Chasing the cart

I'm puttering around the house today, since I worked Sunday and long hours at the CDC Symposium earlier in the week (salaried, you see, and don't get paid overtime). I do require my minimum weekly allowance of putter time, or everything else in my life goes whack. Tomorrow, the board of the community theatre group upon which I serve is having a strategic planning meeting - thus, no Saturday putter time.

Tomorrow's all-day-come-to-Jesus meeting about the future of the theatre group will be interesting. We are lucky to have a couple of good facilitators from outside the group to slap some reality upside our heads. The theatre company, which showcases musical productions only, has been around for some years, an act of love by two guys who love to direct and perform. About a year-and-a-half ago, they decided if the company was ever going anywhere, it needed to file for non-profit status and organize a board of directors to take it to the next level of success.

The problem, of course, was that by the time the board was in place, the theatrical performance cart was so far ahead of the strategic planning/funding horse (tied firmly at the hitchin' post and going nowhere) that we've been playing catch-up over the last year. To no avail, I might add. The group is so far in debt, that only an earth-shaking stunning full-butts-in-seats run would pull us into the black.

A few months ago, another board member and I collared the board prez and said Look - we can't go after grants in our current state. We have no budget. We have no strategic plan. We need a big dose of reality and some time to naval-gaze to figure out how to save this, instead of jumping from production to production.

Fortunately he agreed, so we pulled together a hard-hitting agenda and two consultants (gratis, thankfully) to keep us on track and from coming to blows (kidding!) as we set some solid, realistic goals. I'm sure we'll spend a good hour or two chasing down that cart which is by now miles away from us. Once we get things in proper order and perspective, I expect the group to go full steam ahead.

After all, I came out of performing retirement three years ago to make a stunning turn - nay, several stunning turns - in the company's production of Bye Bye Birdie. I know, I know. You're just kicking yourself for missing it. But, honey, give me a chance to tease my hair to the heavens, don a pair of white-framed glasses, and swish around in early-1960s dresses, and I am so there! (see above) I look forward to chewing more scenery when we get back into production with something that suits my particular bad-acting abilities.

OK, this is cutting into my puttering time. Cheers, it's Friday, my dumplings!