Theatre IV Accomplishments

Yesterday marked the end of the 2009-10 season. Theatre IV had a remarkable year and we wanted to share the following accomplishments with you. Keep in mind, all of these activities were achieved while maintaining a balanced annual operating budget in a very economically challenging year!

This season, Theatre IV:

• Produced and presented 129 performances of six plays and musicals on our mainstage Broadway for Families Season in our historic Empire Theatre. These mainstage productions received excellent reviews from the critics, and were well attended by 42,140 children, parents and teachers.
  
  

• In partnership with Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, produced and presented 175 touring performances of Hugs and Kisses, Virginia’s principal child sexual abuse prevention program. The 2009-2010 tour was seen by 56,269 children in 127 schools spread out over every region of the state. One hundred and eleven (111) children were referred to the Virginia Department of Social Services based on post-performance disclosures. An additional 661 children came forward following the performance to ask pertinent questions.
  
  

• Produced and presented 16 additional SOL-aligned instructional programs, including Ben Franklin and His Kite, The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!”, Buffalo Soldier, A Christmas Carol, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, I Have a Dream – The Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Jungle Book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Patchwork – The Little House Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Shoemaker and the Elves, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sojourner Truth, The True Story of Pocahontas, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Velveteen Rabbit. We staged 804 performances of thes e programs live before 291,281 Virginia students in 257 Virginia schools and venues. These same touring shows were performed live before an additional 295,304 students who saw the touring shows in 468 performances in 31 additional states and the District of Columbia.
  
  

• With CenterStage, the Latin Ballet of Virginia, Richmond Public Schools, Chesterfield Public Schools, and Henrico Public Schools, launched the FIELD Project (Family Involvement in Early Literacy Development), addressing the reading deficits faced by economically disadvantaged students in Central Virginia’s pre-school programs. We are the lead administrator and controller of FIELD.
  
  

• As a part of our partnership with Richmond Public Schools in t he Kennedy Center’s national arts-in-education program, Performing Arts Centers and Schools, produced and presented three continuing education workshops with a total of 46 teachers. The three workshops were: “Beyond the Wiz—The Multi-Faceted History of African American Theatre,” “What It Takes to Produce a Musical,” and “Using The Sound of Music to Teach the Holocaust” (co-produced with the Holocaust Museum).
  
  

• Through our Tickets for Kids program, made free tickets available to 2,345 economically disadvantaged children in Greater Richmond. Our 2009-2010 partners included 64 local nonprofits including Art 180, Association for the Support of Children with Cancer, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Children’s Hospital, Dominion School for Autism, Flagler Home at St. Joseph’s Villa, Friends Association for Children, Garfield Childs Memorial Fund, Hospital Hospitality House, International Hospital for Children, Massey Cancer Center Children’s Ward, Richmond Area Association for Retarded Children, Ronald McDonald House, Sacred Heart Center, Salvation Army, STEP, United Methodist Family Services, Very Special Arts Virginia, Virginia Home for Boys, William Byrd Community House, and Whitcomb Court Community Center.
  
  
  
• With our holiday mascot, Snow Bear, provided free-of-charge entertainment for the annual Christmas party at the Children’s Hospital. Snow Bear also participated in numerous community events during the holiday season.
  
  

• With St. Andrew’s School, presented our fourth year of after-school instruction for economically disadvantaged fourth and fifth graders, this year working in partnership with SPARC for the first time.
  
  

• With Barksdale, implemented our annual Stage Explorers Summer Day Camp, serving 117 children over a six-week period.
  
  
  

• Staged the 13^th Annual Fairy Tale Ball, Richmond’s only family gala, entertaining 703 children, parents and grandparents while raising funds for our outreach programs.
  
  

• Participated as full partners in the Acts of Faith Festival and Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts.
  
  

• Working in partnership with the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, managed Virginia’s statewide Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest. Virginia’s winner was among the top nine finalists nationally.
  
  

• Hosted our “Search for the Von Trapp Children” open auditions at Short Pump Town Center for our production of The Sound of Music. Over 300 children and their parents came out and 200 more were placed on a waiting list. All parents and auditionees were given free tickets to a Theatre IV mainstage performance.
  
  

• With Commonwealth Girl Scouts, hosted four theatre overnights and/or learning days in the historic Empire, providing workshops and performances necessary for 208 girls to earn their theatre badges.
  
  

• With CenterStage, participated in and loaned sound equipment for the Grand Opening, We also offered leadership, master classes, workshops and performances for Lights Up! CenterStage’s Open House for Young Artists.
  
  

• Volunteered staff and their time for 14 Career Days events in and around Richmond.
  
  

• Provided 356 free tickets to charity auctions throughout Greater Richmond.
  
