McHenry Times

City of Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission Met Feb. 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

The meeting of the Advisory Commission of the City of Woodstock was called to order at 4:36 pm by Keith Johnson by Zoom Meeting. A roll call was taken.

I. Call to Order (present remotely on Zoom call): Keith Johnson, Anthony Houston, John Puzzo Judith Svalander, Roger Zawacki, Sue Kazlusky, Opera House Managing Director Daniel Campbell, Office Assistant Betsy Cosgray were present remotely. J. Puzzo and J. Svalander could not be heard or seen due to a technical glitch until 5:58 PM.

II. Absent: Paul Rausch

III. Approval of Minutes

R. Zawacki motioned to approve the January 19, 2021 meeting minutes, S. Kazlusky seconded. Ayes: K. Johnson, A. Houston, R. Zawacki, S. Kazlusky. Nays: none. Motion to approve the Tuesday, January 19, 2021 meeting minutes passed.

IV. COMMUNICATIONS

A. Committee Chair – Keith Johnson

Off Square Music hosted a live streaming event with Mark Devorak. They have another event on March 12, 2021 with Karen Reshkin & Mike O'Regan.

Member Reports

1. Anthony Houston – Cultural Arts and Music continue their spring session, hoping to have something to put out to the public by the spring. Stanard Jazz Project is coming back on the First Friday starting in March.

2. Roger Zawacki – Theatre 121 will host another live stream event, Nobody Famous, on Thursday, February 25th at 7:30 PM. They are hoping to put something on the Opera House stage in May and June and have a committee working on what that might look like. R. Zawacki stated they are hoping to put on a scaled down version of the Summer Workshop and they are excited to open their 21/22 Season on October 1st with Death Trap.

3. Sue Kazlusky – WFAA are continuing the online Creative Living Series in February, March, and April. A virtual children’s program replacing last October’s live program will be offered to school districts on April 13th for third through fifth graders. The Scholarship program is still being held. They are working on a virtual program. D. Campbell suggested having students come in separately to perform and create a video, similar to the way the Lighting of the Square video was done. S. Kazlusky stated she would take that back to the WFAA board.

4. John Puzzo – Friends of the Opera House (FOTOH) hosted a meeting to go over FOTOH bylaws. They are also working to recruit members for both membership and to sit on the board. Annual meeting is being postponed until they can meet in person.

5. Judith Svalander – JSDT are doing in house classes with success and the majority of the students, specifically younger students, having difficulty with the masks. They will be hosting a private live stream recital in late February for family.

B. Managing Director Report – Daniel Campbell provided a WOH update:

• Working to reopen the building. In March, there are 2 SLC events and an Art Exhibit. 

• Continuing to clean out the shop and basement spaces to declutter.

• Beginning in March through April, construction will begin on a concession area in the Community room.

• Responding to a question from K. Johnson, D.Campbell stated he had given the Mayor a list of replacement names for M. Levitan, but hadn’t heard back from him. B Cosgray stated the Mayor has decided not to fill the empty seat, and is recommending a reduction to the Advisory Commission by one member. K. Johnson stated that we may still want to invite Juanita Vega to be a guest at our next meeting. A. Houston stated he would take care of inviting her and getting her the information.

V. OLD BUSINESS

A. Final Report – Chairperson K. Johnson went over the items Mayor Sager had discussed at the October meeting. It was decided for each member to write up a brief description on how they see the Opera House moving forward in the following three areas; Diversity, Education and Programing. Members would forward their descriptions to B. Cosgray to be compiled into a report for final approval at the March 16, 2021 meeting. It was also agreed upon to use “an after COVID-19 concept” when creating the goals and objectives.

B. Budget Report – Director Campbell gave a brief breakdown of the budget report (attached).

VI. NEW BUSINESS

A. Historic Video Project – D. Campbell invited everyone on the advisory board to the Historic Video project initial meeting on Thursday, February 18th at 6:00 PM via Zoom. Invites will be forwarded to each member.

Motion to adjourn by J. Puzzo and seconded by J. Svalander. Ayes: K. Johnson, A. Houston, J. Puzzo, R. Zawacki., S. Kazlusky and J. Svalander. Nays: none. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 5:31 pm

https://www.woodstockil.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/woodstock_opera_house_advisory_commission/meeting/43271/f_-_opera_house_advisory_comm_2-16-21_-_part_1_of_2_-_minutes.pdf