Holiday season is upon us, and the spirit of giving is alive! What better way to give back to your community than participating in this years #GivingTuesday by donating to local organizations in Santa Barbara.
In this interview, Noozhawk sat down with Mary Ann Norbom, Executive Director at Solvang Theaterfest, to learn more about how the nonprofit supports and promotes live performing arts.
Solvang Theaterfest
Question: What is the name & mission of your nonprofit?
Answer: The mission of Solvang Theaterfest is to support and promote quality live performing arts in the Solvang Festival Theater. We meet our mission by owning and maintaining the Solvang Festival Theater to accommodate performing arts entertainment.
Q: How long has your nonprofit been in service and whom was it started by?
A: Solvang Theaterfest was incorporated in 1981. It is run by a nonprofit Board of Directors.
Q: What was the inspiration behind your nonprofit?
A: Solvang Festival Theater was built in 1974 for the specific purpose of bringing the professional theater company, PCPA, to the Santa Ynez Valley. To this day, Solvang Festival Theater is PCPA’s summer home, presenting three of four productions on our stage.
Q: Why is your mission important to you?
A: Solvang Festival Theater is the performing arts heart and soul of the Santa Ynez Valley, and all of Santa Barbara County. Nowhere else can you see theater under the stars, and concerts with popular and acclaimed singer/songwriters like Clint Black and Mat Kearney in an intimate 700-seat house, where no seat is more than 12 rows from the stage. As a community asset, we also make the theater available for rent to regional nonprofit organizations so they can stage their own fundraising events.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded and what are your greatest needs?
A: Solvang Theaterfest is funded by Individual Donations, Foundation Grants,Ticket Sales, and Rental Income. As a 45-year-old outdoor venue, we are in need of significant renovations, repairs, and updating and therefore have launched a $4.7 million capital campaign, Imagine- Building the Future. This campaign is our primary fundraising focus at this time.
Q: In what ways does your nonprofit utilize it’s funding?
A: Our general operations fundraising pays for daily maintenance needs and repairs. It might be a new air conditioning unit for the dressing rooms ($14,000), repairs and weight testing for the backstage lift ($4,500), new carpet for the backstage stairs and hallways ($3,000). Much of the exterior fencing needs paint, There is daily janitorial service and weekly gardening.
The Imagine – Building the Future $4.7 Million Capital Campaign is designed to pay for significant infrastructure rebuilding, ADA compliance issues, and technological upgrades. These are all critically needed.
Q: What is one best kept secret or fun fact about your nonprofit that not everyone knows?
A: As well-known as we are for the summer PCPA theatrical productions, our other offerings are still unknown to many. In 2019, we presented sold-out concerts with country music stars Scotty McCreery and Clint Black. We celebrated the 15th anniversary of the cult-favorite film, Sideways, with a screening, panel discussion and wine tasting. We had our first ever Mariachi Festival, and four Jazz & Beyond concerts in our 99-seat Patron Garden.
We also rent the facilities out for private parties, even weddings! Our rates for these events, especially weddings, are amazingly low.
Q: Can you tell us one success story from your nonprofit?
A: August 7, 2019 was the theater’s 45th anniversary; We celebrated with an open house that featured a backstage experience, live music, historical displays, food and beverages. We had hoped that 100 supporters would attend. We ended up with nearly 350 in attendance! It was a simply marvelous afternoon with many great memories shared. There were guests who had been at the very first performance and guests who were relatively new to Solvang Festival Theater. It was a terrific experience!
Q: What makes your nonprofit different from others?
A: Solvang Theaterfest functions in three distinct areas. We have a resident summer theater company in PCPA. We produce our own programming; for 2020, that includes concerts, a play, even a stunt dog show! Thirdly, we rent out the facility to everyone from nonprofit organizations to brides & grooms-to-be.
Q: How has your nonprofit transformed since you first began?
A: I became the Solvang Theaterfest Executive Director on July 31, 2017, and i’m proud to say there has been substantial growth in theater use, fundraising, institutional infrastructure, and marketing in that time. Theaterfest-produced programming has grown from one major concert and four Jazz & Beyond shows a year to, in 2020, two major concerts, a play, stunt dog show, onstage dinner, and five Jazz & Beyond shows. I arrived in what was listed as a 30-hour a week job and with a 25-hour-a-week Office Manager. The Executive Director is now correctly listed as a 40-hour-a-week position. There is a full-time Assistant Director, and full-time Development Associate. There is a 10-hour-a-month Social Media contractor. Solvang Theaterfest is on the move!
Click here to make a donation to Solvang Theaterfest.