928 – 2021 Resident of San Jose

For 30 years, Ginny worked as a bookkeeper at multiple doctor’s offices in San Jose, CA. While she enjoyed working in the medical office environment her true passion was the work she did for her favorite local non-profit organizations.

Ginny was an amazing volunteer for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps and the South Bay Musical Theater group. She spent many hours every year sewing costumes, making uniforms and flags for these and many other organizations as well as creating beautiful quilts, altering beautiful wedding gowns and making amazing Halloween costumes for her grandchildren. For the Santa Clara Vanguard, Ginny developed their souvenir sales operation from a small local friends and family operation into one that sold souvenirs across the country every summer in a custom designed trailer pulled by the organization’s RV while selling hundreds of thousands of dollars of tee shirts, jackets, patches and buttons to help support the Vanguard’s fundraising activities. Ginny also enjoyed going for walks with her dog, crocheting, knitting and reading.

Recruitment

Fundraising is only one aspect of what a member does

How connected is this person to the community we serve?

How informed are they of the ecosystem we operate in?

How diverse are we as a board?

What skills do they bring to further our mission?

Re-election process 

Dave Leon transitioning off the board to serve as an executive with Owls Nest

We wish him well in his new position and look forward to continue working with him on continuing our organizations’ missions

Functional Update

  • Marketing & Social Media (Doug Hughes)

    • Pride and Prejudice had approximately 860 views among the two platforms (YouTube and Facebook)

  • Facilities (Jeffrey Henson)

    • Can’t wait until we start building sets again! Otherwise studio space looks good, no graffiti. Cabinet shop parked truck at back door. May need to ask them to keep clear doorway clear when we go back to the studio.
    • Does Jen get email with Amazon smile donation info. Jeff, received a notice last week. Jen gets one electronically.
    • Cleaning services? Jen asked if we were going to start. Jeff will get a price for the service. Plan to get service quote for cleaning of the studio area.

  • Technology (Dan Singletary)

    • Not too much to report.
    • OvationTix got back about data migration thing. Will port data manually for the last three years. 
      • Process should complete in about a month or two.
      • Dan will be going in to backup Vendini data which will not be available next week.

  • Social Media Metrics

    • SBMT Facebook
      • 1,689 likes (+0.60% m/m)
      • 1,808 followers (+0.72% m/m)
      • 3,944 check-ins  (-0.05% m/m)
      • eStudio Facebook
      • 523 members (+6.52% m/m)
      • 426 active members (-0.47% m/m)
    • YouTube
      • 238 subscribers (+12.26% m/m)
    • Instagram
      • 711 followers (+3.80% m/m)
    • Twitter
      • 334 followers (-0.30% m/m)

Our subscriber base is growing as evidenced by our metrics. Shows impact of our outreach and success so far.

  • Financial Updates

    • We’re well ahead of what we budgeted. Company is doing well this year. Great job fundraising.
    • Would potentially run over this year except that will not use $45K for production costs as season ends in June and we do not expect to have a major show before then.
    • Net income as of Feb. ~$31K
    • Slated to break even by June ($24)
    • Would end June w/ cash of $130,872
    • Cupcake sales are all considered upside to our budget.
    • Average donations budgeted at $8K. We’ve been running $13K on average.

  • Executive Director (ED) Updates

    • Comments and Feedback
    • Updates:
      • AB 1227 & SB 805 – Planning a letter writing effort. Sara looking for some help
      • Tier changes to Live Performances 
        • Outdoor up to 100 (April 1, 2021 based on current tier)
        • Live performances as we improve.
      • Transitioning:  Season Planning & Reopening (need a committee lead)
      • Anon(ymous) casting finalized
    • In Process
      • Space Share 
      • 2021/ 2022 Season
    • March Programs
      • Tuesday, Mar. 2 at 7:30pm:  A Muse Event, Musical Theater Trivia
      • Thursday, Mar. 11 at 7:30pm: Artist Spotlight on Joe Kelly with Dave Leon
      • Saturday, Mar. 13 at 10am: Tap Workshop with Francesca Cipponeri
      • Saturday, Mar. 20 at 10am: Jazz Workshop with Michael Saenz
      • Friday, Mar. 26 at 8pm: Readers Theater – Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuki
      • Wednesday, Mar. 30 at 7:30pm:  A Birthday Bash for a Living Legend (Sondheim)
      • Workshops:  Accents with Kimily Conkle, April 6-27 & Beyond the Book: Audition Workshop with Vinh Nguyen, April 8-29. 
    • Looked at tentative schedule for April and May as well as Mainstage plan

  • Community, Inclusivity & Accountability

    • Members
      • Chair: Kevin Brownstein, Sharon Peng
      • Board Members: Dave Leon
      • General Members Present: Aly, Cordelia, Jasmin, Jen, Sruthi, Vinh
    • Agenda/Logistics
      • Discussed upcoming programming
      • Sara proposed “How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Musical”
        • Panel to address stereotypes in classic musicals and how to tackle/educate/avoid these shows
        • How can we approach rights houses/what can we do on our level?
        • Please suggest panelists!
      • ShareDrive updated: Members may drop articles/documents into “Resources” for Board members to share
      • Discussed Board update
    • Action Items
      • Kevin to look into Closed Captioning functionality on Zoom
      • Please update CIA mission statement on website to add “anti-racist”
    • Casting Accountability
      • Anon(ymous)
        • Submissions Total: 66
        • Submissions:  TBD BIPOC-identifying (approx 60%) 
        • Total Cast: 15, 75% BIPOC
        • Staff: 70% BIPOC (5 out of 7), 1 trans
      • Upcoming
        • The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson, (May)
          • Director: Diane Milo
          • Props: Patricia Bilello
          • Costumes: Christina Bertani
          • SM: Megan Reed (Staff 1 of 4 BIPOC)
  • Next Meeting: March 18th 7:30 pm
    • PRIORITY: establish company common language to address participant  questions/concerns in regards to CIA-related issues
    • Discuss/Establish community outreach, particularly with schools
    • Develop Modes of Accountability
    • Ongoing: Review planned programming
  • Z Space Interview: March 31st
    • Discussion on inclusion work in theatre spaces/SBMT
    • Board Representative TBA

