The 2011-2012 Hennepin Theatre Trust year was highlighted by the collaborative Plan-It Hennepin initiative to envision a Hennepin Cultural District to create arts-related opportunities and link key venues such as the Trust’s historic theatres in the ongoing revitalization of Hennepin Avenue.

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Letter from the President/CEO

Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Tom Hoch, Melissa Koch and SpotLight Spokesperson Linda Eder applaud students at the 2011-12 SpotLight Showcase.

Dear Friends:

Hennepin Theatre Trust celebrated a landmark year in 2011-12, broadening our focus in order to lead the Twin Cities downtown Minneapolis cultural community in planning a long-term, innovative revitalization strategy for a Hennepin Cultural District running along Hennepin Avenue from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to the Mississippi River.

The Trust’s role in envisioning the District was spurred by the first-time receipt of a $200,000 "Our Town" creative placemaking grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. With high-level partners including the Walker Art Center, Artspace and the City of Minneapolis as part of a consortium of creative-sector organizations, the Trust launched the year-long Plan-It Hennepin project to gather insights and share information. More than 1500 artists, businesses, churches, city officials, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, philanthropists, residents, youth and others came together in unprecedented ways to craft a collective vision. We also worked closely with the Downtown Improvement District, which I chaired for a third year, and the Minneapolis Downtown Council, whose Downtown 2025 plan embraces a more vibrant Hennepin Avenue. Click here to learn more about the Hennepin Cultural District.

The Trust’s opening of the New Century Theatre this past year demonstrated our concrete commitment to leading downtown revitalization through the arts. By creating a new venue out of long-vacant retail space in City Center, we not only gained a flexible use place for our performances, our SpotLight Musical Theatre master classes and educational offerings such as Broadway Confidential, but launched an intimate place to collaborate more with Minnesota’s immensely talented artistic community. Among the theatre productions produced by the Trust at the New Century were Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women, Mary à la carte and Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, which all featured outstanding local casts. The opportunities this venue makes possible are invigorating. Click here to learn more about the New Century Theatre.

The Trust continued to strengthen its connections with the philanthropic and corporate community, led by our realigned development staff which activated our broader focus and initiated a five year annual giving plan. In addition to our NEA grant, we received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and continued partnerships with TCF Bank and Best Buy for the SpotLight Musical Theatre and Distance Learning Programs. We were grateful to Bob and Celeste Rekieta and the Phillips Family Foundation for their generous contributions to our Access Program which helped us open our theatre doors to a broader section of our community, as well as ongoing support by Sony for the Minnesota Walk of Fame, Phillips Distilling and the Summit Brewing Company. Our sustained focus on building individual relationships resulted in more donors who came back at higher levels, in part through innovative efforts like the online Give to the Max Day. Click here for a link to our Resource Development Overview and Donor Listings.

We thank each and every one of the more than 450,000 people who visited downtown to attend events at our theatres, participate in the Plan-It Hennepin process or take part in any of our other community engagement initiatives. Hennepin Theatre Trust gains strength through you and we want to thank you for making us a part of your lives.

 

With Gratitude,

Thomas L. Hoch, President/CEO

 

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Letter from the Board Chair

 Linda Ireland, Chair, Hennepin Theatre Trust Board of Directors

Dear Friends:

During 2011-12, my second and final proud year serving as Chair of the Hennepin Theatre Trust Board, my admiration for the Trust’s forward thinking and commitment to transforming vision through action continued to grow. We led the planning for a Hennepin Cultural District. We expanded our education and community initiatives to deepen the connection to a lifelong family of students and audiences. We sought out the best of Broadway touring productions and the most exciting and eclectic concerts and events. We also increased our collaborations with local talent in the recently opened New Century Theatre. Your financial contributions and intellectual support were invaluable in making this work possible. We can’t thank you enough.

