Lakeshore Players Community Theater

Lakeshore Players, Inc. is a community theater located at 4820 Stewart Avenue, White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Organization

Lakeshore Players is a non-profit community theatre organization. It has a volunteer board of directors who actively participate in the management of the theatre and its productions. Hired staff report to the board of directors. Lakeshore Players is a member of AACT.

Mission Statement

The mission of Lakeshore Players is "to provide enrichment opportunities for our community through the performing arts." Lakeshore Players accomplishes this by:

# producing plays and musicals which are cast from the community, thus providing opportunities for people to act in a show;
# offering a season of plays and musicals, so that members of the community may attend performances;
# providing acting classes.

Board of Directors

Ideally, the board consists of 14 directors, who serve two-year terms. A board member has a limit of three such terms, and then must be off the board for a year.

Board members are elected at the annual meeting held in June of each year. The fiscal year for Lakeshore Players starts July 1.

The board elects its own executive committee during its first meeting following the annual meeting. The officers thus elected are the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Other committees are formed by the President to focus on specific areas, such as House & Grounds, or Season Planning.

Board members are not paid, but do receive two complimentary season tickets each year. Board members are expected to make a minimum financial donation to Lakeshore Players.

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The board of directors hires a Managing Director and a Technical Director.

The Managing Director has no executive power, but ensures the day-to-day operation of Lakeshore Players. To this end, the Managing Director may hire personnel to work in the business office, box office, or for janitorial or other custodial work.

The Technical Director constructs and paints sets and designs and rigs lighting plots for the various productions. The Technical Director is not present over the summer, as the Summer Youth Project does its own set construction and lighting design (see below).

Theater

Lakeshore Players owns a former church building that was erected in 1889 at 4820 Stewart Avenue in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The former sanctuary contains the performance space, with rows of raked seating for roughly 180 patrons comprising the house. The thrust stage has a small orchestra pit.

The theatrical lighting is controlled by a commercial computer system with 56 control channels. A booth at the back of the house is the point of control for the lights and sound.

Communities

Broadly speaking, the communities Lakeshore Players serves can be divided into two groups. In planning the offerings of Lakeshore Players, it is necessary for the board of directors to take into account both communities.

Audience Members

People located in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area attend performances. They can purchase tickets for a specific performance, or purchase a season ticket as a discount. An additional discount is provided for students and senior citizens.

Volunteers

All actors, musicians, ushers, and backstage personnel are volunteers. (The only exception is that rehearsal pianists may be paid.) While it is important to consider programs of interest to the audience, it is equally important to consider shows of interest to the people who will perform in them.

Membership

Members can vote in the annual meeting (usually held in June) where the board of directors is elected. For this purpose, a member is defined by any one of the following:
* Volunteering at least ten hours during the fiscal year.
* Cash contributions to Lakeshore Players exceeding $25.
* Purchasing at least one season ticket.

History

Lakeshore Players was incorporated in 1952 as a community theatre, and is now in its 54th season.

Offerings

The Season

The Lakeshore Players season begins around Labor Day weekend and runs no later than Memorial Day weekend. In general, Lakeshore Players will only produce a script that has already been successfully performed elsewhere. As of 2007, a season consists of six productions:

#An opening drama or comedy (12 performances)
#A fall musical (15 performances)
#A child-friendly holiday show (18 performances)
#An experimental or edgy show in winter (12 performances)
#Another comedy, drama, or historical play (12 performances)
#A spring musical (16 performances)

In general, performances are held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The holiday show offers six matinee performances for local schools to attend during the day, a Thursday evening performance, and two performances on Saturdays and Sundays. The spring musical adds a Thursday evening performance in its last weekend as it usually sells out.

The season is assembled by the Season Planning Committee of the board of directors. This committee reviews script suggestions, sets performance dates, prepares a slate of shows for approval by the whole board of directors, and hires the artistic talent for each production.

Tickets for the regular season are reserved, and season tickets are available.

Ten-Minute Play Festival

Beginning in the 2004-2005 season, Lakeshore Players solicited scripts for consideration in a Ten-Minute Play Festival (often abbreviated to 10MPF). This has become an annual event. Scripts submitted must require minimal sets, props, and costumes, and run no longer than ten minutes. Scripts are submitted from all over the world, and six of them are selected for performance.

The festival normally runs after the close of the spring musical. Tickets for the Ten-Minute Play Festival are general admission.

MACTfest

Lakeshore Players participates in the Minnesota Association of Community Theaters' biannual festival. This involves a show that runs no more than one hour, with a set, props, and costumes that can be staged and restored to a 10 foot by 10 foot area.

Education

There are two major aspects to Lakeshore Players' educational programs: The Summer Youth Program, and other acting classes.

ummer Youth Program

The Summer Youth Program runs from June through early August, and provides school-age children with the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of a production.

Acting Classes

Lakeshore Players' acting classes are designed for students and adults, to provide skills and experience in such areas as theatrical make-up, movement, or auditioning.

External links

* [http://www.lakeshoreplayers.com/ Lakeshore Players official web site]