TETA Board of Directors
Treasurer / CFO
Congratulations to all the UIL-OAP State Meet Competitors. To those schools and casts who placed in each conference, enjoy your moment; to those that did not receive one of the three trophies, yours was among the best eight performances in your conference. Enjoy your moment, too! And to everyone who participated in this great event, at every level, thank you for your passion and love of theatre.
Some brief announcements about our upcoming year.
In 2012, the Finance Committee discussed the possibility of raising fees to attend TheatreFest in 2014. Our initial recommendation was that a fee increase would be needed, and this was approved by TETA’s Board of Directors. But…. Never leave before the show ends! As we reexamined the fantastic success of our 2013 Convention- the first ever when attendance hit 1800!- we determined that if attendance remained strong, there would be no need for a fee increase in the immediate future. In fact, not only are we keeping all convention fees the same, we are increasing the awards paid to winners of many TheatreFest events. Full news will be in the September issue on “Texas Theatre Notes”. So all fees will remain the same, and awards for certain event entries will increase: the best of both worlds.
Also, I am happy to be working again with Jenny Nichols as Co-Convention Directors for TheatreFest 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas, TX.
There were some comments made about the security at TheatreFest 2013. I would like to address those. In recent years, we have always had a uniformed police presence at TheatreFest since one of our primary considerations is the safety of all attendees. In 2013, we had the exact same number of police present as we have always had, although the TOTAL of hours they were scheduled was increased by four hours (and four hours only). However, we did ask the security personnel to have more of a “presence” and to be more visible around large group events.
I’m sure you all remember the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, which happened on December 12, 2012- only five weeks before TheatreFest. All event planners were alerted by liability insurers concerning the need to review onsite security. While we felt that our security had been adequate at all previous TheatreFests, we did ask the officers to make sure they were conspicuous as they patrolled the Hyatt or to be seated where they could be seen by many. If that made some members uncomfortable, we sincerely apologize, but the safety and security of our members and other attendees will always be at the forefront when planning TheatreFest.
We also received reports that a number of people at TheatreFest were not properly registered or wearing their ID tags (name badges). Toward that end, we will be introducing a new identification tag for TheatreFest 2014 attendees. This new “name tag” will help significantly to provide positive identification for members who have properly paid and registered to attend our Convention.
Other enhancements are also in the works. A rethinking of our Awards Banquet. Expanded programming. Enhancements in Registration for those who have paid their dues and convention fees by December 1. And lots more.
Enjoy the summer ahead. See a show. Be a great audience. And we’ll see you back on this website in September.