Date : September 27, 2023
Board members present:
| X | Alex Night | X | Jered Biard |
| X | Brad Story | Robby Burt | |
| X | Julie Ulmer | X | Ann Glenn |
| X | Bill Hays | X | Jessica Kropp |
| X | Linda G. Johnson | X | Robert Canterbury |
| X | Lamar Austin | X | Rudi Timmerman |
| Amanda Baker | X | Gini Burt |
Guests: Judy Kropp, Artistic Director
Meeting called to order at 5:34 PM by President Alex Night
- Secretary’s Report: The minutes from the previous meeting were sent out by email twice this past month with no corrections. Corrections tonight included removing Judy Kropp’s and Scotty Jenkins name from the signatories on the Arvest, Union, and First Financial checking accounts, as well as the Edward Jones account, and adding Alex Night and Jessica Kropp. Julie moved we accept the August 30 minutes as corrected. Ann seconded the motion and minutes were approved.
Discussion regarding the signatories was reopened.
Julie made a motion and Ann seconded it to leave Judy Kropp on all accounts because in her position as Artistic Director, it may be necessary for her to make payments for show expenses. The motion carried. As Alex preferred not to be on the Edward Jones account after all, Gini made a motion to remove Alex from that Edward Jones account, which was seconded by Judy, motion carried. To clarify exactly what was transpiring, the previous votes were agreed by all present that they will be superseded by a new all-inclusive, concise motion which was made by Rudi Timmerman. The motion states that Bill Hays, Judy Kropp, and Jessica Kropp will be on the Edward Jones Account and Bill Hays, Jessica Kropp, Judy Kropp, and Alex Night will all be signatories on the OLT accounts at Arvest, Union Bank, and First Financial. Ann Glenn seconded the motion and it carried.
- Treasurer’s Report:
- Balances are:
- Arvest (general fund) $4894.85
- Union Bank (Building) $12,874.87
- First Financial (concessions) as of Aug. 30 $2067.38
- Office Report—Alex
- Alex reported that many renewals, corporate sponsorships, and upgrades were made this month. See her office report for details. She is doing a very good job keeping up with membership responsibilities.
- Logan Byrd officially renewed his lease for another year. He has been very supportive by raising his membership level and donating equipment to the theater.
- Alex has sign-in sheets for volunteerism hours; we should sign in for meetings and rehearsals, etc. to keep track of these hours for grants and other purposes.
- Benson review: great comments on decorations, lighting, and general enjoyment. Some criticism of “token” trophies where there is no competition. It was suggested that perhaps we can change the way we vote for people in acting and other categories, especially considering we can’t publish videos anymore. Alex is keeping up with nominations as we go. Judy suggested perhaps we could vote like the high school to choose nominees, having the audiences vote after each performance. There are some issues with that, so more discussion is needed. Some board members like the director choosing their cast for awards, others like the idea of the audience choosing. Linda suggested we should think about this and have a Benson meeting to discuss this in detail. We need to schedule a meeting and a new committee. Judy motioned we form a committee and Alex seconded; motion passed. Bill said we spent around $3000 and only took in about $2000. Alex will make a date for the meeting and all those interested in the Benson Awards can come.
- Artistic Director Report—Judy
- Clue: dates are Oct. 20, 21, 22, 27, 28,29. It looks like a great show with a great cast. Chris Benner is a standout performer. GET YOUR POSTERS OUT RIGHT AWAY!! Challenge – Get another couple or family to come with you to this funny show. It is rated PG for adult humor and themes.
- Gift of the Magi: dates are Dec. 8 & 9 at The Ouachitas and Dec. 10 at OLT. Auditions will be held on Oct. 11 from 4-7 pm needing 7 actors.
- December play – play selection committee is recommending the The Trial of Ebeneezer Scrooge to be directed by Brad Storey. It will need 8 actors. Auditions will be held Thursday Oct. 12 at 3:30-5:30 and Saturday Oct. 14 from 9:00 AM until noontime. Dates for the play are four consecutive days, Thursday through a Monday on December 14,15,16,17,18. A motion to approve this play was made by Bill and seconded by Lamar and was approved.
