Colonial Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Merging
Photo by Larry Murray
Kate Maguire, CEO and artistic director of BTF, will take on the same roles for the Colonial. |
Maguire, currently artistic director of the BTF will be the chief executive officer of the new combined operation. It is expected that this move will strengthen the cultural vitality of the Berkshire region — and possibly the financial positions of both venues.
The news came as a surprise to most observers, though articles Thursday by my colleague Charles Guiliano in Berkshire Fine Arts and another in The Berkshire Eagle tipped us off that something important was brewing.
Backstory: About two months ago, the board of the Colonial approached Maguire about a partnership with the organization. The Colonial's executive director, David Fleming, had resigned in August.
What the two boards have agreed on is a memorandum of understanding wherein the two organizations will remain separate for the time being. Maguire will supervise both and there will be shared staff between the organizations. The goal is to end up with a merged organization utilizing all three stages under one blanket company. The Colonial will remain primarily a presenting stage and BTF will maintain both Stockbridge stages for produced events, though appropriate acts may be booked in other spaces as circumstances warrant.
Said Maguire in a letter to her supporters: "I want to assure all of our loyal patrons that this does not signal a pronounced shift in the artistic missions of either venue. Berkshire Theatre Festival will still produce the highest quality theatrical productions and will still occupy the same home in Stockbridge, Mass., that we have maintained
for 82 years. The Colonial will continue to present local, regional, and national acts to bring you the best musicians, dancers, comedians, and performers available to our region. With this partnership you will have the opportunity to experience a broader array of performances at all three venues.
"What you will see is a collaboration between two venerable institutions that will result in a diverse, intriguing, and exemplary calendar of artistic events in both Stockbridge and Pittsfield that cannot help but be a benefit to every resident of the Berkshires."
As a practical matter it is expected that the Colonial Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Festival will create a new nonprofit organization that will connect the two entities, while preserving their identities, and adding a new dimension to the Berkshire theater arts heritage. Of course, it also provides a golden opportunity to bring new blood onto the new board while jettisoning those board members who may not be pulling their fair load.
It is expected that the partnership will stage performances and festivals interchangeably throughout the year at the two historic theaters and BTF's Unicorn Theatre. The theaters are two of America's oldest theaters — The Colonial was built in 1903 and the main stage of BTF in 1928. They've hosted performers and playwrights from George Bernard Shaw to James Taylor.
"It is a thrilling and very creative collaboration that benefits both organizations and really underscores Pittsfield's renewed status as the cultural hub of the Berkshires. We're on our way to being the theater capitol of rural New England!" said Megan Whilden of Cultural Pittsfield
The Colonial Theatre and BTF served 60,000 patrons and 15,000 schoolchildren collectively this year.
At the moment, the Colonial and BTF plan to retain their individual boards of trustees but will create a new board to oversee all operations. Just where the fundraising responsibilities will lie is not yet decided, and Maguire, who is also BTF's CEO, will serve in the same capacity for the Colonial Theatre and the new organization. Staff activities of both organizations will also be integrated to produce efficiencies and reduce costs, as well as to benefit the Berkshire community at large.
Michael MacDonald, the Colonial's board president, said in a statement that the new partnership responds to the changing climate in the areas of nonprofit arts and culture management and fundraising, as well as the complementary strengths of both organizations.
"BTF has an exceptionally strong presence during the summer months, and the Colonial is especially busy in the winter, spring, and fall," he said. "In addition, the educational offerings of both groups, BTF Plays! and the Colonial's Performing Arts for Schools will benefit from the our joint endeavors."
BTF co-President David Lloyd said the Colonial-BTF collaboration will diversify the cultural offerings across Berkshire county. “This will make it easier for audiences in the North and South Berkshire counties to see a greater variety of stage productions all year,” he said in the announcement, noting that collaboration between local arts organizations can serve to benefit all of the areas cultural venues, and the Colonial will continue to seek out ways to work with others in the spirit of a true community center.
Lee Perlman, BTF's other president, agreed. "The partnership's new 'better together' vision will reinvigorate Berkshire culture and serve as a model for other theaters, festivals, and communities nationwide," he said.
Maguire contined that both venues have "pillars of the American theater in the Berkshires."
"The future of each will be enhanced creatively and financially by this new collaboration. Our new partnership will redefine the Berkshires' theater arts heritage."
For more theater news and reviews, see BerkshireOnStage.com.