  

• Owned, operated and maintained the historic Empire Theatre on behalf of the greater community, sharing the facility, often free of charge, with eight other nonprofit groups.
  
  

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the patronage, advocacy and financial support of our theatre family. So go ahead, reach around and pat yourselves on the back, because these accomplishments belong to you!

HERE'S TO A STELLAR 2010-11 SEASON!

Lucky # 7

To me it seems that Theatre IV gets an amazing amount of work done for the size of our staff. We handle Theatre IV's season in Richmond Virginia, the huge Theatre IV on Tour operation, performing in schools and auditoriums throughout the country, and we also manage our sister organization, Barksdale Theatre in Virginia. Productions have to be directed, acted, sung, booked in venues and schools, marketed, and we will not even begin to cover the myriad accomplishments by our Production Department, who create sets, lighting, costumes, props, etc... for literally dozens of productions each season - it's like watching a magician pull an SUV out of his hat.

Somehow the stars have aligned and we are currently hiring for 7 office positions in Richmond, Virginia at once. We can go a long time without posting a job listing on our website, so I thought it worthy of mentioning here on the blog. If you'd like to be part of a staff that gets a lot done, here are the listings for August. Get 'em while they're hot!

7 Job Listings...


6 Box Office Positions
Deadline August 15, 2007

Theatre IV and Barksdale Theatre are seeking friendly and professional people for 6 positions in our Box Office beginning in September. Great customer service skills are our main requirement; our Box Office staff must work well with one another and be the first point of contact with the public, so a friendly attitude is a must. Computer skills are also required. Previous box office experience is preferred, but is not required.

All positions are hourly and pay $8/hr. They differ in schedule.

How to Apply:

UPDATE: This position has since been filled. However, if you would like to send a resume to be kept on file for future box office openings, please send an email to Joy Ross, our Box Office Manager, at j.corbin@theatreivrichmond.org.

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1 School Tour Dept. Position
(UPDATE: This position has since been filled. Thanks to all who applied.)

The tour department at Theatre IV is looking for a pro-active assistant in our school tour division at our offices in Richmond VA. Primary duties include booking Hugs and Kisses performances through phone contact with educators throughout Virginia. Hugs and Kisses is the principal child sexual abuse prevention program of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This highly effective and acclaimed musical play, now in its 25th year of touring, changes lives and helps keep children safe. Candidate will also assist Arts in Education Manager in the day-to-day activities of the school tour department.

Jessica Daugherty
Internet Services Mgr.

Staff Spotlight

Every couple of months we will be throwing a spotlight on the people who really make everything come together for the company. Here is our first Staff Spotlight on some amazing people you may not see on the stage, but are vital in making sure you as an audience recieve a first rate production.

ERIC THOMPSON, Master Electrician

As the Master Electrician for Theatre IV and Barksdale Theatre, Eric is responsible for all electronics used during performances. That means maintaining and repairing equipment, and overseeing the preparation, hanging and connection of stage lighting fixtures.

One of the most interesting things about Eric is his background as an opera singer. His favorite opera that he performed in was Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. His dream opera is Le Villi by Puccini. We asked Eric how an opera singer ends up as a Master Electrician; his response- "It pays the bills." Hopefully we’ll see Eric onstage again soon, singing his lungs out.

Eric has been happily married for 14 years and has three beautiful children. As a final note, Eric says, "If you happen to be in the Newport News area check out Mitty’s Ristorante for a romantic and delicious night out."

JEANIE RULE, Arts in Education Manager for Theatre IV

Jeanie is best known to Richmond theatre audiences as "Jeanette," the hilarious and feisty piano player in Barksdale Theatre’s production of The Full Monty.

As Arts in Education Manager, Jeanie annually markets and schedules over 900 Theatre IV performances for school assemblies throughout the state serving 300,000 students in grades K - 12. Of all the wonderful programs Jeanie books, she is proudest of administering Theatre IV’s community outreach program, Hugs and Kisses. Hugs and Kisses, co-produced with the Virginia Department of Social Services and Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, is the Commonwealth’s principal good touch, bad touch, and secret touch education program. This program has been seen by over 1,200,000 children and is proven to teach prevention resources and techniques to elementary school children at all grade levels. Over 10,000 elementary school children have been helped immediately after the performances.

During the 2007 – 2008 Season, Hugs and Kisses will celebrate its 25th year of helping Virginia’s children stay safe from child sexual abuse.

Jeanie began her professional career as a singer, traveling the world with the USO. She headlined in hotels and resorts throughout the Pocono and Catskill Mountains and cabarets in NYC.

Jeanie has a BFA in Drama from Ithaca College and an MFA in Acting from Virginia Commonwealth University.

*Information gathered by Catherine Dudley.