The Trust is dedicated to serving the Twin Cities and Minnesota and to creating more opportunities for the next generation of arts enthusiasts. We touched more people in meaningful ways this year by expanding our Education and Community Engagement Programs. During its seventh year, our flagship SpotLight Musical Theatre Program grew into impressive maturity and served a record 56 schools, including 47 from the metro area and nine from greater Minnesota, reaching nearly 4,500 students and their families. Innovative and cost-effective Distance Learning video classes added to in-person training. The annual SpotLight Showcase, held at a packed Orpheum Theatre, gave the public a thrilling glimpse of the awe-inspiring talents of nearly 1,000 young performers. Three of our award-winning SpotLight students, Emily Nies of White Bear Lake High School, Daniel Piering of Wayzata High School and John Jamison of Southwest High School embarked on complimentary dream trips to New York City. Nies and Piering participated in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, while Jamison met with industry professionals. All three not only honed their skills in acting, singing and dancing, but with their hard work and achievements inspired many other students to reach for their dreams.  

The experience of live entertainment can have a life-changing effect. Through our free ticket Access Program we opened our doors to a broader range of people including Britnay Grant, who has been enthusiastically attending shows through Access/HopeKids since age 13. The stage helped her reach beyond the challenges of Cystic Fibrosis and now, at age 18 she is pursuing an arts-related culinary career. Critical View, our student reviewer program, trained young people to critically analyze the shows they saw and, by doing so, improved writing and thinking skills. Click Here to read more about our Education and Community Engagement achievements.

Many patrons first discovered the Trust through our wildly popular Broadway touring productions that bring the best of the genre right to our doorstep. Each year offers a different slate, attracting new and returning patrons for Minnesota debuts such as 2011-12’s American Idiot and Million Dollar Quartet and beloved classics including the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables, Disney’s The Lion King and Mamma Mia! Eclectic concerts showcased the likes of Janet Jackson and Florence + the Machine, while evenings with celebrities Dan Savage and William Shatner delighted audience members at the Trust’s fantastic venues. Click here to read a Performance Overview.

The Trust worked to reach even more members of our community— by embracing social media and online technology we increased our followers on Facebook and Twitter and welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors to our website. To better serve our audiences and supporters, we added well-received pre- and post-show emails to our ongoing, informative mix of Weekly emails sent to some 250,000 people! The Trust’s Insider newsletter entertained 9,000 active readers every single month.

On behalf of the Hennepin Theatre Trust Board and Staff, thank you for welcoming us into your life and supporting our vision. We are honored by your participation and enthusiasm as the Trust leads the community in the cultural revitalization of downtown Minneapolis. Click here for a link to our Financial Report. Please accept our heartfelt “Thank you!”

 

Warm Regards,

Linda C. Ireland, Board Chair

 

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Year in Review 2011-12:
A Backstage Glimpse of Hennepin Theatre Trust

We invite you to take a look at this year-end review and share in the highlights of our past fiscal year, encompassing activities between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Please read further for updates from the Trust’s Education and Community Engagement, Resource Development, Programming, Marketing and Communications Departments.

Student Performers in the 2012 SpotLight Showcase

Education and Community Engagement Overview 2011-12

Educational and Community Engagement programs are central to the Trust’s vision of broadening community access and nurturing the Twin Cities’ burgeoning diversity, creativity and vitality. Through initiatives including the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program, we have created a valuable and vibrant network of schools and students who are bringing the art of the high school musical to amazing new levels. Our programs fostered cooperation and friendship and at the same time provided valuable resources for students and adults to deepen their understanding of live theatre, discover opportunities in the entertainment field and hone their talents as actors, technicians, critics, promoters, administrators or audience members.

Our Access Program further opened the doors of our theatres to a broader community of youth and adults by providing complimentary tickets to people including families facing hardships or individuals fighting long-term illness. The Trust’s historic theatre tours inspired an appreciation for Hennepin Avenue's colorful history and our venue’s key role in attracting residents and visitors to the action-packed core of downtown Minneapolis.

