YEAR END 2023
2023 in Review - Letter from the Executive Director Dear friends, The Depot Theatre’s 45th Season is in the books! The anniversary season included a return to winter play readings, expanded Academy outreach and education programming, and the main stage lineup in the freight room of the train station, featuring a return to “normal,” with box office and concessions in the lobby! Of course, the season spotlight was on the $45,000 matching gift campaign. We surpassed our goal, and more than 140 donors’ generous gifts were DOUBLED by Depot friend and trustee Betsy Bacot. Luke Wehner masterfully played more than 9 characters in the Depot’s production of CHESAPEAKE.
We’re grateful for the amazing support that continues to keep us strong, and we hope we can depend on your financial contributions to start the 46th season off right!
After all, your investment in our work reaches beyond the train station and the audience experience; we are proud to drive economic impact for our local businesses and organizations, and to enhance the business mix that attracts new investment and new residents to our region. (In fact, in our end of season survey, more than 55% of our patrons visited a local restaurant as part of their theatre experience!) This newsletter marks the beginning of our fiscal year, and we’re already in the throes of planning the next year of programming including special events in December. Lydya Felix and Kayla Walsh conducted nightly You make our year round programs possible, and we cannot thank debates in the 2023 season main stage opener, you enough for your generosity. Please support our ongoing efforts by sending in a year-end donation today. WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME. Thank you for being part of the journey! With gratitude, Kim Rielly Executive Director Cassidy Sledge as Mortimer in the Depot’s production of THE FANTASTICKS, a nod to the Depot’s very first season to finish the 45th!
p.s. There are many ways to make your gift! You can either give online at www.DepotTheatre.org or send a donation to Depot Theatre in the enclosed remittance envelope. Library/Heritage House: Depot Theatre partnered with the Adirondack Stage Rats to present staged readings in the off season, including RADIANT VERMIN in March and SHADES OF VALOR in May.
The Depot is grateful to Betsy Bacot, who extended a SUCCESSFUL matching gift challenge in honor of her mother, Shirley Bacot Shamel.
CAST OF CHARACTERS YEAR ROUND STAFF Kim Rielly - Executive Director Ginene Mason - Outreach and Education Director Katie Shepard - Box Office & Human Resources Manager Bonnie B. Brewer - Operations Manager Kim Andresen - Grant & Development Administrator Teresa Cummings - Bookkeeper Joseph P. LaFiura, CPA P.C. - Auditor
VOLUNTEERS DEPOT THEATRE BOARD OF TRUSTEES (FY 2023) Scott Gibree (President) Maureen Carlo (Vice President) Lindy Flanagan (Secretary) Alexandra Henderson (Treasurer) Betsy Bacot Jim Carroll Catherine Conover Covert Alisa Endsley Jen Kelly Lawrence Masle Bill McColgan Cheri Phillips Kathy Recchia Liz Spitler DEPOT THEATRE ADVISORY COUNCIL Dee Carroll George Davis Melissa Davis Margaret “Beth” Glover Amy Guglielmo Daniel Keegan Karen L. Lewis Amy McNamara Jennifer Moore Mary Ellen O’Loughlin Jane Preston Annie Scavo Joan Simon Sally Struthers Michael Thomas
BACKSTAGE Back on Track
In 2019, The Depot applied for and was awarded, on behalf of the Town of Westport, a NYSDEC Smart Growth grant for much-needed parking lot improvements. The project was delayed due to COVID-19, material shortages, and then the Amtrak project to install a new ADA-compliant platform. Good news: the more than year-long Amtrak project is nearly complete, and the parking lot has been newly paved! Many thanks to our audiences for being very patient and understanding about the ongoing access restrictions at the station due to the construction and crumbled driveway. We’re thrilled that the improvements to the parking lot and platform will provide safe and welcoming access for visitors, passengers, and theatre patrons for years to come!
Hear this?
The Depot Theatre was awarded a $25,000 New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) capital improvement grant for a sound system replacement - and the installation of most of the components was completed just in time for the closing musical production of THE FANTASTICKS last summer. In addition to speakers and microphones etc., the new system also includes new assisted listening devices for audiences!
Depot Theatre Inc. is a 501(c)3, non-profit corporation.
2023 GRANTS The Depot was the recipient of several grants in fiscal year 2023.
P.O. Box 414 • 6705 Main Street Westport, New York 12993 www.DepotTheatre.org
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The Depot Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre located in a historic, functioning 1876 train station in Westport, N.Y., and it is the only theatre in the Adirondacks that operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. In addition to its volunteer board of trustees, the theatre depends on the support and generosity of its loyal donors, volunteers and community members. Committed to promoting and providing exposure to the performing arts in the Adirondacks, the Depot Theatre invites all to “Take a journey without leaving the station.”
