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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 12/19/06 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
December 13, 2006 Partnership may liven Weidner productions UWGB, programmer have big plans for 2007 By Warren Gerds
Seasons of touring shows will return as part of a "collaborative relationship" announced Tuesday by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a nonprofit community entity, Weidner Center Presents Inc.
The announcement came a year to the day after UWGB Chancellor Bruce Shepard announced the university would pull out of programming the center.
UWGB ended up losing $2 million on the 2005-2006 Weidner season, Shepard said Tuesday in the center's main theater, Cofrin Family Hall.
Since July 1, the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra has been the No. 1 tenant.
By early 2007, Weidner Center Presents expects to announce a few shows through the first half of the year. Starting in fall 2007, the goal is to book 10 to 12 main-stage shows and three to five touring Broadway shows a season.
UWGB owns and maintains the 13-year-old center that saw boom years come to a halt because of "changing market conditions," Shepard said.
Weidner Center Presents, which is separate from the university, will lead the programming for the center, serving as primary renter.
The agreement is for five years, said Frederick Schmidt, board president of Weidner Center Presents.
Weidner Center Presents programming will include continuation of campus and community events at the center, including UWGB fine arts events and Green Bay Symphony performances, said Katie Green, executive director of Weidner Center Presents.
Daytime educational programs for schools will be part of Weidner Center Presents activities, Green said.
A business programming model will replace a cultural programming model, Schmidt said.
Ticket sales are essential, with emphasis placed on shows "that the community wants," he said.
UWGB will provide ushering, bartending, backstage and ticketing support, Schmidt said.
"The devil's in the detail," Shepard said. "You can't believe the number of things you have to figure out when you change the model. It truly took us six months to do ticketing for all these different groups. That's all been worked out. It's working."
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