Program Highlights
SpotLight Musical Theatre Program

• During its seventh year, our SpotLight Musical Theatre Program, the Trust’s flagship educational initiative that supports and celebrates young people in high school musical theatre programs by offering training and recognition, touched nearly 5,000 students in a record 56 schools - 47 in the metro area and nine in greater Minnesota.
• On June 11, we feted the talents of more than 750 students who performed in the sold-out SpotLight Showcase on the Orpheum Theatre stage. Thirteen schools received honors for Overall Outstanding Production and brought their entire cast to perform highlights. Five schools received Overall Outstanding Performance honors.
• The SpotLight honors were presented to students by a prestigious local group including WCCO TV News Anchors, a Minneapolis City Council Member, leaders from Walker Art Center, the School of Rock and the Ivey Awards, a TCF Vice President, the Mayor of Glencoe and other key Trust supporters.
• Minnesotan Linda Eder, the internationally acclaimed Broadway actress and vocalist, served as the SpotLight Spokesperson for the second year. Students learned from her during a master class and a chorus sang with her during Eder's December Pantages concert. Eder also performed at the SpotLight Showcase with the Top 24 Triple Threat students.
• Three students were announced as special Triple Threat Awardees, recognized for their singing, acting and dancing. Honors for "Best Actress" went to Emily Nies of White Bear Lake Area High School and for "Best Actor" to Daniel Piering of Wayzata High School. They flew to New York City, courtesy of Sun Country Airlines, to take part in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards on June 25. John Jamison of Southwest High School was named "Triple Threat Breakout Performer" and he received a fully-funded, three-day intensive trip to New York to work with theatre professionals.
• The SpotLight Distance Learning program entered its second year, utilizing cost-effective, interactive videoconferencing technology to deliver musical theatre workshops to schools throughout Minnesota. Linda Eder’s master class touched students from multiple SpotLight schools and Trust teaching artist staff conducted 13 workshops which also reached into Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New Jersey, Virginia and Tennessee. The "Movement through the Jazz Era" workshop was delivered to an assisted living community in Ohio.
   

Tom Hoch, Hennepin Theatre Trust President/CEO, with 2011-12 SpotLight “Triple Threat” Award winners Emily Nies, Daniel Piering and John Jamison

Click here to watch a video clip from a workshop with the top 12 SpotLight Triple Threat finalists!

Educational Workshops and Opportunities

• Specialized and intensive musical theatre instruction came from touring Broadway cast members and top Twin Cities' arts professionals through master classes and workshops offered throughout the year. During seven Broadway master classes, students learned Character Development from Christopher Sieber, the star of La Cage Aux Folles; vocal techniques and unarmed combat from Natalie Weiss and Ben Gunderson of Les Miserables; monologue development from Anthony Crane of Disney’s The Lion King and rock voice with Jared Stein and cast members from American Idiot. Veteran celebrity actress Kathleen Turner taught an acting master class for the SpotLight Alumni Network and School of Rock/SpotLight Cabaret Camp participants took part in a drum master class with Bhurin Sead and Ramsey Rouston from Blue Man Group. 

Click here to watch a video clip from the Broadway Workshop with Natalie Weiss and Ben Gunderson of Les Miserables, teaching vocal techniques and unarmed combat.

• The Trust’s two Summer Cabaret Camps gave SpotLight students the opportunity to collaborate on all elements of a production from concept to the final performances which were held at Hell's Kitchen and the Fine Line Café.

Broadway Show Engagement

• Students and other members of our community learned from the pros in the Broadway touring casts through 12 post-show Q&A sessions at various productions and a special pre-show Q&A for audience members attending Blue Man Group.

