January 31, 2024
Looking Back & Looking Forward -- The McCarter’s First 100 Years
Sarah Rasmussen & Martin Miller
Artistic Director & Executive Director, McCarter Theater
Looking Back & Looking Forward -- The McCarter’s First 100 Years
Sarah Rasmussen & Martin Miller
Artistic Director & Executive Director, McCarter Theater
Sarah Rasmussen (speaker), Len Berlik (introducer), and Martin Miller (speaker)
Minutes of the 17th Meeting of the 82nd Year
John Cotton opened the meeting. Julia Coale and Frances Slade led us in the first verse of “America.” Larry Hahn read the abbreviated minutes of our meeting of January 24, 2024.
This is the 17th meeting of our 83rd year. There were two guests. Bill Wakefield introduced Pam Wakefield, and Rob Kuser introduced Mary Kay Kuser.
We held an election of those applying to the Old Guard. There are ten candidates and they passed by acclimation.
Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, February 7 at 9:30 AM. We will be at 701 Carnegie Center. Our speaker will be Jad Daley, the President and CEO of American Forests. The topic of the talk will be “How Can We Make Tree Equity in our Communities?”
Len Berlik introduced our speaker, Sarah Rasmussen, Artistic Director of McCarter Theater and Martin Miller, Executive Director of McCarter Theater.
McCarter Theater is over 100 years old. Sarah Rasmussen was formerly from Minnesota, and she has directed at many other theaters. She received an MFA from the University of California. Martin Miller led a theater in Arkansas, where he transformed the theater. He led fundraising for a new venue that won 13 years of awards and much acclaim. Miller is a graduate of Carleton College.
Rasmussen moved to Princeton right at the start of Covid. She brought new work to McCarter and in 2018 she was chosen to receive an award for women’s leadership. Miller joined in this past September to join his wife who is a faculty member in the Princeton University Department of Music. He received great acclaim as the Executive Director of TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he transformed the theater and received a great deal of enthusiasm. He is now taking on the co-leadership of McCarter in partnership with Sarah Rasmussen.
After Covid, there were many changes in the world of theater. There were many layoffs at theaters, large and small, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Public Theater, the Guthrie Theater, and many others. It became difficult to attract people back to theaters and many talented people were let go. McCarter started to produce its own plays and took on shows that were moving through on their way to New York City. Individual giving was declining.
McCarter has had a first-rate history. Our Town was launched at McCarter, for example. Members of the community wanted to establish a national theater here in Princeton.
A new chapter is starting right now. Bill Lockwood and Emily Mann have been helpful and there is a great deal of goodwill in the community. The theater has a healthy endowment and local investment has been encouraging. But there are weaknesses too: Ticket sales are not strong and local giving has not yet picked up; income has not caught up quite as quickly as necessary. Fiscal year 2022 still had Covid relief grants, but in fiscal year 2024, Congress is not yet trying to solve the problems of the theater arts.
Other problems for McCarter include the fact that the seats are too old and not accessible for the disabled. But there are very real opportunities: McCarter is rebuilding relationships with former audience, and national and international arts organizations are eager to work with the theater.
Rasmussen and Miller are now planning for the 2024-2025 season. How are things looking? This year’s ticket sales are up 68% this year. More than 60% of current audiences have never before been to McCarter. The theater has a challenge grant in the spring of 2024 by a group of former trustees and donors.
One idea comes from TheaterSquared in Arkansas. The lobby of the theater has become a venue for coffee, drinks, and food, and this is an aspiration for McCarter. A new senior food and beverage coordinator has been hired. Miller said that he and Rasmussen hope to provide a new community space. They are dedicated to what they call relentless incrementalism!
A question period followed:
What about classical music programming? Challenges include that these programs book further out than contemporary music performers.
What about school outreach for classical theater? McCarter is looking to add series of tickets for low-income residents.
Parking? Always an issue and the theater is looking into alternatives.
Co-productions? Nowadays, it is the bulk of McCarter’s programming.
Corporate support? This faded away during Covid, as did individual support, but the McCarter team is working on trying to return to the pre-Covid position.
