Williamsburg Players
Annual Meeting

August 10, 2008

The Annual Meeting was called to order by Board Director Hugh Siggins, acting as MC, at approximately 1:50 PM.

Hugh first introduced the members of the current Board of Directors, all of whom were present. Further he ensured that the attendees had a copy of the following handouts: the minutes from last year's meeting, the agenda, and the annual report.

Hugh then asked the membership for approval of the minutes. The members asked for a postponement on approval so that they could read the minutes. Subsequently after the members had time to review the minutes, Hugh again called for approval of the minutes. Debbie Noonan noted a typographical error. With that one correction, the minutes were approved.

Hugh introduced theater President Rick Hinson, who gave the President's remarks about the season. Rick noted the amount of time invested by individual Board members in running the business of the Williamsburg Players and the time invested to support the season and work on our capital improvements.

Rick further noted that the Board felt a need to reach out to the larger community/business to gain a deper understanding of how to improve our organization. So the Board has created an Advisory Committee to assist them, consisting of: Mike Maddox, Connie Granger (present), Bill Layton, Don Wiggins, and Jim Anthony (who had been present earlier but had to leave). During the season, the Board would share our mission, our goals, and our vision with this committee to gain their insight and advice.

Regarding the season, Rick felt it had been a success. The regular season was well attended and the Reader's Theater continues to grow in popularity. He was especially pleased to announce and deliver the EFF Awards sent to the Williamsburg Players by Ann Effimetz, the theater critic for the Virginia Gazette. Ann Effimetz covers William and Mary, the Shakespeare festival, and the Williamsburg Players as well as other local perfomance groups.

The Williamsburg Players were awarded:

• Best Set, Steve Schell, Communicating Doors
• Best Supporting Actress, Erica Chigos-White, Communicating Doors
• Best Supporting Actor, Miguel Girona, Communicating Doors
• Best Set, Honorable Mention, Rick Hinson , Moonlight and Magnolia
• Best Musical, Honorable Mention, Peter Natale, George M!

The Wedgewood Renaissance production did very well in our facility during the summer. At this point, they plan to return next year. In support of our productions, the Players started a stagecraft workshop.

Looking forward, the 2008/09 regular season has been set and published, the Readers Theater productions will continue, and we plan to continue the theater workshop.

Carol Sheffler then presented the Treasurer's Report. She noted that we were able to pay off the parking lot loan. She also noted advertising is now charged against the productions, as we continue to improve how we allot the cost of our productions to the actual productions. She noted approximately $31K of Season 2007/08 money was collected in the previous fiscal year.

The membership was then asked to approve the report. The membership approved the Treasurer's Report without edits.

Bob Noonan then talked about the Building expansion and the capital campaign. He first described the project design noting:

• The auditorium will be constructed of precast concrete panels, which when delivered to the site can be put up and the building closed to the elements very quickly.
• The new auditorium is a concrete cube that is about 35 feet high.
• There will be approximately 314 seats.
• The existing theater space will be used as lobby space.

He noted that the slogan Expanding our Stage is a metaphor for expanding our programming.

He explained that a benefit for the Williamsburg area is that our auditorium would become a mini version of the Ferguson Center, but intended for use by local performing arts groups. Our patrons get a more accessible auditorium with improved heating and air conditioning and an improved theater experience. For the Williamsburg Players, the organization would be put on a sound financial basis. The actors and show staffs would have shorter performance runs, thus enabling many more people to participate.

Bob talked about the March building cost estimate amount of $2M. The Players, architects, builders, and engineers spent the late spring and early summer in the process of "value engineering" to lower the cost of the building. The banks indicated a willingness to grant us a $1M mortgage.

Gil Granger noted that the shows are not 100% full. Rick responded by noting that the patrons do not like the wings.

The meeting moved on to the Board elections. During the year, Directors Karen Foley and Bob Shea resigned. The Board nominated Amy Payne and Ed Allen. Bob Shea nominated Megan Crain, who declined. Debbie nominated Dale Payne, who accepted. Erica Chigos-White was also nominated but declined; she noted that she will be taking college classes, so she will not have the time. All nominees to the Board were elected, namely: Ed Allen, Amy Payne, Dale Payne.

New business or questions: It was asked whether we accept credit cards for donations; we do.

The Annual Meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:00 pm.

Submitted by the Secretary Bob Noonan