Meeting Recap for June 10, 2013
When it moves 11 blocks from 27th and B Streets to its new home at 27th and L Streets in a couple of years, will B Street Theater change its name to L Street Theater?
Based on what Rotary Club of Sacramento heard from managing director Bill Blake on Monday at the Red Lion, B Street will remain B Street even on L Street.
Introduced by chair of the day Bruce Hester, Blake shared some amazing statistics about what has become one of Sacramento’s most celebrated performing arts organizations.
Including its outreach programs to area schools, B Street touches 200,000 kids a year in addition to the 95,000 people who attend performances at its 2711 B Street facility.
The average community theater organization in this country has about 2,100 subscribers according to Blake. B Street Theater has more than 9,800.
Likewise the typical community theater sells about 19,000 single tickets annually. For B Street Theater the number is 39,000 according to Blake, who has managed the organization since 2005.
Why is that important? It means that more than 80% of B Street’s income is “earned” whereas the typical community theater is 60% reliant on donations.
That’s a testimony not only to the quality of B Street’s productions but also to the ingenuity of its leadership, which manages five performance programs and three instructional programs.
Collectively they average 38 performances every week and manage to do it all on an annual operating budget of only $2.3 million.
Founded by the Busfield brothers (Timothy and Buck) in the mid-1980s, B Street Theater has out-grown its current home near Sutter’s Landing.
Thanks to the gift of about half a square block from Sutter Health adjacent to the new Sutter General Hospital, B Street will break ground on an impressive new facility about a year from now.
Its new home will include a 365-seat proscenium theater, a 250-seat thrust stage and a café at the corner of 27th and L Streets. They need about $6.8 million more to finance the project.
Since they will be right across the street from Sutter’s Fort, B Street is putting together a play about the history of Sacramento that will be available to thousands of kids who visit the fort annually.
And since they’re going to be next door to the new Sutter medical facility, they’re putting together a program focused on arts and healing that will be taken inside Sutter’s walls.
As for the name of the new facility, naming rights are available—for a significant contribution. But artist’s renderings clearly showed a large “B,” indicating B Street will remain B Street on L Street.
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Eric Solis made an impressive presentation about the Youth Incentive Program, introducing the new class of mentees as well as honoring a handful of kids who represent success stories—three who are graduating from high school and headed for college and one who has just completed his degree at Sac State. More mentors are needed for next year for the program that pairs mentors with at-risk kids and has developed an amazing track record of success.
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Monday’s meeting was the last one that will be managed by President Peter Dannenfelser II and he received a standing ovation from the club. Next week’s meeting will be Sons’ Day, when sons and grandsons take over meeting management. And the following week will be President Peter’s demotion ceremony.
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Jim Craig provided the thought for the day, Dick Osen lead the club in singing America the Beautiful & Elfrena Foord played piano. President-elect Thom Gilbert and his wife, Linda, sponsored the pre-meeting wine reception.