Proctors changes coming fast
Venue adds new features, takes on partners
Saturday, February 12, 2011
By Sara Foss (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — It can be difficult to keep up with the changes at Proctors.
Last month the Schenectady theater and arts venue announced a new partnership with Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany and its plans to take over the in-house coffee shop run by the Muddy Cup and unveiled its elegant new banquet hall, Key Hall.
In recent years, Proctors has announced new partnerships and features with stunning regularity.

In 2003, the theater embarked on an ambitious $30 million expansion that tripled the size of its stage and allowed Proctors to accommodate touring Broadway shows. In 2007, Proctors completed renovations to the former Carl Company on State Street, adding the 434-seat GE Theatre, new conference spaces and offices and a new box office. Three years ago, Proctors became the winter home of the Schenectady Greenmarket, the city’s farmers market, and this year it assumed management of Schenectady’s public access TV station under the subsidiary Open Stage Media.

Philip Morris, Proctors CEO, said that he views Proctors as an “engine for downtown” and used the Japanese word “kaizen,” which means continuous, incremental improvement, to describe the Proctors approach.

“We’ve got to deal with tomorrow, we’ve got to deal with today, but what else could we be doing?” Morris said.
Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen said that when he gives tours of downtown Schenectady to investors, Proctors is the first place he brings them. “Proctors has become a major force for downtown,” he said. “It touches so many parts of the community. It’s a showpiece.”

Back in the day, Proctors hosted between 60 and 70 events a year, Gillen said. Now there are events in Proctors almost every night of the week.

Read full story at: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/feb/12/0213_proctorschanges/

http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts/capital-rep-announces-new-season-man-of-la-mancha-in-mix/14904/

February 11, 2011 at 4:04 pm by Tom Keyser, features reporter

Capital Repertory Theatre has unveiled its 2011 – 2012 season with six shows – five offered on subscription and a special engagement of “Man of La Mancha” that will be offered off-subscription during the holidays. The season is Capital Rep’s 31st.

“With our new management agreement with Proctors, we wanted our season to reflect our longstanding commitment to the highest quality professional theater in the region and embrace the exciting possibilities with our new partner,” said Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Capital Rep’s producing artistic director.

Kicking off the season is a limited engagement (July 19–31) of the autobiographical musical “Uptown Downtown,” starring the legendary Leslie Uggams. The show is produced and directed by Michael Bush, who directed Uggams in “Stormy Weather” and Capital Rep’s production of “Cactus Flower” this past October.

Also included in the season are three regional premieres:

“Superior Donuts,” by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts (Sept. 16–October 16).

The gospel-blues musical “Black Pearl Sings,” by Frank Higgens (March 9–April 8, 2012).

The Broadway hit “God of Carnage,” by Yasmina Reza (April 27–May 27, 2012).

Rounding out the season are the Outer Critics Circle Best Broadway Play “The Sisters Rosensweig,” by Wendy Wasserstein (Jan. 20-Feb 17, 2012) and the five-time Tony Award-winning musical “Man of La Mancha” (Nov. 11–Dec. 18, 2011).

“Each season should take people on an emotional journey,” Mancinelli-Cahill said. “In addition to thinking about what a play has to say and how people will feel when they leave the theater, I think about how a play fits the time of year. Summer is fun; the fall starts a period of change and contemplation. I’m in the mood for inspiration during the holidays, and in the cold of winter, I’m ready for a little romance.

“I also like to see great performers in worthy roles –that’s where a new play like ‘Black Pearl Sings’ can really deliver with great music and a great singer coming together to tell a story we’ve never heard before. By late spring, I’m ready to laugh and stir things up in a play like ‘God of Carnage,’ where the adults act worse than the kids they are fighting about.”

In addition, Capital Rep announced that seating at the theater is now being offered in more “tiers” to enable better access to premium seats and new pricing options to appeal to a broader range of patrons. The box office will receive a facelift, and show runs have been extended by one week – again to serve more patrons.

Current Capital Repertory Theatre subscribers have until March 1 to renew their subscriptions. New subscriptions range from $130 to $275 and will be available to the public on March 1 by calling the box office at 518-445-7469.

Single tickets for the 2011-2012 season will go on sale later in the spring. For more information, call the box office or visit the Capital Rep web site: http://www.capitalrep.org.

