# Fired at the Boss' Birthday Party



## MrsFooter (Jan 26, 2010)

Not really. But it was a tantalizing subject, huh?

This is a segment done by the local news about New York state completely cutting the funding to (among _many_ other state programs,) my theatre...which they announced while standing on our stage. The irony was lost on no one.
Anyone who's feeling their own fiscal crunch will definitely appreciate this.
*Video*


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## Van (Jan 26, 2010)

Wow ! I'm going to watch the video and get teh details later... But **** ! That's cold! 
I'm sorry.


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## Footer (Jan 26, 2010)

She won't be fired.... however I doubt I will be doing to much overhire there in the future. Basically they are going to pretty much cut out the stuff that does not get the buts in the seats (strait theatre, dance... you know... the artsy stuff) and focus on corporate and concerts. The venue does have the potential of being self supporting and its in a great location so it should not be going away anytime soon. The loss of parking revenue (about 400k a year) alone will nix out the money they are "saving".


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## Anvilx (Jan 26, 2010)

Thats a pretty low move by the state. My condolences.


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## WestlakeTech (Jan 26, 2010)

Anvilx said:


> Thats a pretty low move by the state. My condolences.



I have no research/evidence to back this up, but I've been told by a former teacher of mine that within a few years, our home state of Texas will nolonger require high school students to graduate with a fine arts credit. Not nearly as bad as cut funding, though.


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## MarshallPope (Jan 26, 2010)

WestlakeTech said:


> I have no research/evidence to back this up, but I've been told by a former teacher of mine that within a few years, our home state of Texas will nolonger require high school students to graduate with a fine arts credit. Not nearly as bad as cut funding, though.


Honestly, though, would that be much of a loss? At least in my (Texas) high school, those who took Theatre or Band or whatever just because they _had_ to to graduate only ended up pulling the whole program down. Same thing with those who took band just to get the PE credit waiver, etc. Just my two cents.

And to Mrs. Footer - 
Wow, it seems like -someone- would have had the sense to realize that showcasing the facility that they were cutting funding for just might not be the best PR move.


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## Anvilx (Jan 26, 2010)

WestlakeTech said:


> I have no research/evidence to back this up, but I've been told by a former teacher of mine that within a few years, our home state of Texas will no longer require high school students to graduate with a fine arts credit. Not nearly as bad as cut funding, though.



Technically it won't affect me (private school), but I ask, if you cut fine arts requirements then shouldn't you cut athletic requirements? I think that everyone should at least try both sports and art. From there they can choose to proceed if they wish.


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## Footer (Jan 26, 2010)

Anvilx said:


> Technically it won't affect me (private school), but I ask, if you cut fine arts requirements then shouldn't you cut athletic requirements? I think that everyone should at least try both sports and art. From there they can choose to proceed if they wish.



Very, very, few stats have mandatory P.E. in high school. Speaking as a former teacher... in a world that the only thing that matters is standardized test scores fine arts no longer matters. More time to teach to the test.... 

Don't agree with it... but its the truth.


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## Anvilx (Jan 26, 2010)

Footer said:


> Very, very, few states have mandatory P.E. in high school. Speaking as a former teacher... in a world that the only thing that matters is standardized test scores fine arts no longer matters. More time to teach to the test....
> 
> Don't agree with it... but its the truth.



For the most part, that is why I left public school.


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## DuckJordan (Jan 26, 2010)

well south dakota is way behind then they require a credit of P.E., Fine Arts, and 3 credits of math, 3 credits of english, and 2 credits of history, and a half credit of health, economics, and government. the rest of the 22 credit requirement is electives.


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## Footer (Jan 26, 2010)

This budget cut is going to pretty much do away with state funded arts. New York, being the state it is, has funded a few theatre companys completely. One of those is getting a 50% cut next year and they won't have any state money the year after. Basically, they have a year to completely redo their revenue model or go under. This budget also pulls out all funding to NYC. At least we are not having to start selling off state parks like the left coast....


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## cprted (Jan 27, 2010)

I feel for you guys. In British Columbia, the provincial government is cutting arts funding by 85-92% between now and 2012. This year's cuts were announced a few weeks after eveyone's grant checks were supposed to go out and people starting asking the goverment why their money didn't show up as promised.


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## Anvilx (Jan 27, 2010)

Something to ponder:

If you cut and cut and cut and do so time and again what are you left with?


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## Footer (Jan 27, 2010)

Anvilx said:


> Something to ponder:
> 
> If you cut and cut and cut and do so time and again what are you left with?



Hopefully enough money to keep the prisons operating, roads drivable, and civil order under control. That and running water and electricity.


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## WestlakeTech (Jan 27, 2010)

Anvilx said:


> Technically it won't affect me (private school), but I ask, if you cut fine arts requirements then shouldn't you cut athletic requirements? I think that everyone should at least try both sports and art. From there they can choose to proceed if they wish.



hah! They'll never do that. The PE credit (I believe) is all to do with obesity. The states don't want THEIR kids being the fat ones you hear about on the news. They can bs everyone and say they want our students to be well-rounded and healthy (and I"m not saying they don't) but it's all about the state image.

