May 31, 2025 Minutes

9:00 AM
Crossroads Diner

Call To Order:

Secretary Heather

Roll Call:

Heather, Kelsey, Katie, Mike, Wes, Derek

Approval of previous minutes:

Motion to approve: Mike, seconded by: Katie. Unanimous passage

Executive Director Report:

Sponsorships

I have called most of the master sponsorship list. The few I haven’t contacted yet are businesses I really think would not sponsor, but I will still try and get in touch with in the next week or so. I am hoping to get at least one or two more sponsorships out of this last batch of calls but I think that will be it. I filled out the submission request for BHFCU, it is like a grant/sponsorship and I am hoping that we receive that this year like we have the last couple. I do believe though that we are pretty much done for the year, we will end up with about half as much as last year. I did receive many more outright ‘nos’ this year than previous years and much more trepidation from businesses about sponsorships and donations. I am hoping that is just a this year issue and won’t bleed into 2026, but we will see.

Grants

I am currently working on Midco, Walmart, and Black Hills Energy grants right now and will hopefully get at least one of those this year. I did find out we were turned down for the Arts Council grant we applied for. This was the matching funds grant that would have given us a little more money for the documentary as well as some money for the July 4th float as well as for some more ancillary materials to have around. Though unfortunate, this is the first Arts Council grant we have been turned down for. We do still have grant money left from the one we got last year, $1,930. I will be requesting those funds next week and will wrap up that grant, it has to be finished by the end of June. I am hoping there will be some good grants available to us through the Arts Council in 2026 though.

Rec Board Meeting & Sound

I went to the Rec Center Board meeting on April 30 after speaking with Jody about the rate changes for Rec Center rentals. For all performances we will be paying $400 per day, for night performances we will pay an additional $50 per hour outside of normal operating hours. This is double what we were paying before. This is not going to change, there were other groups there but it seems that number is staying the way it is. I did explain the hardship that would put on us. Another thing that came up in this meeting was the upcoming sound system. There is still not a proposal chosen, I think the final proposal was just accepted so I don’t think anything will be happening soon. It seems like the current idea moving forward is once the system is in place the Rec may hire a sound person to replace BFACT as the person running the theater for the Rec and that our contract may be rescinded at this point. If so, there is a good chance we will no longer have practices in exchange for our work with the Rec. I did explain that would greatly hurt our ability to put on shows, I don’t know if that will change anything. We will just have to wait and see and possibly make some contingency plans.

Microphones

Mike has asked me to do some research on some handheld wireless microphones and costs. As of right now there is only one working wireless microphone in the theater. The rest have either fully stopped working or are not reliable and cut out constantly. The rec does not seem interested in purchasing new microphones right now with the new sound system happening at some point in the future. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory requires two additional microphones beyond the current working one. I have been doing some research and the top brands are very expensive. For example a Shure wireless set of two is around $700 – 800. Other quality brands are around that price point. I found some less brands that were cheaper, but many have very negative reviews. Phenyx Pro has a couple that look good though. They have decent reviews, Phenyx is the brand of wireless headsets we have purchased over the last couple of years and they have worked well for us so I would feel good about getting mics of this brand. Through Amazon you can get a two back of wireless microphones for $149.99 (not including tax and shipping) which is not a bad price at all. I did look and a four pack is $294.49 (not including tax and shipping). This is also not a bad price, we don’t need four for this show, but might not be bad to have. The idea if these microphones were purchased would be that BFACT owns them and goes with our sound system and equipment. We could use them at the Rec and loan them to other groups if we want, or not, totally up to us. Ordering either of these items soon could get them here next week.

Motion to app buying a 4 pack of mics: Kelsey, seconded by Mike, unanimous passage

Website

Thanks to Bella’s help, I am working on filling out the rest of the show section of the website so we can have all of our old shows online as part of the 15th Season for people to go look back on. She has basic info on almost all of the old shows in, I just need to go in and add photos and other information and then make them live. I am also finishing up the timeline page as well as getting a banner on the homepage done.

Ancillary Materials

I am starting work on the 15th Season display piece that will be done by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It will stay out in the lobby area full time after that show through the rest of the season. It will highlight and celebrate the last 15 seasons of BFACT and be a cool looking piece that hopefully draws some attention.

