UPDATE: Hello and thank you for finding my post however we’ve migrated this information and updates on our efforts to a new website, http://www.savethetoh.com
Today my hometown, Thomaston, CT laid off the executive director of the Thomaston Opera House, Jeff Dunn and the funds development director, Kera Jewett. These are two of the four full time people that run Thomaston Opera House that were laid off. This comes after an announcement that the town would no longer support the theater in the coming years and the board of directors would need to lease the space from the Town of Thomaston. These measures remove extremely critical links in the financial handlings of the Thomaston Opera House. This opera house is one of the few, if not only extremely recognizable landmarks in the town. The town does not realize that by removing these links they are essentailly destroying theater and one of the last remaining forms of art that are publicly support (our public schools severely lack in the arts). This change has a huge impact on the town and the arts community that has grown and has been fostered by the Thomaston Opera House.
In an effort to help save our theater we are asking that supports of the arts (especially theater) contact the first selectman of Thomaston by the following means:
First Selectman
Maura E. Martin
158 Main Street, Level 4
Phone: 860-283-4421
Fax: 860-283-1378
Email: mmartin@thomastonct.org
In addition to contacting the first selectman I ask that you please share this via Twitter, Facebook, and any other means you feel necessary.
Please help us! We anticipate a website to support the theater to come soon as well as a flurry of updates that I’ll post here and on Twitter.
Update (9/10 11:11pm): At the moment the direct number is redirecting to the call board, enter extension 504 when the menu starts.
Update (9/10 11:14pm): Here is a wonderful note written by a member of the Thomaston Opera House’s community:
Staff Members Cut from Opera House
Thursday morning the Selectman of the Town of Thomaston made the rash decision to cut both the Executive Director and the Funds Development Director of the Thomaston Opera House, cutting staffing in half. This begs the following question:
What will happen to the Thomaston Opera House?
Jeffrey Dunn has been involved at the Thomaston Opera House since 1991. His success is obvious. After floundering for 24 years and enduring 3 closures, the Commission hired Mr. Dunn and a counterpart. From 1991 to 1999 they tripled the budget for the Opera House using the model of community theater. Mr. Dunn became the executive director in 1999 and to date had again doubled the budget of the Opera House, quadrupled attendance and turned it into what could be referred to as a “regional theater.” His standing in the local community and the region has had long standing effects on the Opera House and the Town at large. He is a member of Rotary, Economic Development and Arts and Culture Collaborative of Waterbury. He has helped the Town of Thomaston transition from a dying manufacturing center to a Main street centered around the arts. The Opera House was key in moving in the Black Rock Tavern to town and indeed many organizations in Town have stated they could not exist in Thomaston without the presence of the Opera House.
Jeffrey Dunn hired Kera Jewett the Funds Development Director in 2008. Ms. Jewett holds her Masters in Arts Administration from Drexel University and is a member of the Americans for the Arts. In her short time at the Thomaston Opera House, she was key in quadrupling the donor list, securing funding from new corporations and foundations, and doubling the subscribers that attended. Ms. Jewett is responsible for funding Phase II of the restoration effort at the Opera House, totaling in $150,000.
In addition to the development of the organization, Mr. Dunn and Ms. Jewett have secured $850,000.00 in capital funding since 1991 to a building the Town of Thomaston owns. While the organization does have a $100,000 deficit, it could be said that this is minimal in comparison to the capital improvements made on a facility otherwise neglected. The Opera House survives on a $500,000 and independently staffs itself and its operations, despite the connection with the Town of Thomaston.
Which begs the questions above. It is certain that without an executive director, without a fundraising department, and without leadership, the Thomaston Opera House is sure to fail. What will become of the Thomaston Opera House? Who will restore the building ready to fall? Who will grace to her stage when everyone else is gone?
If you love the THOMASTON OPERA HOUSE and seek its survival, please contact the Town of Thomaston [(860) 283-4421] in support of these positions and in favor of the success of the Thomaston Opera House.
Come show your support at the FINANCE MEETING TONIGHT AT TOWN HALL 7:00pm.
Go to the First Selectmen’s brown bag lunch every Wednesday from 12-2pm and tell her how you feel.
Go to the Selectmen Board meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm.
Please continue to make the Thomaston Opera House a place where the community can come to laugh, cry, and play..
This note can be found in it’s original form from Jimmy Donohue on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=146679470488
Update (9/11/09 7:45am): The story has appeared in the local papers. The Republican American article does a very good job at highlighting the importance of the Thomaston Opera House and it’s ramifications.
Update (9/11/09 6:20pm): The story has appeared in more of the local papers. The Register Citizen, a Torrington based paper also highlights the importance of these two people. The comments on this post are also very interesting to say the least.