Abram Lansing Masks Make Their Way to Proctors

Hundreds of masks created by the students of Abram Lansing Elementary School have made their way to Proctors Theater in Schenectady, where they will be on display during the entire run of Disney’s The Lion King.

Students, faculty and staff at Abram Lansing Elementary School have been engaged in a full-school, year-long project focused on the themes of Disney's The Lion King through African studies, giving students a chance to immerse themselves in the culture.

To view a slideshow of the Proctors installation: http://www.cohoes.org/NewsArchive/2010-11/Feb2011/020311_proctorsmasks.cfm

Several different types of teaching artists have presented workshops for students that are linked to curriculum and the African and tribal themes of
Disney's The Lion King, including artist Chris Moran who led the multi-class project. Moran’s art project gave students an opportunity to learn about the masks and costumes used in The Lion King. Each class made masks of different animals, including lions, tigers and birds.
The masks will be displayed at Proctors from now throughout the run of The Lion King, February 22-March 20, 2011

Anthony J. Mashuta to Lead Proctors Board

Schenectady, NY – Proctors recently announced the election of Anthony J. Mashuta of
Latham, NY, to head the Board of Directors at the Schenectady-based arts and
entertainment complex. Mr. Mashuta is president of Cool Insuring Agency, Inc. In
addition, 34 Capital Region business leaders have accepted positions on Proctors
Board of Directors for 2011.

Proctors Board of Directors provides wide-ranging governance over the Region’s
outstanding arts and entertainment complex. Through arts and community leadership,
the Board works to ensure that Proctors will be a catalyst for excellence in
education, sustained economic development and civic engagement to enhance the
quality of life in the Capital Region.

We are pleased to have so many representatives of the Capital Region’s business
community among the Board’s membership,” said past Board president Richard
Carlstrom. “Each brings innovative new skills and important contacts to Proctors.
We look forward to their continued contributions to our Region and especially to
Proctors as we focus on its future growth and upward trajectory.”

About Anthony Mashuta

Anthony J. Mashuta was elected President of the Board of Directors of Proctors on
January 27, 2011. He joined the Board in 2001 and has served as Vice President
since 2004. He has been a long-time supporter of Proctors as a Corporate Sponsor
and frequent ticket buyer. He has successfully used Proctors for client and
corporate entertaining on many occasions.

“I am excited to take on the leadership of the Proctors Board as we innovate and
grow our offerings in the Capital Region,” said Mr. Mashuta in accepting the
leadership position on the Board of Directors at Proctors. “There are many
challenges as we work with other arts programs and organizations to increase
collaboration and the success of the arts sector needed to attract residents and
business to our region.”

Mr. Mashuta has had a distinguished career in the insurance field, and now serves as
President of the Latham, NY-based Cool Insuring Agency, a major Capital Region
insurance provider. He began his insurance career in 1978 with the Travelers
Insurance Company in Albany and moved to Cool Insuring Agency in 1982, becoming
President in 1992.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelors degree in Business
Administration, Mr. Mashuta lives In Latham with his wife Joyce. They have three
daughters.

In Praise of Accomplishment

Proctors CEO Philip Morris praises the organization’s Board of Directors for its
foresight and follow-through on several major initiatives that have catapulted
Proctors to the forefront of arts, entertainment and education in the extended
Capital Region. These include:

· The recently announced cooperative agreement between Proctors and
Albany-based Capital Repertory Theatre.

· The successful conclusion of negotiations between Proctors and Mazzone
Management to launch KeyHall at Proctors as an performance and banquet facility.

· Successful strategies that attracted more than 78,000 individuals who came
to the month-long run of Wicked, with the goal of whetting appetites throughout the
region for future blockbusters -- while supporting on-going programming of excellent
and varied performing arts on all four Proctors performances venues concurrently.
The upcoming presentation of Disney’s The Lion King is expected to play before sold
out houses at Proctors in the coming weeks.

· Incorporating the local public access television station with the goal of
launching public access, government and education channels with improved programming
that expands input of area youth participating in after-school video training. Next
year, this same initiative will encompass state-of-the-art, in-school video support
of English literacy (as a drop-out prevention program for 9th graders in the
Schenectady schools).

· Hosting innumerable community events on astronomy, opera films, a successful
and expanding farmers market, statewide conferences, free art nights with music and
visual arts, and more.

