For years, just about every casual (and some, not so casual) conversation among a group of Masons has included the hand wringing question of what to do about declining membership. “In 20 years we’ll have no fraternity!” they’ve said. Or, “We’re dwindling down to nothing! What can we do? What’s the answer?”
Here’s an answer: We can stand-up, suck-in a big breath, say a small prayer, and become involved in our communities—again! We did just that in Austin a couple of years ago, and it’s beginning to produce huge dividends.
Let me tell you a little bit about our program, the Scottish Rite Community and Children’s Theatre, Inc. Thanks to the vision and leadership of several of our early 20th-century Scottish Rite leaders, the Austin bodies have enjoyed the comfort and beauty of an historic 1869 German Opera House located two blocks north of the Texas State Capitol Building, and across the street from the new Bob Bullock Texas History Museum (By the way, Bro. Bullock was a hugely successful Lt. Governor and a 33° member of the Austin Bodies). Experienced businessmen say the three most critical requirements for a business’ success are: Location, Location, and Location. The Austin Scottish Rite has it, and, it’s a safe bet that your Scottish Rite Valley is similarly well placed.
It is important to remember that those of us who occupy fully rigged theatres have a “leg-up” on spaces without auditoriums and a performance area, but that doesn’t have to get in the way. Once our membership decided it was comfortable with the notion of opening the oldest theatre in Austin to the public (primarily to generate additional income so as to supplement declining revenues, as many of us have had to do), an identity dilemma emerged. Were we to be recognized as an elegant, four-wall rental facility simply allowing the temporary tenant virtual full-run of the space for weddings, receptions, and so on. Or were we to have a more affirmative image—a special place where good things happen, our own positive niche in the community so we would no longer be referred to as that “curious, spooky, uninviting building on the corner with grumpy old men shuffling in and out.”
Masons are known both inside and outside of the fraternity for our love of children. We have our hospitals, clinics, orphanages, scholarships, learning centers, and eye foundation. And to continue that outreach to the children of our communities, what better way to employ our seldom-used theatrical facilities than to present and produce quality, affordable, and traditional children’s theatre! What better audience could any of us dream of having visit our treasured auditoriums than bright-eyed youngsters “escorting” parents who care enough about their children to insure they enjoy the very best in blue-ribbon Children’s Theatre?
So, you ask, how do you get started? What’s the crank-up cost? How do you develop and keep your audiences? What’s the overhead? What’s the bottom-line profit—if any? You can hear our dispirited Brother curmudgeons commenting now: “Who’s gonna do all the work? And anyway we don’t know how … and them kids—they’ll tear the place apart! We can’t have that!”
Yes, you can, my Brothers. One of the most amazing observations we’ve made during Austin’s short experience with children’s theatre is that both the kids and their parents are very respectful of the building. It is an experience for them to see how well the Masons have preserved history (much of it their Community’s history). Youngsters attending our shows point their parents toward our Texas heroes’ portraits (you know them: Sam Houston, James Bowie, William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, and others conspicuously arranged in the ticket sales lobby). An entirely new dimension of fraternal understanding is engaged when they comment, “They were Masons, too!”
You begin a Children’s Theatre by determining that you must devote one to two years to the project’s development, including Saturdays and some Sunday afternoons. It takes money to have “lift off” so plan to set aside $10,000 to $20,000. Your first production using a local group shouldn’t cost you any more than a few thousand. You’ll probably get much of this back from admissions, but you’ll need a bank roll to draw against. Unless you already have a member involved with local theatre, you then begin a search for local groups who do children’s theatre.
Once you’ve made contact, see if they would be interested in performing on your stage. Most local actor groups are not aware of the phenomenal staging facilities tucked away in our buildings, and when you show them your stage their comments will please you. Agree to co-promote one of their children’s shows. (“Co-promote” pretty much means sharing the expenses. In this case, you’re providing the venue; they’re providing the program fare. After that, you split it up making sure that you work together on publicity).
You must realize that publicity is the single most important ingredient to making your venture pay off. We in Austin hired a free-lance graphic artist and publicist, listened to her, and began a campaign of targeted, up-beat display ads in publications read by young parents. We mailed colorful postcards to our members and distributed our flyers to all of the daycare centers. Once our productions were scheduled and staged, we asked the audiences for their postal and e-mail addresses, thereby rapidly building our contact lists.
You can make a flat deal with the local theatre company (depending on the size and complexity of the production, you should be able to agree on anywhere from $200 to $500 per performance). Or, you can produce your own kids show. This means selecting a title, ordering scripts, hiring a director and actors, rehearsing, and costuming your show … maybe a little much to begin with. It is best, I believe, to begin slowly, to hire someone else who’s already produced a show or two (and already has the costumes and props somewhere in storage), and then to begin to build on your successes.
We successfully produced and staged in 2005 The Sword in the Stone, The Clown Prince, Treasure Island, James and the Giant Peach, Aladdin, and Charlotte’s Web! Following up with our promise to involve the community, we included Foxtales (an outstanding original work written and directed by one of our members, Dr. Charles “Chuck” Pascoe, 32°, who heads up the Children’s Theatre Department at Texas State University) and Toys Take Over Christmas (a seasonal piece produced by another local Children’s Theatre group, Second Youth, who’s founder has asked to be a Mason!).
Our little shows have run in length from 45 to 60 minutes and played near our 300 capacity where the adults paid $8, seniors paid $7, and the kids 13 and under paid $5. (If you are under 18 months, you can get in free!) At each performance we invite kids from charity groups such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Women’s Shelter, and foster-care. Our final dress rehearsal is reserved for these groups, too (it doesn’t take long for the Community to begin to accept us for what we do). Recently, Austin Family Magazine’s reader’s poll declared us the “Favorite Live Theatre for Children!”
In 2004, the Austin Valley membership approved the formation of the Scottish Rite Community and Children’s Theatre Company, Inc. We applied to the Internal Revenue Service for a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable corporation designation and were granted that status in November 2004. In March 2005 the bodies approved the transfer of the temple’s title from a 501(c)2 title holding corporation to the Children’s Theatre, and in April 2005 the local taxing authority declared our historic theatre and children’s philanthropy worthy of being removed, forever, from the tax rolls—an overnight savings of $30,000! Austin, as in many of our cities across America, collects a hotel/motel “bed tax” and distributes these monies throughout the local arts community. Up until this year, no Masonic organization had received a penny from the city for any of our countless outreaches, but the Scottish Rite Children’s Theatre did, and we’ve applied for an even larger consideration next year!
Receiving revenues from children’s theatrical productions while making new friends for the fraternity by introducing them to the beauty of our facilities is a powerful win-win combination. The kindly manner in which we receive guests into our auditorium and the quality of our product influences children (building lifelong impressions) and parents (developing a better understanding of Masonry).
After reading this, you doubtlessly will have many questions. Please visit our web site: http://www.scottishritechildrenstheatre.org. You will see a mission statement, the programming we’ve scheduled, some of our policies, and a plug or two about renting the hall for special occasions. Sign on to our e-mail list and receive our press releases. And certainly, if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to call, 1-800-754-3079.
Alas, as Masonry isn’t for everyone, Children’s Theatre may not be for every Valley. If you feel your facilities are inadequate but are interested in the concept, remember that Thespis, the peripatetic Greek actor, traveled around working out of a little cart—he and his famous masks are still receiving top billing to this very day! There are many ways of engaging in quality children’s community theatre with the Scottish Rite as the “good guy” sponsor. I welcome the opportunity of visiting with you about this exciting opportunity.