Critical View

• Forty students learned critical thinking and language arts skills through our Critical View student reviewer program, now in its eighth year, which invites youth to review Broadway touring shows. Participants wrote their reviews or submitted poems, songs and videos. Reviews were published on the Critical View Ning Site, on HennepinTheatreTrust.org and in the Twin Cities Daily Planet, which also gave a year-end award to the "Best Reviewer," Madeline Bertch of FAIR Downtown School.
• Critical View students attended learning sessions taught by Jay Gabler, editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet, Rohan Preston, theatre critic with the Star Tribune, Dana Elkun from Open Book, Jeff Bartlett, lighting designer and Melody Ng, Eric Ringham and Chris Roberts from Minnesota Public Radio. They toured the MPR studio, the Star Tribune printing plant and the Orpheum, State and Pantages Theatres.
• We are very grateful to long-time Trust Donors Fred and Ann Moore who increased their substantial financial support for Critical View, making the program possible for these students.

Teen Ushers

• Our Teen Usher Program enabled eleven students to gain valuable on-the-job skills by working with the public, while learning about the theatre and related career options by touring the venues and interacting with theatre staff and professionals.

Access Program

• Through our Access Program, we opened the doors wider to our State, Orpheum, Pantages and New Century Theatres by partnering with more than 30 social service, cultural and educational organizations to give 4,500 tickets valued at $211,900 to members of our community experiencing life challenges who welcomed the chance to enjoy live entertainment. Our efforts raised awareness of cultural options in the Twin Cities, gave caretakers the chance for a needed break and provided a space for patrons to bond with loved ones.

Broadway Confidential

• Broadway Confidential, held in the New Century Theatre on the Monday before Broadway tour openings, offered adult patrons a deeper perspective about the musicals on our stages plus free appetizers donated by our restaurant partners. 2011-12 speakers included music programming veteran Stephen McClellan, artistic director Steven Meerdink, University of Minnesota Professor Lydia Belateche, musician WS Holland, Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream, radio personality Bradley Traynor and the Blue Man Group Music Director Julian Cassanetti. Average attendance nearly doubled this year.

The Scene

• Our young professionals group, The Scene, unveiled a new membership structure and engaged audience members in their 20s and 30s with Broadway-based offers including reduced ticket prices as well as pre-show and post-show gatherings to encourage mingling and networking. The Scene membership has since increased by 30%.
• The Trust launched The Spark Committee, a young patron’s advisory group of up-and-coming professionals, community activists and Twin Cities artists who are committed to carrying the Trust’s mission forward for the next generation. 

Volunteer Program

• Our exceptional cadre of volunteers, now under the leadership of the Development Department, surpassed 300 people, enabling us to better and more personally serve our community and supporters at a broad range of events and activities.

Kids’ Night

• Nearly 250 children and parents joined us for our annual Kids’ Night, held in conjunction with Disney’s The Lion King. The main event was an African mask making workshop with the renowned In The Heart Of The Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Families wore their new masks to the theatre that evening and received a children’s Playbill and free gift bags.

State and Orpheum’s 90th Birthday Celebration

• The Trust hosted a 90th birthday celebration in October for the State and Orpheum Theatres with crowds of people of all ages who took theatre tours, enjoyed treats popular in the 1920s and viewed photographs of Vaudeville performers from Orpheum Operations Coordinator Dave Marietta’s private collection.

Theatre Tours

• The Trust conducted public and private tours for more than 1000 people, offering a chance to learn about the rich and colorful history of the Orpheum, State and Pantages Theatres. Tours were offered on the last Monday of each month, with so much demand that we added a second monthly tour on the second Saturday of the month. The Trust also participated in the City's Heritage Preservation Commission walking tours.

Trust Tour Guide Christopher Yaeger leads an Orpheum Theatre Tour

 

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Green Day’s explosive, multi-Tony winning musical American Idiot took the Orpheum Theatre by storm

Performance Overview 2011-12

Hennepin Theatre Trust’s historic theatres are the irreplaceable heart of our city’s creative cultural space. Our programming created a wealth of arts experiences that increased awareness of the Trust and enhanced the vibrant cultural environment of the Twin Cities. In the past year, the Trust attracted ticket buyers from all of Minnesota’s 87 counties, succeeding in serving every corner of the state.

In addition to the excitement of hosting some of the best Broadway touring shows in the country, our dynamic array of music, comedy, engaging speakers and theatre programs offered something for everyone and continued to provide a gateway to our city’s robust artistic community.

