LINE ITEM REQUEST
LINCOLN AMPHITHEATRE
In 1987, after ten years of planning and fundraising by The Lincoln Boyhood
Drama Association, Lincoln Amphitheatre, located in Lincoln State Park in
Lincoln City, Indiana, opened with the first summer season of Billy Edd Wheeler's
play, Young Abe Lincoln. The $3.6 million facility with seating
for 1,500 people was designed to accommodate the outdoor musical drama about
Abraham Lincoln's boyhood in Indiana from age seven to age twenty-one.
BACKGROUND
The Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association produced the first season of the musical in the outdoor amphitheatre. The season ended with a deficit and with no funds to produce a subsequent season. Holiday World, a locally owned amusement facility, assumed responsibility of the production of the play in 1988, but also incurred a deficit. Concern for the long-term success of the facility and the production prompted the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Holiday World to approach the University of Southern Indiana to enter into a contractual agreement to produce the play in partnership with Holiday World. For the continued success of the production, DNR sought and received a $200,000 legislative appropriation in 1989 to support the production. In 1990, Holiday World relinquished management of the play, and the University of Southern Indiana, through a contractual agreement with DNR, assumed all management and production responsibilities of Lincoln Amphitheatre.
After five seasons of Young Abe Lincoln there was a growing need to provide variety in the production to increase attendance. In 1992 a second production, Big River, was introduced to run on alternate nights throughout the summer with Young Abe Lincoln. The second production provided increased attendance for several seasons, but as attendance began to decline, the need for a new companion production was evident. In 1995, additional funding in the amount of $50,000 was sought from the legislature to increase the original $200,000 appropriation to support the operating expenses of the production and to start a new companion production. For the 1996 and 1997 seasons a temporary increase of $25,000 through DNR's budget was added to the appropriation to help produce the companion performance of Oklahoma. During the 1997 legislative session, the appropriation for Young Abe Lincoln was increased to $250,000. Also, by mutual agreement, a transfer of the appropriation from DNR to a line item appropriation for the University of Southern Indiana was requested.
OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS
During the 1999 legislative session, the $250,000 appropriation for Young Abe Lincoln was transferred as a line item from DNR's State Park Division to the University of Southern Indiana. Transfer of the appropriation has:
• increased the efficiency in the financial operation of the theatre;
• improved the management of capital expenses;
• reduced the costs in administering the finances of the theatre; and
• enhanced the overall management of the theatre resulting in improved
planning and operation of the multiple productions.
According to a study conducted by the University of Southern Indiana School of
Business, productions at Lincoln Amphitheatre have a significant economic
impact upon the region. Expenditures associated with the productions, by the
casts and crews and overnight visitors, are estimated at approximately
$750,000 annually. With the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration approaching in
2009, the Amphitheatre's economic impact on the region will certainly
increase.
The close relationship between Lincoln Amphitheatre and the USI Theatre program affords Indiana's young artists a unique opportunity to have their first professional theatre experience as performers, technicians, or administrators at Lincoln Amphitheatre. These individuals work with other young professionals from across the nation, under supervisors who are generally professors or staff members from regional theatres. By providing this opportunity in Indiana, Lincoln Amphitheatre helps these creative young people view their home state as a place where they can pursue future professional opportunities.
CHALLENGES
Through a contractual agreement since 1988 with DNR, the University of Southern Indiana has been involved with the production and management of Young Abe Lincoln. Over the past 16 years, the University, in partnership with DNR, has worked to develop Lincoln Amphitheatre. The University has gained the expertise needed to successfully manage the theatre and has demonstrated its commitment to the production and its long-term success.
For several years, the University of Southern
Indiana has attempted to diversify its offerings at Lincoln Amphitheatre to
attract a wider audience to the productions and, importantly, to enhance
revenue. Events and activities have included:
·
"Psycho Path" - a haunted house on the weekends leading up
to Halloween;
·
Lincoln Kaleidoscope - a summer dance concert series;
·
Theatre for Young Adults; and
·
"Celebrate America" - a Memorial Day
concert in partnership with the
Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra
While these events generally have been financially successful in the first year, they do not generate the same level of interest or revenue in the second or subsequent years. New events are staged to continue to diversify the activities at the Amphitheatre, but there are added production costs and significant planning required in producing multiple events on an annual basis. During the summer of 2004, two popular music concerts will be held following the close of the theatre season.
STATE APPROPRIATIONS
State
appropriations support the operating expenses of the production and start-up
costs for the companion performances produced on a two-year cycle. In
addition to Young Abe Lincoln, the University has produced five
companion musicals since 1992:
·
Big River - 1992 through 1996
·
Oklahoma - 1997 and 1998
·
Music Man - 1999 and 2000
·
The Sound of Music - 2001 and 2002
·
Fiddler on the Roof - 2003 and 2004
The second performance was introduced to provide variety with a goal of increasing attendance at the Amphitheatre. Historically, attendance increases the first year of the companion performance and decreases the second year. In 2002, the second year of the production of The Sound of Music, there was a significant drop in ticket sales that was unprecedented in the Amphitheatre's history of running a "companion" musical to Young Abe Lincoln. With previous performances, total ticket sales for the companion musical dropped an average of 27 percent in the second year of production. With The Sound of Music, ticket sales dropped by 44 percent in 2002 over the previous year. The drop in ticket sales was significantly below anticipated levels.
