FACT SHEET: Treasure the Future Campaign
Treasure the Future
Campaign for The Music Hall
Through funds raised in the Treasure the Future Campaign The Music Hall will fully repair, restore and modernize the 130-year-old theater and will extend its reach and impact in the community. One critical need is backstage, where production teams are operating with 19th century technology. Despite numerous stop-gap repairs completed over the last several decades, key rigging and support systems are dangerously close to their lifespan. This campaign will also fund the purchase and fit-up of an adjacent space to be called The Center for Performing Arts & Education which will feature a studio classroom and a small theater, allowing for educational initiatives and programming in the growing Masters in Learning Program. Upon the completion of the comprehensive Treasure the Future projects, The Music Hall will be transformed into a Performing Arts Center for the 21st Century, able to serve the community and the region into the next century. The funds will at once secure the legacy of this historic building and its community programs, further stimulate the economy and creative culture of this fast-growing region of New England, and strengthen and advance The Music Hall’s impact as an arts and education center for the broadest community. This campaign will allow us to meet the goals set forth in our strategic plan to: • advance The Music Hall’s educational programs in the Center for Performing Arts and Education (the 131 Congress Street “loft” space) • raise The Music Hall’s first-ever endowment • make critical repairs to backstage and modernize the grid and production spaces dating back to 1901 • extend the historic finishes into the upper lobby and modernize the concession stand • upgrade the building’s façade and windows, and recreate the original olio curtain and chandelier • upgrade the street entrance to the theater with streetscape improvements • enhance the Community Partners Program benefitting not-for-profit participants and the community overall
Full Needs……….$13,500,000 Raised to date……$9,300,000 Left to go………….$4,200,000 Raised to Date • 79% from individuals and families • 8.6% foundations and corporations • 11.1% from government grants • 1.3% organizational funds, i.e. restricted to endowment
Capital Projects: $8,500,000 √ a greatly expanded lobby with improved restrooms and elevator • essential updating and modernization of backstage systems securing The Music Hall’s performance capability & safety • extend the historic finishes into the upper lobby and modernize the concession stand • upgrade the building’s façade and windows and recreate the original olio curtain and chandelier • the new Music Hall Center for Performing Arts & Education (the Loft) with studio classroom and multi-use performance space • façade & streetscape improvements
Endowment: $4,500,000+ • support facility maintenance & operations • continue & extend education & outreach programs
FACT SHEET: Treasure the Future Projects
Treasure the Future
Campaign for The Music Hall
Portsmouth’s historic 1878 theater, The Music Hall, is at a critical turning point in its history. Saved from demolition by the community in 1987 and blossoming today with nationally recognized programs, the not-for-profit art center is delicately balancing successful growth. Sell-out performances, in music, theater, dance and cinema, and popular community and educational programs are challenging the historic structure, and are greatly limited by the building’s physical age and space constraints. Since its 2003 designation as an “American Treasure,” The Music Hall has emerged as a cultural anchor in the region, engaging 100,000 patrons each year, including 20,000 school children. It has also grown as an attraction, drawing visitors from outside the region as well as residents to its awardwinning programs. The Music Hall’s contribution to the local economy has swelled to $5.6 million annually. Today the arts center is a key engine for growth, and it is imperative action be taken to secure its future. The critical issues:
• Inadequate Space for Educational and Outreach Programs, Offices - Inadequate Space for Educational and Outreach Programs, Offices - The Music Hall’s valued educational and outreach programs are at risk because of the theater’s physical limitations. Through unique pro gramming paired to its on-stage events – including in-depth master classes and discussion groups – The Music Hall strives to educate “students” of all ages, from elementary school students to lifelong learners. These dynamic programs, which are more typically available in major urban centers, are currently being held in make-shift or borrowed spaces lacking full accessibility and convenience for our youngest and oldest patrons. Also challenging is the situation of the The Music Hall’s offices scattered downtown rental spaces. The centralization of offices would foster a more integrated, coherent organization (plus deliver savings of 40k in yearly rental fees). The Music Hall is also limited by its single-space 900-seat theater, unable to serve the community with more intimate and higher-impact educational programs. Additional flexible space would provide patrons a fuller, more informed experience of the arts; benefitting particularly students of literature, opera, songwriting, theater and comedy, and furthering the development of arts-oriented social groups. (See reverse for more information on new and expanded programs in the Loft.)
• Limited Systems Backstage - The challenges faced by our patrons are matched backstage. The Music Hall’s production staff continues to work with 19th and 20th century systems in the mounting and presenting of shows. The theater’s stage is short the 13 feet required to present the greatest variety performances. The hand-operated wood and hemp staging system is more than 100 years old, and critical sound, electrical, and HVAC systems are badly in need of replacement. Because of our antique systems, shows at The Music Hall are mounted at four times the effort and physical strain extended by production staffs at more modernized theaters. Throughout The Music Hall, space, preservation and technology needs must be met or the physical limitations will become increasingly a risk to the business.
