2012/2013 annual report - american blues...

2012/2013 ANNUAL REPORT AMERICAN BLUES THEATER

2012/2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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CONTENTS

2012/2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Contents

Producing Artistic Director Letter 3

About American Blues Theater 4

Our Family 5

Season Production 7

Education Outreach 11

Blue Ink Playwriting Award 12

Financial Balance Sheet 13

Financial Snapshot 14

Corporate & Foundation Sponsors 15

Individual Donors 16

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The 2012/2013 Season was a transformative year filled with incredible artistic and operational growth.

We expanded to three (3) mainstage productions, added a 10-minute play showcase—Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival, and launched an education outreach program, The Lincoln Project, utilizing a Pulitzer Prize nominated script.

Our ambitious season began with the world-premiere of Artistic Affiliate James Still’s Illegal Use of Hands and teamed Tony winners Dennis Zacek and Sandy Shinner together again. Our 11th annual holiday event It’s a Wonderful Life played to record-breaking, sold-out crowds and celebrated our 100th performance at the Biograph. We concluded the season with the critically-acclaimed Collected Stories directed by the award-winning mother-daughter team Mary Ann and Jessica Thebus. We began development on six (6) new scripts. We also created “Town Halls”, an audience development program, to engage patrons to significant issues concerning the plays.

We moved to a downtown office supported in part by the Ruth Page Center for the Performing Arts. We hired a second full-time employee (General Manager Jaclyn Holsey) and added part-time support staff, including an Education Outreach Manager and Executive Assistant. After establishing three years of fiscal responsibility, we qualified for numerous granting opportunities and increased our development capacity.

This exceptional growth elevates American Blues to one of Chicago’s leading mid-sized theaters.

Production photo credits by Johnny Knight. On the cover (l to r): Dennis Zacek, Steve Key, & Howie Johnson; John Mohrlein; Carmen Roman &

Gwendolyn Whiteside. Contents page: Carmen Roman.

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LETTER

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS & HONORS

Producing Artistic Director Whiteside became a Kellogg Executive Scholar in Non-profit Management (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University). We rebranded the logo, mission, tagline and established a strategic plan. We added two (2) Ensemble members (Dara Cameron & Michael Mahler) and five (5) Artistic Affiliates (Ian Paul Custer, Christina Gorman, Sandy Shinner, Arianna Soloway, Kaelan Strouse) to our family. The Joseph Jefferson Award committee recognized us with multiple nominations: Production-midsize (Collected Stories),

Principal Actress in Play (Carmen Roman), and Scenic Design-midsize (Sarah E. Ross). Ensemble member Lindsay Jones earned a Drama Desk Award nomination, Joseph Jefferson nomination for Original Music, and Sound Design. Ensemble member Michael Mahler received a Joseph Jefferson nomination for Original Incidental Music. Ensemble member Manny Buckley won 2013 Best Actor from the Chicago Reader and a nomination for Featured Actor from the Black Theater Alliance Awards. Three (3) plays in our Blueprint Development program will receive fully-mounted productions.

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VISION American Blues Theater is the premier American theater producing visceral theatrical works while engaging its audience in worthwhile missions of local service agencies.

MISSION American Blues Theater illuminates the American ideas of freedom, equality, and opportunity in the plays we produce and communities we serve.

OUTREACH We believe it is an honor and duty to serve our community. We raise awareness of other non-profit organizations’ commendable causes through creative collaborations. Using the themes of each manuscript, we choose outreach partners for every production. This season we distributed promotional materials (Illinois AgrAbility), provided complimentary tickets (Anixter Center, Misericordia), and held book drives (CPS, Open Books). We donate proceeds from “Pink Previews” to The Lynn Sage Foundation for breast cancer research. We also served Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Safe Schools, Center on Halsted, and the USO.

ABOUT AMERICAN BLUES THEATER

“American Blues Theater still burns blue—the hottest flame of all!”

-Brian Hieggelke Publisher of Newcity

“We’re grateful for the support this program provides. The entire troupe’s talent is matched by its generosity!”

-Laura Sage Chairman of The Lynn Sage Foundation

Residents of Misericordia with cast of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

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Our multi-generational and interdisciplined artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago. Our 38-member Ensemble has over 500 combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2013, we’ve individually received over 125 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and over 20 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. Our artists are honored with Pulitzer Prizes, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, and numerous other accolades.

