The cast of "Spring Awakening"
StoryBook Theatre
2020/21 Annual General Meeting
AGENDA
Monday, November 8, 2021 at 7pm via ZOOM
1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Call to Order & Attendance
3. Motion to Approve Minutes of the January 18, 2021 AGM
4. Motion to Accept AGM Attendance into the records
- Message
7. Review 2020/21 DRAFT Financial Statement for year ending June 30, 2021
8. Board Resignations & Motion to Accept
9. Board Nominations & Elections
10. Motion to approve and change of societal information
11. Other Business
12. Questions
13. Call Meeting to a close
Dragon from "The Paper Bag Princess a Musical"
WHO ARE WE?
StoryBook Theatre is Canada's largest volunteer-driven Theatres for Young Audiences and families. In our almost 45 years of serving Calgary, we have fostered the love and passion for theatre arts in over one million people. Each season we bring together some of the industry's brightest emerging talents both on and off the stage to create some incredibly accessible theatre for the whole family.
We bring stories to life in a way that encourages children and their families to dream about who they are and may become, to explore the story from different perspectives, to think using inductive reasoning, and to connect to other people and ideas.
MISSION STATEMENT
StoryBook celebrates the power of theatre to inspire children and their families to dream, explore, think, and connect through high-caliber accessible theatre school programming and productions.
VISION STATEMENT
StoryBook Theatre seeks to provide a vital performing arts organization known for its commitment to accessible and diverse family theatre programming.
Our Commitment to our Community
Our actions & continued work toward equity, inclusivity, diversity and accessibility
As the world around us has risen up, it is important for StoryBook to take this time and look inward. We have been having difficult and inspiring conversations amongst ourselves, our artists, and the community we serve.
“Children are the future, teach them well, let them lead the way.”
Linda Creed & Michael Masser
2019/20 Board of Directors
PRESIDENT: Jolene Anderson
VICE PRESIDENT: Amanda Ierfino
TREASURER: Trishi Karan
SECRETARY/PAST PRESIDENT: Kathy Bauer
DIRECTORS
Sharleen Gatcha
Lauren Piercy
Lindsay Greiwe
Cam Warren
Jason Buttuls
President's Report
It is hard to find the right words to describe the 2020-2021 season but the chosen theme - On the Growing Edge was truly an excellent descriptor. For an entire season it was like balancing on a tight rope. Holding our breath hoping everything that we had learned to date would get us across the finish line. As we stood on that tight rope the winds of the change tried to knock us off balance so we became masters of change. Our Artistic Producer has always been versatile in the skills he brings to the table. He was willing and able to change to our live in-person offerings to ensure that art and live theater were not totally missing from the world around us. Under his direction our line up changed to include only shows that could be streamed so a year of filmed theatre began. We have been working hard over the year to set the bar high for the quality of shows we produce and we wanted that to continue. It meant a lot of trial and error and long hours of hard work. It meant building strong teams of people willing to try something new. We connected with the growing community that our Artistic Producer built early in the pandemic with last years online talk show and as a result had professionals from Toronto to New York take part in various areas of production. We maintained a safety-first approach in all areas of production going above and beyond to ensure that our cast crew and their families felt safe and remained healthy. This not only meant focusing on Covid Protocols but working on our inclusivity and diversity to make it a safe space for everyone. People from around the world watched Spring Awakening, Annie and The Smartest Girl in The World and we can proudly say that they saw the high-quality products from the comfort of their own homes that they are used to seeing in the theatre. In a year where many theatres went total dark, we still had the chance to make magic. We still got to do many of the things we love. We watched young artist grow. We provided jobs for professional artists. We produced new work. We taught theatre school. While we missed hearing the laughter an applause in-person we still felt the love on line in the emails and social media posts from our patrons. We thank you all for being with is on our growing edge. For embracing new ways to enjoy theatre and coming back to us when our doors open again to enjoy theatre together in person.
Kate Noriega in "The Smartest Girl in the World"
Artistic Producer's Report
The 2020/21 Season proved to be the most challenging year for anyone leading an arts organization, especially those that rely on presenting to the public. The season forced us to dig deep and make a decision, sit tight and wait or shift and pivot to accommodate. We made the choice to do the latter and I believe as an organization we are stronger for it.
We adapted all our programming to accommodate the needs and requirements of the Alberta Health Services throughout the pandemic and continue to do so to this day. Early on we made the choice to invest the in appropriate equipment to afford us the tools to pivot to online and streamed content.
For the first time in nearly a decade, we became reliant on subsidies and grants to carry us through as it became apparently clear that programming in this way would be nothing like any season we have seen before. Our usually 45,000 patrons dwindle to just 3500 streaming tickets where we hoped families of 4 or more were sitting and taking in our shows. The reality was that until we were back and in person we were never going to see the numbers we used to see.
Regardless of this fact and knowing our programming may have less impact than usual we moved ahead presenting 5 incredible online productions; Spring Awakening, Annie, Paper Bag Princess, Wizards of Oakwood Drive and The Smartest Girl in the World. Each brings its own unique set of problems and restrictions to overcome.