On-Stage Highlights 2011-12

• We brought 109 Broadway performances, 46 non-Broadway engagements such as music, comedy and speakers and 331 rental events to the Orpheum, State and Pantages Theatres.
• When Disney’s The Lion King returned ‘home’ for a sold-out, six week engagement at the Orpheum Theatre, the site of its world premiere, Minneapolis became the first city to present this blockbuster musical four times.
• American Idiot, the rock opera musical based on Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album, jammed the Orpheum Theatre while Million Dollar Quartet, the Broadway musical inspired by the electrifying true story of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, rocked crowds at the State.
• Two of the biggest names in the music business, Florence + the Machine, the Grammy-nominated British pop sensation, and the legendary Janet Jackson were among the top-notch artists who entertained capacity crowds at the State and Orpheum Theatres.
• From Weird Al Yankovic, who has parlayed song parodies into a platinum-selling, multi-Grammy career, to the annual ‘hot ticket’ appearances of humorist/author David Sedaris, the Trust continued to make its mark hosting comedy.
• We continued to collaborate with local companies and built new audiences through an ongoing, successful partnership with Theater Latté Da and Cantus which brought All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, a new holiday classic, to the Pantages for six performances in December 2011.

New Century Theatre
Hennepin Theatre Trust developed the New Century Theatre from long-vacant retail space in the City Center near the site of the original Century Theatre. This new 250-seat flexible theatre space opened in September 2011 in downtown Minneapolis and is ideal for collaborating with local arts organizations in presenting an array of live theatre and music performances, hosting meetings and offering educational programs.

• After opening the New Century Theatre in late September, the Trust presented hundreds of performances, education and community based engagements and meetings there with an estimated attendance of nearly 24,000 patrons.
• Special Programming-Related Partnerships gave the Trust the opportunity to produce or present many productions in collaboration with local artists in the New Century Theatre. These included Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, presented with a stellar local cast of Twin Cities actors directed by Wendy Knox of Frank Theatre, Mary a la carte, Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women, which ran for a highly successful nine week engagement, and A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol.
• The Trust entered into a collaborative partnership with Minneapolis Musical Theatre to co-produce MMT’s season of never before, or very rarely, seen musicals in the New Century Theatre.

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Hennepin Avenue Revitalization/Cultural District

Participants in one of our Talk-It Hennepin Workshops

• The Trust was awarded a major $200,000 National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” creative placemaking grant to lead the planning for a cultural district linking and creating arts-related opportunities from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the Walker Art Center to the Mississippi Riverfront along Hennepin Avenue. The Trust worked in partnership with the Walker Art Center, Artspace and the City of Minneapolis.
• As part of the NEA planning process, the Trust launched Plan-It Hennepin, a flexible, inclusive and layered initiative to share information and gather public opinion. An estimated 1500 people participated in talks, workshops, social media, presentations, focus groups, meetings, youth projects, videos, classes and other activities.
• The Plan-It process also comprised Talk-It Hennepin, a series of four Thursday evening “conversations” followed by Saturday morning public planning workshops that addressed history and values, vision, design and implementation. Speakers included locally, nationally and internationally-known innovators in urban planning, design and placemaking such as Charles Landry and Candy Chang. Workshops were led by a team of local artists and urban designers who employed creative techniques to access multiple ways of thinking, visioning and formulating ideas to launching a cultural district.
• We made downtown a better place to live, work and play by our ongoing active support of its organizations. Tom Hoch served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District and continued to serve on the Board of the Minneapolis Downtown Council where he helped develop the Downtown 2025 Plan. 

 

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Marketing and Communications Initiatives Overview in 2011-12

In 2011-12, more people than ever connected with us online and through social media. We served a growing number of patrons who use mobile smart phones by rebuilding and redesigning aspects of our website. We reached out to audiences interactively, seeking opinions and sharing information through established and new social media tools and by sending new pre- and post-show emails with study guides and information on where to dine and park to add to the experience of attending events.