· Recruiting new business customers to Proctors District Heating and Cooling
plant to make it run more efficiently.

“Our Board is truly awesome,” says Morris. “Its members understand what Proctors
can be – and is becoming -- as an arts and entertainment complex. The Board’s
ability to envision collectively -- and then act decisively to implement and
support that vision – is invigorating and worthy of respect from everyone
associated with Proctors and the extended Capital Region communities it serves.”

Contact: For more information, contact Karen B. Johnson, Campaign Director, Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305, 518 382-3884 x 114, kjohnson@proctors.org

Board of Directors at Proctors

Executive Committee

Anthony J. Mashuta, President, Cool Insuring Agency, Inc.

Anne Putnam, Vice President, Fenimore Asset Management

Jeffrey Christiana, Secretary, Blake Realty

Daniel J. White, Treasurer, KPMG, LLC

Richard A. Carlstrom, Past President, Albany International, retired

Raymond A. Bleser, Northeastern Fine Jewelry

Katherine M. Sheehan, City of Albany

Herbert L. Shultz, Jr., Fenimore Asset Management, retired

Board Members reelected

Judith Gardner Ainlay, Union College

Ronald Backer, XAR Corporation

Lionel Barthold, Power Technologies, Inc. (retired)

Anthony J. Bifaro, New York State United Teachers, retired

Raymond A. Bleser, Northeastern Fine Jewelry

Pamela Sawchuk Brown, Albany Medical Center

David M. Buicko, Galesi Group

Dr. Quintin B. Bullock, Schenectady County Community College

Richard A. Carlstrom, Albany International, retired

Jeff Christiana, Blake Realty

Michael Dranichak, TransTech

Angela Fink, Proctors Guild

Dan Finkle, Core-Mark International, Inc.

Mona Golub, Golub Corporation

Paul B. Harding, Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, LLP

Amy M. Johnson, Capstone, Inc.

Gary Keehfus, First Cardinal LLC

Wynn Kintz, Kintz Plastics, Inc.

Jeffrey A. Lawrence, Center for Economic Growth

Anthony J. Mashuta, Cool Insuring Agency, Inc.

Morris Massry, Massry Realty Partners

Kenneth McPartlin, Business Consultant

Paul D. Moore, New York State (retired)

David W. Oliker, MVP Health Care

Gregory L. Pinto, MD

Anne B. Putnam, Fenimore Asset Management

Dr. Walter Robb, Vantage Management, Inc.

Katherine M. Sheehan, City of Albany

Herbert L. Shultz, Jr., Fenimore Asset Management (retired)

Stan Smith, GE Energy

Mark A. Sperry, H2Pump LLC

Eveline Ward-Sells, Community Advocate

Daniel J. White, KPMG LLP

Amy Wiles, KeyBank

- 30 –

Chinese government gives its Ok, TVHS to host Chinese students, educators next month

Susan Arbetter's The Capitol Pressroom.

Hear the interview: http://thecapitolpressroom.org/the-capitol-pressroom-for-february-3-2011/

The focus of the program will be Arts Programming in NYS. Assemblyman Sam Hoyt and
Curt Steinzor Dance Alliance) will be joining PM. You can stream them at @ www.thecapitolpressroom.com

Here is what Susan teased for today's segment:

As a percentage of its annual budget, the cut proposed by the Governor for the NY State Council on the Arts is among the largest of any State agency.

Today we speak with a roundtable of guests on the issue featuring Philip Morris, the CEO of
Proctors Theater (in studio). ‬

Pizza Wars draws hungry horde to Proctors
Friday, February 4, 2011
By Marcy Velte (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — As 3-year-old Jackson Rodriguez chomped away on pepperoni pizza inside Proctors’ GE Theatre Thursday night, the lines for Pizza Wars stretched out the front and back doors.
“We had more people than expected,” said Selena Dutcher, organizer of the event put on by Townsquare Media.
Dutcher and other event staffers were working almost like pizza bouncers inside the doors of Pizza Wars. The event started at 5 p.m. and 20 minutes later the room was at capacity. As pizza enthusiasts left, more were slowly let in.
“We’re like a night club right now,” Dutcher said.
At 6:20 p.m. she estimated more than 800 people had been admitted. The event wasn’t set to end until 9:30 p.m. and the lines were growing so long they stretched through the long arcade and onto State Street and out the rear entrance.