And yes, it will be nice to not have the kids in the Tech 1 class who are only there for the credit and feel like they just need to suck air to get an A. But at the same time it's a little bit of a message that we don't matter. I mean, practically nobody wants to be in math or science, but a couple of years ago they added an extra credit of both to the graduation requirements. And what irks me is that Marching Band counts as a Fine Arts AND Phys. Ed. credit. Tech Theatre counts as a Fine Arts credit, but NOT a Technology credit... Makes sense, right?.... oh wait... no, it doesn't...

Yeah... you gotta hope that's the type of stuff they're spending the money on.


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## derekleffew (Jan 27, 2010)

WestlakeTech said:


> I have no research/evidence to back this up, but I've been told by a former teacher of mine that within a few years, our home state of Texas will no longer require high school students to graduate with a fine arts credit. Not nearly as bad as cut funding, though.




MarshallPope said:


> Honestly, though, would that be much of a loss? At least in my (Texas) high school, those who took Theatre or Band or whatever just because they _had_ to to graduate only ended up pulling the whole program down. ...



Actually, dropping the Fine Arts requirement WOULD be a significant loss, as shortly following would be the cessation of funding for the program(s). Better to have *some* students who don't want to be there than *no* program at all.


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## Van (Jan 27, 2010)

I truly enjoyed the look on the face of the Executive Producer from Sydney Theater Company a couple of weeks ago. I was going on and on about how many venues we had in town, little black boxes, Big Proscenia. I finally told her, "oh, But this theater and the other two PCPA venues are the only ' Publicly Funded' venues. Everyone else like our Theater is a Not-for profit mostly funded from private donors. And Oregon is 48th in the States for support of the Arts." I thought she was going to faint. The idea of so little support for the Arts, and Theater in particular was, I think, astounding to her. 
Thanks God Oregon has just, last night in fact, passed two new tax measures aimed specifcally at raising monies for schools. One raises our minimum Corporate tax rate which has been $10 / year since the 30's to $150 / year and the other is a tax increase on households making more than $250K /yr. These measures are going to stave off huge cuts in the Educational World but really won't affect incomes for Arts Non-Profits. 
</rant on> Forgive a minor political Rant but if more Corporations were actually paying income taxes and the other taxes that they SAY they were ( on paper the US has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, but this is decieving since ther are so many loopholes that on average the Big companies like GM etc wind up paying as littel as 100 dollars a year in Income Tax) then the state of our Schools, Roads, Arts, and Public infrastructures could be restored to the vision that our forefathers had when they instituted said programs. It used to be considered Patriotic to pay taxes. Now days it seems most people and corporations just want to get out of paying anything. Well when Our kids can't read, when Our bridges collapse, and when everybody in America works at McDonalds and hopes one day to break into management, we can thank those folks that got thier tax breaks, those folks that closed those venues, those folks that kept our children from reading and learning about the constant struggle against Mans inhumanity to Man and the true beauty that Man is capable of. 
</rant off>


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## Tex (Jan 30, 2010)

WestlakeTech said:


> I have no research/evidence to back this up, but I've been told by a former teacher of mine that within a few years, our home state of Texas will nolonger require high school students to graduate with a fine arts credit. Not nearly as bad as cut funding, though.


Actually, this happened last year. The requirement for fine arts, PE, and technlogy credits were removed. This year, the fine arts and PE requirements were reinstated. Technology was not. It ironic that I got a technology certification years ago because I was sure that if fine arts were ever cut, technology would be safe. Go figure...
TETA has a very strong advocacy program. I think we're good for another 10 years or so. I'm more concerned that the schools are still being funded at 2006 levels, but that's another rant.
As for the fine arts requirement "dragging down" the program. I must disagree. Theatre I students are the bread and butter of any theatre program. If those classes weren't full, most programs would only need one teacher. Tech directors are almost always the second teacher. We have also been able to create an audition only freshman "master class" that is a Theatre I section on paper, but in reality is an advanced beginning acting class. We are then able to approach the regular Theatre I classes as a true beginner class without fear of losing the serious actors/technicians. Lastly, as the numbers of Theatre I students increase, the odds of finding good actors and technicians among those numbers increase. If having large Theatre I classes is hurting a program, it's probably a classroom management problem.


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## SteveB (Jan 30, 2010)

MrsFooter said:


> Not really. But it was a tantalizing subject, huh?
> 
> This is a segment done by the local news about New York state completely cutting the funding to (among _many_ other state programs,) my theatre...which they announced while standing on our stage. The irony was lost on no one.
> Anyone who's feeling their own fiscal crunch will definitely appreciate this.
> *Video*



That sucks Steph, hopefully and if your position is still a semi-overhire, you may be insulated from the cutbacks. Especially if you are the ONLY electrician. 

Just out of curiosity, who funds the Egg complex ?. Is it direct State funding and are your full time fellow staff members (or you) getting a state check ?. Sometimes your little funding line to the state is buried under a discretionary fund controlled by the Gov. and often times it may not be worth it to cut as it's such a small piece of the pie. Hoping that's the case. 

Also and off topic, is there still a summer theater series at Washington park in Albany ?. I used to have a whole lot of friends from the NYC area who worked that, myself included.


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