• Our HennepinTheatreTrust.org website received more than 1.2 million visits and over 3.2 million page views, offering our guests videos, music, live links to events and interactive theatre maps with “view from your seat” ticketing assistance.
• We expanded our followers on popular social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Foursquare and engaged with a broader range of people and audiences through the newer sites Pinterest, Instagram and Spotify.
• Our “Weekly” email update reached nearly 250,000 theatre-goers with special offers and advanced show information, while the Trust’s Insider newsletter connected with 11,000 active readers including donors and subscribers and offered Q & As with artistic directors, actors and staff, fun quizzes and little known facts.

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Financial Overview 2012

 

 

 

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Scene members joined Trust Donors and Supporters at an opening night party with cast members from American Idiot held at restaurant partner Cosmos

Resource Development Overview 2011-12

Hennepin Theatre Trust ended the fiscal year projecting a successful year raising contributed income and successfully completed the sixth full year operating under the lease agreement with the City of Minneapolis. Modest increases in staffing supported the organization’s growth with 23 full time employees compared to 18 last year, expanding the Development and Education and Community Engagement Departments and adding a New Century Theatre box office and group sales manager. During this first year of the formally adopted five year annual giving plan, we're proud to have achieved a growing number of Donors and increases in individual contributions as well as support from corporate partnerships, sponsorships and grants.

Donor Highlights

• During the annual statewide Give to the Max Day in mid-November 2011, the Trust asked supporters to "donate a seat" to the Trust’s free ticket Access Program. We received 239 donations, 141 from new donors, as part of this online campaign, which was paired with an open house at the New Century Theatre with food, games and entertainment. All donors who contributed $100 or more could send a singing telegram to anyone they chose.
• Shifts in giving levels and enhanced benefits helped generate substantial increases in donations and new contributors, many inspired by the late January launch of a strong 2012-13 Broadway Season. A more sophisticated understanding of donors was aided by upgrading to Wealth Engine analytics and Convio donor software, which added social media capacity and a peer-to-peer fundraising element allowing donors to create their own web pages.

Contributed Support and Sponsorship Highlights

• The Trust raised significant amounts from new and existing corporate partnerships and sponsorships, including a generous donation from Berger Transfer which supported our popular Master Classes and Broadway Confidential series.
• Generous support for our Access Program came from Bob and Celeste Rekeita and a new community partnership with the Phillips Family Foundation which helped local schools attend Disney’s The Lion King and Les Miserables. Phillips Distilling Company also continued its current sponsorship and committed for the upcoming year.
• The Trust is in its third year of a sponsorship with Summit Brewing Company, the preferred beer of the Orpheum, State, Pantages and New Century Theatres. Sony continued to partner with us to support the Minnesota Walk of Fame.
• The Trust began the second year of a sponsorship with TCF Bank for the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program. A substantial Best Buy sponsorship and funds from TCF Bank supported the SpotLight Distance Learning program.
• Our Restaurant and Hotel sponsorship program continued to flourish with generous contributions and new partners including Crave and The Grand Hotel.

Grant Highlights

• The Trust received a grant of $678,000 from the Minnesota State Arts Board and continued to develop the Cultural District Plan through a $200,000 “Our Town” planning grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Featured Donors

	“The arts bring a world of music, song, dance, writing, acting and imagination to all. The arts should be available for the enjoyment and education to all. The Trust’s Access Program helps make that happen.” Bob and Celeste Rekieta, Guarantors
	“Hennepin Theatre Trust has allowed us to enjoy the excitement of the Broadway scene while staying here in Minnesota. We are so happy to support this great organization that is giving so much back to the Twin Cities.”   Karen Kuhn and Pam Macias, Associates
	“Twenty years ago, my high school choir traveled to the State Theatre to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and that trip began my love for live theatre. I am a donor so the Trust can continue to support school programs that introduce the next generation to live theatre.” Martin Pemberton, Supporter

 

 

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FISCAL YEAR 2012 LIST OF DONORS