Read full story: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/feb/04/0204_pizza/

The Observation Deck
A blog of opinions on local, state and national issues

The play really is the thing
http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/the-play-really-is-the-thing/9049/

January 30, 2011 at 6:01 am by Jay Jochnowitz, Editorial page editor
From today’s editorials: The cooperative agreement between Cap Rep and Proctors is the kind of thing more arts groups — and governments and schools — need to look at.
_____________________
What is so encouraging about the move by Capital Repertory Theatre and Proctors to merge administrative operations isn’t the money it will save, although $200,000 for a struggling arts group like Cap Rep is certainly a nice bonus.

What’s noteworthy is that the people who came up with this plan remembered what’s important — that is, the show.

That the play’s the thing at Cap Rep may seem obvious to any theatergoer. But how often does preserving an institution’s core mission — whether it’s theater or some other public good — become, over time, secondary to perpetuating the institution itself? How much is the inertia and outright resistance to merging, downsizing or streamlining the bureaucracies that have grown up around our governments and schools the result of a determination by administrators and others on the inside to preserve their jobs?
To see that dilemma playing out, one has only to look a few blocks away from Proctors to Schenectady City Hall, which has been looking for some time now at consolidating the city’s police force with those in the surrounding county. As a consultant reported to the City Council Monday, consolidation could save money, but there’s a hitch: other departments in the county don’t want to do it.
To be sure, suburban departments have understandable concerns about merging with the Schenectady force. The city represents almost 90 percent of the county’s violent crime. Schenectady’s force has been plagued by officer misconduct and outright criminality. And the city department is twice as costly on a per capita basis to run compared with a suburb like Niskayuna. Just who would be better or worse off in a merger is a fair question to ask.
Yet there is no question that there is a public good in at least sharing some services. The study by the Picker Center for Executive Education at Columbia University found that Schenectady could save as much as an estimated $560,000 a year by combining records, communications and training with other departments, a course the city and towns may pursue.
So when police forces, other government agencies and schools warn that cutting costs will mean lost services, bigger class sizes or some other dire consequence, it’s important for citizens to look more closely.
Somehow, Cap Rep in this arrangement with Proctors will be able to preserve most of its administrative employees except, most notably, the managing director, for whom Proctors is seeking a new post, and to continue the artistic side of the operation while effectively closing the roughly $200,000 annual deficit it has had in recent years.
This kind of thinking beyond turf should be an example to other cultural and service groups out there, even those that aren’t in danger of closing their doors. So should each and every government and school district. Jobs are important, of course, but when they become so costly that they put the mission of any organization in jeopardy, they defeat the very purpose they’re supposed to serve.

Theater review: Cap Rep’s ‘Shipwrecked!’ is simply engaging storytelling
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/jan/28/0128_wrecked/
Friday, January 28, 2011
By Matthew G. Moross

‘Shipwrecked’
WHAT: “An Entertainment — the Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself)”
WHERE: Capital Repertory Theatre, 111 N. Pearl St., Albany
WHEN: Through Feb. 13
HOW MUCH: $40-$16
MORE INFO: 445-7469 or www.capitalrep.org

LATHAM — “I shall impersonate a man. Enter into my imagination! Listen and watch as he lays down the melancholy burden of sanity and sameness and conceives a life imagined.”

No longer will he be the sickly and plain Henri Louis Grin, but the seafaring adventurer Louis de Rougemont! Not quite Cervantes’ adventurous storyteller, but a spiritual brother in a battle to conquer the prosaic.

Capital Rep is sharing the tale in “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself).”
Originally commissioned by South Coast Repertory in 2007 as a children’s theater piece, playwright Donald Margulies has crafted a tale that is taller than a toddler and suitable for all. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author may have set out to create a "Man of La Mancha" for the Barney set, but he gives us something much more simple, but equally as powerful — the need to create a life less ordinary.
Related story

For Gazette theater writer Bill Buell's preview of this show, click here.

The play is based on the real-life Henri Louis Grin — or his alias, Luis de Rougemont, a nom-de plume in a life that was embellished with all sorts of exaggerations.

Read full review: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/jan/28/0128_wrecked/