In 2003, a new production of Fiddler on the Roof was offered as the companion musical to Young Abe Lincoln. One of the most popular musicals in American theatre for the past four decades, Fiddler on the Roof was expected to draw nearly as well as The Sound of Music had in its first year. Contrary to these expectations, attendance at Fiddler on the Roof was more than 27 percent less than first-year attendance for The Sound of Music. Amphitheatre management has taken steps to boost second-year attendance in 2004 for Fiddler on the Roof by hiring a highly experienced marketing coordinator and instituting an aggressive, regional marketing plan.
In general, outdoor drama across the country saw a dramatic decline in attendance in 2002 and 2003. Several factors including weather, the poor state and national economy, and a general decline in tourism following 9/11 contributed to the drop in ticket sales. The decrease in state appropriation and a resulting cutback in production values also may have contributed to the decline in attendance.
PRODUCTION COST DRIVERS AND NEEDS
Even as the University attempts to expand the range of its programming at Lincoln Amphitheatre and attract new audiences to a greater diversity of events, the seventeen-year-old facility and the scenery and costumes for Young Abe Lincoln are in need of considerable refurbishing. The aging of the amphitheatre, failure to meet changes in American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, and the cumulative effect of years of wear-and-tear have led to a decline in both audience comfort and in production values. There is evidence that the decline is negatively affecting attendance and the economic viability of Lincoln Amphitheatre. To arrest this decline, capital investment is essential.
After 16 years, original sets and costumes for Young Abe Lincoln are still in use and in critical need of replacement. Both the administrative and artistic leadership of Lincoln Amphitheatre believe that a new script and score for Young Abe Lincoln are necessary to revive interest in the production. Current estimates for development of a new script and score and replacement of sets and costumes are approximately $150,000. Other major capital projects include improvements to the lighting system, the sound system, and the stage. Also, the parking lot of the amphitheatre needs to be resurfaced and plans for additional handicapped restrooms, to bring the facility into better compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), previously postponed, need to be implemented.
These capital needs were presented in the 2003-2005 Line Item Budget Request for Lincoln Amphitheatre, but were not funded.
While the cost of these improvements total more than the operating appropriation for the production, it is imperative that progress be made in addressing these critical needs for the ongoing viability of Young Abe Lincoln and Lincoln Amphitheatre.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
For many years, the University of Southern Indiana has used institutional resources to subsidize the operation of Young Abe Lincoln. When the University undertook the management of the production, it was never intended that capital expenditures for the repair and rehabilitation of the Amphitheatre would be the University's responsibility. The University has supported the production in a spirit of community service and to contribute to the Spencer County economy. The subsidy for the Lincoln Amphitheatre comes from the University's general operating budget, which is funded through a combination of tuition and fees from students and state support for the operation of the University.
As state support for the operation of the University declines, it is increasingly difficult to target funds for Lincoln Amphitheatre. Additionally, it is difficult to explain to students who have faced tuition and fee increases that a portion of their tuition and fee payment is used to subsidize Young Abe Lincoln.
The University has developed a plan to phase out its subsidy of Lincoln Amphitheatre. The University's subsidy to Lincoln Amphitheatre peaked at $121,559 in FY 2002-2003, declining to $98,493 in FY 2003-2004 and is projected to be $80,334 in 2004-2005. These reductions reflect the University's plan to gradually reduce the subsidy to Lincoln Amphitheatre until it reaches zero in FY 2007-2008.
The University's plan to phase out the subsidy to Young Abe Lincoln places substantial pressure on the theatre program at Lincoln Amphitheatre, especially in light of the reduced line item appropriation from the state and a $490,000 backlog of high priority deferred maintenance capital projects.
BUDGET REQUEST
There are no easy solutions to this financial dilemma. The University has developed two options for the future funding for Lincoln Amphitheatre.
1. Provide a one-time capital appropriation of $490,000 in the 2005-2007 biennium and increase the state's current $238,562 line-item appropriation to $280,634 in FY 2005-2006 and $349,173 in FY 2006-2007. This would allow the completion of the needed capital improvements and reduce the University's subsidy to Lincoln Amphitheatre.
2. Close Lincoln Amphitheatre for two seasons during the 2005-2007 biennium and reallocate the existing annual operating appropriation of $238,562 per year for two years into a single $477,124 capital appropriation. The University could subsidize the additional $12,876 needed to generate the $490,000 for capital improvements. Lincoln Amphitheatre would reopen in the 2007-2009 biennium with the capital improvements in place, including new costumes, a new script, and a new score. The line item appropriation would need to be increased to cover the necessary operating costs in the 2007-2009 biennium. The reopening of Lincoln Amphitheatre, with a new production of Young Abe Lincoln in 2007-2009, would be timely for the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in 2009.
The University of Southern Indiana requests increased funding of the line item appropriation for Lincoln Amphitheatre in the 2005-2007 biennium. The University also requests support for needed capital expenditures to enhance the production of Young Abe Lincoln and to renovate the Amphitheatre. The University is committed to the long-term successful operation of the theatre, provided funding is received from the state. For the University to successfully manage and operate Lincoln Amphitheatre, the requested funding is necessary for the future viability of Young Abe Lincoln.
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