TETA Board of Directors
Treasurer / CFO
Welcome to everyone, both to the TETA website and to the huge amount of information that has been or will be posted on this website. While Darve Smith continues to put the finishing touches on TETA’s new website, we didn’t want to waste any time letting you know about the work which has been done over the summer or the activities to which we all look forward in the New Year.
2014 will be the last year that Jenny Nichols and I will serve as Convention Directors for TheatreFest, so we want to make sure that TheatreFest 2014 in Dallas is as special as it can possibly be (the event is at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, January 30-February 2, 2014). If you have not already heard, room rates have been LOWERED from the previously announced rates, and, as always, there is one rate for single through quad occupancy. Also, self-parking for the entire event is only $10.00! We encourage you to book your rooms now online at (https://resweb.passkey.com/go/TETAJan2014). As always, the number of rooms at TETA’s discounted rate is limited, and it is first booked, first confirmed.
TheatreFest 2014 will have a different look in many aspects. You can still register onsite beginning Thursday evening, January 30, but while wait until then? Registration forms are now online, and you can save $50 per person by registering ASAP. If you do wait to register onsite, remember that we accept cash and credit cards only: no checks of any kind.
We have invited a great number of educators and entertainers to attend TheatreFest. On Friday, January 31, Broadway Legend Carol Channing celebrates her 93rd birthday, and she is going to celebrate with us. Since many of you have seen Carol perform at previous TheatreFests, this will be your opportunity to spend some personal time with the Tony-winning star who created the role of Dolly Levi on Broadway. Come wish Carol a Happy 93rd.
In fact, we hope to reprise several of the guests who have joined us at TheatreFest over the years, in addition to new guests who have never appeared before. We hope to announce the full list of Special Guests in the next issue of Texas Theatre Notes. Meanwhile, there are also some special Featured Guests who have already been booked.
RON PIRETTI is an actor, fight director and director. On Broadway, he has appeared as Officer Krupke in “West Side Story” and has appeared in many roles Off-Broadway, TV and Film. He is a Fight Director/Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors.
DENNIS MAGANZA is a professor of theatre, with more than 35 years of experience as a teacher, director, actor and playwright. He’ll be doing workshops on Mime and Directing.
DR. MICHAEL MCCAMBRIDGE, Associate Professor in the School of Education and Chair of the Department of Teacher Education. His specialty is researching and developing dramatic teaching and learning in and through the arts as operationalized in Project ACT (active collaborative transformative teaching and learning) in Ventura County schools. Specifically in the elementary classroom.
MAMA YEYE – Olori Oriyomi will return to teach a number of African Dance classes.
CHARLENE SPEYERER – Plano HS graduate. Broadway stage manager for many shows including Phantom of the Opera.
Our programing focus for 2014 is the 21st Century Skills: Creativity, Critical thinking, Collaboration and Communication.
Our focus at TheatreFest 2014 will indeed be on educational theatre in Texas, which is the sole mandate in this organization’s charter. There will be more time than ever allocated for workshops, so please, make sure to submit a workshop proposal using the form found on this website. Please note the form submission deadline.
Almost half of our exhibit booths are already committed, and there are some new vendors as well as many of our faithful past exhibitors.
TheatreFest 2014 promises to be a great time to meet and share with colleagues, and since the public and meeting spaces at the Hyatt Regency Dallas are larger than the one’s in Houston, there should be plenty of room for all attendees at each event.
Switching gears from my Convention Director hat to the Treasurer’s update, so many things have occurred since we last published TTN in May.
The By-Laws of TETA have been amended to reflect our current operations. Please see the new copy posted on this website. There are four changes to the By-Laws which will require a membership vote at TETA’s annual Business Meeting, and those will be published, as required, twice before the Business Meeting. All other By-Law revisions were unanimously approved by TETA’s Board of Directors and are reflected in the document posted on this website.
Additionally, the entire Manual of Operations was revised and updated, something which had not been done since 2008. It was a daunting task, but thanks to the work of many (special thanks to Eric Skiles and Jenny Nichols), the document, some 130+ pages long, is now being retyped to reflect the changes that were approved by the Board of Directors at their meeting of August 31. The updated MoO will be posted on this website as soon as possible (volunteer typing of 130 page documents moves slowly, especially during the first month of the school year).
TETA’s new auditing firm should have a draft of the audit to present to the Board of Directors imminently. Any time a new auditing firm is engaged, an audit will take a bit longer. Since any new firm will not have any history with our organization, they will look at every part of the organization to make certain that there is a good understanding of how TETA works on both a financial and administrative level. We have asked that this audit be especially thorough, and once presented to and approved by the BOD, it will be immediately posted on this website.
One thing which IS currently posted on our website is an analysis of TETA’s financial risk as assessed by Dun and Bradstreet, the worldwide leader in corporate financial evaluations. TETA made the decision to seek this outside but well-known company to make certain that TETA’s financial policies and procedures met industry standards. On a scale of 1 through 9, with 1 representing the lowest risk and 9 representing the highest risk, TETA submitted data to D&B for their evaluation. The original rating assigned to TETA was a 4, because D&B could not verify the data submitted. After signing a release to allow D&B to speak directly to TETA’s bank and creditors, D&B reissued our rating: a one (1), representing the lowest possible risk. A copy of the final assessment is attached to this article.
To our knowledge, TETA is the only educational arts organization in Texas to subscribe to D&B and to have its financial systems evaluated. In fact, in checking the websites of every other educational arts organization in Texas, we are unable to find any organization which discloses as much financial information as does TETA. We hope this will help mollify any legitimate concerns and would hope that every NPO in Texas follows TETA’s example.
One last note: TheatreFest and TETA itself depends on volunteers who are willing and able to devote the necessary time to assist in the various activities and committees of this organization. If you have an interest in being part of the team that makes things happen at TETA, please let one of the BOD members know. You are the reason TETA exists, and the more people who are willing to serve in any capacity, the more impactful the organization becomes. Still, there is only one reason to volunteer to serve: commitment.
Look forward to a further update in the November issue of TTN.
