McHenry Times

City of Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission met Feb. 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

The meeting of the Advisory Commission of the City of Woodstock was called to order at the Opera House at 4:30 pm by Keith Johnson. A roll call was taken.

I. Call to Order Advisory Members:

Present: Keith Johnson, Roger Zawacki, John Puzzo, and Judith Svalander.

Absent: Paul Rausch, Anthony Houston, Sue Kazlusky.

Staff in Attendance: Executive Director of Business Development Danielle Gulli, Opera House Director Daniel Campbell and Office Assistant Betsy Cosgray.

II. Approval of Minutes

a. R. Zawacki motioned to approve the January 18, 2022 meeting minutes, J. Svalander seconded. Ayes: K. Johnson, R. Zawacki, J. Puzzo, J. Svalander. Nays: none. Motion to approve the Tuesday, January 18, 2022 meeting minutes passed.

III. COMMUNICATIONS

a. Executive Director Danielle Gulli – D. Campbell introduced ED Gulli. D. Gulli shared that along with the Opera House, Recreation Department and Economic Development departments, she will oversee a newly established Marketing Department that will work on streamlining the marketing for the City of Woodstock. She stated that one of the two staff members will be assigned to work directly with the Opera House. Answering K. Johnson’s question, D. Gulli stated they are hoping to have the Marketing Manager in place by the end of March with the Assistant by April. J. Svalander asked if the “Marketing Fee” would be removed from the producer’s contracts. D. Campbell stated that until the Marketing Department is fully staffed and can take on the Opera House marketing, it would remain on the contract. D. Gulli added that fee could be used to do show specific Facebook or Print ads.

D. Gulli shared that they have hired a new Woodstock Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Brad Ball. He is a Woodstock resident with extensive marketing and event experience. D. Gulli also stated working with D. Campbell to communicate to the City Council. K. Johnson opined his hopes that the Council will continue to support the Arts in Woodstock. D. Gulli explained the mentality of “Supporting the Arts” and “Facilitating the Arts.” Her hope was that we can show that the Opera House has the skilled staff to continue to “Facilitate the Arts.”

J. Puzzo stated it is difficult to get a meeting with the Mayor. He would like to share his fundraising ideas and goals. D. Campbell stated that the ideas that J. Puzzo and he talked about were taken to D. Gulli and discussed. He stressed that with D. Gulli in place as Executive Director, it gives the Opera House another voice in the administration. D. Gulli stated it is her job to give the City Manager and the Council the information in “bite size” chucks of information. D. Gulli thanked everyone for including her in the meeting, but had to leave for another meeting. She left the meeting at 4:58 pm.

b. Chairman’s Report – Keith Johnson: Off Square Music had the Original Open Mic Night in person on January 26th and Open Mic in person on February 9th. D. Campbell asked if Off Square Music feels the move to Wednesday is working. K. Johnson stated it had only been a month, but he felt through the virtual performances they are hosting their crowd will expand. D. Campbell stated to come to him if they are doing more virtual in Stage Left and need additional technology.

2022 Advisory Meeting dates: Jan. 18, Feb. 15, Mar. 15, May 17, Aug. 16, Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov.15

c. Member Reports:

Roger Zawacki – Theatre 121: Feb 26th Noises Off opens to live audiences. The sales haven’t been outstanding, but they are hoping that word of mouth will grow as the show is hilarious. Sound of Music are in rehearsals; opening on April 8th. Matinees are selling well for that show. The Board is working to try and recruit more people to help with their shows. The Board is also meeting in early March to start planning the Summer Workshop.

Judith Svalander – JSDT: They are in production for their June performance since they had to cancel the March performances due to COVID–19 quarantining. They will be doing a 50th Anniversary show in August. J. Svalander stated her personal goal was not to have to ask for financial support and has supported the Opera House for years with generous donations. She is asking that the dance floor be replaced and to get a new upstage traveler for the Main Stage. D. Campbell stated those requests are part of a list of items FOTOH are voting on this month to finance. J. Svalander suggested the advisory look into producing a Resident Company Gala to raise funds for Friends of the Opera House. It was tabled to the March 15, 2022 meeting.

John Puzzo – Friends of the Opera House (FOTOH): Treasure Island is rescheduled to July 23rd and July 24th, two shows each. FOTOH will be voting on purchases for the Opera House including but not limited to: replacement of the traveler on the cyclorama curtain, and purchase of a still-photography camera and six new headsets. J. Puzzo stated the FOTOH would consider assisting with bringing in professional dancers for JSDT.

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

• Hotel/Motel Tax grant is open. Applications can be found on the City’s website.

• Opera House is at 60% of normal activities since reopening in June 2021.

• Working on the Department’s Budget for FY22/23.

• Looking into acts for the remainder of the 2022 schedule.

IV. OLD BUSINESS

a. Opera House Staffing – D. Campbell shared that 4 new full-time positions have been requested within the FY22/23 budget, including replacing the current position Front of House Manager, with two positions. This would bring the full-time employee count up to 6 from the current 3. The positions are:

1. Audience Services Manager – House Management, Café/Concession services

2. Business Operations Manager – Office Management, Box Office Management

3. Technical Manager – All technical design and execution

4. Development Manager – Fundraising, Outreach, Volunteers

D. Campbell shared he was able to add these positions into the Opera House budget without adding significantly to the overall budget request.

b. Annual Report – Discussion ensued regarding completion of the Annual Report. All suggestions need to be sent to K. Johnson for final compilation and voting at the March 15th meeting.

V. NEW BUSINESS

a. Financial Summary – K. Johnson requested a Financial Summary of the Opera House at each meeting. D. Campbell stated he would add that to his report.

b. Commission Meeting with Mayor Turner – K. Johnson shared the meeting with Mayor Turner and all the commission chairs and liaisons on January 28th. Mayor Turner shared his outlook and goals for the City. He asked the chairs to take a look at their commission and see where they could improve in taking action, to become active. K. Johnson put this out to the Advisory Board to think about and discuss at the March 15th meeting. D. Campbell suggested to replace the member reports

2022 Advisory Meeting dates: Jan. 18, Feb. 15, Mar. 15, May 17, Aug. 16, Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov.15 with a call out for information. He shared that he and K. Johnson have a meeting set up with the chair of the Arts Commission to discuss ways the two groups may be able to collaborate in the future.

c. Board Positions - D. Campbell also discussed the need to replace Anthony Houston and Paul Rausch and asked the Advisory Board to share with either K. Johnson or himself if they had any suggestions for new members.

VI. ADJOURNMENT

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

Meeting adjourned at 5:56 pm.

https://www.woodstockil.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/woodstock_opera_house_advisory_commission/meeting/45829/f_-_opera_house_advisory_comm_2-15-22_-_part_1_of_1_-_minutes.pdf