Proclamation

Bella worked up a draft of the proclamation for our 15th Season and I did some slight tweaking to it, but overall it was her good work. If the board is good with it, I will send this on to the City Administrator and see if they will do this for the Saturday show of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Whereas, the City of Belle Fourche recognizes the importance and impact that the performing arts have on the cities, towns, townships, census designated places, and unincorporated communities of Butte County;

Whereas, the performing arts are described as a creative activity performed in front of an audience, such as drama, music, and dance;

Whereas, Belle Fourche has a long history of contributing to the performing arts in the Northern Blacks Hills, such as the Belle Fourche Arts Council, the Belle Fourche Concert Association, the Belle Fourche Cowboy Band, the Tri-State Performers, and especially the Belle Fourche Area Community Theater;

Whereas, the Belle Fourche Area Community Theater has a fifteen year long history of entertaining our community and providing enriching performances year round;

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City of Belle Fourche hereby proclaims June 28, 2025 as Performing Arts Day in honor of our rich history and dedication to the performing arts, and in celebration of the Belle Fourche Community Theater’s 15th season.

Officer Reports:

President
- Absent, submitted following report
  Strategic Planning process put on hold temporarily due to Charlie. Last meeting was in April and went very well. We are in the final stages. Depending on when the board meeting falls in July, we could have the strategic plan ready to present to the board at that meeting.
- Becky Tinsley is very interested in planning our 4th of July BBQ, but I think someone needs to make contact and give her more details to guide the process. We need to follow up on someone to plan and decorate the float.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is coming along very well! We did end up needing to offer a stipend to get a musical director. Also, the background music did NOT have vocal lines for actors to follow. We ended up having Lucy Cole provide accompaniment and paid her regular rate of 17.50 per hour (which is what the school pays her). We ended up needing her for 15 hours.
- Can Kelsey please cut a check for $500 to Eliza Dosch and one for $245 to Lucy Cole?
- Once again, sorry I could not make this meeting! I think best bet for the next board meeting might be a week night at 7, which i could make after 8, when our practice ends. We could also try for immediately after Charlie is over.
Vice President
- Absent
Secretary
- Nothing to report
Treasurer
- Bank account 20,547.31. Subscribed to Rapid city Journal to archive all the articles about pictures of us as part of 15 year project.
Creative Committee
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  - Things are moving along well with the show, set building is beginning. There have been some small hiccups with reservations with the Rec, I am trying to iron them out. On Monday, we will begin taking photos of some of the cast so poster and marketing work can begin. Tickets will go on sale soon and a huge marketing push will begin in earnest. The Creative Committee will be helping me with many of these elements. We have big plans on how to market this show, many of them won’t cost anything which is good.
- Is He Dead?
  - Jonathan and I have been meeting and getting plans together for Is He Dead? We have audition dates set as well as a schedule approved by the Rec Center. We will continue on pre-production over the next couple of months so hopefully everything starts as smoothly as possible.
- Short Play Showcase
  - I am working with Bella to get the nuts and bolts of this show nailed down so we can get it announced as well as dates so we can start recruiting actors and directors for it. Then we can start the process of talking to authors and getting sample work selected. I think this will be a great event that I will have more information for next month.
- GOAT 2026
  - Some of the other theaters for GOAT had said that March did not work well for them this year so unfortunately we are moving dates again for 2026. We are looking at September 17 – 20, 2026 and us leading the show off with the Thursday performance. I was hoping to do a Halloween show next year, which still might be possible, but it does truncate timelines a little.
Public Relations
- Views down as no current campaign but Charlie starting soon. Posters will start going up as soon as they are finished. Currently taking pics of practice to use for promotion
Volunteer Committee
- Currently working on collecting volunteers for the 4th of July float and picnic and for Charlie. Also working on putting together volunteer appreciation.
Fundraising Committee
July 4th Committee
- We met virtually as the July 4th Committee and have made plans moving forward. We are speaking with the Carrs about possibly making theater masks for our float. If they are unable to, we will make them ourselves, the goal is to make something big and sturdy enough to use in other upcoming years. We will also get some printing done about previous shows to highlight the 15th Season as well as the other shows this season. Nathan was able to get Jones Park booked for the BBQ. The Tinsley’s are working on getting the main dish figured out and purchased, as well as candy for the float. BFACT will provide the main meat dish and some drinks, everything else will be potluck. We will probably rely a lot on the Board and committees to make sure we get enough side dishes. Now that we have everything set, I will start sending out the word next week on social media as well as our newsletter, we want people to RSVP to get a sense of how much food to provide.
Strategic Planning Committee
- NA