Oct 30 2008
Weekly Email: October 31, 2008….spooky!
Yet another week has passed us by. It was an interesting week at the theatre. Within the span of 6 days we had a Rock Concert, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and Poetry Reading. That is diversity! The Lt. Governor said some very nice things about our efforts and theatre. She was speaking to each and every one of you who has had an interest in the Strand. You should be proud of what you have been able to accomplish.
Remember last weeks email? (I can see some of you scrambling to find the unopened message in your inbox!). I spoke of some statistics for the theatre’s first nine months. I printed those on a 24" x 48" poster size chart. Steve F. mounted it on some foam core, and magically it was on the stage easily seen by the Lt. Governor. Sometimes you just have to get the word out. (now you are opening that message to see the statistics).
The Strand passed a major milestone this week. We are all amateurs trying to do the best we can do. One of the things that we discovered we needed was a license for the music performed at the Strand. This isn’t an easy thing to figure out, as I quickly learned. With the help of our friends at the library of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, we were pointed in the right direction. The Strand needed to acquire a facility license from two groups. BMI, which stands for Broadcast Music, Inc. and ASCAP which is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. With much work and research, we were finally able to apply and receive our licenses for all Strand performances. The composers of the music we play will get their rightful royalties from our venue. The Strand will submit a report quarterly to each organization that tells them of all our performances. This will include our Gross Ticket Revenue. Even if the event is free, we are still obligated to pay the royalties. While the amount will not be cheap, it is certainly gladly paid by our organization. We strive to do things correctly. This is one more thing that puts us on the path to success. Thank you to Tom at BMI and Jason at ASCAP for their assistance in the application process. Soon you will see the logos of both organizations mounted in our lobby. Next time you visit, you will know that the Strand is paying our fair share, and that we have a legal performance. With luck we will write them a really big check each quarter. The bigger their check, the more attendance we have! Good for us.
We have some fun events booked for the coming week. On Friday Smashed Productions will host Rules of Seven at the Strand at 8:00pm. On Saturday November 8th the New Life United Methodist Church will perform their Spirit of America program at the Strand. The concert starts at 7:00pm.
Thanks for all the support!