  • Development & Fundraising

    • Members
      • Chair: Jay Steele
      • Board Members: Jennifer Maggio, Steve Sammonds, Dan Singletary, Jay Steele, Michael Hirsch, Kevin Brownstein
      • Non-Board Members: Barbara Heninger, Jordan Selburn, Sara Dean
    • We’re Fundraising!
      • Cupcake Fun(d)raiser paired with Sondheim’s Birthday Bash
      • Working with Dina Jacobson of “Bake Back Better”
      • Suggested donation of $25
      • 4 Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes as a ‘Thanks for Donating”
      • Can also be donated to the Saratoga Fire Dept. – to skip the calories 🙂
    • Sustaining Donor Program
      • 76 monthly donors: $2,597/month ($31,164 annually)
    • Program Donations
      • Rachel: $439
      • Pride & Prejudice: $3,000 (split with SVS) 
      • Anon(ymous): $35 (to date) 
    • Upcoming Workshops
      • Accent Workshop
      • Beyond the Book Audition
    • Grants
      • $30K to the CA Arts Council Relief Program
      • $12.5K to CBS for eStudio
      • California Small Business COVID-19 Relief – waitlist for Rounds 3&4
      • Waiting to submit Shutter Venues Operational Grants (hasn’t opened yet)
      • Working on SVCreates – application opens 4/12

  • Organizational Development

    • Members
      • Chair: Jay Steele
      • Board Members: Jennifer Maggio, Steve Sammonds, Dan Singletary, Jay Steele, Michael Hirsch, Kevin Brownstein
      • Non-Board Members: Barbara Heninger, Jordan Selburn, Sara Dean
    • Survey
      • Committee met Mar. 8 to discuss survey parameters and planning
      • Information collection will focus on reopening, SBMT programming
      • Email survey to broad list, U.S. Mail to subscribers without emails
      • Will ask for volunteers to participate in potential follow-up focus groups
    • Shared facilities
      • Met twice with SVS & Lyric to review respective plans and needs
      • Because groups are on different schedules for leases and different points in facility transition, coordination on one plan is challenging
      • Groups will stay in touch to explore future opportunities for facilities sharing
    • Financial Processes
      • Jen Maggio, Jay Steele, James Jones, and Sara Dean met to discuss financial task sharing and optimization
      • James will provide help with production transaction processing and support Sara’s needs with QuickBooks
      • Jay will continue to process U.S. Mail and manage donation transactions in OvationTix, and will now also deposit donation checks into B of A
      • Jen Maggio and Sara Dean met separately to outline overall financial processes, CFO responsibilities, and workload balancing

  • Vision & Planning

    • Members
      • Chair: Michael Hirsch
      • Board Members: Sharon Peng
      • Non-Board Members: Braden Taylor, Gary Stanford jr, Diane Milo, Barbara Heninger, Sara Dean
    • March 3rd meeting
      • Finding content – members reading 4 plays and adding to the database
        • Dozens of plays and musicals read; we reviewed over 20 of the plays and musicals in the meeting
        • Several Sara is now reading for consideration
      • Working on criteria for selecting material
        • Educational component; how much work to put into salvaging theatre’s problematic warhorses compared to doing something new
        • For some shows consider hiring director with vision first
        • Continue representation
        • Practicalness – size of cast, orchestra
        • Lighter – fun – fluffier – enjoyment – building community – celebration
        • Concert or revue
    • eStudio – Programming
      • Feb 2 – A Muse Event: Name That Show Tune with Kayvon Kordenstani
      • Feb 9 – Broadway by the Decade: Under Appreciated Musical Gems with Ron Susek
      • Feb 11 – Corona Radio Theatre: Pride and Prejudice (co-production with SVS)
      • Feb 13 – Tap Workshop: Francesca Cipponeri
      • Feb 13 – Readers’ Theatre: Pride and Prejudice (co-production with SVS)
      • Feb 14 – Readers’ Theatre: Pride and Prejudice (co-production with SVS)
      • Feb 20 – Jazz Workshop: Michael Saenz
      • Feb 24 – South Bay Cabaret: Classics vs, Contemporary Musicals with Bob Sunshine & More
      • Mar 2 – A Muse Event: Musical Theatre Trivia with Walter Mayes
      • Mar 11 – Artist Spotlight: Joseph Kelly
      • Mar 13 – Tap Workshop: Francesca Cipponeri
      • Mar 20 – Jazz Workshop: Michael Saenz
      • Mar 26 – Readers’ Theatre: Anon(ymous)
      • Mar 30 – South Bay Cabaret: Birthday Bash for a Living Legend

  • Special Topic

    • Presentation by Community, Inclusion and Accountability (CIA) Committee
      • CIA Committee & Board Collaboration

Meeting Adjourned 9:06 pm