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

Date: May 12, 2021. Start 7:06 pm

Welcome by Michael Hirsch

Agenda

  • Functional, Committee and ED updates
  • Budget
  • Payroll
  • Season and Staffing
  • Board elections & needed skills
  • State of SBMT on May 18

Actions

[Action] Board members to reach out to at least two potential board members and make note on spreadsheet in Meeting slides

[Action] Board members to review program in detail to confirm no mistakes

Functional, Committee and ED updates

  • Marketing & Social Media (Doug Hughes)

    • Working on marketing for our new season
    • Metrics show lots of work to market vs. New viewers/subscribers

  • Facilities (Jeffrey Henson)

    • Lock on the door now and he has a key

  • Technology (Dan Singletary)

    • Will be in box office Hell…o! For the next 6 weeks as we prepare to open up with a completely new box office system.
    • Concern raised about having only a couple folks understand the new box office system. Agreed that we need to have another person available to learn that system.

  • Finance (Jennifer Maggio)

    • Doing well for expenses primarily because we didn’t do the show planned in April. Also had return check for royalties for show not performed in April
    • Received loan forgiveness for one $5K loan from last year.

  • Social Media – last 30 days

    • Looking a bit flat but also reduced the number of eStudio offerings

  • Executive Director (ED) Updates

    • Updates
      • SB 805 – Ruling is theater companies have to pay their employees. No way for us to avoid AB5 when determining pay for employees. SB805 could provide a payroll system and funds for theatre companies to apply for (grant through state)
      • Saratoga Rent Forgiveness – Sent Saratoga info regarding our status and need for rent forgiveness due to lost income due to loss of all shows in 2020 – 2021 timeframe. 
      • CA Small Business Grant – As far as we know, we are approved. Problem is that it was done in Sara’s name and she was not listed as a representative of the company.
      • SVO Grant – Big grant for $140K. Things look positive.
    • Revolutionist: If you are free on Friday, please attend if you can via Zoom. There is some salty language.

Budget, Payroll, Season and Staffing

  • In Process
    • 2021 / 2022 Season Staffing

We are looking to fill several key positions for the coming season. If you are interested in a position listed below, please send an email to sdean@southbaymt.com. Thank you and we’re looking forward to seeing you in the theatre again soon!

  • Director
  • Musical Director 
  • Choreographer 
  • Vocal director 
  • Designers: set, costume, props, hair/ makeup
  • Stage Managers
  • Master Carpenter 
  • Technical Director 
  • Volunteer Assistants  
  • Needs for summer
    • Auditions
    • Payroll System
    • Management Associate
  • Ticket sales will be down. estimated loss  of $30,000 over a “typical” season
    • Includes a single Part-time year round position
    • AB5 will be upheld for small theaters. 
      • Payroll for Staff and musicians
    • Unified set for the 3 shows (at least first two)
    • Factors to consider:
      • Payment for musicians, ($3K for canned)
      • New ticketing system has new fee structure
      • Volunteer per diems for crew (against AB5? Not clear yet)
      • NO payment for cast members (could hurt our inclusion)
      • Examine production staff roles to cut/ combine
      • Discussed: If people have a business license, can we bring on as consultants? Business Impact on staffing may be favorable.
      • Consider looking at tech time and reducing that.
      • Discussed raising ticket prices by ~$5 – $10 which would help close budget gap. Communicate to our benefactors how AB5 is impacting our theater. Also discussed donations to bridge the gap. Discussed also leaving prices the same and adding an AB5 fee. Plan to discuss further in committee.
  • Michael asks if someone would make a motion to accept the budget as is. Dan moves to accept the budget as is.
    • Board discussed who is being paid and why including historical decisions.
    • Discussed the impact of AB5 on our business decisions and the budget deficit.
    • Budget accepted unanimously.

  • Community, Inclusivity & Accountability (4/28/2021)

    • Members
      • Chair: Kevin Brownstein, Sharon Peng
      • Executives/Board Members: Sara Dean, Michael Hirsch
      • General Members Present: Jasmin, Khalia, Vinh, Aly, Delany
    • 2021/2022 Season Discussion
      • Serious concerns regarding one of the choices, general consensus is that the cons outweigh the pros of moving forward with this production.
    • General/Misc
      • Audition & Staffing Process Standardization
        • The audition process for The Revolutionists highlighted some blind spots.
          • Request to Org Dev to create a clear and formal hierarchy of responsibilities for all roles within the company, so we know who to defer to for responsibilities/oversight and when cover is needed
          • Request for clearer designation of Vinh’s role as Casting Director vs EDI Consultant
            • Kevin, Sharon, Sara, and Michael in process of creating EDI Consultant job description
        • Metrics Review
          • Moving forward we need to make a concerted effort to make sure that our metrics are as accurate as possible. 
            • Kevin & Sharon are working to create a Google form for audition purposes to gather information from our auditionees with help from an HR professional to make sure the language is appropriate.
            • Looking to find organic ways to gather information as well, open ended introductions and slates invite people to be their authentic selves.
        • Staffing for next season
          • The process Sara has used thus far for staffing seems to be working well, the committee endorses continuing to follow that process. 
      •   Next Meeting: June 17, 2021
        • Review Audition input form
        • Review EDI Consultant job description
        • Community Outreach
          • local schools/summer programs
          • staffing & casting for season productions
        • Ongoing: Common Language

  • Development & Fundraising

    • Members
      • Chair: Dallas Carter
      • Board Members: Dallas Carter, Michael Hirsch, Sharon Peng
      • Non-Board Members: Kathy Switky, Jordan Selburn, Sara Dean 
    • One-time Donor Program
      • $44,442.22 running total 
      • $350 One-Time donors  since April Board Meeting
      • $235 The Revolutionists
    • Current approx running total = $130,000 since May 2020  
      • (includes monthly x11, One-time Donor, eStudio Programs, Cupcake, Benevity, Year End drive)
    • Grants
      • $15K to the CA Small Business Grant
      • SVO Grant $140K
      • Working on SVCreates – application opens 4/12

  • Organizational Development

    • Survey Results
      • Summary of results / key findings
    • Financial Processes
      • Recommendation to hire a Management Associate/Business Manager
    • Job Descriptions
      • Casting Director
      • Management Associate/Business Manager

  • Vision & Planning

    • May 2nd meeting
      • Finding content – members continue to read and add to database
      • Reviewed high-level survey results
        • Lean in to SBMT’s identity as the premier amateur South Bay musical theatre company
      • Discussed show proposals for coming seasons using criteria we discussed in previous meetings and parallel eStudio programming
      • Possible staffing/volunteer positions needed

  • Board Recruitment – find at least 2 candidates

    • All Board members find at least two candidates who might be a good addition to this board.
    • Current board members
    • For new board members
      • 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?
      • Review Candidate Application and Board Expectations
    • Email for board members should go out next week after State of SBMT
    • Suggested skills needed
      • Educational programs
      • Human Resources / PR / communications
      • Legal
      • Finance / accounting / grant writing
      • Saratoga business or government connections
      • Production / technical
      • Passionate for SBMT

  • State of SBMT on May 18

    • Welcome
    • Recap of the last Year
    • Special Recognition
    • Financial Report
    • Season Announcement
    • Closing

  • Dallas took the spotlight! WE LOVE YOU ? 

Meeting Adjourned 9:02 pm