- February play has not been decided on yet! Amanda is working on finding a play for February.
- Romeo and Juliet: dates are March 29,30,31 and April 5,6,7. It will be directed by Brad Storey. Alex made a motion to approve this play through an email sent to board members earlier this month, seconded by Brad and the motion carried.
- The Little Mermaid: Dates are July 26,27,28 and August 2,3,4. It will be directed by April Burt. Julie made a motion to approve this play, seconded by Lamar and it was approved, 11 yay, one nay. Discussion: Concern about summer performance dates and small audiences due to travel, conflicts, etc. Rudi said he would make a donation to make up for loss these issues might create because he really believes we should try a big summer musical such as this. After the discussion, the exact same motion was made by the same people and was voted on again. There were 11 yay and one abstention. There was some discussion about ticket prices and ways to help low-income families see shows, but this was tabled for a meeting which will take place Friday Sept. 29th at 4:00 PM at the OLT.
- The Last Lifeboat: Probable dates are October 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 2024. To be directed by Alex and Chase Night. Motion to approve this play was made by Jessica, seconded by Judy, and there was no discussion. Motion approved.
- Judy will move forward and get royaltiesand other details in motion for the approved plays. Publicity and everyone else shouldhold until Judy gives us the go-ahead that everything is secured.
- House—Brad
- Alvins came to check the coils in the AC unit in the lobby, but it turned out to be an outside valve which will cost about $350 for the freon that leaked out. The repair cost will be around $1200, and the final bill will be sent shortly.
- Gini suggested we need to be mindful of the temperature on the thermostat. The Air Conditioner should be set at 78 – 80 degrees when the last person leaves the theater. It can be turned down to 71 or so for rehearsals or meetings. The last person to leave is responsible for turning it back up.
- Brad has some framed posters of old OLT shows. He suggested putting them above the chair rail in the hallway leading to the bathrooms. Brad will make sure they are secure. This was enthusiastically received by the board.
- Brad asked Gini to have Robby contact Tasha at the Chamber regarding the possibility of renting lighting to the Chamber of Commerce for an event.
- No additional report as pertinent information was covered in the Artistic Director Report.
7. IT Report—Jered
- Jered wants to get the volunteerism database ready after Clue.
8. Box office—Amanda (absent)
- Judy said we can do the box office online for The Gift of the Magi and sell tickets for cash at the door at the Ouachitas. The charge will be $15 for tickets.
9. Publicity—Julie –
- Publicity for CLUE is up to date on Facebook, Instagram, COC Chamber Tracks, and both newspapers.
- Jered said he will come up with an ad design for Clue next week and send it to Julie. She prefers it in JPG format, if possible, as both she and the newspapers have trouble with some other formats.
10. Readers Theatre – Ann
- The Ouachitas’ shows will be at 7 PM instead of our usual 7:30 PM. Sunday matinee at OLT will be at 2:30.
- The cast for The Gift of the Magi calls for 4 women and 3 men:
- Jim and Della (a young couple, celebrating their first married Christmas together), Mrs. Boyd (a motherly neighbor) Madame Sofronie (a businesswoman), Felice (her assistant), Mr. Hartman (a clerk), and the Narrator.
- Auditions for The Gift of the Magi will be held at the OLT on Wednesday, October 11 from 4 – 7 P.M.
New Business _
- Rudi met with Denni and Lou Longoria, proprietors at Mena Mountain Resort. They were concerned that they were being perceived to be in competition with OLT, and they wanted to assure us they were not. They did confirm with Rudi that the Just 4 Fun Players are no longer an “entity”. They now call themselves the Grand Illusion Theatre.
- The OLT Board recognizes that the Just 4 Fun Players no longer exist, so they no longer will be listed under the OLT umbrella. The constitution will need to be changed to remove the name of the now disbanded organization known as Just 4 Fun Players. Therefore, it needs to be made clear to the remnant members, known now as the Grand Illusion Theatre, that they will no longer be covered under our insurance or receive other benefits of OLT which includes publicity or Benson Awards. No one in particular was asked to relay that information.
11. Adjournment
- A motion to adjourn was made by Judy and was seconded by Robert and passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM