arts at mu fy15 annual report

Thank you for reading through our 2014-2015 season report hi-lighting our accomplishments, programs and operations for the Arts at Millersville University. Since the Ware Center and Winter Center were acquired, there has been a burst of activity and commitment to the arts on behalf of the University. Truly, the Arts at Millersville calls these two venues home, but our reach extends throughout Lancaster City and Millersville. We are well on our way to becoming the premiere performing arts program in Lancaster County. Our diverse mix of performances, including both visiting and local artists, ensures we serve the Lancaster and campus communities by providing high quality and engaging experiences. We provide the professional technical and production support to student performances and faculty concerts. Our focus on arts learning means we actively seek out participation from Millersville students to join our staff in marketing, public relations, production, event support, programming, and engagement. Many of our students who have graduated stay in the field and are hired through our network in the performing arts and entertainment field.

The Ware Center continues to be a popular location to hold special events, conferences, meetings, lectures and civic gatherings. Thank you for your generosity and support as we close out another successful season.

2 The Arts at Millersville University

Laura KendallDirector

Laura KendallDirector

Stacy RutherfordAssistant Director

Barry KornhauserAssistant Director of Campus & Community Engagement

Nathan CottrellAssistant Director of Production & Facilities

James SmithWare Center Facility Manager

Laura MiccicheEvent Schedule & Rental Coordinator

Logan WoodTechnical Coordinator

Stephanie WitmanTechnical Coordinator

Deb GroveBusiness Office Assistant

Emily LauferFront Desk/Art Gallery Assistant

Jeff GreyTechnical Support

Michelle LittrellFront Desk Support

Julie Pyle ChildsGraduate Assistant/Winter Center Event Coordinator

Offi

ce of Visual and Performing A

rts

2014/2015 Annual Report 3

The Community Arts Advisory Council acts as a sounding board for feedback on programs and helps spread the word about the Arts at Millersville.


John and Vivien AndersonAndy AppelNancy ArnoldKathy AshbyNorman & Joanne AxelrodTom BaldrigeDeepa BalepurAnn B. BarshingerBob & Anne BowmanAminta BreauxNorman Bristol-ColonTim & Louise BrownRoger BruszewskiBecky BumstedMary Burton & Laurent HorneBobbie & Steve CampbellPatrick & Linda CastagnaThomas Hills CookJerry EckertBob FenningerFrank FoxWendell FunkSusan & John GarofolaJohn GerdyEly & Abbie GonickRick & Gail GrayLisa GroffJim Hagelgans & Gale ZorianJeff HardinBill Haynes & Patti SmedleyLarry Keating & Jan MaslandLaura Kendall

Jeff & Sandra KenderdineBarry KornhauserDavid LyallLinda Holman MarcksLiz MartinPam & Hugh McGettiganClark McSparren JrGreg & Kim MelhornLaura MiccichePeggy NeffDean OberholtzerPaul Oppenheimer (Rick) & Joanne JudgeHarvey OwenKaryn & Bill RegitzRick & Jessica RodgersFran RodriguezTom & Gina RussoStacy RutherfordTom RyanChris & Maya ShihKit & Pete SlaughJack & Joni SoostElaine StankoLinda & Joe SweeneyPatrick TellDiane UmbleJon WalkerPaul & Judy WareMarisa WeaverDoug & Linda WeidmanLouise WIlliamsTed & Mary Sue Wolf

Our 2014/2015 SeasonTouring Productions and Visiting Artists

Groundworks Dance Theatre*

Darrah Carr Dance

Wenzel Fuchs, clarinet*

Jennifer Koh, violin*Mark Edwards, classical guitar

Irish Christmas in America

Pete McGuinness, jazz*

The Lady with all the Answers

Playboy of the Western WorldPitch Blond*

Snail & the Whale

Tom Chapin

Rodney Marsalis*

The Hot SardinesCristina Pato*

Palestrina Choir*

Fatoumata DiawaraEd Asner as FDR*

An Evening with Groucho

Civil Rights Portraits as Democratic Vistas*

Imago Theatre: FROGZ

Brother Sun*

*Part of campus-artist intersections program

Local Performers

Reji WoodsPenny Wrenn

Amanda KempMaria Corley

Rubi NicholasDowntown DancesCelebrate Ballet

NetCo Dance Co.

Trio Clavino

Newstead TrioCharlie Zahm

36 Dramatic Situations

Ed Asner as FDR

Amy Banks

Jeff Calvin

Penny Wrenn



Season Partner

Season Sponsors

Media Sponsors Film Series Sponsor

SponsorsSpotlight on Rodgers & Associates

“With their fun spirits and passionate support of the community, we are honored to have Rick and Jessy Rodgers, founders of Rodgers & Associates, as a season partner for the past four years,” says Laura Kendall, Director of the Arts at Millersville. “The support of Rodgers & Associates has allowed artistic experiences to grow and has expanded the audiences for the arts in both downtown Lancaster

and on campus. We are able to serve our diverse community and keep the arts accessible to all.”

Rodgers & Associates also supports the Lancaster County Community Foundation’s Extraordinary Give and many other non-profit organizations. Rick Rodgers was recognized by the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce as the 2015 Small Businessperson of the Year award.

Rodgers & Associates was founded by Rick and Jessica Rodgers in 1996 to provide a level of retirement planning services that is more complete than sales firms (e.g., brokerages, banks and insurance companies) do for those who are in the retirement stage of life. Acting as fiduciaries, Rodgers & Associates’ team of financial planners provides a written plan for each client based on their personal goals. In addition to asset allocation and investment choices, they create tax efficient strategies for withdrawals and design a social security strategy. These strategies are aimed at minimizing a client’s current income tax burden while considering their estate tax situation.

In 2005 the firm redesigned their compensation model and became entirely Fee-Only. This changed the dynamic between the firm and their client to one they believe is most directly in line with their clients’ best interests. Because Rodgers & Associates earns no compensation from anyone other than the client and have no relationships either financially or socially with the products they recommend, they are able to offer independent and unbiased advice while limiting potential conflicts of interest. The firm’s goal is to become their client’s CFO and their trusted partner in making any financial decisions; from those as complex as deciding on housing and healthcare for the rest of their lives to those as mundane as how to pay for their next vehicle. Rodgers & Associates is pleased to support the Ware Center in providing cultural opportunities to the community. The variety of artistic presentations and the Center’s dedication to share these events with many who might not otherwise experience them has reinforced our initial decision to support the Ware Center.

$5,000 +Ann B. BarshingerJohn and Susan GarofolaLinda Holman-MarcksJon Walker and Mary KearnsPeggy NeffPaul and Judy Ware

$1001-$4,999Norman and Joanne AxelrodFred and Heike BloomRoger BruszewskiLaura Kendall

$501-$1000Kathy AshbyBob and Anne BowmanMarjorie McCarthyPaul (Rick) Oppenheimer & Joanne JudgeTom and Gina RussoNicholas SelchDiane Umble

2014/2015 Season


$251-$500Nancy ArnoldLouise BrownRobert BuchananBobbie CampbellJosele ClearyBill Haynes and Patti SmedleyCarol and Barry KornhauserRichard and Lynda LevengoodPam and Hugh McGettigan Jr Clark McSparren Jr

$101-$250Jennifer HartLawrence KeatingBrian LongVernon MooreKenneth and Donna PatrickWalter Petroski

Donors up to $100 John AndersonJoseph BeseckerChris BiemesderferDavid and Pauline BirdJoan BobenLarry and Wendy ClementRobert and Patricia Corrao Dennis DenenbergBetty DenlingerWilliam DewanSteven DiGuiseppeCecilia M. DillFrancis and Susanne DombrowskiMichael EbersoleLinda EckerGlenna M EshlemanAmanda FlurryStephen and Kathy FochtCarolyn Louise FrenchJohn GerdyDebra J. Good-ZeinerBonnie HammonsDebra HerlockerEmily Hill

Roberta KiefferJennifer M. MariacherLaura MiccicheToby MyersSam and Nancy NeffHarvey OwenTitiana Pashkova-BalkenholKathryn PearceMark RastEdward Real and David FaustWilliam RegitzDennis ReinakerRuth Meflah SalinkasLaura ShaidaJennifer SilbertJack SoostCarol StaubLinda S. SteffyDonna VieraLaura WakeleyPatrick Weidinger and Ann RiexingerJames and Jodi WolfordTae WooStephanie and Tom Yentsch


Grant & Foundation SupportAnn B. Barshinger Foundation

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

Partner CompaniesAllegro Chamber Orchestra*

OperaLancaster*

Lancaster International Piano Festival*

People’s Shakespeare Project


These local organizations play an important role in bringing arts experiences to our city. Our venues provide their home base for rehearsals, performances, and office space, if needed. Those denoted with a (*) provide a $5,000 scholarship to Millersville University.

Community Partnerships

The agencies and school groups that received free tickets to performances during the 2014-15 season were the following:

l Adelantel Arbor Placel Big Brothers/Big Sistersl Church World Services Refugee Centerl Crispus Attucks Community Centerl Domestic Violence Servicesl Hospicel IU 13 Adult Education Servicesl Lancaster County Children & Youth Agencyl Latino Vision Associationl Music For Everyonel Pennsylvania Department of Health Refugee Health Programl Philhaven

l Power Packsl Red Rose Council on the Blindl Southeast Lancaster Health Servicesl Spanish American Civic Associationl Summertime Boost Refugee Programl SWANl Tommy Foundationl Upoharl Carter-MacRael Fulton Elementaryl Whartonl Cocalico Middle Schooll McCaskeyl Central York High


MU faculty took advantage of master classes, classroom presentations, workshops, Q & A sessions, and small lunch opportunities for students with our artists. Each artist with a (*) next to their name in our listing provided an activity outside of their performance.

In total, our office provided 37 complimentary residency activities reaching 1,540 students. Faculty brought their classes to attend performances together, and we distributed 241 free tickets for this purpose.

Feedback was collected from students and faculty to assess the quality of these experiences and how it was relevant to their classroom learning.

Dr. Philip Tacka in the Department of Music wrote the following about the master class with the Palestrina Choir:

“It was so amazing. I swear, I was crying watching how attentive my students were and seeing the interaction between our students and the choir students. It was one of the best master classes and exchanges between our students that I’ve ever seen.”

Department of Education and Music students were also able to travel abroad for a learning experience in the Dominican Republic. This was made possible by a generous donation from Susan Davis to be distributed as scholarships for students to experience the arts internationally. Approximately 40 students were able to participate in the program.

Students were able to perform on stage with the following visiting artists:

Rodney Marsalis big band (courtesy of the Melva S. McIllwaine Concert and Endowment Fund)

Daniel Bernard Roumain “Civil Rights Portraits as Democratic Vistas”

Pete McGuinness, jazz

Campus/Artist Intersections


K-12 Student EngagementSchool Day MatineesWe offered two of these this season, and both were sold out events. “The Snail and the Whale” played to 343 students, including those with sensory sensitivities, at the Ware Center. “The Miser” played to a packed house of 100 at Dutcher theater on campus. Study guides were provided for both performances.

Studio for StudentsA monthly rotating visual art exhibition for K-12 art classes during the school year at the Winter Center. The program includes a reception for the students, teachers and families to enjoy their students work professionally displayed on the walls outside the Eckert Art Gallery. We continue to fill the program and teachers look forward to the opportunity to showcase their student’s visual art work.

STEAM TeamThis is a new partnership between Millersville University and the business community to help local inner city children at Carter MacRae Elementary School become familiar with STEAM career options. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Arts Smarts CampEnrollment grew to 315 participants and exceeded last year’s total by 99. Scholarships were offered to 53 families in need, through the generous support of Rodgers & Associates. The growth included an interdisciplinary arts camp program for both pre-school and middle school-aged young people. The teaching artist staff was comprised of MU faculty and undergrad and graduate arts education students.


Community EngagementFamily Fun FestOur family series includes hands-on pre show activities for kids. To create the activity stations the program relies on community partnerships such as the Lancaster Public Library, FIG Magazine, Lancaster Country Day School Project Art, The North Museum and Power Packs. As part of the Latino Arts Festival this year, we created activity stations based on a different Latin American locale. These stations were designed and implemented by students of MU’s Introduction to Early Childhood Education classes taught by Dr. Beth Costello. More than 200 community family members attended the event.

36 Dramatic SituationsOn November 2014’s First Friday, 12 community artists and arts organizations took part in the second installment of this three-part series of brief performing arts presentations based on a series of abstract paintings by Gail Gray. Because of demand for this free presentation, two performances were scheduled and both “sold out” with audiences of 380 and 375 respectively.

Lancaster County Lit. FestOn December 2014’s First Friday, we hosted the first festival of local authors of books for children and youth. 11 Lancaster community published authors and illustrators gave readings and book signings at the Ware Center.

Gratitude Graffiti ProjectWe also hosted the local involvement in this national project in which members of the community could openly express their reasons to be thankful by writing and drawing on our large front windows at the Ware Center.


Launched last year, the Inclusive Arts Initiative seeks to actively provide accessibility services to our patrons living with disabilities, and offer performance opportunities for artists with disabilities. We hosted a training session by VSA/PA in open-captioning and disability culture sensitivity in which a dozen staff and students attended. Senior Anjelica Ganier’s internship with us provided all the open-captioning programming for the spring events.

Services:

• We provided ASL interpretation, open captioning, and audio-description for six performances. The audio-description included pre-show sensory tours of the stage.

• Sensory-friendly activities were provided for two of the Family Fun Fest performances for young patrons on the autism spectrum. Social Story books were also provided to families weeks prior to the performance to familiarize young people with our venue and the performance experience.

• We were given free open-captioning equipment from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for unlimited use by Millersville University.

The Millersville Youth Group (M-UTH) a mixed ability summer camp experience for young people created a script based on suicide and performed at the Millersville University stop on the national ADA Legacy Tour.