OUR FAMILY

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2012/2013 term, as of June 30, 2013)

Lawrence Schulman, President

Douglas Gourley, Vice-President

Burton X. Rosenberg, Vice-President

Shelly Reitman, Treasurer

Joan Esposito, Secretary

Dawn Bach

Phil Calian

Jill DeVaney

Matt Hafter

Chip Pringle

Gwendolyn Whiteside, ex-officio

ARTISTIC AFFILIATES Austin Cook Ian Paul Custer Olympia Dukakis Andrea J. Dymond Christina Gorman James Joseph Zachary Kenney Keith Pitts Richard Shavzin Sandy Shinner Arianna Soloway John Sterchi James Still Kaelan Strouse Wandachristine Dennis Zacek

OUR FAMILY

“The Ensemble founded one of Chicago’s most venerable Off-Loop theaters.”

--Chris Jones Chicago Tribune

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World Premiere ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS August 31 — September 30, 2012 by Artistic Affiliate James Still Directed by Artistic Affiliate Sandy Shinner In a small town where buzzards feast on a dead Chevy and the local WalMart hires only college graduates, three men wait out the night with a high school football trophy they stole. It’s a story about revenge, glory, and being a man—if only the characters could agree on what they can’t remember.

SEASON PRODUCTION

“A sterling cast...perfectly calibrated in drive and desperation by the always excellent Sandy Shinner.”

-Larry Bommer Chicago Stage Style

Photo by Johnny Knight. (l to r): Howie Johnson, Dennis Zacek, & Steve Key.

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SEASON PRODUCTION

IT’S A WONDERFUL: LIVE AT THE BIOGRAPH! November 23 — December 30, 2012 From Frank Capra’s film Directed by Ensemble member Marty Higginbotham From the moment you walk through the doors, you will be transported back to the Golden Age of Radio and experience the Frank Capra holiday classic as a 1940s radio broadcast with live Foley sound effects, an original score, and a stellar cast of eight that bring the entire town of Bedford Falls to life.

Dean Richards’ list! Also recommended by WGN, CBS Chicago, NBC, ABC, WXRT, WBEZ, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Tmes, Chicago Magazine, Newcity’s “Best of Chicago”, & the Chicago Reader.

11th11th smash year!smash year!

First-class holiday fare!” - Chicago Tribune

Photo by Johnny Knight. (l to r): Ian Paul Custer, Dara Cameron, & Kevin R. Kelly.

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SEASON PRODUCTION

COLLECTED STORIES April 19 — May 19, 2013 by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies Directed by Mary Ann Thebus & Jessica Thebus The relationship between a celebrated New York author with a dry wit and her bright eyed protégé spans six years in a two-character tour-de-force. As the line between fact and fiction blurs, their fascinating story comes to an explosive conclusion which leaves the audience to question personal aesthetics and ethics.

“Three & 1/2 stars! Whip-smart!...this production is so darn on-the-money.”

-Chris Jones Chicago Tribune

“Spectacular! Actors working at the top of their form.”

-Jonathan Abarbanel WBEZ

Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for

Production-midsize, Principal Actress

(Carmen Roman), and Scenic Design-midsize

(Sarah E. Ross).

Photo by Johnny Knight. (l to r): Gwendolyn Whiteside & Carmen Roman.

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SEASON PRODUCTION

RIPPED: the Living Newspaper Festival June 24, 2013 by Catherine Butterfield, Darren Canady, Tony Fitzpatrick, Christina Gorman, Ike Holter, Joel Drake Johnson, Rohina Malik, Joe Meno, Jamie Pachino, Rocky Russo, Jeremy Sosenko, Charles West, and Gwendolyn Whiteside.

Directed by Will Clinger, Ann Filmer, Adam Goldstein, Hans Fleischmann, Gus Menary, Heather Meyers, Richard Shavzin, and Sandy Shinner.

“Working alongside some truly wonderful actors...so proud to support a theatre company with heart, guts, and legacy!”

-Madrid St. Angelo actor

Over 50 contributing artists!

Photo by Johnny Knight. (l to r): Michael Mahler & The Lincoln Squares.

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EDUCATION OUTREACH

We launched an award-winning integrated arts education program, The Lincoln Project, to Chicago Public Schools and the surrounding communities.

Our innovative program aligns with Illinois Core Curriculum standards to engage 6th – 10th graders of the circumstances leading to the Emancipation Proclamation.

“Their spellbinding performance brought home the human cost of slavery in the United States and offered a nuanced look at Abraham Lincoln’s evolution on the issue of abolition.”