Relationship to Princeton University? In the 1970s, Princeton encouraged McCarter to form a non-profit organization. The University provides space, utilities and 2 ½ % of the operating budget.
What is happening with our neighboring communities? Currently half of McCarter audiences are from Princeton proper and the rest from neighboring communities. Currently 60% of new subscribers come from communities outside Princeton.
Respectfully submitted,
Ruth Miller
This is the 17th meeting of our 83rd year. There were two guests. Bill Wakefield introduced Pam Wakefield, and Rob Kuser introduced Mary Kay Kuser.
We held an election of those applying to the Old Guard. There are ten candidates and they passed by acclimation.
Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, February 7 at 9:30 AM. We will be at 701 Carnegie Center. Our speaker will be Jad Daley, the President and CEO of American Forests. The topic of the talk will be “How Can We Make Tree Equity in our Communities?”
Len Berlik introduced our speaker, Sarah Rasmussen, Artistic Director of McCarter Theater and Martin Miller, Executive Director of McCarter Theater.
McCarter Theater is over 100 years old. Sarah Rasmussen was formerly from Minnesota, and she has directed at many other theaters. She received an MFA from the University of California. Martin Miller led a theater in Arkansas, where he transformed the theater. He led fundraising for a new venue that won 13 years of awards and much acclaim. Miller is a graduate of Carleton College.
Rasmussen moved to Princeton right at the start of Covid. She brought new work to McCarter and in 2018 she was chosen to receive an award for women’s leadership. Miller joined in this past September to join his wife who is a faculty member in the Princeton University Department of Music. He received great acclaim as the Executive Director of TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he transformed the theater and received a great deal of enthusiasm. He is now taking on the co-leadership of McCarter in partnership with Sarah Rasmussen.
After Covid, there were many changes in the world of theater. There were many layoffs at theaters, large and small, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Public Theater, the Guthrie Theater, and many others. It became difficult to attract people back to theaters and many talented people were let go. McCarter started to produce its own plays and took on shows that were moving through on their way to New York City. Individual giving was declining.
McCarter has had a first-rate history. Our Town was launched at McCarter, for example. Members of the community wanted to establish a national theater here in Princeton.
A new chapter is starting right now. Bill Lockwood and Emily Mann have been helpful and there is a great deal of goodwill in the community. The theater has a healthy endowment and local investment has been encouraging. But there are weaknesses too: Ticket sales are not strong and local giving has not yet picked up; income has not caught up quite as quickly as necessary. Fiscal year 2022 still had Covid relief grants, but in fiscal year 2024, Congress is not yet trying to solve the problems of the theater arts.
Other problems for McCarter include the fact that the seats are too old and not accessible for the disabled. But there are very real opportunities: McCarter is rebuilding relationships with former audience, and national and international arts organizations are eager to work with the theater.
Rasmussen and Miller are now planning for the 2024-2025 season. How are things looking? This year’s ticket sales are up 68% this year. More than 60% of current audiences have never before been to McCarter. The theater has a challenge grant in the spring of 2024 by a group of former trustees and donors.
One idea comes from TheaterSquared in Arkansas. The lobby of the theater has become a venue for coffee, drinks, and food, and this is an aspiration for McCarter. A new senior food and beverage coordinator has been hired. Miller said that he and Rasmussen hope to provide a new community space. They are dedicated to what they call relentless incrementalism!
A question period followed:
What about classical music programming? Challenges include that these programs book further out than contemporary music performers.
What about school outreach for classical theater? McCarter is looking to add series of tickets for low-income residents.
Parking? Always an issue and the theater is looking into alternatives.
Co-productions? Nowadays, it is the bulk of McCarter’s programming.
Corporate support? This faded away during Covid, as did individual support, but the McCarter team is working on trying to return to the pre-Covid position.
Relationship to Princeton University? In the 1970s, Princeton encouraged McCarter to form a non-profit organization. The University provides space, utilities and 2 ½ % of the operating budget.
What is happening with our neighboring communities? Currently half of McCarter audiences are from Princeton proper and the rest from neighboring communities. Currently 60% of new subscribers come from communities outside Princeton.
Respectfully submitted,
Ruth Miller