Inclusive Arts Initiative

Student employees continue to be an incredible asset to our staff. More than 30 students worked for us during the past fiscal year in hourly positions or internships ranging from business office, marketing, events, programming, and technical support.

Student hi-lights:

Julie Press, Speech Communications Major, Entrepreneurship and Studio Art Minor• Attended the Association of Performing

Arts Presenters Conference, NYC and provided performance feedback to the Director

• House Manager for events• Created social media calendar

Jeff Grey, Music Business Technology Major• Organized and implemented ROCK THE

DOCK event• After graduation, we hired him as a

contracted technical support staff member

Morgan Dyer, Speech Communication / Public Relations Major• Designed marketing materials throughout

the season

We worked with three graphic design interns in the fall. Emily Lazar graduated in May and is now working as a publicity assistant for the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.

We provided three internships during the spring semester. Read Bohon, programming; Laylaa Ahmad, marketing; Sheena Hanley, event planning.

Students also volunteered to support the Office of Visual & Performing Arts; Bailey Watro assisted with art and graphics and Zach Young created promotional signage.



By the Num

bers

Ticket Sales for the Office of Visual & Performing Arts events totaled $146,196 after discounts, which is a 9% decrease from FY14 but is still 16% higher than sales in FY13. This total does not include any income generated from Theatre and Music Department events, Cultural Affairs, or outside entities that held their events at the Ware or Winter Centers.

Donations & Sponsorship totaled $139,954 which is steady with last year’s figures. We had 36 new donors this year contribute to the Arts at Millersville.

Grant support totaled $5,220 from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and Millersville University’s President’s Commission on Cultural Diversity and Inclusion.

Venue Rental Income between the Ware & Winter Centers totaled $80,938 which is a 7% increase over last year. The rental income returns to the University budget to cover our marketing and operating costs.

Net Art Sale revenue more than doubled from $1,438 last year to $3,053 this year and included displayed work of 13 professional artists and art groups. Gift Certificate sales continue to grow each year with a total of $1,575 in certificates sold in FY15.

43%

5%

41%

2%

3%

6%

Artistic programming expenses, charted above, totaled just over $225,000 for the year.

Community UnderwritingThe Arts at Millersville offered approximately 50 ticket vouchers to assist with nonprofit fundraising efforts. Each voucher carries a noncash value of up to $50, resulting in approximately $2500 in overall support.

Additionally, the Office of Visual & Performing Arts contributed nearly $168,000 in waived or discounted rental fees to about 35 nonprofit organizations, educational, state, county, and Lancaster City municipal agencies.



Event Statistics 665 meetings and events took place between the two venues.

Of those events, 366 were open to the public and 80% were produced or presented by the Arts at Millersville including the University music, theatre, art & design, and cultural affairs department events.

We hosted 300 meetings and private events both for MU and Lancaster community functions.

Approximately 67,500 people visited the performing arts venues. Of this total attendance figure, about 30,000 tickets were sold. More than 3,800 senior tickets and 2,000 student (not necessarily MU students) tickets were sold. An additional 1,860 MU student tickets were distributed for free and 4,057 tickets were distributed to MU faculty, staff and retirees, using their MU ID.

Total number of presentations provided by the University:

96 Office of Visual & Performing Arts (including local and touring performances)107 Music Department Events10 Theatre performances (with 95 rehearsal days)11 Art & Design Events26 Non arts academic department lectures9 Cultural Affairs and Black Student Union Events5 Conferences

A marketing plan was executed to promote each of the many performances that took place during the season using consistent design elements.

For the first time, the season brochure included the entire artistic season.

The marketing plan included the creation of additional materials for circulation:

• Rack cards for each series (Music, Dance, Family, etc.)

• Accessibility Brochure

• Curriculum Connection Guides for each semester for faculty members

• Summer Brochure

• Facility Rental Flyer


The Ware Center received two awards during the year including:

• Millersville University – The Ware Center was recognized with the Building the Community Award in 2014 by the The Central Penn Business Journal.

• Lancaster County Magazine announced The Ware Center as #2 in the Performing Arts category in the 2014 “Best of Lancaster” Readers Survey.


We conducted two surveys and sent them to our patrons: one focused on brochure feedback and the other on updating our database and programming, we received 633 responses.

A new website was mapped, built and launched through Vendini.com directly connecting our event information to the area in which tickets can be purchased.

A multitude of press releases and designed electronic promotions, flyers, postcards, programs and banners were also made for the many events taking place. Email templates were designed to complement the season’s design and MU branding.

4%

16%

41%

2%

12%

16%

9%

Ware Center42 North Prince Street, Lancaster, PA 17603

Winter Center60 West Cottage Avenue, Millersville, PA 17551

Millersville University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution. A member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

arts at mu fy15 annual report

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