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New York State Council on the Arts - $10,000 - Regrowth and Capacity Enhancement (Artists - Academy) New York State Council on the Arts - $10,000 - Regrowth and Capacity Enhancement (Artists - Theatre) New York State Council on the Arts - $10,000 - Regrowth and Capacity Enhancement (Program Implementation - Academy) New York State Council on the Arts - $30,000 - Support for Organizations Stewart’s Shops - $550 - to support arts-in-education New York State Council on the Arts - $25,000 - Small Capital Improvement Grants for Arts and Culture (Sound System Replacement) Essex County Arts Council - CAP grant - $775 to support Depot Theatre Academy
DEPOT THEATRE ACADEMY We believe that youth exposed to theatre and the arts are enriched in important ways that add value to their lives in the early stages of learning development as well as later in life.
In the past year, outreach and education efforts included: • In October 2022 (and again recently in October 2023), the Academy attended the Annual Career Fair for area high schools held in Crown Point, and promoted careers in the arts as well as Academy program offerings. • In December, the Depot Theatre Academy and the Whallonsburg Grange Hall were pleased to present A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A Radio Play Reading featuring regional artists and professional actors. With more than 150 in the audience, the wonderful community event also raised nearly $1400 for the BackPack program in local schools! • Save Date! December 17, 2023 - music begins at 2 pm, performance at 3pm • Donations at the event will benefit the Backpack Program. (The BackPack Program helps alleviate child hunger by discreetly providing hungry children with backpacks full of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food on Friday afternoons so they have food to eat throughout the weekend.) • In January, Academy staff collaborated with several schools and arts programs to take a group of 11 students to the 2023 NYS Theatre Education Association (NYSTEA) Student Conference. • Throughout the winter and spring, Academy staff coordinated and offered opportunities for Academy students to attend regional live theatre performances. • The Academy summer program combined the junior and senior age groups, with 34(!) participants aged 7-17 who participated in acting, dancing, singing, and learning various aspects of theatre production - culminating in three performances of MATILDA THE MUSICAL JR. The inclusive program offered workshops led by professionals in disciplines such as voice, acting, and even juggling, with roles for actors as well as “backstage” opportunities to join the stage crew! The Depot’s Outreach and Education program continues to develop cultural resources and events, and to grow partnerships with schools, arts organizations and professional teaching artists for the benefit of regional youth. Stay tuned: staff are feverishly planning several initiatives for 2024!
SUPPORT
We are thrilled that we’ve been able to produce more live theatre and remain committed to growing our outreach and education program. However, less than 40% of our revenue comes from ticket sales! The Depot Theatre’s continued success is a testament to the support we receive from our subscribers, donors, sponsors, friends, local businesses, and partners. We RELY on your generous contributions, just as you rely on us to deliver on our mission to “entertain, enrich, and educate through professional theatrical arts and related programs based in a historic train station.”
There are a number of ways to support the Depot Theatre! DONATIONS OF CASH
Give online at www.DepotTheatre.org or send a check to Depot Theatre, PO Box 414, Westport, NY 12993.
DONATE GIFTS OF STOCK
If you have questions about donations of stock, please contact Kim Rielly, Executive Director, at krielly@DepotTheatre.org.
PLANNED GIVING RECURRING GIFTS
Consistent, ongoing support is the most effective way to make a difference. We work year-round in order to produce the only professional Equity theatrical experience in the Adirondacks and to grow our Academy outreach and education program. Monthly donations of any amount provide a predictable revenue stream for the Depot and represent a deeper relationship between you and the Theatre; you’re part of the team!
THANK YOU
The Depot Theatre board and staff are grateful for the generous 2023 sponsors! Season Sponsor The Rogers Carroll Family Foundation 2023 Title Sponsors Chazy Westport Communications/Westelcom Mountain Dog Pub & Restaurant Mountain Lake PBS MAIN STAGE SPONSORS Arts Spark Champlain National Bank Ledge Hill Brewing Company Sylvamo DEPOT ACADEMY Underwriter: The Brooks and Joan Fortune Family Foundation Summer program sponsor: TrailNorth Federal Credit Union BECOME A 2024 SUMMER SPONSOR! Contact Kim for a list of opportunities krielly@depottheatre.org
DEPOT THEATRE LEGACY SOCIETY
A growing number of supporters have joined the Depot Theatre Legacy Society. Support the ongoing work of the Depot Theatre with a planned gift in your will or trust. Unrestricted gifts by will or trust give us the greatest flexibility to use funds where they are most needed. You may leave the Depot: • A stated dollar amount • A percentage of your residual estate (what remains after gifts to loved ones and expenses have been paid), or • A specific asset, such as securities or other marketable property Notifying the Depot Theatre of your gift: Please remember to let us know when you have named the Depot Theatre in your will or trust so that we can thank you and include you in our Legacy Society.
Congratulations to Greg Pedrick, the winner of 2024 Season Passes to the main stage, chosen from a random drawing of post-season email survey respondents.
Are you on the Depot’s email list? Visit depottheatre.org to sign up and be the very first to know about news and updates!
The Board of Trustees of the Depot Theatre extends its sincere appreciation to the friends of the theatre who have generously supported the organization with a gift during 2023 fiscal year (Oct 1, 2022-Sept 30, 2023). In addition to the long list of donors and sponsors, the Depot Theatre’s 2023 season was made possible by the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional support is provided by the Essex County Arts Council Cultural Assistance Program Grant with funding provided by Essex County.
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