BACK IN BUSINESS

posted by James Reel

    For the latest edition of the Tucson Weekly, I decided not just to preview a new production but look into the condition of the company that’s mounting it:

    After several months of production hiatus and an administrative makeover, Beowulf Alley Theatre is switching off the ghost light and illuminating the stage with a new show, Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets. The Irish comedy has won several awards since its premiere in 1999, and it garnered three Tony nominations in 2001.
    Last spring, insufficient fundraising led the theater's board to let go of two employees--including artistic director and founder Stephen Elton, who has since gotten a theater job near San Diego—and assign operational supervision to committees. "It's a model that's been used successfully by theaters all over the country," says board member Mike Sultzbach.
    Even so, the board jumped at the chance to reinstate Beth Dell as day-to-day operations manager when a donor came forward in July to fund the position, and within a year or two, it hopes to have an artistic director back in place. First, though, the board intends to craft a new strategic plan—which could take several months—and do some heavy-duty fundraising with the help of additional board members with ties to the business community. "Our goal is to do a good job of fundraising in the next year or so, so we can get back to having an artistic director," Sultzbach says.