Baltimore Theatre Alliance – Annual Meeting, November 24th, 2008
At Everyman Theatre

Dear BTA members and friends,

Baltimore Theatre Alliance wishes to thank everyone who attended the 14th Annual Meeting held this week at Everyman Theatre.

BTA greatly values the community dialogue during our Annual Meetings, as it helps move the organization forward while continuing to provide services vital for the development of the theatre community.

This year’s Meeting was especially momentous for the organization, as it coincided with the 90th birthday of BTA founding member, Vivienne Shub. We thank everyone who joined us as we celebrated and honored Vivienne.

Another key element of the Meeting was the unveiling of the highly anticipated special announcement. BTA made it known to the member representatives in attendance that it has undertaken exploratory planning steps toward the new initiative – The Vivienne Shub Baltimore Theatre Awards, named after the BTA founder in recognition of her contributions to the Baltimore theatre community.

The idea of the Awards was born in response to input from the theatre community over the years. BTA conducts regular surveys of the constituency throughout each membership year, during the Annual Auditions, workshops, and mixers. The survey results collected in the last several years consistently indicated frustration of the members with the lack of a mechanism in Baltimore to celebrate and honor the outstanding achievements by the area theatres and artists.

In response to the member input, BTA leadership has decided to launch an exploratory effort to ascertain the importance and the viability of an award event in Baltimore. An introductory brainstorming session took place in August of 2008.  In the course of the session, the BTA board, staff, and several member representatives who came forward as active supporters of the idea, discussed the possible logistics of an awards initiative. Some of the conclusions of the brainstorming session included:

1. In order for an awards initiative to move into a planning stage, the BTA would need to receive an approval of the effort from the majority of the membership.
2. The community must be prepared to not only approve and support the effort, but to also be actively involved in the planning and execution stages.
3. The project would require extensive financial and human resources, which could result in diminishing of the currently offered programs and services provided by BTA to the theatre community.
4. The awards initiative would be a promotional vehicle for the BTA member theatres, cultivating publicity, raising visibility of productions and helping during the grant writing process.
5. The awards would bring the community together in a joint celebration of the great work that has graced our areas stages for years.
6. The award process would be logistically complex, especially when it comes to selection of judges and establishing fair, unbiased, and transparent adjudication procedures.

Following the brainstorming session, BTA formed a planning committee that continues to explore the feasibility of awards in Maryland. In the last few months, the committee conducted research of the existing award mechanisms to use as partial models, including the Helen Hayes Awards, Ruby Griffith Awards and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards.

The committee received commitment from the Helen Hayes Awards organization to assist BTA with the awards initiative by sharing of expertise and assistance during the planning stages.

Additionally, BTA has approached the local arts organizations, such as the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, inviting their involvement and partnership.

Over the course of the Annual Meeting, BTA presented these facts to the membership for consideration and Q& A. During the following engaging discussion, some members of the constituency were supportive of the awards idea while others expressed concerns over the possibly changing role of the BTA in the community as well as the extensive resources needed to get the awards project off the ground.

At the outset of the Annual Meeting, BTA asked the membership to review the information provided on the www.BaltimoreTheatreAwards.org website and indicate their view of the initiative in an informal community poll. The main purpose of the community poll is for BTA to gauge the reaction of the constituency toward the awards, and based on the type of response received, to decide whether to proceed with the effort.

The ballot at the bottom of this report entitles every current individual and organizational member to indicate their approval/disapproval of the awards, as well as to provide their comments and suggestions. This is not a final vote.
In addition to the poll, BTA welcomes all members to attend the next meeting of the Awards planning committee, held on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 7pm at Towson University Center for the Arts, Room 3041. The meeting will provide opportunities to ask questions, express concerns, and contribute suggestions. Please RSVP at info@baltimoreperforms.org if you plan to attend.

In conclusion, BTA is first and foremost a membership organization. The Awards initiative, just as any other membership service, will take place only if there is a clear indication that it is desired, useful, and beneficial to the BTA community. BTA can not succeed without the complete support and endorsement of its constituency.

Please fill out the ballot and let us know how you feel.

Can’t attend the meeting on December 8th? Contact any of the Awards Committee Members at your convenience to discuss the initiative.
Yours,
Baltimore Theatre Alliance