Spring Awakening was our guinea pig show, where we learned and discovered what it would be like to create theatre on film. It had many hard and great lessons to teach and we came out the other side stronger than before.
Annie was our largest production and most recognized title in the season. Families who attended were blown away by the sheer calibre and talent of not only the people on-screen but off-screen as well.
Paper Bag princess felt like the most normal process and creation of our filming. By the time we hit this show we were in a strong groove and ready to tackle a show like any other.
Smartest Girl in the World was an exciting opportunity for StoryBook to work towards its diversity goals and present a show about Latinx culture. We engaged a team that was almost 42% BIPOC, with all the leads on the team being BIPOC creators and we build a cast that was 89% BIPOC representation to tell the story. It was an exciting time as we were long past the hurdle of figuring out how to create theatre on film, so we could really focus on this diverse storytelling.
School presentations were also very huge this past year as we had an incredible following from groups around the world who could now enjoy our show. By the time we got to our last presentation, Smartest Girl we made the choice to offer the show to any classroom anywhere in the world for just $2! By season’s end, we had nearly 500 classrooms take part in our season with a reach of an estimated 15,000 students
Our season saw us engage nearly 150 Artists on paid contracts throughout the year, maintaining our usual artist support, even though sales were struggling.
Theatre School was hit very hard without in-person programming, but the team did an incredible job of making something from nothing and we supported all those who took part with continued high calibre programming.
At the end of the season, even with all the struggles and heartache, StoryBook was able to be that beacon of hope which it always has been. We have been able to take a terrible time and find ways to make it magical, ways to give those who needed it a place to escape the world, be it an artist taking part or an audience member watching a show.
StoryBook achieved great success during this past year, although we were forced to rely on the support of the government, we were able to maintain doing what we do and pushed everyone to the limits of their growing edge.
Statistics & Reporting
SEASON ATTENDANCE
3,183 Attendees (-88%)
12,732 if Average Household has 4 viewers
500 Classrooms
15,000 estimated students
GRANT SUPPORT
$623,011 in Federal, Provincial & Municipal support
DONATIONS
$144,097.05 Donated to groups, individuals & families
PRODUCTIONS
5 Shows
111 Performances
SEASON SALES
$161,861.68 Net Sales (-70%)
$21.60 Average Ticket Prices (+8%)
ARTISTS & VOLUNTEERS
300 volunteers
150 paid Artists
$240,000 in Artist fees
SPRING AWAKENING
ATTENDANCE
402 Attendees
1440 Available Seats
SALES
$50,092 Net Sales
$16,453.43 Profit
ANNIE
THE MUSICAL
ATTENDANCE
1341 Attendees
9000 Available Seats
SALES
$50,392.00 Net Sales
$27,390.73 Profit
PAPER BAG PRINCESS
ATTENDANCE
354 Attendees
2700 Available Seats
SALES
$9,100.00 Net Sales
$161.60 Profit
WIZARDS OF OAKWOOD DRIVE
ATTENDANCE
245 Attendees
320 Available Seats
SALES
$8232.00 Net Sales
($348.00) Profit
SMARTEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
ATTENDANCE
499 Attendees
3005 Available Seats
SALES
$14,389.65 Net Sales
($12,466.63) Profit
MISPLACED
FUNDRAISER & SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT
ATTENDANCE
1700+ Attendees
RAISED
$7500
2020/21 Season 44 Statistics
42.4%
MARGINALIZED REPRESENTATION
51.8%
FEMALE/NON-BINARY
REPRESENTATION
60.7% ON STAGE
33.4% OFFSTAGE
54.9% ON STAGE
34.7% OFFSTAGE
34.5%
BIPOC
REPRESENTATION
31.7%
LGBTQIA2S+
REPRESENTATION
26.7% ON STAGE
32.6% OFFSTAGE
48.4% ON STAGE
25.7% OFFSTAGE
2020/21 Individual Production Statistics
54 % FEMALE/NON-BINARY
REPRESENTATION
53% ON STAGE
55% OFFSTAGE
27 % BIPOC
REPRESENTATION
31% ON STAGE
20% OFFSTAGE
16 % LGBTQIA2S+
REPRESENTATION
14% ON STAGE
20% OFFSTAGE
38.6%
MARGINALIZED REPRESENTATION
63.2%
FEMALE/NON-BINARY
REPRESENTATION
78.8% ON STAGE
41.7% OFFSTAGE
33.3% ON STAGE
29.2% OFFSTAGE
28%
BIPOC
REPRESENTATION
21.1%
LGBTQIA2S+
REPRESENTATION
15.2% ON STAGE
20.8% OFFSTAGE
24.2% ON STAGE
16.7% OFFSTAGE
47.8%
FEMALE/NON-BINARY
REPRESENTATION
43.5%
MARGINALIZED REPRESENTATION
66.7% ON STAGE
41.2% OFFSTAGE
36.4% ON STAGE
48% OFFSTAGE
30.4%
BIPOC
REPRESENTATION
30.4%
LGBTQIA2S+
REPRESENTATION
50% ON STAGE
23.5% OFFSTAGE
16.7% ON STAGE
35.3% OFFSTAGE
The cast of "Matilda the Musical"