50th anniversary committee report—May 5, 2002
Note: Names don't appear in full in this version; see your "Envoy" if you don't already know who's serving on the committee.
We have made a couple of additions to the committee: Bill A. will advise and assist in budgeting and handling the finances for the program. Fran T. wants to pursue some ideas about outside funding (Georgia Committee for the Humanities) for special events. We now number seven, with Harriet A., Amy M., John V., Florence K., and committee head Ben T.
Our activities for the next three months fall out this way: break down our tasks and assign responsibilities; create a time line for preparations and major events; prepare and submit a preliminary budget together with a preliminary plan for funding; get all projects into their initial stages.
In addition to the new members' special assignments, Harriet will head up the necrology effort; Amy will take charge of the social calendar; John will serve as liaison to the Mainstage and Second Stage programming efforts; Florence will take responsibility for lobby features;* Ben will organize the "interview" portion of the celebrations.
Costs of the planned events fall into three categories: (1) Printing of invitations, preparation of mailing lists, postage, creation of souvenir booklets, fabrication of permanent items such as plaques. (2) Rental of video equipment to create, edit and display audience and "oldtimer" interviews. (3) Catering and rental of hall for social days/evenings. We plan to explore sponsorships and grants, including in-kind donations, to offset major parts of these costs.
As a reminder, here are the main points of our plan as approved by the membership last year:
- We have named 2003-4 our fiftieth anniversary season because it includes the key date of Tuesday, March 30, 2004. Social events will concentrate in March to May 2004 and will include something in the nature of a reunion or homecoming.
- Both Mainstage and Second Stage will take part in the celebration. The Mainstage season will include one show that premiered in each of our decades—the 1950s to 90s—plus one musical. Each of these six titles will be one Town & Gown has never produced before. Second Stage will feature at least two specials, a retrospective and a musical revue.
- The lobby of the playhouse will hold exhibitions of photographs and other memories, decade by decade, with a strong focus on people who were active at each period.
- We plan to survey our members and longtime audience figures on videotape, focusing on high points of their Town & Gown experience. The tapes will become lobby attractions or preshow features.
- Our observances will include a necrology or roster of final bows.
*Tentatively. As this is printed, Florence has not definitely accepted this responsibility.
| Approved Ben Teague web site |
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