Kentucky Theatre Association
Board of Directors Meeting
Friday, November 16, 2018
Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, Madisonville, KY
Present: Cheryl B., Sarah B., Lisa C., Brad D., Alana G., Wayne K., Jeremy K., Bart L., Phillip N.,
On Phone: Kathi E.
Absent: Dawn C., Kelley E., Alicia H., Kim M., Jane M., Zackary R., Shelby S., Kim W.
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The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m., by President Brad Downall.
The minutes of the November 4 conference call meeting had been sent out to Board members previously. Jeremy moved, and Phil seconded, to approve the minutes as written. The motion passed.
Jeremy mentioned that the Treasurer’s report had been emailed out earlier. He hopes to have an updated, year-to-date statement to be sent out by the end of the month. The issue was brought up on how much financial support to give to the groups (CT & HS) chosen to advance to SETC. Last time each group received $1000 (to help off-set the larger travel budget). Other states provide from $0 to $2000 per group. Bart moved, and Wayne seconded, to give the groups $1000 each. The motion carried.
Jeremy had sent the Board members a report from the SETC Fall meeting. The states are looking to find ways of bridging the gap between those people who only attend the State Festival and those that only go to SETC. We need to try to get more people attending both festivals. The method of handling the screening auditions is being changed slightly by SETC. They will be paying for the expenses of the adjudicators, not the states. This will involve a corresponding increase in the auditioning fees for the next two years, which will also help equalize the fees across all ten states.
Sarah mentioned the date and location for the next Middle Grades Festival. It will be help at Paul L. Dunbar High School in Lexington, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Alicia indicated an interest in helping to co-chair the festival. The teachers attending would like to have some Professional Development workshops. Lexington Children’s Theatre may be able to help with some of this. A suggestion is to have a mini “new play” reading session.
Lisa reported that we have four entries in this year’s festival. All of the performances will be held on Saturday.
Cheryl stated that there was a good number of submissions for the Roots of the Bluegrass competition this year. The winners have been chosen. Rehearsals were held today for the presentations of these winning scripts. Brad suggested we should recognize those persons who read the entries and scored them.
Brad recommended we should start reaching out soon to the high schools about next year’s festival dates and locations. It looks like KY Thespians Festival will be October 19.
The 2019 State Conference will be November 22 – 24, at the University of Louisville. This is the weekend before Thanksgiving. The festival will be spread among various buildings on campus, but looks very promising in all details.
As determined at the last meeting, the Karen Willis Award will be presented to both nominees this year.
The report of the nominating committee listed that Kelley, Lisa, Kim, and Bart will be going off the Board this year. The committee proposed (with corresponding second) to accept the following 8 persons to serve on the Board:
- Ariadne Calvano, Tamera Izlar, Tracy Ward, Brittany Stacy, Kameron Stambaugh, Rowen Haigh Mahoney, Todd Reynolds, and Cathy Rhoden Goguen. The Board voted to accept the slate and recommend its passage to the membership at the Annual meeting tomorrow.
The nominating committee also proposed (with corresponding second) the following slate of officers for next year:
President – Brad Downall; Vice-President – Phillip Neace; Secretary – Wayne Kirsch; Treasurer – Jeremy Kisling; and Assistant Treasurer – Alana Ghent. The Board voted to accept the slate and recommend its passage to the membership at the Annual meeting tomorrow.
Alana presented a recommendation to the Board on behalf of the Strategic Planning Committee. They suggest holding a Board retreat for setting goals/objectives and to get more of the Board involved in the activities of the Board. This would possibly be in late January, in Lexington. They are looking at a couple of places for getting grants.
Suggested meeting schedule for 2019:
January – Day-long retreat in Lexington
May/June – Conference call meeting
August – On-site meeting at the Conference site in Louisville
October – Conference call meeting
November – Meeting at the Conference
With no further business to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
ADDENDUM TO THE BOARD MINUTES
ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE ANNUAL MEETING
November 17. 2018
President Brad Downall called the Annual Meeting to order, giving a “State of the KTA” summary. Jeremy Kisling reported on the organization’s finances.
The President then opened the floor for the election of Board members. The slate presented by the nominating committee, and recommended by the current Board, was approved by the membership. (See the list above.)
The floor was then opened for the election of the Executive Officers. Again, the committee’s slate of candidates was approved by the membership. (See the list above.)
The date of location of next year’s State Festival was announced – University of Louisville on Nov. 22 – 24, 2019.
With no further business brought forth, the meeting was adjourned. This was followed by the award ceremonies for this weekend’s festivals.
