THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 22, 1994 TAG: 9412220049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
ONCE UPON A TIME, Virginia Beach attorney A.W. (Van) VanderMeer Jr. was a shy schoolboy, acting in summer stock to shed stage fright.
Now he speaks out boldly on behalf of the theater for which he is board president - Virginia Stage Company, the Norfolk-based nonprofit professional theater.
``From the ashes rises the phoenix,'' stressed the boyish-looking, freckled VanderMeer, president since July.
``We're still here,'' he said, in a tone of triumph.
In the aftermath of ``Peter Pan,'' the musical that closed Dec. 11 at the Wells Theater, VanderMeer was crowing about record ticket sales. The stage company sold $187,542 in tickets for the special, nonsubscription event - making it the best-selling, top-attended show in the theater's history.
The theater had budgeted for $130,000 in tickets.
The bonus cash came at a crucial time. A month ago, officials had warned the production crew that the season's final show - Noel Coward's ``Blithe Spirit,'' which has a costly set and a fairly large cast - could be canceled for lack of funds. Low subscription sales had put the company in that position.
Last week, the good news made VanderMeer feel like flying again. ``A lot was riding on how well `Peter Pan' did. And `Peter Pan' was very encouraging.''
He said an announcement would be made by mid-January as to whether ``Blithe Spirit'' will be staged.
If the classic drawing-room comedy is canned, it may be replaced be A.R. Gurney's ``Love Letters,'' a two-person show that typically has a celebrity cast seated at desks reading letters to each other.
``Love Letters'' is an inexpensive show that draws well. Little if any rehearsal time is needed, and the set is nearly bare. In March 1993, Virginia Stage produced a sold-out run at the Wells Theater featuring Charlton Heston and his wife, Lydia.
Like so many of the nation's nonprofit regional theaters, the stage company has had its share of challenges since the economic decline of the late 1980s. The series of difficulties began in February 1991, when VSC announced it had a $625,000 deficit and staged a do-or-die subscription campaign; a record 8,355 season tickets were sold for a more popular 1991-'92 season, saving the company from darkening its house.
Months later, it was announced that a former managing director had made ``personal use'' of $15,000 from the theater's coffers. Then, in February 1993, the firing of former artistic director Tom Gardner stirred controversy.
All has been quiet, however, since Gardner's replacement, Charlie Hensley, came on in July 1993. These days, Hensley and managing director Doug Perry are the friendly, low-key leaders running the show.
``I think our new management has a much keener awareness of the need to program for this community - and not in spite of the community,'' said VanderMeer, noting that the taste of the pre-1991 creative team was at times elitist or provocative as to script choices.
So far, the accumulated debt has been reduced to $300,000, he said. And, for the past three seasons, the theater has ended each season in the black - meaning, simply, that the troupe's expenses did not exceed the money earned from ticket sales, grants and donations.
The struggle to raise funds and sell tickets remains an uphill effort.
As to subscriptions, 6,300 sold for the 1993-'94 season; 5,500 sold for 1994-'95, VanderMeer said.
But the stage company had based its projected season budget on 6,200 subscriptions. The 800 unsold season tickets represent about $80,000; since the funds were an anticipated piece of the annual budget pie, those funds will have to be made up through other means, probably a combination of single ticket sales and donations.
If the money isn't replaced, the season will have to be trimmed. And the likeliest cut would be the season's final show, ``Blithe Spirit,'' set to open April 23, VanderMeer said.
(Other scheduled shows: Gardner McKay's ``Sea Marks,'' a romance between an Irish fisherman and a city girl, Jan. 1 to 22; Terrence McNally's ``A Perfect Ganesh,'' about two women encountering India and their inner selves, Feb. 5 to 26; and Lanie Robertson's ``Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill,'' a one-woman show with music about Billie Holiday, March 19 to April 9.)
The decline in season ticket sales follows a national trend, VanderMeer said. The reasons: Patrons may not want to pay in advance for a series of events, or there may be plays in the lineup they don't care to see. Some may feel unable to anticipate their schedule.
For theaters, a subscription base represents commitment and support, allowing managers to plan a season with less risk. Single ticket sales also are critical and can make up the difference, but can't be counted on in advance.
Since 1991, the theater has shifted its income pie. Instead of getting 40 percent of its budget from ticket sales and 60 percent from gifts, grants and other sources, the stage company tries for the reverse - 60 percent, tickets; 40 percent, other.
The reason for the switch is economic decline, affecting individuals, corporations and government - the usual sources for private gifts.
``We really are dependent on charity,'' VanderMeer stressed. More and more, businesses are offering in-kind gifts, such as hotel rooms, catering or free air travel, instead of cash.
``That's a real boon for us. But, as great as that is, you can't spend it on sets, actors and the nuts and bolts of putting on theater.
``I don't think the Hampton Roads economy is out of the woods yet. It's a real challenge. People are not anxious to open their checkbooks.''
The stage company is in the midst of its corporate campaign, and is gearing up for its individual giving campaign, starting in January.
Earlier this month, letters went out to prospective donors encouraging end-of-the-year giving. It's a good time to give, if you desire a tax break, he said.
Next year, ``Chances are good we will have a tax cut of some kind.''
Most of all, the stage company board is committed to ending its season again in the black.
For the first time since the 1990-'91 season, the theater increased its offerings to six plays; its budget is $1.7 million, up from last year's $1.4 million.
The board, he said, is being ``much more responsible in the sense of watching the bottom line'' and will not add to its debt to mount shows, he said.
``We are in the best artistic and financial situation in which we have ever been in. However, we continue to have a significant financial obligation to a consortium of local banks that have been extremely understanding and generous.
``The community must understand that we must have charitable sustaining donations to continue to achieve our mission.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A.W. Vandermeer, board president of the VSC, was pleased about
record ticket sales at the Wells Theater for ``Peter Pan.''
by CNB