-David Oberg Executive Director of Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum

Grayslake Heritage Museum. (above): audience members. (right): Manny Buckley & Kaelan Strouse.

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BLUE INK PLAYWRITING AWARD

We received nearly 200 Blue Ink

submissions across the United

States, Canada, and the United

Kingdom. In addition to our winner,

we named two (2) finalists and

seven (7) honorable mentions.

FACT

“Many theatres give out playwriting awards, but it’s rare to find a theatre that produces the prize-winning play. It’s laud-able and gutsy...the perfect descriptions of what American Blues is today!”

-Christina Gorman Winner of 2012 Blue Ink Playwriting Award

Photo by Johnny Knight. Blue Ink Playwriting Award winner, Elaine Romero.

2013 WINNER GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES by Elaine Romero The Blue Ink Playwriting Award was created in 2010 to support new work. The winning playwright received a $500 cash prize and a staged-reading with the American Blues Theater artists.

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AND STATEMENT OF ACTIVITY

Total Earned Income $123,648 — $123,648 $ 89,004

Total Public Support 250, 818 100,000 350,818 126,780

Released from Restriction 63,275 (63,275) — —

TOTAL INCOME 437,741 36,726 474,467 215,784

TOTAL EXPENSES 307,706 — 307,706 189,294

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS 130,035 36,726 166,761 26,490

NET ASSETS—BEGINNING OF YEAR 40,496 — 40,496 14,006

NET ASSETS—END OF YEAR 170,531 36,726 207,257 40,496

FINANCIAL BALANCE SHEET

UNRESTRICTED TEMPORARILY 2013 TOTAL 2012 TOTAL RESTRICTED

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FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

During the 2012/2013 Season, American Blues Theater accumulated income of $437,741 against expenses

of $307,706. Contributed income by individuals, foundations, corporations, our annual Blue Bash, and

GutterBall accounted for 87% of total income. The charts below outline specifics for revenue and expenses

with a breakdown of the contributed income.

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CORPORATE & FOUNDATION SPONSORS

Actors’ Equity Foundation

Bank One America

Cheiron Trading

Chicago Network for Justice & Peace

Citi Private Bank

ComEd

The Davee Foundation

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation

Eurex

Google

IBM

Intercontinental Exchange

John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

The Saints

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Shepard Schwartz & Harris LLP

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INDIVIDUAL DONORS

$25,000 and above The Davee Foundation Chip and Barb Pringle Burton X. and Sheli Rosenberg $10,000 and above Anixter Foundation ComEd Eurex Jim Farina David & Eileen Hovey Frank Russo $5,000—$9,999 Richard and Joanne Beck Steve Butler Phil and Jill Calian Mike and Trudy Kelly Shelly and Irene Reitman Larry Shulman and Chris Poggianti $2,500—$4,999 Jill DeVaney Emily Emerson John Fitzgerald Doug and Mary Clare Gourley Peter and Patti Fazio IBM Ian Van Handel Gwendolyn Whiteside $1,000—$2,499 Anonymous Julie Bird Ed and Laura Blatchford Marcy and Greg Carlin Ted Cornell Rita Dragonette Hillary and Matt Ebach Joan Esposito Cary Goldberg Steve Gilson Joel Kaplan

Bart Lazar Libby and David Savner Blake Swift Joel Zegart $500—$999 Jordan Allen Dudley and Susan Beyler Bill Braman David Cloinger Steve and Ellen Egan Steven Felsenthal Drs. Gregory and Kristin Fernandez Judith Friedman Criss Henderson Mary Hood William Martin Werner Mittermeier Colleen and Dave Muno Benjamin Randall Nick and Ellen Sack Carol and David Stone Patrick Troy Darrel and Shirley Whiteside $250—$499 Parker Boveroux Michael Burnham Thomas and Meg Claggett Mike Colky Richard Coover Andrew Derrow Susan Downey Virginia Emerson Frank and Lynn Falco Kelli and Joseph Fields Joe and Madeleine Glossberg Bill and Judy Goldberg Craig and Linda Grannon Gary Heiferman Curtis Hieggelke Jaclyn Holsey

We are honored to recognize the following contributors who enable American Blues Theater’s artistic programming

and outreach programs. This list includes donations from our True Blue Annual Fund, GutterBall, Blue Bash, production

sponsors, and other contributions given July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

