Theatre in St. Franisville
Jams
The St. Francisville Transitory Theatre has now produced seven shows
including William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Agatha Christie's Ten
Little Indians and our own composition The Alphabet Backwards. Despite
our successes, the company does not legally exist. Up to this point we
have operated entirely on small commercial donations and our own
pocketbooks, all the profits either being donated to good causes (e.g.
the West Feliciana Food Bank, the Police Jury's Katrina Relief) or
have been put back into the company. We have had no legal standing as
a business or organization and therefore have not been able to receive
grants or government funding of any kind. We have also not done any
productions with budgets exceeding $2,000. This has severely limited
what we are able to do and we're ready to grow further.
Andrew Farrier, our Creative Coordinator, is taking a class at Tulane
University on the founding of nonprofit theatres, taught by the
Artistic Director of the Southern Repertory Theatre in New Orleans.
Part of the class work is completing the paperwork for a mock not-for-
profit theatre company. Andrew has been advised that he may simply
apply the paperwork to a real company if he wishes.
As it happens, we have been considering incorporating the
company as a not-for-profit theatre for some time now. This is the
perfect opportunity. Andrew's professor, who has incorporated several
non-profit theatre companies himself, will help guide us through the
process. Andrew and I will do most of the organization and artistic
work and a board of directors from the community will advise us and
help us with all the logistical and financial details. We hope to
eventually create a permanent theatre here that can provide cultural
entertainment and be a positive influence in the community. While we
ourselves may or may not continue this theatre beyond this year, it
will be a big step to have an official organization that can receive
grants, accept tax-deductible donations, spend money, pay bills and be
exempt from federal and state taxes. The possibility of a permanent
theatre in St. Francisville is exciting to us.
I am writing to ask if you think there is adequate support
for this endeavor. To be successful we will need a strong audience
base in St. Francisville and the surrounding areas as well as a strong
talent pool of interested individuals. Anyone in the community is
invited to participate as performers, technicians, designers or
managers. No specific training or previous experience is required. We
hope to use the productions we stage as an opportunity to teach
theatrical craft and artistry to those who wish to learn.
The company is and will continue to be managed by Andrew
Farrier as Creative Coordinator and myself, James Lanius as Artistic
Director. Having now produced seven shows over the past four years we
believe we are ready to take the company to the next level and start
to produce higher quality theatre that can entertain as well as
provoke thought and discussion throughout the community.
Please send us any thoughts and suggestions you may have
and let us know if you are interested in helping us in any way,
artistically or from the business perspective. Your comments are much
appreciated.
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E-mail sfth...@gmail.com
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Post to our discussion group at http://groups.google.com/group/
sftheatre
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Give me a call at 225-721-2124
Please help us answer the question: How can a theatre impact St.
Francisville?
Thank you,
--James Lanius
Artistic Director