• Historic Structure Threatened – The Music Hall’s grand history and central role in the community has gained it status as an American “Treasure.” The building is well-loved and highly trafficked. With the theater’s intense use, going back to 1878, comes the constant need for repair and ongoing rehabilitation. Critical repairs must be made to maintain this historic structure, important to the legacy of American theaters and the region’s unique history. (N.B.: The renovation of the theater’s entrance lobby, opened in 2008, is also included in the campaign.)
• Lack of Endowment - The lack of an endowment jeopardizes the long-term stability of The Music Hall and its role as a central resource for the community. Endowment funds are critical to supporting the maintenance of the historic building now beginning to be beautifully restored in many areas. Funds are also critical to build community capacity, continuing and extending The Music Hall’s many high impact programs and partnerships with other not-for-profits. With no endowment the future of the Music Hall’s celebrated Masters in Learning Program and the Community Partners Program is at stake: their accessibility and future capacity will be limited. An endowment must be established soon to support the historic building and set a course for appropriate growth of its highly valued programs. The Music Hall’s has been undergoing a phased restoration and renovation since 2003, when the historic theater was nationally recognized as a treasure. In September 2006, the theater’s gloriously restored proscenium arch was unveiled. In September 2007, the ceiling dome and interior historic finishes were revealed – work applauded in the press and among patrons and preservationists. The arch and dome projects were awarded a 2008 Preservation Achievement Award by the NH Preservation Alliance in May 2008 and an “Excellence in Architecture Award” from the American Institute of Architects
FACT SHEET contd.
Treasure the Future
Campaign for The Music Hall
Cultural and Economic Impact – The Music Hall The Music Hall has been a key driver in the cultural re-emergence of the Seacoast with celebrated programs recognized nationally for their innovation and reach bringing the community unprecedented access to today’s leading authors and artists, drawing patrons from near and far. The past six years have been a period of enormous growth. Overall revenues jumped from $1.9 million to $2.8 million as ticket sales for live performances have grown 90%. Memberships have risen from 900 to 3000 households and a record 300 corporate partners have pledged $500,000 in operational support (both in cash and in kind). Three hundred volunteers from all walks of life donate countless hours to the day-to-day operation of The Music Hall. As a cultural anchor for the community, The Music Hall has been a mainstay of attracting activity to downtown Portsmouth and buoyed the town during difficult times of economic and artistic scarcity. The Music Hall is open almost every day with either live stage shows or fine films. Our patrons bolster other downtown businesses, restaurants, specialty shops and other historic attractions before and after attending a Music Hall event. In the 2010-2011 season, The Hall and its patrons will contribute $5.5 million to the local economy through visitor and show-related spending, up from $3.8 million just five years ago. With the restored theater and new 6,000 sq.-ft. Center for Performing Arts, Literature & Education drawing greater audiences, The Music Hall projects its annual economic impact will swell to $6.3 million and 180 jobs by 2012. Downtown merchants and restaurant owners are actively engaged in the campaign, both as donors and volunteers, because they recognize that the success of this project directly impacts their own.
New & Expanded Educational and Outreach Programs – The Music Hall Loft A critical extension of The Music Hall’s mission “to be active and vital arts center for the enrichment of the Seacoast community,” The Loft significantly increases capacity for The Music Hall’s existing educational and community programs, and allows for creative new educational initiatives. Whether in a classroom configuration, small workshop in the conference room, or master class in a theater style set up, the Loft will engage children, teens, and adults through special programs such as: • New - Music Hall Opera Society: Building on the Met@The Music Hall HD series, this group of opera aficionados will meet 4-5 times a year in the Loft space for opera talks, sneak peeks and special recitals. • New - Music Hall Teen Arts Council: This group of 15-18 teens, selected by application for their demonstrated interest in the arts and its advocacy, will meet 5-6 times a year for social and educational events. Members gain special invitations to master classes and meet-and-greets and hold an annual “coffee house” in the Loft in which they take leadership as producers of a show featuring their own work (spoken word, music, and theater/ dance). • New - Writers in the Loft: Building on Writers on a New England Stage series, this program will bring A list and fresh literary talent to the Loft for an intimate evening with the author, facilitated Q&A, and book signing. The Loft will host up to three workshops a year with writers drawn from both programmed series. Co-presented with RiverRun Bookstore. • New - Live@the Loft: A live radio show featuring singer-songwriters and a knowledgeable host produced in collaboration with NHPR. This broadcast from the Loft will illuminate the creative process behind the craft of songwriting and provide a lively evening of entertainment. • New - Currents@the Loft: This program will bring the best of regional and Seacoast talent to the Loft. • New - Creative Educational Opportunities with Film: The Loft will expand outreach to film audiences allowing for break-out sessions, seminars, receptions and meet-the-filmmaker opportunities. Through these innovative programs that build on the quality and success of The Music Hall’s performing arts and literary programming, The Music Hall Loft will be put in the service of the Seacoast community, benefitting local nonprofits and thousands of learners of all ages each year.