Kudos to the cast and crew of Little Mary Sunshine on a job well done! 

Next SCCT Meeting

Thursday, April 16th at 7 pm in Magnolia Hall.  This is a change from April 9^th as reported in SunSations. The Act One Play Reading group directed by Patty MacDonald will present a dramatic reading of “Guess Who’s Coming to Lunch.”

Social Security

Our next production is Social Security, May 14-16 in Magnolia Hall. This comical, touching play revolves around two Manhattan art dealers, Barbara and David, whose lives become turned around when Barbara’s aged mother Sophie comes for an extended stay. When she is introduced to a famous ninety-eight year old artist, a loving relationship develops. Suddenly, Sophie’s complaining disappears, and she becomes revitalized. The talented cast includes Stuart Blickstein as David Kahn with Marti Skarupa as his wife Barbara. Anrose Perlstein plays Sophie Greengrass and Bob Foley is the ninety-eight year old artist, Maurice Koenig.

Rounding out the cast is Joe Skarupa as Martin Heyman and Irene Reed as Trudy Heyman, Barbara’s sister. Performances are scheduled each evening at 7:30 pm with a matinee at 2 pm on the 16^th.  Tickets in Rows A-M are $18 and rows N-R are $16.  Box Office ticket sales begin on Monday April 13 and will run every M-W-F from 9-11 am except for Wednesday April 15^th.  Additionally, the box office will be open on the Tuesday prior to Opening Night.  Ticket request forms can be downloaded from the SCCT web page and mailed in 60 days in advance of this or any play.  The box office is also open 30 minutes prior to any performance.  We accept cash, check or Community Association charge only!  Make certain you see this very tender, yet comical play about “senior” love!  

Future Productions 

The King and I	June 18-20,	Bluffton HS
	June 25-27
Follies	September 10-12	Magnolia Hall
The Lion in Winter	October 29-31	Magnolia Hall
Killing Dante	December 10-12	Magnolia Hall

Act I - Play Reading Group

This group meets every third Sunday of the month from 7-9 pm in the Dogwood Room in Magnolia Hall. On April 19^th, the group will meet in the Marshland Room at Riverbend. If you’re interested in becoming a part of this fun group call Debbie, 705-4688 or Joan at 705-6297. No memorization and only one rehearsal!

Noteworthy

CAM (formerly Community Association Management) is now CA (Community Association).

Club Fair - May 7

The SCCT Club Fair will take place at Magnolia Hall on May 7^th at 6 pm. This is a great time to explore different avenues (committees) within the theater. There’s always a place for YOU!! Following the club fair and beginning at 7 pm will be a brief monthly meeting with several vignettes presented from the Actor’s Workshop directed by Carl Nusbaum.

Items Needed

From time to time the theatre is in need of prop articles for different scenes in our productions.  At this time, we are in need of a brass or old style microscope and Old World floor globe, a standard size traditional sofa, ottoman (24x36) ship’s wheel (decorative size), 4-poster single bed, and a large wing back chair.  If you are in possession of and should you be willing to allow us to “borrow” these items, please e-mail Wendy Eads at saturn@sc.rr.com or call her 705-2110 as soon as possible.

From Ralph Spiegel, Production Chairman

The Board of Directors of the Sun City Community Theatre (“SCCT”) has strived to bring entertaining theatre to residents of Sun City at the most reasonable prices possible. It is not our intention to make large profits or to see our cash balance grow. Rather, it is our intention to remain financially solvent and to retain sufficient balances to cover our projected costs and cash flow needs.         

We have two distinct types of costs. Those customarily associated with our productions and those non-production costs associated with running the business of SCCT. These non-production costs are again divided into two segments.

The first is capital expenditures. Items that fall into this category include the purchase of microphones, amplifiers and speakers as well as various stage lamps, spot lights, the recent purchase of hardware and software to set up an automated  box office and this month’s contribution to the Magnolia Hall sound system to upgrade it from analog to digital. Most of these items are the property of the community as a whole and have enhanced the products offered not only by the Theatre but also by the Dancers, the Chorus and the Communications Dept.  We believe that 2009 will continue to require large capital expenditures (approx. $25k). We know that Magnolia Hall will give us a better venue to present our productions but, the fact is, that we also know that MH (designed as a multi-purpose building rather than a theatre) will be lacking in some of the technical items we will need to maintain the quality of productions our residents should expect.  

The second type of non-production costs are those expenses associated with our needs as a business. For 2009, these expenses are expected to total approx. $30k. Examples of these costs are rent and utilities at our off-site facility. The SCCT rents a 2500 sq ft. storage facility which is used to store costumes, props and sound equipment as well as necessary space to build and store sets. We have petitioned Pulte and CA on multiple occasions to provide us with this requisite space on campus, but have been rejected every time. In addition, SCCT runs approximately 10 different workshops per year. While these educational initiatives are generally led by resident volunteers, each has costs associated with materials. Finally, SCCT offers an annual awards ceremony during which plaques and trophies are presented to recognize the talent and time dedication of our most outstanding members. 

Production costs vary greatly depending on the purchase of rights, rental of music, the salary of the music director, payments to non-resident orchestra members necessary to fill specific instrumentation needs not otherwise filled by resident volunteers, the rental of the hall, costumes and set construction, etc, etc. Aggregate costs per show range from a low of $10k for a no set, non-musical to a high of over $50k for a full blown musical like “My Fair Lady” or 2009’s “The King and I”. 

It has been our experience that these big musicals have been the best attended productions in our regular season, but it is interesting to note that with tickets priced at or just over $20@ the SCCT reflected a net surplus of just over $1k from that show…basically, break-even.

The bottom line is that for 2009, the SCCT is forecasting total expenses of approx. $190k.

• $25k –non production-capital expenditures

• $30k – non-production-business expenses

• $135k- production costs 

Income comes from three sources: Membership dues (which are off-set as a discount to season ticket prices), advertising revenues from our programs and finally ticket revenues. Tickets were priced for 2009 such that total income (including advertising revenues) is anticipated to cover total expenses by approx. 105%. Unfortunately, with the general economy in its present shape, there is no guarantee that any surplus will be recognized for the calendar year 2009.

Finally, cash flow needs are easily explained. Virtually all expenses associated with any production must be paid out before the first dollar of income for that show is realized. When we know we have a show coming up that will cost $50k, we need a balance of at least that much in order to cover the pre-show cash drain.

Membership

The SCCT heartily welcomes new members.  For membership information contact Don Olexa at 705-6709. We look forward to your participation in your avenue of interest. We do have something for everyone!