Highest donation $25,000

Lowest donation $25

Number of Individual donors

38

Average donation $2,973

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INDIVIDUAL DONORS

$250—$499 Dimitri and Jena Karcazes Kevin and Cathy Kelly Dr. Benjamin Lerner Heather Meyers Anne and Keith Moffat Steven Monieson Geralyn Palmer Erin Quigley Leonard X. Rosenberg Dr. Susan Sigel Brad and Jean Stevens Bill Swartz Jered Tucker Chris Watson Ann and Bill Whitney Virginia Wiles Bill and Mary Jo Zaeske $100—$249 Peter Amster David Anderson Jeff Arena Dawn Bach Bruce Beatus Manny Buckley Timothy Brien James Briski Karen Callaway Art and Lyn Cohen Etahn Cohen Laura Coover Laura Dahl Philip Desforges Jon Fernandez Dr. Joseph Garcia Tom Geraty Joanne Gilson Kathy and John Goudie Joe Greco Stephanie Hammer Paula Hirsch Jim Hoey Larry Horwich Neil Jacobson James Joseph Lindsay Jones Dennis Kelly

Mark and Sheila Kenney Steve Key William Kinnear Kathryn J. Klein Ed Kross Anita and Craig Labus Patrick and Barb Lamb Joe Lauk H. Debra Levin Bradford Lund Laura Lynn MacDonald Penelope McLaren April Meyers Helen Harvey Mills Frank Mohler III John Mohrlein Greg Moss David Palmer William Payne Suzanne Petri and Robert Brueler Zack Pringle Elaine Rivkin Carmen Roman Claire Rosati John Ross Sarah Ross Roche Schulfer Stephen Stoyka Kevin Tottis Steven Wolfe Steven P. Wroten Dennis Zacek and Marcie McVay

Photo by Johnny Knight. Sheli Rosenberg leading the “Stand

for Blues” Pledge Drive at Blue Bash.

American Blues Theater is grateful for

every contribution.

We regret that due to space limitations we are unable to list all

donations under $99.

Please accept our deepest appreciation

as your donation makes a difference.

Photo by Johnny Knight. Phil Calian bidding at Blue Bash.

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INDIVIDUAL DONORS

The Anixter family Phil and Jill Calian Tyson Carter Laura Dahl Jill DeVaney Joan Esposito Matt and Beth Hafter Susan and Harlan Haimes Jaclyn Holsey Steve Key Heather Meyers

Colleen Muno Suzanne Petri Shelly and Irene Reitman Burt and Sheli Rosenberg Larry Schulman and Chris Poggianti Ian Van Handel Nike Whitcomb Darrel and Shirley Whiteside Gwendolyn Whiteside William Zaeske

The Chip Pringle Fund (contributions made as of June 30, 2013)

Annie-the Musical

Arts & Business Council

bellyQ

Blue Man Group

Natalie Bontumasi

Bunches

Butler House

Greg Carlin

Chicago Bulls

Chicago Cubs

Chicago Dramatists

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago White Sox

Citi Private Bank

Brian Dennehy

Jill DeVaney

DeVrim Cleaners

Hillary and Matt Ebach

Daniel and Ginny Emerson

Emily Emerson

Joan Esposito

Eurest

Eye to Eye Interiors

The Farrelly Brothers

Tony Fitzpatrick

Merwin Foard

Four Season Resort

Tom Geraty

Gibsons Restaurant Group

Doug and Mary Clare Gourley

Jim Hooey

Homewood Suites

Indianapolis Colts

JAM Theatricals

Lindsay Jones

Lindsay Jordan

Johnny Knight Photography

Tom Kenny

Steve Key

Brandon LaClair

Lookingglass Theater Company

Michael Mahler

Megan Mullally

Newcity

Nick Offerman

P.F. Chang’s

Pint

Porchlight Music Theater

Chip and Barb Pringle

A Red Orchid Theater

Shelly and Irene Reitman

Remy Bumppo Theater

Rivers Casino

Burt and Sheli Rosenberg

Rocky Russo

The Second City

Sensu

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Shepard Schwartz & Harris LLP

The Stage Channel

Steep Theater

Steppenwolf Theatre Company

James Still

Strategic Hotels

TimeLine Theatre

WBEZ

Gwendolyn Whiteside

Zig Zag Kitchen

In-Kind Contributions

Company of Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival

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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

1016 N. Dearborn Gwendolyn Whiteside Chicago, IL 60610 Producing Artistic Director (312) 725-4228 voicemail Jaclyn Holsey (773) 404-7336 box office General Manager [email protected] www.AmericanBluesTheater.com American Blues Theater is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent of the law.

2012/2013 annual report - american blues...

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